On Catalina Island in Avalon, we rented a little golf cart putt-putt to take a tour up into the hills. After all the trips to Avalon, this is our first time onto the roads behind the city. The roads were narrow and too small for one of the tour vehicles to go, so this was a first for us.
We drove up to the nature center and looked around and then went up past the country club. We saw some of the areas that burned earlier this year when fires raged over much of the island. We also saw parts of the valley where the city of Avalon has expanded.
On one hilltop we stopped to take some pictures of the scenery below. I took this nice panorama from that hilltop. Click the image below for the full-sized scene.
A warm tropical paradise with gentle ocean breezes is what hibiscus (H. rosasinensis) brings to mind. The state flower of Hawaii, this evergreen hibiscus has long been a symbol of the beauty and lushness of the tropics. If you live in a mild-winter area of the West, you can bring a bit of paradise to your garden by planting hibiscus.
