Hello friends! For those of you who have been following along on Insta, blogging was light(er than usual) because Mr. Hungry and I were gone for a wedding on Catalina Island (off the coast of California.)
We flew into Long Beach and then took a ferry to the Avalon, the central city on Catalina. We both got motion sick, so we took Dramamine, jammed out to music, and tried to do all the right things like not look down at anything, etc. It worked!
The night we got there, the couple hosted a welcome dinner which I don’t have pictures of, but it was at JJ’s Mexican Cantina, and the food was bomb digity. I will say we thought the margs were REALLY strong, but looking back, I think it’s because we drank 5-6 hours after taking that all-day Dramamine. Haha whoops!
The following day we went hiking with the couple getting married and some other guests. The trail started at the botanical gardens with the most amazing tropical-looking succulents! Like straight out of Dr. Suess.
I didn’t expect the island to be as desert as it was, but I guess I didn’t think too much about what to expect. It’s very much a more lush extension of Southern California.
The mausoleum at the top of the hill after the gardens was amazing to see and made a great photo spot!
The hike was pretty steep, and we only made about 1/3 of the trail! I’m not going to lie. My hips were sore for like three days after we did that hike! Wearing heels at the actual wedding event was intense! haha
After the hike, we had some downtime before the wedding, so we hit up Lobster Trap, which Mr. Hungry had been talking about nonstop for a week. He LOVES lobster, and I’m happy to say it did not disappoint. He said best lobster roll he’s ever had, including the ones he’s had on the east coast!
We also got bacon-wrapped shrimp to share for an appetizer.
And we shared crab cakes, and I had tacos. Although I did not finish the tacos, I mostly ate the inside because it was a lot of food. I got one swordfish and one sea bass taco, which were delicious!
Highly recommend Lobster Trap if you make your way to Catalina! After napping for a little bit, we went to the wedding at a private resort with a gorgeous green lawn overlooking the harbor.
Me refilling Mr. Hungry’s champagne class when he said he felt weird holding an empty glass.
Tash and Sophie Green Cocktail Dress | Vince Camuto VC Kalintie Shoes
They even had a deer visit on the lawn during the ceremony, and the harbor at sunset was beautiful.
I’m going to skip over the pictures at the wedding because the couple who got married isn’t super active on social, so without their permission, I don’t want to be disrespectful. But, I will say, I loved how they treated it like a destination wedding. They involved everyone that attended in almost everything they planned. We really appreciated that and had a wonderful time!
The following day, I was pretty proud of us. Despite the amount of alcohol consumed, we were up and out around 9 AM in search of breakfast. We got lucky with a spot at the bar at the Pancake Cottage.
I got an epic breakfast sandwich.
Mr. Hungry got pancakes, biscuits and gravy, and a few sides. He also kept the party going, and we shared a Painkiller drink which was tropical bliss.
We spent the day walking along the beach, and after attempting several excursions only to find they were booked, we ended up paddleboarding, which was SO FUN. We left our phones at the hotel without pictures, but it was awesome! PS We were warned that spots on the excursions fill up fast, but since we were unsure if we were bringing the kids, we never ended up booking them. More on that below.
For dinner that night, we went to Steves on recommendation from someone local at our table at the wedding. We waited for a spot overlooking the harbor, which was so worth it!
We got some coconut shrimp for an appetizer.
Then for my meal, I got the seafood skewer with shrimp, sea bass, and swordfish. It was freaking delicious, but I was SO full between that and the bread!
The next day we did a lot of walking around and enjoying the water before heading back! Our flight was about an hour delayed, but other than that, everything went smoothly! (PS We flew in and out of Long Beach, which might be the smallest airport I’ve ever been too!)
I would definitely go back to Catalina, especially when the boys are older, because if you plan ahead, there are a lot of things to do. I really want to do the two-hour eco zipline tour someday! As far as traveling with little kids, some of the wedding attendees did bring their little kids, so it is doable. But there aren’t a lot of activities geared towards kids under 6. I think the ferry in and of itself would be a lot with kids under two, and I’m thankful to my in-laws for watching the kids while we attended this wedding!
Have you ever been to Catalina? What excursions did you do? I’d love to know in the comments!
WTE? Meal Plan
Meal Plan Subscribers, your meal plan is in your inbox! 
Favorites – Jello Watermelon
Okay, so I saw a friend posted this on Instagram, and I knew I had to try it! She sent me the recipe, and it worked PERFECTLY. 1 cup watermelon vodka, 1 cup hot water, and 2 packets of watermelon jello. (We couldn’t find watermelon, so we used strawberry, I have since learned you have to order watermelon jello if you want it!) LMK if you try it!
Fitness
This week’s workouts:
Friday (7/22) – hiking and travel day lots of walking
Saturday (7/23) – travel day lots of walking
Sunday (7/24) – travel day lots of walking
Monday (7/25) – Core and Chest – Total body training from aaptiv
Tuesday (7/26) – Total Body Workout with running from Aaptiv
Wednesday (7/27) – OFF
Thursday (7/28) – 25 minute run
Also, last week’s workouts were reduced to upper body toward our travel date. I’ve learned to avoid running or heavy lower body work before flying to prevent SI Joint and back issues. Walking and upper body are fine!
Flashbacks
Oat Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
[…] Hungryroot boxes are my number one trick to eating healthy after vacation. After we returned from Catalina, I had a Hungryroot box scheduled, so I didn’t have to worry about grocery shopping that week […]