Day Three – Catalina

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“If you want to relax, watch the clouds pass by if you’re laying on the grass,
or sit in front of the creek; just doing nothing and having those
still moments is what really rejuvenates the body.”
Miranda Kerr

Day Three Catalina

Hilltop view of the Casino and Catalina Island Museum from condo.

Today I woke up so refreshed, I decided to do nothing. Just hanging out, reading, writing, playing my banjo and enjoying the views.

Around 3:00 in the afternoon I wanted some Chinese food to go from the only Chinese restaurant on Catalina. Unfortunately, when I arrived at the restaurant they are closed on Wednesdays. So, I drove up the main street and found a small cafe that looked like they would have good food.

cafemetropoleThe Cafe Metropole serves a small variety of healthy food, from salads to sandwiches. The lady behind the counter took my order and also made my food. I ordered a half a tuna sandwich and a large shrimp, mango & avocado salad.

The cafe was very busy for 3:00 in the afternoon, and it took her over 20 minutes to begin preparing my order. I was getting a little impatient and asked her how much longer. She replied rather annoyed, that she was just making the salad. I watched her take fresh lettuce from the refrigerator and chop it up. I left for a short time to pick up some other goodies around the corner. When I returned, she apologized for how long it took and handed me my order.

When I got the food home, I just ate the sandwich and wanted to save the salad for dinner. I must say that the sandwich was delicious. It wasn’t just a thrown together tuna salad. It had lots of ingredients added to the tuna. The salad was spectacular! Everything was fresh, from the large cooked shrimp, to the fresh mangos and avocados. The homemade dressing was an orange citrus cumin combination, which was just the right blend for the ingredients in the salad.

Tomorrow I plan to stop by Cafe Metropole and thank this hard-working woman when I see her. I also plan to try out her other entrees and pass up on the Chinese food.

Shine On

Day Two – Catalina

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“Catalina Island is the playground for all, rich or poor, youth or aged.
All classes mix with democratic spirit.”
William Wrigley, Jr.

Catalina Museum

Casino and Catalina Island Museum.

 

It feels so great to be here on Catalina. No television, no telephones, even my cell phone doesn’t work in the Condo. It’s nice not to hear cars, trucks and construction noise.

The chirping of birds and cooing of pigeons woke me around 6:30 am. I haven’t gotten out of bed that early in months, mostly because I also went to bed around 10:00 pm.

Today I visited the Catalina Island Museum. It’s not a large exhibit, but the scenery around the museum building is spectacular. Also, no crowds which I prefer. Here’s just a few highlights:

Walkway to MuseumCatalina Yacht Club

Avalon shoreline Avalon Boats

Shine On

Catalina Here I Come

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“A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in.”
Robert Orben

Catalina Here I come

My ride to Catalina will be on the sexy Catalina Express.

Well it is final, tomorrow I leave for Santa Catalina. Not only am I excited about taking a vacation, which I haven’t had in over 15 years, but I’m finally visiting Catalina. A land that I’ve dreamed of once in lullaby. 

Since I was a a child I have wanted to go to Catalina and Avalon. Through the years I have had numerous opportunities to visit Catalina, but never went because the only two options to reach Catalina are by helicopter or by boat: I’m scared to death of helicopters and I get seasickness on boats. But, last year I discovered I no longer get sick when I ride in a boat. You might say, I found my sea legs.

So, I’ve packed all my good reads, my laptop, camera, iPad, my banjo and my hiking boots. Six days of reading, writing, photography, playing my banjo, and exploring beautiful Catalina.

Catalina here I come!

Shine On

Forgiveness is a Fable

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“When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle.
Then I realized that the Lord doesn’t work that way,
so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me.”
Emo Philips

Forgiveness Fable

I read an excellent blog post the other day about the subject of forgiveness titled, Grappling with Forgiveness. One of my fellow bloggers wrote a comment about this post that really hit home with me. She wrote:

“You take things personally because they are personal and intended as personal. It is just that those callous hurtful people are like soul vandals, or internet virus creators. They don’t really care, they just want to hurt somebody, so they do. Empathetic people tend to see through social niceties to the person underneath, and that often is painful.

They don’t really want forgiveness, they want safety and power. Vandals, of all sorts, cause real pain and real hardship and do real damage. The only protection is to learn to recognize when it’s on purpose and when it is an honest mistake. As perceptive as you are, it won’t take you long to recognize the clues. You may have to work with such people, and interact, but you are not required to like them, or share your privacy, or voluntarily give them access to vulnerabilities, professional or personal.”

Let’s face it, there are people in this world that are vile, period. They have no moral compass, no values and no empathy. They believe that by just saying the words, “I’m sorry”, time after time that it fixes everything. Some people will never change, and their behavior is just part of who they are and their true nature.

There’s a fable I’m reminded of when I think of forgiveness, behavior and actions that are unforgivable. Some of you might be familiar with this fable:

A scorpion asks a frog to carry him over a river. The frog is afraid of being stung during the trip, but the scorpion argues that if it stung the frog, both would sink and the scorpion would drown. The frog agrees and begins carrying the scorpion, but midway across the river the scorpion does indeed sting the frog, dooming them both.

When asked why, the scorpion points out that this is its nature.

The moral is, “The greatest kindness will not bind the ungrateful.”

I realize that forgiveness is important for us to move forward with our lives. Like the old saying goes, forgive and forget. Much easier to say than to do. Some people are extremely talented at hiding their evil tendencies with their sheepish costumes. In my opinion, these people I do not allow in my life and all their “I’m sorry’s” will not allow me to give them forgiveness. Especially when the hurt is deep and leaves a crippling wound that will never heal. Call me cynical, but I believe in some instances, forgiveness is a fable.

Shine On