Welcome to the stealthiest operation this side of the B-2 Spirit!

A perfect Catalina Island day
photo ©JW

Hello & welcome to the blog for Catalina Royale Surprise, an ambush birthday celebration for a man we all know & love. This bash is being thrown by his favorite leading lady, E.B. (Bond Girl codename: Lottie Legs).

The invitations and audio intelligence inside the CLASSIFIED envelopes you all received were designed by, and sent from, me. Since E.B. (aka Lottie Legs) acknowledges her inability for telling lies, I have been asked to be your contact person and go-between. If this were The Love Boat, I'd be your Cruise Director, but that's a title for another day and another party.

Having disclosed the chink in her armor, please DO NOT contact Lottie Legs directly (or--obviously--the Guest of Honor!) in regards to this surprise party, as that would be compromising the already challenging mission to keep this whole thing under wraps. She REALLY is a terrible liar, don't make her prove it.

Please remember to RSVP by June 30th, and e-mail any questions/concerns to the e-mail address found on your invitation; alternately click on the "comments" hotlink below any of the posts on this blog to contact me. I have all blog comments set to be moderated, so they will be emailed to me and not actually posted here. This is just to be sure we don't leave a trace for him to somehow stumble upon. I will be checking the email inbox for this blog and for the RSVPs daily, and will get back to you as soon as I can if you have a need for me to do so.

You'll find additional party information in the following posts to help you plan for 7•7•007. Keep checking back for updates, which will be below this initial welcome post. Additional direct links in the sidebar.

On behalf of "Lottie Legs", thank you for being a special part of his big day!

Sincerely,
"JW"
Cruise Director Head Action Officer
Clandestine Operations Dept. 7•7•007

What could possibly be stealthier than the planning of this party? I couldn't think of anything besides this.

*COMINT* from Lottie Legs herself!

I wish I had just 2 ounces of Julie's ("Event Specialist"/Long-Time Friend) creativity - shaken, not stirred, of course.

"M" and I are arriving via helicopter (5:30 reservation) on Friday, July 6 out of Long Beach - Queen Mary site. We are staying at the Zane Grey hotel-- far off the beaten path-- so we should stay out of the way until Saturday.

Our return is on Sunday, July 8th at 12:45 from Avalon to Long Beach - Queen Mary site. We'd love to share the boat ride back with anyone lucky enough to get hotel reservations on Catalina Island!

I hope you can make it, and I hope I survive the days of sneaking around that are still ahead...

--Lottie Legs

*COMINT*: Acronym for communications intelligence.

Catalina Island General Info

We highly recommend that you make your ferry (or helicopter!) reservations to Catalina Island as soon as possible, as they have been known to sell out. Keep in mind the day of the party is over a holiday weekend, so the quicker you make the reservation, the better off you'll be.

Important: Give yourself plenty of time to park & pick up your ferry ticket(s) because (according to the Catalina Island official site) if you show up at the ticket counter less than 15 minutes before departure time, there is a good chance that your ticket will have been sold to a stand-by passenger.

The US Coast Guard has issued security measures for all passenger vessels. All passengers sixteen years or older must have photo identification or they may not be permitted to board the vessel. Please be sure to have photo identification when checking in at the ticket counter and when boarding. All baggage must have an identification tag and is subject to physical inspection.

In the summer the crossing is generally calm, though those who are sensitive are advised to take a dramamine an hour before departure.

Most first-timers try to get a seat on the upper (exposed) decks, only to come back inside once the winds on the channel start to get cool. Grab a seat inside, and then walk the decks. All the boats have snack bars with cocktail service.

**Please arrive at Descanso Beach Club no later than 11:30. The Guest of Honor will arrive around noon, and lunch will be served from 12-1. Casual dress.**

You'll find everything you need on transportation, Catalina hotels (if you choose to stay overnight), and island maps here: Catalina Island official website.

See additional links in sidebar, or e-mail me (by clicking on the comment link below each post on this blog; or by using the RSVP e-mail address from the invitation) and I will do everything I can to assist you.

The following post will have information on Long Beach hotels.

Quotes from William's plebian brother, Long Beach Hotel links

"To get hammered, or not to get hammered. That is the question."

Also overheard the next morning lamenting:
"O aspirin, aspirin! Wherefore art thou aspirin?"

-Bobby "12-Pack" Shakespeare (the disreputable but more relatable Shakespeare brother)

On that note, Lottie Legs emailed me today requesting that I add some Long Beach hotel information on here for you. She explains it much more poetically than I ever could:

"People could always stay in Long Beach for the night if Catalina hotels are full and they still want to get hammered."

(Of course, this is also an option for those of you who won't be getting hammered.)

Here are a couple of clickable links:

Long Beach Hotels (may take about 20 seconds to load, even with high-speed connection. Be patient-- it's quite an extensive list)

Long Beach Chamber of Commerce

In Lieu of Gifts: Project Child Save

In lieu of gifts, donations to Project Child Save will be gratefully accepted AFTER July 7th.

Project Child Save is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping prevent child abductions, kidnapping, or, when all else fails, to find and retrieve children who have been taken against their will and sold into slavery.

Every year thousands of children are taken from their homes and sold into sexual slavery. Most of these children are teens or pre-teens, and few ever make it back to their families. The reason is simple - money. Slavery is a lucrative business, and the cost of rescuing abductees is high. Average families can't afford these costs, so the loss of these children overshadows these families for the rest of their lives.

We ask that if you are going to donate, that you please wait until after July 7th, the day of the party, to do so. This will ensure that the Guest of Honor will not receive donation alert cards from PCS before his big day. Otherwise, it would certainly give away the surprise!


If you wish to donate, please mail a check (you can put the birthday boy's name in the MEMO line of your check if you would like him to receive notification from PCS of your generosity) after July 7th, made out to Project Child Save at the following address:

PROJECT CHILD SAVE
2629 Foothill Blvd., #395
La Crescenta, CA. 91214

Your Questions: Answered Here!

I will continue to update this post based on the questions you all contact me about over the next few weeks until the party.

1) We have a child. Should we bring her? She's really good but not all parties are child- friendly, if you know what I mean.

Yes, I know exactly what you mean! Never fear, this place is great for kids! There are lots of water sports, and when Lottie Legs went a couple of months ago to book Descanso Beach Club for the party, she saw plenty of children on Catalina Island having a great time.

**She does give this disclaimer (with a little wink): "Lottie Legs will not be providing childcare services!"** So, I guess if you want one, you have to B.Y.O.Babysitter!

-

2) Are there plans after lunch, or is it lunch-and-then-do-what-you-want-on-Catalina Island?

The party-centric plans are lunch at Descanso Beach Club and then linger there with everyone as long as you want. DBC has the only "bar on the sand" on Catalina Island, so you could, theoretically, hang out there the entire day. Otherwise, after you've had enough of the birthday bash, feel free to do whatever you like: lay on the beach, participate in water sports, shop around town, etc.!

I imagine that most people will at the very least hang out at DBC for awhile after lunch and then at some point either take the ferries back to Long Beach for hotels or to head back home. Otherwise, if staying over on Catalina interests you, I suggest looking online ASAP for availability b/c of the holiday weekend.

Utilize those hotlinks in the sidebar on the top right of this blog to find out what Catalina Island has to offer, besides the fun you'll have at the party, that is!

-

These are the first 2 questions that have been emailed to me. Keep checking back for updates!

Bond movie opening sequences. Shaken, not stirred.

Mozart. Amadeus Mozart.

"Well, the game is afoot!"