Carnival Imagination – 7/29/18 Through 8/2/18 – Day 2 Catalina Island

We had set an alarm for 8AM. This would allow me time to partially wake up, dress and be ready for the room service server when they arrived between 8:00 and 8:30 with our coffee. I like to be dressed prior to their arrival so I don’t waste their time standing in the hallway, while I stumble across the room in some frantic scavenger hunt for appropriate clothing to open the door. Without context, this could be mistaken for some sort of an attempt at interpretive dance on my part.

At 7:45, I heard the knocking on the cabin door and proceeded to scramble around the room in various stages of dress in order to answer the door. It really must be a sight to see, if it’s anything like how I feel. I probably managed to mumble a few coherent words to the server, but I’m entirely unsure about this. Oh well, nothing a good cup of coffee can’t fix.

After enjoying our coffee, we showered and headed back to the Pride Dining Room to enjoy a leisurely breakfast. I ordered the Port Day Express (eggs, bacon, sausage and hashbrowns) while Shani ordered the Broken Egg Sandwich. My breakfast was prepared well and was on par with you standard breakfast joint’s fare. Shani really enjoyed the Broken Egg Sandwich. After eating, we returned to the room briefly to freshen up prior to making our way to the tender to the pier in Avalon.

We booked our excursion through Carnival and received our excursion tickets in our cabin the night before. The tickets instructed us to head directly to Deck 3 for our priority tender, instead of the normal Deck 4 for standard tendering passengers. This was a definite benefit as there was still a considerable tender line at 10:45 AM. We boarded the tender, and took the quick trip into the pier. We didn’t need to check in for our tour until 11:30, so we had about 20 minutes to walk around town and soak up the atmosphere prior to the excursion.

Avalon is a quaint little seaside community and it definitely has an artisan tint (though not necessarily on the surface…more to come). The harbor was full of boats this time of year, from small sail boats to a couple of large, luxury yachts. There is a man made beach right along Crescent (or Front) Street, the main street through town. This tiny sliver of shipped in sand was full of families enjoying the Mediterranean type weather. We were both impressed with how charming Avalon was.

We made our way back to the excursion check in and waited for our other tour members to arrive. We chose the Catalina Food Tour, offered through the ship. We would spend three hours eating our way through 6 different establishments. We learned that there would be only two others joining us for the tour and informed this was really good as we could take a more relaxed approach to the tour. The other two passengers were a mother and teenage son from the Bay area. They were very nice and we were soon led into town to meet out guide, Lili.

It was apparent very quickly that Lili took her job very seriously. She informed us that between eats, she would tell us about Catalina’s rich history. It was clear she was proud of her community and was well studied on the history of the island. As a history buff, I could definitely appreciate this.

Our first stop of the day was at Steve’s Steakhouse, a quaint venue upstairs from another eatery (which would be our last stop of the day). Upon ascending the stairs, we were met by none other that Steve himself. Lili gave us the story of Steve’s family on the island and outlined his philanthropic work as a leader in his community. We were quickly sat at a table and informed of what we would be sampling: Curry Tomato Soup, Fried Shrimp on a Bed of Spicy Thai Sauce, and a Polynesian Marinated Prime Skirt Steak.

It was all simply delicious. The soup had just enough curry to give it a noticeable bite, without overpowering the creamy tomato flavor. The shrimp was a generous butterflied portion, fried to perfection and the skirt steak had been marinating in the sweet Polynesian sauce for 24 hours. We were off to a great start.

Avalon Harbor

My Harbor Master

Steve’s Steakhouse – Curry Tomato Soup, Fried Shrimp on a Spicy Thai Sauce, and Polynesian Marinated Skirt Steak

Our next stop was Lloyd’s of Avalon, a tour brochure ready candy shop just down Crescent Street from Steve’s. Seriously, imagine a seaside candy store with freshly pulled taffy and Lloyd’s is what will come to mind. Lili let us know that we would be trying some freshly pulled taffy, pulled right in front of us, as well as an apple pie flavor candied apple. Sure enough, one of Lloyd’s staff members pulled a fresh glob of taffy right in front of our eyes…one by one. This batch was peppermint and was still warm. It was decadently delicious. We were then given two large slices of the candied apple and we walked to a shady spot on the waterfront to enjoy the treat.

We were each given a bottle of water as well, which was a much needed refreshment as it was beginning to get a little bit warm. The apple was also very good and tasted very similar to a slice of apple pie. Of interest, a young, married brunette taffy puller from Lloyd’s named Norma Jean Dougherty was noticed by a Southern California photographer in 1944. Shortly after, Marilyn Monroe would take the nation by storm.

Our next stop was the Catalina Island Coffee & Cookie Company. We were each given a sample of their dark chocolate pistachio cluster, as well as a sugar free cinnamon iced tea. The chocolate, while a small sample, was as excellent. A perfect combination of sweet, bitter and salty in each bite. The tea, while being sugar free, was a great balance of sweet and spicy, tasting similar to a red hots candy. I would assume the tea was sweetened with stevia, as it certainly had a sweet flavor, but wasn’t overpowering at all. I don’t usually enjoy such beverages, but I really enjoyed this. Another winner!

Our next stop was Coyote Joe’s, a Mexican restaurant set back slightly on a side street from Crescent Street. I’ve lived in Arizona my entire life and have eaten more tacos than I could ever count. We have some of the best Sonoran Mexican food in the world, outside of Sonora, Mexico. I like tacos. I eat a lot of tacos. I’ve never had a potato taco until stepping into Coyote Joe’s. I admit, I was skeptical at first. However, after the first bite into this crunchy/creamy deliciousness, I was hooked. This will be replicated in our home! The creamy mashed potatoes inside the crunchy, fried corn tortilla is absolutely genius! We also were given our first alcoholic beverage of the tour, a John Daly (tea, lemonade and vodka). Those who did not drink were given the non-alcoholic version, an Arnold Palmer. I’ve never had a John Daly before, but it was also delicious while still refreshing. In other words, it was dangerous! We’re 4 for 4 so far!

