The festival ended quietly as the screenings stopped and attendees began to depart for home or for further destinations. The Vibe Hotel was a most interesting place to stay. As the news about the killing of Osama Bin Laden had broken Sunday night, the response from the International hotel guests was very non committal. Only the Americans were paying a lot of attention to the breaking news, while other nationalities just occasionally showed some interest. The feeling of just another day and another time seemed to be on their mind.
Monday was a day of travel and transition as I took the MetroRail to Long Beach to connect with the Catalina Express to Catalina Island. Long Beach is a beautiful, business oriented community. The city features a convenient transportation system with free buses, light rail, and wide bicycle trails. Parking in the downtown core is easy with plenty of pull in spots to allow drivers to run in to pick up lunch or more as they need to. There are plenty of sidewalk restaurants. The pace is very business like and for the first time while I have been in California there are plenty of neckties and suits being worn.
The Catalina Express takes almost exactly an hour to get to Avalon. The 15o passenger catamaran provides for a noticably smooth ride. We pass the Queen Mary, now a permanently docked resort hotel, and tankers from variou ports. A short walk from the dock takes me through the downtown area with restaurants, golf cart rental shops and various tourist related businesses of all types. The roads rise quickly as this town is clearly in the mountains. The Aurora Hotel is about one hundred feet above the town providing an expansive view of the harbour. This is a very modern hotel and spa with rooms in subtle blues and dark woods. Flat scren tvs, in room coffee, and very comfortable beds provide for a break after the franticness of the past few days.
You can see the pics here
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