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Sea meets land at Parson's Landing (Photo by Chris Nixon)

There’s a sensation I get after spending extended time on the water. After getting tossed for long enough on choppy seas or rolling waves, I always feel like I’m standing on the windswept deck of a boat on the ocean swell… even after I’m standing on solid ground. I call the sensation “The Sway.”

A full 24 hours after my oceanic journey to Santa Catalina Island, the slow rocking sensation greeted my every step — even though I stood on firm ground. Even a week later if I close my eyes and think about my time kayaking and snorkeling off the shores of Catalina, my body experiences The Sway all over again.

After a few months of work, computers, cubicles and many hours spent indoors, my wife Lisa and I wanted an outdoor adventure. But we had criteria that needed to be fulfilled.

First, we wanted to get remote but we didn’t want to drive eight hours to reach the Sierras –  and the desert is too hot in the summer. Second, we wanted to include water in our journey.  Third, we like to travel on a budget, so some sort of camping seemed to fit.

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We thought briefly about Channel Islands National Park. But you have to drive through L.A. and we wanted something a just a bit closer. We’ll save that adventure for another day.

Then the idea of Santa Catalina Island hit.  With a little research on the Web, we discovered Catalina offers a few remote campsites right on the beach at  Parson’s Landing.

Catalina’s main town,  Avalon,  sounds beautiful, but we wanted to avoid  summertime crowds. So we decided to take the ferry to the tiny Two Harbors outpost and travel from there. A few phone calls and we had reservations with the ferry and the campground.

From San Diego, Catalina is really a three-day weekend destination. We drove on Friday with a couple of friends to the eerily industrial port at San Pedro to catch the ferry with Catalina Express ^[6].  The ferry goes from San Pedro to Two Harbors in 90 minutes,  three times a day in the summer, with a fare of $66.50 per passenger roundtrip. Reservations are recommended, and the Catalina Express Web site makes it easy.

Related links: Quick Escape: Avalon is Catalina’s port of paradise ^[7] | SDNN’s Travel page ^[8]

Every day  thousands of containers flow product into California through the Port of  San Pedro –  miles and miles of cranes and metal and industry stretch into the distance.

Once on the ferry with the last glimpses of land disappearing into the horizon, we felt ourselves entering the oceanic world of The Sway.

Fortunately, the ride was smooth as silk. What had started as an overcast day cleared into sunshiny vacation weather by the time we reached the dock at Two Harbors.

Rich history

The colony of Two Harbors derives its name from its proximity to Catalina’s isthmus. At its greatest width, the island spans eight miles. At the town of Two Harbors, Catalina’s waistline shrinks to just under a half mile.

Catalina has a rich history of boating and sailing. Many silver screen stars used to (and many still do) vacation here, sailing boats from Los Angeles. It’s a mere 22 miles from the City of Angels.Two Harbors is dominated by rich middle-aged folks and their sailing vessels.

Shirts are optiona here –  even if the blaring sun, a bulging physique or general good judgment would dictate otherwise on the mainland.

There’s a bar and good restaurant at the Harbor Reef Saloon, along with a stocked general store at Two Harbors. There are also accommodations at The Banning House Hotel ^[9], the Catalina Cabins ^[10] and the Two Harbors Campground ^[11]near “town.”

We wanted to escape town and all its trappings, but first we needed to experience a Buffalo Milk. It’s Catalina’s signature drink. If my taste buds don’t deceive me, Buffalo Milk ^[12] consists of vodka, Kahlua and spices topped with whipped cream. It’s devilishly good on a hot day.

Easy decision

From Two Harbors, we had a choice. Haul our backpacks over land along a dirt road for seven miles to Parson’s Landing — or rent kayaks and paddle four miles along the coast. We chose the paddle — renting a tandem sit-on-top kayak made by Malibu, called the Zest II.

We easily strapped our backpacks to the bow (front) and the stern (back) of the kayak. The rental cost approximately $150 for two days, and includes backrests, paddles and life preservers. It’s always good to reserve your kayak ahead of time ^[13].

The paddle took about 90 minutes. It’s definitely tiring — but on a good day it’s fun even for folks who’ve only been on a kayak a few times before.

It’s not fun in windy conditions and choppy seas. The experienced people at the Two Harbors kayak rental shop can help with weather forecasts and tidal information. It’s good to bring backpacks in case the seas turn rough and you still want to make it to your campsite.

Great campsite

Once we hit the beach, we realized how lucky we were to have found Parson’s Landing: eight remote campsites, all just feet from the crashing waves.

Water and firewood are provided with the campsite (though we found it’s good to order additional when you make reservations). The campsites include picnic benches and fire pits. There are no showers, just a  few portable toilets. It’s stripped down — exactly what we wanted.

We spent the next day and a half snorkeling, hiking, lazing about camp, watching the sun set and watching our campfire burn to embers. Completely unplugged.

The snorkeling is good just off the beach from Parson’s Landing. In fact, a couple of dive boats from the mainland anchored off the shore for a few scuba sessions. I haven’t done a lot of snorkeling. My aquatic friends tell me Catalina is much like the underwater world off La Jolla. The kelp, the fish, everything lives in The Sway in the ocean.

If there’s one item I would bring that I didn’t this time, it might be a portable camp shower. Relief from itchy saltwater skin would have upped the comfort level a bit. But it’s camping, so you also sacrifice comfort for solitude.

Homeward bound

The seas were rougher when we packed our kayak and headed back to Two Harbors on Sunday.

We had one more Buffalo Milk before the ferry ride back to land, back to industrial San Pedro and eventually back to computer screens and cubicles.

The next day,  back at work amidst a buzz saw of e-mails and a laundry list of tasks, I received a text from my wife Lisa: “I can’t stop swaying…”

I replied: “Yeah, I feel The Sway too.”

Chris Nixon is SDNN’s music editor. He can be reached at chris.nixon(at)sdnn.com.