Day 1 in Catalina

Although the island is small, there is a surprisingly amount of things to discover. We arrived by boat, walked around a bit, and took a bus tour of the interior of the island. We saw the beautiful tile mosaics of the old casino, a buffalo less than 30 feet away (they were brought for a movie in 1924 and left), tons of eucalyptus trees (they lined the road to keep it from washing it out), and what may be the world's narrowest beach. The one downside of Catalina is that there are not many dining options on the island; thus, even mediocre food is expensive. I recommend Avalon Grill, where we had lunch on day 1. I think it had the best combination of atmosphere and food options. If you are there on a Thursday through Monday, also check out the Catalina Country Club. We didn't make it there, but their menu looked to be the best in the town.