Skate touring, a new way to see the sights. Folmer in a casual tuck
CATALINA
HOTEL
Chuck Walstead samples the local island hotspot
"Proof of tourist"
patch from Catalina.
The main entrance to
the Casino made for some
unreal grinds. In time we were
BLAND
told to vacate the premises, in fact
three to four times, but who is counting?
Later that night we ate at a respectable restaurant
and hung around checking the betties walking up and
down the boardwalk. We turned in early, for the next
day we wanted to get up at dawn and go back and
check our routes to be sure we hadn't missed some-
thing.
The next morning looked as though someone was
trying to tell us something. The sky was clearing and
the sun was on its way to making a long awaited
appearance, girls were already on the beach, and our
boat batteries were dead. Our dinghy was already
stowed so we hailed a shore boat to take us to the
island. These shore boats are common around the
harbor, they are expensive, but what the heck. On the
shore boat we met four gentlemen disguised as a
camera crew for "That's Incredible-what a joke. We
had a quick breakfast at Lanis and then split to the
Casino for some more sessioning, by this time the
beach was heavily populated with betties which gave
us second thoughts about our skating intentions. We
went on. After a few rolls of Kodak we were ready to
head back to the "Mad Mony" and the mainland. As
we departed, we viewed the island from the boat and
recounted the last few days-it had definitely been
fun.
My advice to anyone who plans to visit Catalina
Island is to pack the skate gear and don't forget the
cameras-the sights are totally happening.
Our tour guide, Chuck Walstead, found a skate to be the only way to check out the
sights on Catalina. Popping off a curb in front of the historic Hotel Catalina.