Week 23 - Magical Catalina Island
For our week of work on Catalina Island, we had to go without the bus. Our first time working for a whole week without the bus! Instead, we worked at Campus by the Sea, a Christian camp that requires a boat to access. We were connected to the camp through Ed Bissonnette, someone we worked with in San Diego. Though we missed the comforts of the bus, our time on the island was nothing short of magical.
Beautiful Setting for Camp
There are a few reasons why the word "magical" comes to mind when I think of our week on Catalina Island. Recently, I have been into sci-fi and fantasy novels, and my imagination has been quite “active”. Beyond that, I experienced one of the coolest sights I've ever seen outdoors. We went "hooping" for lobsters with a staff member, Nathan, and his daughter, Navah, one night. I know “hooping” sounds like something you do with a hula hoop, but we ended up catching some big lobsters (Davis caught one around 4.5 lbs). The highlight of the night was the luminescence in the water. I don't claim to understand how that stuff works. All I know is if you disturb the water, it glows like a rave in the ocean. At one point, Nathan told us to go to the front of the boat and peer over the edge. After a few minutes of water splashing into our face, we finally saw it. Dolphins swimming with us, their bodies outlined by the glow of the water. The best moments were watching them jump in and out of the water, their outlines transitioning from mystical creatures to real life dolphins floating in the air right in front of us. I still have not gotten over this experience, it made me feel like I was in the movie Avatar.
During our time at Campus by the Sea, we had the pleasure of working with Paula in the kitchen. Before we met her, Greg, our connection at the camp, told us she would be like a mother to us. This proved to be true (I would still prefer my mom’s monster cookies to hers, but I am biased). Paula shows up at 5:30 a.m. and does not sit down until she is done working after dinner, having the jolliest time through it all even with a pulled muscle in her leg. Plus, she was a great chef, despite having no sense of smell and losing most of her taste at the age of 12. She gave us specific roles: Cain being the drink guy, Davis being the coffee guy, and me cooking the vegan food because, as she knew, it grossed me out. What made us truly love and respect Paula was that she trusted us. She would give us tasks and let us have the freedom to complete them, all while being patient with us when we made mistakes. At one point, I was in the walk-in pantry and Paula came in to spoon feed me the beans she was cooking to make sure I thought they tasted good (they did). Our time working in the kitchen with Paula made it so much easier to work for her. We were excited to work for her, and it didn't feel like a chore. One special moment with her was the last dinner, she cooked us our own Southern meal. Earlier in the week, she asked for a specific meal or dish we want her to cook - Davis said banana pudding, Cain said shrimp and grits (even though he is allergic to shrimp), and I wasn’t sure. We were able to share a meal with the rest of the staff with our requests, and because I didn’t have a request, she let me pick the music. What a magical touch to end our time with her.
While at Campus by the Sea, we felt like we were part of the staff. The other staff members were incredible and made us feel welcomed from day one. We shared practically every meal together, and those moments were some of the highlights. They were generous enough to let us use their personal pillows, take us on the boat for lobster hooping, help us cook the lobsters on a fire, and even gave us the cabin with the prettiest view at the camp. They took us on trash runs to town, which were unique experiences since there is no access to the main town on Catalina, so everything has to be brought by boat. It's hard to put into words how grateful we were to be treated like one of the team. They are always looking for new staff, and we would HIGHLY recommend working at this camp to anyone we know. If you have any interest in working at this amazing Christian camp, on an island, with incredible people then reach out to one of us.
Staff and Volunteer picture
Everything seemed to magically fall into place this week. We were fortunate to be there during a week when they had a need for extra help in the kitchen, and we were happy to fill that need. The weather wasn't ideal, but it worked out well for us. The conditions were good enough at the beginning of the week for us to go lobster hooping and luminescent dolphin watching. Later, when it rained, we were content to stay in the kitchen all day and work. Then, on the beautiful last two days, which happened to be after the campers had left, we were able to work outside. On our way out of camp, we hiked into Avalon, the town we take a ferry out of to the mainland. A fellow volunteer, Tim, decided to join us on our trek. On our way up, we even saw a bison, which was a surprise because they aren't typically on that side of the island. We swam in a pond with him. Well, the bison watched us swim while he ate grass. When we arrived at Avalon, Greg kindly let us use his golf cart to get around. Driving a golf cart is very fun for us as we are used to a long school bus that can seem bulky when compared to a golf cart. We ended the week with some “country western” dancing with Tim and his wife Rhonda back on the mainland (Long Beach) and watching Tim dance was magical in itself.
Our week on Catalina Island was nothing short of magical. From the breathtaking views to the wonderful people, every moment was memorable. Our goodbye felt weird, we only knew these people for a week and it seemed like we had known them for so much longer. Tough to say bye, but excited to come back in the future to a new place we can call home.
We are now headed to north to San Lois Obispo.
