Travels with Twinkles: Long Beach, California

Long Beach, California

I left San Juan Capistrano in the morning heading north on the Pacific Coast Highway making stops along the way at the beach towns of Balboa Beach, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Seal Beach and finally my destination of Long Beach. I keep calling it Long Branch out of habit since back in New Jersey I lived for several years in the beach town of Long Branch, New Jersey.

Yet another surfer statue on California coast

Balboa Beach

New port Beach - I liked this place, but a little early
for a beer, but the pizza shop next door was very good

Good mural in Huntington Beach

Huntington Beach

Seal Beach weather forecast board

Seal Beach

I pulled into a beach parking area in the Belmont Shore section of Long Beach and relaxed for a couple of hours and then drove around scoping out the area for a place for the night. I had read that in this area of Long Beach it is not illegal to sleep overnight in your vehicle but they don’t advertise it. The city of Los Angeles, due to the large numbers of homeless has relaxed their rules about this, but only in certain areas. Supposedly you can go online and find a map that shows specific streets or areas where it is allowed. Of course how many homeless people are walking around with cell phones or laptops to access this information ? Anyhow, this is one of the OK areas and I used it with no problems.

This mural really caught my attention, it was sort of hypnotic

Belmont is predominantly middle class residential area, with nice park and beach areas and many restaurants and businesses. I found a great breakfast spot and a good internet coffee shop to hang out in. I’m cooking mostly in the van, my portable stove works great, but you need to stick to easy to cook meals with minimal cookware to be a happy camper. I feel sorry for the desperate types who have to live this lifestyle, I see them making the rounds at the trash cans each day. Some of these people seem pretty normal, just doing what they have to to get buy, others seem to be a little mentally off. I wonder what they think of people like me living in a van for the fun and adventure of it, they probably think I’m the crazy one?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belmont_Shore,_Long_Beach,_California

Parking and driving is a problem here, too many cars, not enough parking spots, especially in the popular areas. That’s why I eat mostly in the van, it’s too hard to find a parking spot near the restaurants. The van needs a full parking spot and preferably a pull into one although I am getting better at backing into spots, but prefer not to. Especially since my new backup camera stopped working ! Most Californians drive really fast and aggressively, even reckless, all the time in their compact speedy Japanese cars. They know exactly where they are going, what lane to be in and will pass you on the right, the left, or in between, whatever it takes to gain one position in their race through life.

I found a “real” coffee shop appropriately called "The Library" with a big open room lined with bookshelves, comfortable tables and chairs, very quiet and peaceful, thankfully so unlike Starbucks. I also found a great breakfast spot, called "Chuck's Home of the weasel". The weasel was a menu item that didn't appeal to me, but everything else sounded good. As I exited, a woman outside struck up a conversation with me to tell how she loved my hair, my beard and how they complimented my complexion and blue eyes. That hasn’t happened in a long time and she spoke fairly normal, but I suspect she wasn’t, it was just weird.

One of the biggest attractions in Long Beach is the Queen Mary ocean liner. What's interesting to me is that the ship was even put up for sale and that Long Beach California was able to come up with the winning bid. They have turned it into a combination hotel and historical museum and it’s quite a sight to see. The pricey admission and parking charge gets you on a few guided tours which were very good and you can view everything else on your own. The Hotel area is off limits and many areas are closed to the public, but there is plenty to see. I really enjoyed the historical parts about its service during WWII ferrying troops overseas, especially since my father was one of them. He always liked to talk about that voyage. Also the exhibits on Winston Churchill really gave you an appreciation for that man's character and brilliance. I expected to spend a few hours aboard the ship which turned into most of the day.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Queen_Mary

On leaving, the sun had come out making for a good photo

The entrance to the ship

Old photo showing people on hand for the launching

Anti aircraft gun on the fore deck

great painting in the main lounge

This ballroom was a beauty

Children's playroom with original furnishings, the current
queen played in the room as a child

The engine room and control panels were immense

Liked this story board, there were many like this

Next was a ride to the San Pedro actually part of Los Angeles to visit the Maritime Museum. San Pedro in its day was a large fishing and cannery area and had some of the largest canneries in the country. The waters were overfished, the fish died out and foreign competition ended it all. The Maritime Museum had great exhibits on the seafaring and fishing activity in this area, well worth the visit for a recommended $5 donation. I very liked San Pedro, the old downtown area streets were lined with interesting shops, cafes and bars.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Pedro,_Los_Angeles

Popeye the sailor man on a San Pedro store front

I stopped in this bar for a quick beer just to see the inside.

The Maritime Museum was great

The home of Star-Kist Tuna and the "Tuna nurses"

It's all over now

I liked this quote from Jack London and I hope to use my time too !

I ate lunch in the parking lot viewing this

Veterans Memorial in front of the museum

Also a memorial to the fisherman

After leaving the museum I went to the historic Point Fermin Lighthouse built in 1874 and took their guided tour. It was a strange tour with me and two local women and their four young children who were getting into everything during the tour. The old tour guide was a character too, he didn’t care, even let them sit on the antique bed. The Lighthouse sits on a bluff and the grounds have been turned into a very nice park with great views of the coastline below. There are several unofficial trails with (Danger Do Not Enter) signs that lead from the top down to the water and the local kids were scattering down these trails with total disregard.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_Fermin_Light

Not the usual lighthouse, it housed two families with a spiral staircase
up the center column to the light

The flowers were beautiful

View from the top

View from the bluff looking down at a fisherman

Beautiful coastline from the park

Across the street from the park was a rustic bar/ cafe with a great sign and a couple of motorcycles in front. It being about happy hour, I went over to look and ended up having a beer. As I sat there, a local sitting next to me asked; How did you find this place? He then proceeded to tell me how this place is “World Famous” and on weekends there are bikers here from all over the country, even the world. I can understand why, it was a very cool hangout and the burgers being cooked smelled real good.

Walker's Cafe sign

I then went a short distance away to another scenic park with the Friendship Bell that had been given to the United States by the Republic of Korea for the bicentennial.

The paint and intricate woodworking was outstanding

A larger photo is needed to appreciate

The Bell

No visit to Long Beach would be complete without driving around the Port of Long Beach which is the second largest port in the world, the largest being next door in Los Angeles. You can't drive into the good viewing areas without crashing through a "trucks only" gate, not such a good idea.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Long_Beach

Cruse Ship in port

There must be a million containers in port stocked up everywhere

I also went to the Carrillo Marine Aquarium which is not the new state of the art Aquarium in Long Beach with the huge viewing tanks, but it probably has more information on the all wildlife pertinent to this particular area.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabrillo_Marine_Aquarium

Anemones clone themselves - what a concept ?

I never the beautiful Starfish were such predatores

I liked the sea bird exhibit a lot

They have a sea life nursery here to grow threatened species

Long Branch, I mean Long Beach actually has a very large downtown business and shopping area with a promenade which I almost missed. I ended up spending a few hours walking around there checking the sights. As I was returning to the van I saw a man across the street duck down next to a homeless woman sleeping on the sidewalk, leave something and quickly dart away. As I got closer I saw that he had left a carton of milk, that was my nice thought for the day.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Beach,_California