![]() To appreciate the heritage - and wackiness - pop into the Catalina Island Museum. Teetering on a steep incline is the red-roofed Queen Anne-style Holly Hill House, built in 1890 with the help of Mercury, a lumber-hauling circus horse. ![]() Neighborhoods are awash with whimsical abodes like a two-story dwelling concocted from boats and a bubblegum-pink cottage bedecked in bird-feeders crafted from old license plates. Then, amble through streets for local flavor - with vehicles restricted on the island, most of Avalon’s 3,700 residents putter around in golf carts, often with dogs comically sitting shotgun. Speaking of (distilled) spirits, you can start exploring 1-square-mile Avalon by slurping a Catalina-invented Buffalo Milk Cocktail at any bar. I’m just glad I didn’t see the “West Side Story” actress at the foot of my bed. Lili didn’t know this, but Natalie Wood slept at the Pavilion two nights before she fell (or some speculate was pushed) off the Splendour after a volatile, alcohol-fueled evening with husband Robert Wagner and co-star Christopher Walken. Better yet, during the Pavilion’s complimentary wine-and-cheese hour and free European breakfast, guests have the primo people-watching spot. ![]() All I know is that during a recent two-night stay, my husband and I were possessed by this heavenly historical hideaway - on a mud-splattering Jeep Eco Tour to the remote interior we eyeballed bison descended from a herd brought over for the 1924 movie “The Vanishing American,” and at the seashore, we marveled at a 22-karat-gold-flocked cinematic gem - the world’s first movie theater built for “talkie” pictures in 1929.Īfter a five-minute stroll from the ferry dock, we checked into the classy-cool Pavilion Hotel “just 14 steps from the beach” and perfectly located along Avalon’s cobblestone pathway across from the kitschy Green Pleasure Pier. ![]() Paranormal pursuer Lili, who sidelines as a Steve’s Steakhouse hostess, explained Catalina “is a vortex level 6,” and the magnetic energy instantly relaxes visitors. Dung-flinging is also a sport - there’s an annual Buffalo Chip Toss. On Avalon’s picturesque waterfront promenade, a nostalgic machine presses souvenir pennies (51 cents each), diners are urged to toss peanut shells on the floor of Antonio’s Pizzeria where the sign outside laments, “Sorry We’re Open,” and captivated crowds watch a candymaker stretch salt water taffy in the window of Lloyd’s confections for the 80th straight year (pre-famous onetime Catalina resident Norma Jeane supposedly worked there). Where else can you find roaming buffalo, submarine rides, Marilyn Monroe lore, and a ghost named Jerry who hurls produce at shoppers in the tiny Vons market?Īnd what a throwback. Now you see why I adore the magical isle of Catalina: It is enchantingly quirky. “He’s entombed right there on the second level.” Which, obviously, explains why his specter trolls the men’s restroom. But who knew it was so haunted? As we stood outside the circular Big Band-legendary Catalina Casino, Lili noted that an unlucky laborer fell from above into cement being poured for the 1929 Art Deco masterpiece. “People see her walking up and down the beach at Two Harbors.” That’s where 32 years ago the sultry screen idol was found under fishy circumstances floating facedown.Ĭatalina is hauntingly beautiful - with Crayola-colored homes hugging hillsides and yachts bobbing in the bay, it resembles the Italian Riviera. “Natalie’s spirit is trapped here forever because she died in water,” intoned Lili, our Ghost Tours of Catalina guide. Shivering in the night and wearing neon glow-in-the-dark necklaces, we three ghost-hunters tramped through Catalina in search of a boozing apparition who perched on a bar stool, a nightgown-clad girl who perished in a 1915 fire, and Oscar winner Natalie Wood.
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