LEMON COVE, CA – We drove 185 miles north yesterday to this area of citrus groves after a week in the Los Angeles area.
One of the highlights of our time in LA was a ferry ride on Wednesday to Catalina Island, which lies about 29 miles southwest from the Port of Long Beach. We spent a full day on the island with our dear sister-in-law Bernadette, who lives in LA with Elizabeth’s brother Mark.
We spent most of the day walking the streets of Avalon, the main port and only incorporated city on the island. It is full of interesting shops and restaurants, surrounded by homes built on the hillsides. Its population is about 4,000, the same as my boyhood home of Sauk Centre, MN.
While there, we walked up to the Zane Gray Hotel for views of the town and harbor. The hotel was originally the home of the successful author who wrote popular westerns at the turn of the last century.
We also took a city bus to the William Wrigley Memorial a couple of miles in the hills above the city. The chewing gum magnate actually owned the island at one time and the Chicago Cubs used it as their base for spring training from 1921 to 1951. Today 88 percent of the island is a conservancy trust protecting the fauna and flora covering its 76 square miles.
On Thursday Elizabeth and I walked for an hour on Zuma Beach in Malibu as the sun was setting.
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