Catalina Island

Nothing better than stepping out of the Texas heat and entering Cool California. Traveling to Catalina Island for a mini-vacay with the family.

I've been wanting to come here for awhile since my mom mentioned her first time there. In usual traveling fashion, we woke up early to get to the island through this giant boat called the Catalina Flyer. It's a very pricey expense to take this boat and they have set scheduled times going there. Think of it as a giant water bus. Go through GROUPON to get half off your boat fare (that's what my mama did). I have been meaning to take more travel photos because I've been blasting portrait posts lately on the blog. I figured readers needed some much visual R&R from my normal posts.

It was a lot chillier than I had hoped for when I got on the boat. Being from the south, I always seem to assume cali weather is cool all the time. -____- So naturally, I dressed more for that mindset than for the actual temperature. My mom scolded me a lot for wearing my shorts. And my sister, who like me, dressed the same. I love her bright pastel colors she wears. Usually I see her pulling off a bright yellow color but these blues are absolutely fitting for this outing.

When we got on the boat, there was such a wonderful view of the water. It's the view seconds before the boat leaves the harbor and enters the great wide span of the sea. I was pretty jealous of those surfers out there....

So this photo below was the last thing I took before I completely shut down, fell asleep, and took on a heavy case of motion sickness. It was pretty awful because not only me but my family had to endure a 40-50 minute ride of excruciating nausea and headache. Dramamine, my friends, don't go on a boat or plane without it. (We didn't take any until the boat ride home)

Upon entering the island, I had bested my parents in successfully not vomiting on the boat ride. However, minutes into the island and after seconds of browsing a single souvenir shop, I too had to puke. It was horrible - absolutely the most awful and yet relieving thing to do when you're filled with nausea. My sister happened to catch this lovely image below of me chugging water to rid the taste of of an Atkins coconut chocolate bar that I had chomped away while on the boat.

After brunch, there is a good amount of things to do on the island. There are several water related things such as submarine stuff, fishing, and other aquatic things that (at the time) sounded dreadful after my little episode. We opted for the scenic route where you can rent a golf cart for $40/hr to drive around the island on a designated tour that takes you up, down,, and all around the area.

My first time to drive a golf cart. Slow little thing but it's a lot of fun. Look at my sister and I sporting prepping chic sweaters =)

The view and slightly colder weather was amazing and just the cure we needed to recover. My mom looks stunning in this photo. She's so beautiful - love her.

I just loved all the blue hues on the island and the simply shapes too! It just adds to the vitality of this island.

See that little thing in the middle? Its the zipline area. The golf cart tour allows you to pass by and watch locals and other travelers take part in that experience.

Good ol' Dad - just chilling. It's so odd how this particular tree among a few others that it was a popular space to carve initials. My mom and my sister got in on that action too.

If you're not swimming, fishing, lounging, or driving a golf cart, there are actual bikes that you can rent too. My parents said they tried this the first time they were here and its not so fun going up the mountain with a tandem lol!

One of my favorite photos of me - kudos to my mom (who also took this photo and told me to bring pants) Always listen to your mother. I had asked her if she remembered how to french braid my hair. She said she did. It was very nostalgic for me to have her do my hair. It's been almost 13 years since she's done that! It's actually funny because when she was done and she took a step back, she realized that she messed up. Hah! I thought it looked great to me! (Throw back image of my sister, Mom, and me - you can't see my hair there but I'm sporting the same hairdo)

My dad had this pose ready for the camera! But he still needs to work on his jumping poses lol!

At 4 pm, the boats returned and alas the time to go home came. This time, we had Dramamine to help us be vomit free. It was such a beautiful place to go and I next time I'll do more! Must add more beaches to my list of spots to travel to!