Distracted by Taffy

Lloyd’s of Avalon

Crescent (Front) Street

Fountain on Crescent Street with Original Catalina Tiles

Four eateries down, two to go. Our next stop was for some seafood at Bluewater Avalon, oceanfront on Crescent Street. The atmosphere was just as you would expect from a seaside seafood restaurant. Pictures of some of the storied, local big fish catches adorned the walls. Here we were served a clam chowder and a fresh prawn with a cocktail sauce. Shani grew up in an Orthodox Jewish household and therefore never acquired a taste for shellfish. Instead, they served her a beautiful grilled artichoke. The clam chowder was some of the best I’ve ever tried and I’ve spent some significant time in New England, with some great chowders! The prawn was ok, though I’m not a fan of cold shellfish. No shrimp cocktail for me. Shani really enjoyed the artichoke, the first she had ever tried. We were also served 4 oz pour of an Italian Pinot Grigio. Shani and I don’t drink a whole lot of white wine, but this extremely affordable wine had just enough sweetness to make it not obnoxiously sweet like a riesling or other dessert wine.

Our final stop was at the eatery downstairs from Steve’s Steakhouse, Maggie’s Blue Rose. Maggie’s is a tad bit more upscale Mexican food restaurant, different from Coyote Joe’s more casual atmosphere. I knew from a little research on Catalina Island that Maggie was in fact, Steve’s wife. He runs the upstairs, she runs the downstairs. As soon as we entered, we were greeted by non other than Maggie herself! Great first impressions for both Steve’s and Maggie’s. We were soon seated at a table and brought a chicken enchilada covered in a creamy poblano sauce as well as a grilled achiote marinated skirt steak and a sample of a coconut margarita (think pina colada made with tequila). It was excellent! The skirt steak had one of the best beef flavors I’ve ever come across. I made sure to have Lili tell Maggie that her skirt steak (though undoubtedly sourced from the same buyer) kicked her steakhouse husband’s around the block a time or two (they were both great, really). For me, Maggie’s skirt steak was the highlight of the tour.

By the time tour ended, our stomach’s were completely satisfied. We were really happy we chose this excursion and we would unabashedly recommend this tour to others. I truly believe that food is Catalina’s fine art. We visited six establishments, but there were a myriad more that looked equally satisfying. The food we had was interesting yet familiar and prepared very well! I was unsure what to think about Catalina before visiting, but I’m now a believer.

It was now a little after 3PM and the tender line to get back to the Imagination was looking pretty long. For those familiar, the tenders docked at pier 5, closest to town. The line at a little after 3PM was all the way back to the basketball courts, as you enter the main part of town. The last tender was scheduled for 3:45 for a 4:30 sail away. But, the line moved really quickly and at around the half way point, we were in the shade. Back to the boat for our second night of fun!

We returned to our cabin with the intention taking of a little nap before getting ready for the cruise’s only elegant night. This afternoon is when we learned exactly how thin the cabin walls were. The cruisers in the cabin next to ours, on the stern side, returned to their cabin shortly after we did. As we were just drifting off to sleep, we could here their amorous activities begin. We learned far more about our neighbors that afternoon than we ever wanted to know. Just when we thought they were finished, round 2 commenced. The bought lasted 3 rounds, ending in what we assume was the young man succumbing to a TKO. We managed to grab a few minutes of rest none the less.

We got ready for dinner and headed to the Pride Dining Room once again, this time around 6:30. We didn’t dress up for dinner really. Shani wore a flowing floor length dress and looked stunning of course. I went with khakis and a nice, black resort style shirt. Neither of us wanted to bring semi-formal wear on this short trip, though we’ve certainly done so on longer, more formal cruises. There was a little line this evening but we waited no more than 5 minutes to check in with the hostess. We were easily accommodated and sat in Camilo’s section once again.

Neither of us were not quite hungry this evening, but we knew we needed to eat something or we would be miserable later in the night. I ordered the clam chowder as my appetizer and Shani had the pasta fagioli. My chowder, while good, certainly did not stand up to the chowder I sampled at Bluewater earlier in the day. I still ate it all. The fagioli was decent, though Shani was pretty sure it was derived from the prior night’s navy been soup.

We both ordered the prime rib for dinner. The slices were pretty thin, but we were both good with this since neither of us were starving. The flavor was ok but it certainly was not the best prime rib we have had. We finished the meal with another round of the melting chocolate cake. The service from Camilo and Margo was once again the highlight of the evening.

After dinner, we again walked the promenade to see if anywhere was buzzing with activity. We ended at the Xanadu Lounge just after 8PM and decided to find a comfortable seat for the 8:30 comedy show. This show would feature comedian Stanley Ullman’s PG material. We actually sat next to the mother and son from our earlier excursion, so we had a nice conversation meeting the rest of their family.
The show was ok. He relied heavily on participation from several children in the audience. The children were the highlight of the show. I got the idea that Stanley was funnier than what he gave us that evening, but he kind of lost us with some comments about how moms should not work, instead staying at home and raising children. He was not trying to be funny at the time. I thought I would have to restrain my accomplished, working wife who is the best mom a guy could ever wish his wife to be, but she showed exquisite restraint.

After the comedy show, we headed back to the piano bar for another night of sing along fun. The night started off a little slower but by the time we were done, the place was packed and loud! We made it to about 11:30 this night, before heading off to bed. It was another great day all in all. Tomorrow we would be in Mexico and have another great day to talk about.

Next up…Ensenada, Mexico