we went to the avalon side of catalina, the family plus a relative by blood. mama included this person out of loyalty to her own mother, our dear grandma, may she rest in peace. this person, who did 14 years for disgusting predations, recently had been uninvited from a few other family trips... mama felt bad. she invited him. i was shocked but had to realize mama is most important, so i shut up about it. except here.
mama is eternally loyal & dutiful to family -- she & dad are the loving, forgiving, reliable backbone of our family, as james's sister is theirs. mama is far better a person than i ever will be. i try to forgive this individual, but it is tough because i remember what he did & now he carries on like nothing happened, plus he "humble brags" incessantly about himself & his supposed accomplishments (he doesn't mention his crimes, obviously, but talks about prison as if he had been away on holiday or at university all that time). don't know if he was oblivious or trying to provoke us, but i felt myself wanting to punch him. yeah, our lovely, kind, do-gooding family was there, plus this annoying ass who would not shut up about how wonderful he is -- when someone who did what he did in all decency should keep his trap shut for the rest of his days.
as we boarded the ship to go back home, he continued to impart vast knowledge, this time about avalon fish, and it almost was the last straw for him when james between gritted teeth finally suggested that a certain know-it-all might get his ass tossed in the ocean if he didn't shut up; dad calmly stepped between, the retired jr high teacher in him instinctively doing so.
anyways, on the trip i got to have some, though not enough, moments with my parents; with sister, niece, & bro-in-law; & with james. the shangri-la of avalon is memorably gorgeous, a picturesque cove of turquoise ocean beneath wide blue sky, its beautiful signature tiles visible everywhere. the shops are nothing interesting to me, nor is sun-baking, nor is drinking, but still we had some fun experiences. james, my niece & i went kayaking away from the madding crowd in deep, vast, luscious waters; maddy & i shared a kayak, & my niece up front was so confident, my fears were allayed. james rented a single & would come blasting by us, circling us, making sure we were safe, arms popping with muscle, singing shanties, grinning like a monty python nut.
another cool experience was jogging up to the catalina chimes, then around the back side of avalon up & down sweeping hills, viewing great expanses of grass-filled peoplelessness winding into areas of pretty houses, returning finally to the village. when sis, niece, mom, dad & i went on a city bus tour next day, it turns out i had done the first half of the bus tour backward, so i was happy to tell mom & dad & see their pride that i had tackled such steep terrain. that run definitely is stored away in my memory files; at this moment i still have images & feel the peaceful excitement of coming around that next curve & discovering a new site & experience.
anyways, here are some pictures. as for the overall trip, i am grateful to have gone, but as for the company, to quote uncle henry (r.i.p.), sometimes peanuts, sometimes shells.
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| james took this one for his sister, who loves succulents |
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| my friend dan m sells giant versions of this tiny wall garden |
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| no makeup on either of us |
first part of the hill - approaching the catalina chimes
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| dad, mama, & maddy walking the flats |
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