Whirlwind weekend with April Fools, Avalon Cleanup, men & women's NCAA games . . .
FOOLIN' AROUND - Hope you enjoyed the annual April Fools edition of the monthly newsletter. These get harder and harder to write each year because I know most of you know it's coming. So my only shot is to perhaps catch you off-guard with the first article. Seems like I got some of you this year and that always puts a smile on my face. (And in case you're wondering, yes, all the phone numbers listed are legit.) But hopefully this edition of the monthly newsletter also puts a smile on your face, because that's the point. And thanks to all of you who sent a kind e-mail back after reading this year's stories.
ANOTHER CLEANUP IN THE BOOKS - You couldn't have asked for better weather. Better visibility, yes, but not better weather. On Saturday the (delayed) 41st Annual Avalon Underwater Cleanup was held. Because we had to postpone from February 25, we expected not everyone who registered would show up and that notion proved correct. I don't have the actual count but I'd estimate we ran with about half as many as we would usually get had we been able to do the event as planned back in February. But it really was a gorgeous sunny day and being able to see the snow-capped mountains in the distance was a nice bonus. Unfortunately, the visibility wasn't very good, averaging around 5 feet or so, which meant we had a lot of separated buddies and it was hard to see to find things to pick up and bring out of the harbor. But we persevered, awards were given, raffle prizes were won, and a good time was had by all. If you'd like to see some pictures of what was happening at the Green Pier, here's a link to some of the shots I took:
AVALON UNDERWATER CLEANUP 2023.
WAS THAT A FALCON? - A special treat during the awards ceremony was a Harris Hark from Catalina Falconry swooping around for everyone to see. He'd land and sit for a while, and then move to a new location. Stunning bird, as you can see from this picture. (And no one's face got torn off in the process.)