(Photos can be viewed here and here)
It may have seemed fickle to want to go to Los Angeles for my birthday instead of Avalon, but let me clarify: we were going to Avalon whether or not we went to L.A, so I decided one more stop before we got there wouldn’t be too bad. It paid off. Not only did I get to spend the entire day in Universal Studios, but I also had the emotional and really incredible moment of putting my hands in the hand prints of Gladys Smith. Or as she’s much better known as: Mary Pickford. Of course, most kids of my generation are probably not familiar as to who she was so I’ll briefly tell you. Mary Pickford, or as she was born Gladys Smith, was the very, very first Hollywood film star. I’m talking before 1914 kind of first. She lived past and into her eighties, dying in her Hollywood mansion called Pickfair, after her second husband Douglas Fairbanks.
In Universal Studios, we went on almost every ride, and the highlight was definitely going to the Village of Hogsmead and letting a wand choose me in Ollivanders. So many muggles!
But our visit also had practical things, such as going to the Mexican Consulate which was tediously dull. Although I didn’t always want to show it, I was getting excited to be going into Mexico in less than three weeks. After a watch of The Breakfast Club, we were ready for our next destination.
Avalon
After the crazy time of mooring in Avalon, we put green tablets into our tanks so everyone knows whose tank was dumped or leaking. How? Because all of the “stuff” in your holding tanks becomes bright green. Low key yuck.
Catalina Island was indubitably one of the most glamorous places I’ve ever been to. With an itty-bitty airport, mini golf, and golf carts everywhere, it was so adorable I almost couldn’t handle it! Eventually, we got on a bus which took us for a scenic tour up to the little airport. Not even the bison we saw can compare to the jokes from Freddy the Bus Driver. They weren’t even that funny, but every time he told one, he’d crack himself up – into near hysteria. It made us all start crying with laughter, because he was really truly laughing himself to the point of re appreciating sense of humor.
“What does the mommy bison say to her son when he goes off to camp?”
Anxious waiting.
“BISON!!!!!!!” He wheezed, crying and howling with laughter.
After some nagging, I finally convinced my parents to rent a golf cart to terrorize – oops, I mean explore – the town of Avalon. It was really easygoing, and we saw some incredible views. We even encountered a really friendly deer fawn in the local pet cemetery. (Ironic because I was reading the book at the time!) She was still very young, but she timidly came up to us and quizzically stared in wonder until her mother beckoned her and she went scampering off.
It dawned on me that night: that this would be the second-to-last place in the United States before we’d cross into Mexico. Even just being in Catalina made Seattle seem light years away. I’d even had my first out-of-state birthday! On the 14th of October, we hopped on to San Diego, the resting place of our American travels.
San Diego
Since San Diego was our last States stopping point before we were in Mexico, we naturally spent most of the time repairing, replenishing and refreshing Aggie and our food. But to me, it meant much more: my best friend of 7 years, Willow, was flying down for the weekend of the 20th! After so much waiting and anticipation, she would arrive in a week.
But first, getting Agatha’s solar put in and our transom arch put on. This should have taken three to four days, but it ended up being weeks. Honestly! In the end, we had the wrong arch, a slightly smaller one, put on and made do. So far, its been pretty good!
I also had my much awaited Halloween costume arriving, since it was October and the Baja Haha hosted a costume party. My costume was the English/Japanese crime-fighting, alien-fighting teenager Minako Aino from the book series Codename: Sailor V. She’s been my favorite fictional character for around 3 years. Obviously, no one knew who I was – I expected this, it happened the last year too – and I was called a Mariner multiple times, each of which I corrected with a curt “Mina Aino, actually.”
Willow arrived on Friday the 19th and us three girls stayed in a hotel for a couple of nights, a brief walk from the boat yard that Aggie was at. We’d wake up early, do our makeup and hair, and then hit the city of San Diego! They didn’t have a clue what was coming. The first day we went to Old Town and looked at the the historic buildings and went to the Whaley House, the allegedly haunted mid 19th century house.
The next day we went to the zoo and we spent as much time as we could looking at the lions and tigers and bears oh my! I find zoos difficult, especially when you see a polar bear trying to swim and stay cool in San Diego heat. San Diego Zoo was very well done, but I still get annoyed to see the blatantly confused animals trying to readapt to entirely new climates. We ate lots of sugar, naturally, which fueled our frenzied excursions to see everything! Yippee! It was sad seeing my bestie leave, but we text whenever we can, and I’m always nagging her to fly out and visit us wherever we are currently.