Catalina: Day 3 – Little Harbor to Two Harbors

We awaken slowly this morning and feel a sadness that our time has to come to an end.  I tried before our trip to book a room in Avalon for the night, but everything was booked up.  Gannon tries my last food experiment with a homemade oatmeal recipe.  It is another heat, soak, and eat recipe.  He thinks it tastes great.  I have no appetite for it.  I have always tried to like oatmeal, but have never been a fan.  Guess even here, I cannot change that.  It will go into my recipes for him in the future.  I end up eating some peanut butter crackers and Swedish Fish.  My constant go to.  I think I need to get a sponsorship from them (Swedish Fish), because I love them soo much when I’m hiking!

Gannon has made a sun shade out of his hiking cot to help us.  We go between that and exploring the beach around us.  There are a lot more people here today.  It is a Saturday and there is a small cruise ship offshore.  It is bringing people over to Little Harbor by small boats to spend some time playing in the water.  They have jet ski’s, paddle boards, and kayaks.  I am thankful we are in the smaller harbor instead.  No one is coming over here.  There are a few locals up above us that we see when we walk up to use the restrooms, but otherwise it is just us and Ben.

Regretfully, we pack up our campsite and wait to hike over to Little Harbor.  I see Ben get his snorkel mask and swim out pretty far. I want to wish him well, but it seems he won’t be back before we leave.  I sure hope he makes it back just fine and finishes his hike successfully. Happy Trails Ben!

As we get back into Two Harbors, it is bustling with activity.  There are now hundreds of people here.  Music playing and the restaurants are full.  Wow!  A night and day difference from Thursday morning.  It is 1:00pm and our ferry leaves at 2:00pm.  We have a little time to kill, so we hang out and people watch.

I am disappointed that Gannon never got to experience being near a herd of buffalo or see a island fox.  Those are some great memories I have of last time.  But what he did experience a lot of was me saying over and over, “When Mary and I….., When Mary and I….”  Haha!  He was a very good sport about it and was genuinely proud of what Mary and I accomplished in hiking here last year.

I make sure we are first in line for the ferry and we get a good spot on the top. The boat heads to Avalon and gets more passengers, then we start our ride back to San Pedro.  Halfway in between, we encounter a huge pod of dolphins!  How magical to see them swimming, jumping, and diving alongside our boat.  That is the way people are meant to see and experience them.  In their natural habitat.  What a special way to end our trip!

On the horizon for our next trip, we will be “Urban Hiking” in Washington DC for our 30 year anniversary.  I am busily planning and we are excited to share it with you when we return!