Catalina and Parasailing!

I have an amazing life. Seriously. God is good and faithful. He is overflowing blessings down on me right now and the glory his all His and I am soooooo thankful.

Going to Catalina has been something I have wanted to do since I moved here. I always gauge the air quality on how well I can see Catalina from the shoreline. On runs, chillin at the beach, or even just driving home from work, I can't help but to see it out in the distance of the horizon and I have wondered so long what it is like out there. Only 28 miles away from shore, its our closest neighboring island, and known for its natural habitat that closely resembles what Southern California might have looked like before it was overrun with millions of people.

On our second date to Dukes on Huntington Pier (Post: Hey Hey good lookin), Sean and I talked about going out there together. He had bought a couple groupon deals that included the boat ride out there and parasailing on the island long before he even met me. Timing of course was beautifully planned and he was more than happy to be able to take me out there and go together.

We woke up early and hit the first 8:00am boat out.

 We're on a boat motha-what? That song is hilarious and couldn't help but to quote it as we pulled out into sea

 Best seat on the boat!

 Arriving, still on the boat

 My first view of Avalon Bay from the boat

 I was amazed by the water clarity and the beautiful orange fishes. 

 Stopping for a quick shot

The town of Avalon is a cute beachy touristy spot. It was a gorgeous day! Look at these blue skies. I didn't even have the polarizer on my Nikon that day and I was bummed thinking it wouldn't capture it well, but it did! The sunshine was warm and the breeze was cool. There was occasional clouds but it was the perfect temperature. I wore my jacket for a bit when we got off the boat but soon put it in the backpack because I was hot. We couldn't have asked for a better day.

My favorite shot if us.

 Yup, that's my boyfriend. "It looks like I'm pooping out my head!" haha

 He's probably checking his FB haha

 Portraits on our walk over to the casino to explore.

Even our shadows are cute together.

We walked around over by the casino and continued on a path to Descanso Beach. It is a private beach located north of Avalon and it was by far my favorite place on the island. Look at how beautiful and tropical it looks.

Love!

Relaxed. Chillin on the beach in the sunshine in November. Happy girl.

Instragram version of my favorite shot.

Okay, this is a ridiculous video because I am all over the place while filming it and almost choke to death in the beginning but I was trying to get the couples conversation on the chairs in front of us. We were having way too much fun laughing at them. I guess Sean heard the girl say something about her nipples still hurting and I heard something about hitting someone up on their beeper (like pager). Had us LOL. I love the, "I didn't tag you though. Can I post tag you? I don't know how to do this. I'm retarted." Drinking on an empty stomach at like 10am...awesome.

I love him!

They have really done a great job on the landscape of the island. They have planted a bunch of indigenous plants to keep it preserved and as close to the natural vegetation they could. Sean has been to the Botanical Gardens nearby but we didn't have enough time to make the 1.1 mile trek up there. We got to see a lot of in our little walk though. They have some zip lining near Descanso Beach that they just finished expanding. I think you'd get to see more of the vegetation from there. Or just a simple hike around the milion trails they offer.

Sean and I have the exact same taste...especially in beer. Lunch time at El Galleon. I had the Crab Sandwich and I can't remember what Sean got.

After lunch it was time to go parasailing. Probably not a good idea to do it on a full stomach but after the buffalo milk, we needed to eat. haha. We went out on a speed boat with about 12 other people. The crew of two quickly gave us the rundown and we were off. This was my first time parasailing and so I had no idea what to expect.

Getting geared up I was seriously starting to get nervous. I was trying to say a calm prayer and take pictures but I was kinda trippin. I'm not afraid of heights but I am a liiiiiitle afraid of the ocean....okay a lot afraid of the ocean and although you don't have to get into the water at all, being suspended flying hundreds of feet above it was enough to make my legs tremble.

Getting ready to let the slack out of the rope. I'm already grabbing on for dear life.

Lift off. We have a lift off!

This is definitely a face of fear and screaming. I actually probably have my eyes closed but my sunglasses hid it.

I didn't even want to let my legs hang down at first so my knees are all bent in haha.

Okay, now I'm starting to enjoy it.

Sean was digging it.

This was my favorite part. They stop/slow down the boat and let the parachute slowly sink closer to the water. You'd think I'd be terrified but I loved it. The intense wind slowed, it was peaceful. The sun came beaming out behind a cloud and strong golden rays bounced along the ocean and it glittered like a million diamonds. My fear escaped me and I felt so close to God as I was suspended above the earth and close to the water. My trust was in Him, not the rope, not the crew, not the harness, but that He wasn't going to let anything happen. I took a deep breath in my lungs (my first of the whole experience) and savored in the beauty. That 3 minute break made the whole experience worth while.

Now he's just showing off haha

Hold my hand

The one time I actually looked down.

Then we were off and moving again and I got petrified again.

Coming in for landing.

What our view was like up there.

All in all it was a great experience. I'm not sure I'll do it again. I was really, really, scared. Like shaking and trying not to hyperventilate scared. I've jumped out of a plane and being over that water felt scarier to me. As you can see from the pictures though I definitely enjoyed myself and enjoyed sharing it with Sean.

When we got back on the boat, we made our way back to our previous seats. Our friends we made on the ride over were there again too and we shared stories about our day and our experiences. I love being somewhere new and meeting new people.

Bye Bye Catalina. Thank you for the great day...I'll definitely be back!! 

We stopped off on our way home to get firewood and clam chowder soup and bread bowls. We even took a dip in the jacuzzi before lighting the fireplace to really warm up. I hate to admit this, but this was my first fire in my home and I've been there for over a year. :-| Super weak. It just always seemed like a lot of work and trouble for me and two little dogs. Let me tell you, they were LOVIN it!! I turned their bed to face it and you woulda thought they died and went to heaven. They snuggled up to each other, it was so cute.

We watched all the pictures from the day on a slideshow and reminisced about our fun time. I am sooooo glad my first time going out there was with Sean. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. I got plans to go back to that island, let me tell you, big plans. Its going to be amazing and I look forward with excitement to going back.
Ahhh....Catalina dreaming.
Love.