Day 26 of Governor Newsom’s “Blueprint for a Safer Economy”

These old-fashioned travel posters are in all the hotel rooms….

Tuesday. 9/22/20

9:00-10:00 - I’m up and I go downstairs to take the dog out. No accidents today and she goes potty. Once inside, I give her cheese, then I block the doggie door and give my plants a deep, deep water, while I drink my coffee and listen to the news. The watering has to last until my return on Friday.

10:00-10:30 - I fix a blog entry.

10:30-12:00 - Spa Day. I take a shower, wash my hair, shave my legs, fix my nail polish, etc. Blow dry my hair. Full make-up. Dress in my Covid-19 uniform with my New Balance ‘tres chic’ shoes.

12:00-1:00 - I pack my remaining toiletries and bring my suitcase downstairs, where I eat a Trader Joes snack pack of raisins and nuts and read In Order to Live. Everything is ready and I’m actually on time - I can’t believe it. I take a deep breath and have a prosecco-in-a can, while I sit and do. absolutely. nothing.

1:45 -4:00 - B. picks me up and we leave for ….wait-for-it….wait-for-it… CATALINA!!! I’ve been using this trip as a blog teaser the entire week…

I heard about Catalina as a possible destination spot while listening to one of my many podcasts and casually asked B. about it a couple months ago. I knew nothing about the island, but the name came up from time to time because I actually live in California - I guess I just never looked into it. B., however, had been previously, about 20 years ago. He suggested we go sometime and then left for his trip to Oregon and Washington state - I didn’t think much more about it.

When B. returned from Oregon, he mentioned again that we should go to Catalina. I’m always up for an adventure and going anywhere during Covid 19 sounds great to me - of course I said ok, but didn’t think much more about it.

Then, after our first “camping” trip, B. said he planned the trip, showed me the hotel he booked, and discussed a tentative itinerary, originally planned for three days and two nights! He suggests THREE nights as we look at possible things to do - the hotel is expensive, but B. is paying for the trip, so I offer to split the last night with him. It’s really all I can afford, since I no longer have to worry about gas money as I’m not commuting for my college classes right now [typically between $250 and $300 per month]. He books it and somehow is able to score a $120 food credit.

B. loads my suitcase into the SUV and we drive to Long Beach to catch the ferry. Traffic is fine.

2:45 - At the terminal and B. gets our tickets. The Catalina Express wants everyone to arrive one hour in advance so all the passengers can sit in a closed hangar with NO air ventilation and infect each other. Although masking is required, some people just don’t care. I find chairs as far away from people as possible and B. and I sit and wait. A gross male three rows over, sits facing me, no mask, and COUGHING. His two grandchildren are wearing N95s - I guess he doesn’t care about himself? Disgusting.

It’s time to board and all of us shuffle out of the hangar and form two lines, where we wait in the hot sun for about 30 minutes before actually embarking on the ferry because Line No. 1 gets to go first. It’s unclear why… I’m left wondering who, exactly, is in charge of this protocol/schedule? It is so ill-advised and was probably designed by a man.

B. and I board and our luggage is stashed on the bottom tier. The ferry has three tiers, but the bottom two tiers are ENCLOSED - the windows are NOT open. No.

I lead B. all the way up to the very top of the boat - rooftop - where we are completely exposed to the elements, thank God! Although there are mask requirement signs all over the place, two female coeds refuse to wear their masks - at least we’re in open air. A “sailor” arrives on deck and shows us how to use a life preserver. He stares at the two coeds and tells them masks are required, so they put them on as he’s talking. When he leaves, they take them off again. After the ship sets sail, many of the passengers remove their masks, too. Americans are incapable of following the rules.

4:00-5:00 - The ferry ride is great! and we disembark. I let most of the passengers go in front of me because I don’t want to congregate with them where the luggage is stored. B. doesn’t care and leaves to secure our bags, saying he’ll wait for me. By the time I walk down, most of the people are gone.

5:00-5:30 - The Pavilion is a short walk from the pier and we check in without incident. The hotel is a tropical paradise!!! I feel like I’m back in Hawaii. We have an enclosed porch, with patio furniture, surrounded by tropical plants - the room is beautiful and completely sanitized. They even wrap the towels in compressed plastic! I. love. it. It’s the best hotel I’ve been to since Covid-19 hit and don’t forget, people, I’ve been to The Enchantment Resort this year. The Pavillion takes it, hands down.

6:00 - 10:00 - We’re unable to use our food credit today because the two restaurants where we can redeem it are closed. Hmmm - how convenient. While standing in line for the ferry, I overheard a retired firefighter casually mention two restaurants: The Buffalo Nichol and Coney Island. A staff member calls for our transport to The Buffalo Nichol and B. and I wait at a “round about” for the taxi. There are almost no cars on the island - everyone gets around with golf carts. The “taxi” never comes - I guess we’re on “island time” - so B. and I walk back in the direction of our hotel and decide to order food from a bar called Lulais. I mask while I’m on foot. The “masking required” signage is really impressive. It’s all over the island, at various intervals, and yet, only 80% of pedestrians are masking when outside. I guess people feel that if they’re outside, they don’t have to mask; however, it’s a little crowded out here…

At Lulais, all of the tables are located outside, in the sand, on the beach, and everything overlooks the harbor. It is hard to describe, but the set-up reminds me of Harbors Cove in Ventura, except much better. I love eating outside, on the actual beach. Even before Covid-19, my preference, anywhere, was always patio seating, no matter how hot or how cold.

I order the calimari and B. gets fried shrimp?? I also order a Corona; B gets two Blue Moons. We eat our dinner and watch the sun go down, sitting at our table until around 8:30. Its a miracle, but I was able to stuff my quilted parka into my suitcase and I’m so glad I brought it! Everything is perfect and it’s wonderful to be away from my house, where there is always so much to do, primarily with my college classes. This feels like a true vacation. I pick up the check and we walk ten steps back to our hotel.

The hotel provided a free bottle of champagne in our room, so we crack it and share it.

11:00 - Bed.