Santa Catalina Island, also known as just Catalina, is a big island located off the coast of California. Many foreigners do not know about Catalina, but it is a huge attraction to people living here. The fact that around one million people travel to Catalina Island every year shows how much Californians love this island. Not only are there great sceneries, but there are also various chances to experience water-involving activities. Such as snorkeling, scuba-diving, parasailing, jet skiing are some of the examples.
My friends and I went to Catalina Island on May 19th. We had to reserve tickets few days earlier in order to get the seats, because they usually get sold out in summer time. It was the first time for us to ride a ferry here so we were really excited to see the ocean. It turned out to be awesome! Thanks to the nice weather, we were able to enjoy great scenery and we actually saw some dolphins during the ride.
When we arrived at the port, we were surprised by the looks of the city, Avalon and the color of the sea water. Especially, it had the color I had never seen in California. To look around the island, we had two options other than just walking. We could rent bikes or a golf cart to travel around the city. Since we had only one day, we didn't want to walk. So, we chose bikes to look around the beaches and the parks in Avalon. However, our thought that it is possible to travel the whole city with a bike was a huge mistake. At first, we had great time enjoying views at the beach and riding on the well-paved bike routes. After having lunch, we decided to go on the scenic route which we considered the highlights of our travel. But, we didn't expect such a steep hill. Therefore we had to carry our bikes up to the top instead of riding them. The views were fantastic, somewhat relieving pains we had carrying and half-riding our heavy bikes up there.
Afterward, we went to souvenir shops and relaxed at the beach watching people doing scuba diving and parasailing. We all agreed that it was a tiring and effort-taking but it was worth it because it is now a great memory to us all.
