was May 18, and we celebrated by going to Catalina Island. There's a ferry that leaves from downtown Long Beach, and you get a free ride on your birthday. Woot, woot! Going to Catalina is fun on normal days, but extra fun on your birthday because: 1. you get special discounts and free stuff at different places and 2. all those discounts throughout the day are a constant reminder that it's your birthday and you have a bunch of strangers wishing you "happy birthday" throughout the day. It's awesome!
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| He got a "Happy Birthday" ribbon so everyone could know it was his birthday. |
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| Happy birthday, Troy! |
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| It was a windy boat ride. |
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| Team Raptor with Catalina Island in the background, just before we got off the boat. |
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| We rented some electric bikes to get around the island. The battery on the back tire helped us get up the steep parts, so we didn't have to peddle as hard. Or at all, if we were on a flat stretch of road. |
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| The bikes came with handy baskets to put stuff in. |
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| Troy navigated us around the island.... |
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| ...While Laura sat at a tiny table... |
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| ...And tried to figure out what this loose seal was looking at... |
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| ...and climbed some trees. |
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| ....Then struggled with getting down. |
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| We stopped by some pretty places. |
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| Showing some love at Lover's Cove. |
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| We saw the island from way up high on our bike ride. |
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| We found the pet cemetery! |
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| Laura strayed from her no-meat diet for a buffalo burger, choosing to believe that the buffalo came from Catalina and wasn't treated with any chemicals or other nasty stuff. |
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| Troy's free birthday meal from Buffalo Nickel Restaurant. |
All in all, it was a great day. We can't wait to go back for Laura's birthday in September!
