Winter or summer, Catalina Island is jam-packed with fun activities to keep kids excited and busy -- for a day, a weekend or a week. If it happens to be the off-season, so much the better: hotel prices are down, the crowds have thinned out and your odds of seeing whales on the trip from the mainland to the island have increased.

Some of us are so addicted to caffeine that we'd be happy to take our lattes intravenously. But you don't need to do that in Avalon, which is filled to the brim with coffee joints that will help you kick-start your day. Whether you're seeking café au lait, Americanos, blended drinks or drip coffee, you'll find it here.

A fat lemon-colored sun was shining overhead when the Cat Express ferry left the dock in Long Beach, but by the time we reached Avalon, clouds had started to move in. The sun was playing hide and seek as I stepped off the boat, and before I'd rounded the corner ontoCrescent avenue, big drops of rain were beginning to fall.

You don't need to go on safari to see wild creatures up close—just head to Catalina's back country, where bison and deer room free and you might catch a glimpse of an animal seen nowhere else in the world.

Dolphin Quest, an open-top inflatable boat, offers an electrifying way to tour the coastline off Catalina. Racing at speeds up to 40 mph, the boat cruises the waters east of the island looking for sea life, especially dolphins.

You know what you'll never see in Catalina? A stop light. That's because the island has so few cars that it doesn't need them.
Vehicles are severely restricted here; it takes 14 years on a waiting list to get permission to havea car. But you don't have to walk everywhere to see the sights. There are toursby bus, Jeep, van and Hummer. Or you can do as the islanders do and get rollingin a golf cart, which is one of our favorite ways to see the town.

Whether you want to wind down after a tough day of beach play, or gear up for a hectic night of partying, don't pass up an opportunity to raise a toast or two at one of Avalon's happening happy hours. We’ve done the research — by eating and drinking our way through town — and have come up with a list of our favorite happy hour spots. 

Act fast! It’s August -- in just a few weeks summer will be over.  Now is the time to make the most of the season on Catalina Island before the days begin to shorten. Here are five things you should do before the summer ends.