When I asked if I could do a Lunch With Sissee column on them, Ellen quipped, “I thought you’d never ask!”

In fact, Ellen said that we were going to go totally around Catalina’s 54 miles of shoreline and have lunch in the Two Harbors channel. I asked her if it was alright for me to be taking mental notes on our shared experience with them and she said that was fine.

However, much of what we talked about was, according to her infusions, “Off the record.” It got to be a cliché in fact, as we covered gay marriage in California, having kids, the price of gas and the political scene. Hot topics but, off the record.

It was amusing and the time passed quickly. Before we knew it we were outside the breakwater of Avalon Bay, where the famous landmark of the Catalina Island Casino dominated our view to the right while the rest of the setting was like a picture post card from the Mediterranean.

The men came out to the open deck and co-mingled with us. Several of them had binoculars and cameras, poised and ready.

Avalon was a busy, energetic harbor with hundreds of vessels tethered to buoys in the crescent bay, above which was a bustling tourist mecca of hotels, shops and restaurants with other structures built upward in layers, carved out of the green hills.

We slowly cruised on by the scene and continued south, along the rugged coast. There was a lot of chatter about bald eagles, none of which any of us saw but someone did point out a lone buffalo that seemed strangely out of place standing up on a high ridge.

The ship’s pace was relaxed and leisurely. We passed Seal Rocks where dozens of barking seals were sprawled out sunning themselves. Of course, Bette carried Angie to the railing so she could get a better view. It was such a pleasure to see a child’s eyes get wide with wonderment as she looked, listened and laughed. She loved the seals.

There were glimpses of sea lions and dolphins. They followed the ship as if they were playing a game.

We heard names of landmark points and small harbors, beaches and bays until we came back to the leeward side of the island and cruised into the Isthmus Cove at Two Harbors for lunch..