Leigh & Tony's Most Fantastic Honeymoon


Leigh and Tony embarked on a wonderful, romantic journey the day after their magical wedding. Catalina Island was their destination, with a stop in Dallas on the return trip to be greeted by the many friends and family in the area.

They left the Indianapolis airport, with Leigh decked out in her honeymoon travel attire. Too tired to read, and a bit bored, they decided to take a self-portrait while they were waiting on the plane. They boarded the plane and promptly, um, took another self-portrait. They were certainly making good use of the digital camera they had purchased with the Target gift cards they had received as wedding gifts!

After a nice flight to Dallas and a short layover, they boarded a plane headed for the quaint Long Beach airport in southern California. They planned to stay at the Lord Mayor's Bed & Breakfast, and took a cab there to drop off luggage before going down to the harbor to see the Queen Mary and other sights. Lord Mayor's was nicely landscaped and had top-notch signage, but there was nobody home! After waiting and calling for two and a half hours, they gave up and took a cab to the downtown Hyatt. They later learned that their reservation at Lord Mayor's had been lost when an innkeeper had recently quit.

The newlyweds were tired and hungry, and no longer in the mood for a tour of the Queen Mary or any other organized activity. They walked the pier, searching for something that would sate the old appetite, and broke out the cam to snap a photo or two (or three). They ended up at P.F. Chang's, and were too hungry to take any photos there.

Having gained three hours by flying west, the blissful couple were up early for a fine breakfast graciously delivered by room service. They sucked down some coffee in a leisurely fashion and lugged their luggage up the street to a bus stop.

Alllllllllrighty then!

They caught the bus, boarded the Catalina Express ferry to Avalon (Catalina Island's only town), arrived in Avalon, and walked to the condo they had rented, all without taking any photos. However, they did take a picture of the condo later in the week. They walked about town a bit, and took yet another photo to show a steep street, although it doesn't look steep in the photo.

They plied over to the Casino, which was named back in the 1930s when the word "casino" wasn't associated with gambling. "Casino" simply meant that it was "a building or room used for social amusements." A building, in this case. A very beautiful and unique building. Of all the pictures they took, they failed to really home in on Avalon's most visible and well-known landmark, although you can see it right in the middle of one picture they took on Thursday.

They took the $12.75 per head tour and snapped yet another good one looking out to Descanso Bay while they were waiting for the tour to begin. You will be spared a monologue on the history of the Casino, but you will be encouraged to look the ballroom ceiling and porch, as well a view of the bay from the porch, and even more views that include your favorite newlyweds. Anywho, they finished up the day with dinner at Villa Portafino and watching "Miracle" at the movie theater in the Casino.

Whew! And just like that we're already up to Tuesday!

About this time you're probably getting tired of reading. However, let the reader be reminded that he or she can either finish this tome or be subjected to its entirety in verbal form if "tell me about your honeymoon" is ever uttered in the couple's midst. If you finish this, dear reader, you can state, "I read all about it," and head off to the restroom or some other haven.

Tuesday's sun arose, but the Hinkles couldn't see it due to the fog. They fortified the tissue at Joe's Cafe, which didn't inspire the taking of a photo. They boarded a late-morning bus for the Inland Motor tour, which would enable them to see the inner part of the island (where there wasn't much fog) with minimal hassle and physical exertion. They were able to see across the isthmus at one point on the way to the Wrigley ranch, although they aren't really sure whether the "h" in "isthmus" is silent.

They sat through a corny presentation about the history and horses, and won a painted horseshoe simply because they were newlyweds. The lucky shoe would have gone to someone else had they selected the popcorn bag with the "Lucky Bag" sticker on it. They got a local to take a photo of them before they checked out the saddle and stagecoach museums. They took a photo (surprised, huh?) of some bison they could see from the ranch, but they were pretty far away.

On the far side of the island they stopped at Little Harbor and predictably snapped three photos. The bus stopped at the Airport in the Sky on the way back, and they took a photo to prove it. Their hunger was sated at Coyote Joe's by steak and bean burritos, and the rest of the day was spent napping and watching a rented movie.

Wednesday morning brought more fog and the discovery of the Pancake Cottage. Not only was it worthy of a photo, but the couple ate breakfast here each morning thereafter, as well as purchasing a Pancake Cottage t-shirt.

