Unbearably hot sand, surprisingly immaculate bathrooms, an odd quiet, fit beautiful people running along the beach, searching forever for parking, visiting Starbucks for a $2 coffee so I could validate my *umm* illegal parking, and a sudden boat tour — these are my memories of the beach part of Long Beach.
And… corny as it may sound… I was really excited about doing a boat tour of San Pedro Harbor (which seems larger in movies). Tours run out of the Long Beach Pier next to the Aquarium of the Pacific.
In San Pedro Bay, both the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach share a mudflat called Terminal Island (previously known as Rattlesnake Island). This is one of two islands that sat in the bay when the Spanish arrived. The other was Dead Man’s Island, which was removed in 1929 to make it easier for ships to reach the ports. (As an aside, I found this photo of some skeletons they found during the removal of the island.)
Hi there: Your dad shared your site with me, re your California visit. Enjoyed all the photos, brought back memories of when my daughter lived in Long Beach. We enjoyed many trips out there including her wedding held on board the Queen Mary. Nice times. great photos. You have taken some very interesting journeys.