Catalina, The Island Of Romance

Did You Know? - The Catalina Jet, a high-speed catamaran

has three passenger decks with spacious inside airline-style seating on two decks and open-air outdoor seating on the top deck, upgraded Commodore Lounge seating on the second deck, air-conditioned cabins, cabin attendant service, two snack bars, rest room facilities (one handicapped accessible) and in-cabin flat screen monitors displaying selected programming or the GPS vessel route plotter.

The all aluminum, $9 million, high-speed catamaran joined the Catalina Express fleet under lease in spring 2004 and the vessel was acquired by Catalina Express in 2005. This fast catamaran is a 450-passenger vessel that travels at a speed of 35-knots and makes the crossing to Catalina Island in one hour.

The interior of the Catalina Jet was completely refurbished in 2006. The first deck offers in-cabin seating with airline style seats designed by Beurteaux of Australia and wide ceiling to seat level windows provide lots of light and great viewing.

Did You Know? - "Mardi Gras", "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday.

Mardi gras is French for Fat Tuesday, referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday. The day is sometimes referred to as Shrove Tuesday, from the word shrive, meaning "confess." Related popular practices are associated with celebrations before the fasting and religious obligations associated with the penitential season of Lent.

Did You Know? - Perrier-Jouët is a Champagne producer based in the Épernay region of Champagne. The house was founded in 1811 by Pierre-Nicolas-Marie Perrier-Jouët, and produces both vintage and non-vintage cuvee, approximately 3,000,000 bottles annually, with its prestige label named Belle Epoque. Perrier-Jouët owns 266 acres of vineyards in the Champagne region. Today the house is under the Pernod Ricard umbrella of brands.

One of the three bottles of the world's oldest champagne, a Perrier-Jouët (vintage 1825) was opened and tasted in 2009.

Did You Know? - Kathleen Vojkovich-Bombard C.C.C. - A second-generation native of Santa Catalina Island, Kathleen’s Croatian heritage is the foundation for her lifelong passion for food and wine.  Kathleen has been cooking professionally for more than fifteen years and received the distinction of Certified Chef de Cuisine ® from the American Culinary Federation.   Kathleen completed her coursework at the Culinary Institute of America – Hyde Park, New York and St. Helena, California.  When possible, she travels to find new inspiration in working with other chefs, cultures and cuisines. 

Did You Know? - During World War II, the Catalina was used as a troop ship in San Francisco Bay, transporting more than 820,000 sailors and soldiers – more than any other military transport ship in the war effort.

By: STEVE SPRINGER - TIMES STAFF WRITER

I was just short of my fourth birthday when my father lifted me over the railing so I could look down at the deep blue water and watch all the other boats as we glided into Avalon Bay.

There were generations of us who made that 26-mile voyage from Wilmington to Avalon in the most glorious style from 1924 to 1975 on the SS Catalina, the Great White Steamship, a boat that carried about 25 million passengers over that period. According to the Steamship Historical Society of America, that's more than have been carried by any other vessel anywhere.

One of the most recognizable sights in Southern California for those 51 years, the SS Catalina was more than just a 301-foot ferry. To a boy it was like a journey halfway around the world to some exotic port.

The bottom deck was cut out to make space for its lifeboats, which allowed adventurous kids room to roam and explore and fantasize about cutthroat pirates and man-eating sharks, and supplied romantic adolescents places to pair up and be alone. There was a clown on board to entertain the youngsters among the 2,000 passengers. Those who wanted more adult entertainment found it one deck above in the bar and on the dance floor where top-quality music was supplied by the big bands of that period. Those bands were on their way over to perform at the Casino, the large circular building out on the point at the entrance to Avalon, Catalina Island's only town.

Shortly before noon, as the boat approached the end of its trip, speedboats from the island would slowly circle the ship like an honor guard. The steamship's smokestack would answer the speedboats with a loud blast that would echo off the mountains, startling the roaming herds of buffalo, alerting the small craft in the area, mobilizing the locals on shore and inspiring the young divers on the rocks. As a youngster, I chose to believe I was arriving in the South Seas, a million miles from school and mundane West L.A. For me, my annual summer ticket on the Great White Steamship was better than an E-ticket ride at Disneyland.

Did You Know? - Did you know that before WWII, Long Beach was known as the “Waikiki of Southern California”? We had waves!! There was even a surfing contest here in 1939. So what happened to it since then?

The Long Beach breakwater was built as a part of the deepwater port project. The construction of the San Pedro and Middle Breakwaters started in 1899 and 1932, and completed in 1912 and 1942 respectively. The construction of the Long Beach Breakwater started in 1941, but was halted in 1943 due to WWII. Construction was resumed in 1946, and completed in 1949. The U.S. Navy moved in to the port of Long Beach in 1940 and used the breakwaters for military purposes.

Did You Know? - Dominoes (or dominos) generally refers to the collective gaming pieces making up a domino set (sometimes called a deck or pack) or to the subcategory of tile games played with domino pieces. In the area of mathematical tilings and polyominoes, the word domino often refers to any rectangle formed from joining two congruent squares edge to edge.

The traditional Sino-European domino set consists of 28 dominoes, colloquially nicknamed bones, cards, tiles, tickets, stones, or spinners. Each domino is a rectangular tile with a line dividing its face into two square ends. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also called pips) or is blank. The backs of the dominoes in a set are indistinguishable, either blank or having some common design. A domino set is a generic gaming device, similar to playing cards or dice, in that a variety of games can be played with a set.

The earliest mention of dominoes is from Song Dynasty China, found in the text Former Events in Wulin. Dominoes first appeared in Italy during the 18th century, and although it is unknown how Chinese dominoes developed into the modern game, it is speculated that Italian missionaries in China may have brought the game to Europe.