Catalina Island: Our local tropical paradise

“Twenty-six miles across the seaSanta Catalinais a-waitin’ for me…Water all around it everywhere,tropical trees and salty air…”

If Catalina Island had a theme song, this would be it. A group called the Four Preps made this song, “26 Miles,” a hit in 1958, and the people of the island have preserved it. You can find copies of this recording in shops all over the island. I knew the chorus and found myself humming it on my trip “across the sea.”

A Catalina Express boat transported my family and myself from Dana Point Harbor to Catalina at about thirty knots. It’s probably a bit further than twent...