The couple rented a kayak and paddled north to a rocky beach. The local wildlife scurried away as quickly as possible, but not quickly enough in some cases. They hunted for shells, gaped at the hermit crabs, and took photos of each other at a natural arch. There was an active landslide there, but it didn't stop them from taking even more photos of each other. After one last photo, they paddled back to Avalon.

They then headed up past the golf course to the horse stables. They saddled up and headed for the hills, stopping only to listen to the guide's schtick and get not one, but two pictures of them taken. Leigh also found it necessary to take not one, not two, but three other pictures.

After the horse ride they cleaned up and ate at some place that had giant hamburgers sitting outside. They had pizza and came back later for ice cream at Big Olaf's next door.

The couple walked up to Mt. Ada, the B&B owned by the Wrigley fam, on Thursday morning. On this little hike they spotted a vintage auto, a pretty girl, a handsome boy, and a happy couple.

The undersea tour was next, with one of those funky boats where you sit below the waterline and peer out windows. The bright orange girabaldi is the coolest fish there, but there are also lots of other fish.

After the thrill of viewing fish in the kelp forest swarming around the food thrown to them from the boat, they hoofed it up to the botanical garden, which was mostly cactus. The dragon tree is really cool, and evoked Leigh's not-so-photogenic gape. Some of the cactus were equally cool, but they were too tired to take many photos. Coyote Joe's burrito hit the spot yet again, and the couple retired for the day. Okay, well, maybe they went downtown for ice cream again that evening.

As you may have noticed from other photos, most of the vehicles in Avalon are golf carts. This is due to the limited parking space, and also because everything in town is within walking distance. The golf cart culture results in some things that are a bit funny, such as the customized golf cart, complete with chain steering wheel, the tow cart, and the student driver cart.

Friday dawned as the first fog-free day of the week, and Mr. and Mrs. Hinkle greeted it with a jaunt down to the PC (Pancake Cottage, that is). They caught the 11:45 ferry back to Long Beach (saw a few dolphins), the 2:45 flight to Dallas, and the John Jenkins III shuttle service to the Jenkins home.

The Jenkins, primarily Judy, were planning what you call a big "to-do." Dallas-area friends and family were invited to eat, drink, and generally be merry with the recently married on Saturday, March 20, 2004. This lofty goal was accomplished solely because Tony took great care in loading the cookie tray. The flowers sent by Uncle Jim Long were also quite beneficial.

Seriously, though, it was all due to the hard work of Judy. The food table was picturesque. The guest book table was welcoming. The punch table kicked it, and the cake table had the cake on it.

(Although I've run out of pictures, dear friend, I've certainly not run out of words. Fortunately for you, though, I'm running out of story.)

Leigh saw many an old friend, and Tony promptly forgot each one's name. Judy has a reputation for great parties and she lived up to the standard. An enjoyable time was had by all privileged to attend.

The time spent in Dallas was quite wonderful--too short, to be sure. After packing two suitcases full of gifts (most of which weren't crushed during transit), the couple caught the JJ Shuttle back to DFW Sunday afternoon and flew back to Indianapolis.

Where this story ends, a longer one begins.


Hover over the pinkish text and a picture will pop up (if you're using Internet Explorer 5.5 or later). If ya'll have a dial-up connection you'll have to be patient for the picture to load. If it doesn't work, use the links in this column below.

You don't need to close the photo window each time one pops up. The next time you click on a link for another photo, it will replace the one that is currently in place.

If you want a hi-res copy of any of the photos, please email Tony at tonyhinkle @yahoo.com.

See this page for some great historical photos of Catalina Island, and this page for a good historical narrative.

Pictures
magical wedding

decked out

self-portrait

self-portrait

nicely landscaped

top-notch signage

photo

two

three

sucked down some
    coffee

bus stop

picture of the condo

yet another photo

one picture

yet another good one

ballroom ceiling

porch

view of the bay

more views

favorite newlyweds

dinner at
    Villa Portafino

inner part of the
    island

across the isthmus

presentation

painted horseshoe

photo

a photo

Little Harbor

snapped

photos

photo

Coyote Joe's

Pancake Cottage

kayak

rocky beach

local wildlife

photos

each other

active landslide

more photos

each other

one last photo

golf course

saddled up

one

two

one

two

three

some place

Big Olaf's

Mt. Ada

vintage auto

pretty girl

handsome boy

happy couple

bright orange
    girabaldi

other fish

dragon tree

customized golf cart

tow cart

student driver cart

loading the cookie
    tray

flowers

food table

guest book table

punch table

cake table

cake