Just about everything about Catalina is incongruous. Found 22 miles into the Pacific Ocean southwest of Los Angeles, this rugged isle is a bastion of laid-back calm within sight (on a clear day) of the city’s skyscrapers. An hour from the freeways and the Hollywood studios, sailboats bob in clear waters, dew trickles down cold beer bottles in waterfront bars, and hikers crest forested mountains to gaze at an endless expanse of ocean. The lack of development alone feels like a miracle.
