Franklin Avenue

Five Reasons to Get Your Ass to Catalina (and a Few Reasons Not To)
After crowning the Mike's Birthday Race champs, Maria and I headed off to Avalon, on Santa Catalina Island, for a night. The island has been on our list of places to explore for years, and seemed like the perfect place to go away, but not too far away. And it truly was.

If anything, it's worth going just to satisfy your curiosity. I've heard random mentions of Catalina for years, such as how everyone drives around in golf carts, or how the Chicago Cubs used to spring train there when the team was owned by the Wrigley family, but I've never gotten a firm grasp on what the island looks like, or how it feels.

Hence the one-hour boat ride from San Pedro to Avalon. Not a bad ride at all -- Maria took her Dramamine, so she was all right, and I managed to get through only two sections of the Monday paper. We arrived and checked in at the Pavilion Lodge, which sports a boutique hotel-style look and feel after a multimillion dollar renovation. The hotel is right next to the waterfront. Actually, given how small the town is, everything is next to the waterfront.

Five reasons why heading to Avalon, even for the day, is worth your while:

1. The Casino Ballroom
You've seen this 12-story building for years, in photos or in live shots behind Johnny Mountain, Fritz Coleman or Dallas Raines as they read the forecast. The building is truly as amazing as it looks. Take the tour to check out the inside of the Avalon Theater (located below the ballroom), which looks more grand than any of the worn downtown Broadway theaters -- but unlike those theaters, this one still shows a movie every night. The upstairs ballroom offers up amazing views, and transports you back to the Big Band era.

2. The novelty of it all
There's just something odd about this town. Everything's so small. Souped-up golf carts line the streets. Fast food hasn't made a dent here. You can walk around the entire town in about two hours, including those steep hills. And the cliche is true here -- crime is at a minimum (after all, everyone knows each other). We spotted several cars and golf carts with the keys left inside.

3. It's not too touristy
No cheesy attractions. Trinket shops are hidden among the real book stores, clothing stores, restaurants and arcades the town's population frequent. The pace here is too-laid back to give visitors a hard sell, so no one does. I'm sure you could find some goofy, touristy things here, but they won't find you.

4. Wrigley Botanical Garden and Memorial
If the Casino Ballroom is the island's most well-known jewel, this is its other major destination. Named after the family that still operates a good chunk of the island, and honoring the memory of William Wrigley Jr. (who helped develop Catalina), this is truly a mellow, solemn place. Climb to the top of the memorial for amazing views of Avalon Bay.

5. The island remains mostly untouched
Somehow, development doesn't reign here. A proposal to build condos, businesses and homes in Two Harbors has languished since the 1970s; that part of the island is still populated by just a few buildings and homes.

On the flip side.... Restaurants here are fine, but reside on the side of medicore. And don't plan on swimming here -- at least in Avalon, where you're sharing the water with boats in the harbor. Plenty of people hop in the water, but it looked a little too murky for me.