From Oceanside, we took I-5 north to Long Beach CA and
Before Steve retired from AT&T, we had an option for him to relocate to El Segundo CA
and this was the only park close to his office. So we mulled over the idea for a while, finally decided against it, and Steve retired instead. Still, we were interested to see where we could have spent the next 6 months.
Turns out, it was a nice park, tucked between Downtown and the Port of Los Angeles. The area of Long Beach is going through a big restoration and it boasts an aquarium, performing arts center, and huge outdoor pool, right along side of the beach .
City back drop
Long Beach
A picture of the THUMS Island or Astronaut Islands oil rigs right off the beach
Chilly as it was, you can’t keep volleyballars or surfers down
Santa Monica was close by, and we’d be remiss if we didn’t go for a stroll on the pier
We then started to drive north on Pacific Coast Parkway toward Ventura. We checked out a couple of campsites on or just off the beach. One had burned down from the fires, the other still too expensive at $75 a night, for a spot in a parking lot
We got to Malibu and decided to drive through the mountains
Some areas were completely devastated by the fires. But there were dozens of construction vehicles trying to salvage and rebuild
.Another day we drove into LA and to the Griffith Observatory, which is close to the Hollywood sign
Next we decided to brave the traffic and ventured into Hollywood to Graumans Chinese Theater, but the traffic and lack of parking forced us to abandon that plan. So, next stop, the Hollywood Bowl
And finally back to our campground to see the Queen Mary, which is in the Port of Los Angeles and our front yard
It was nice 3 days, but their traffic is horrendous, traffic jams all times of day and in every direction
The restaurants were excellent in Long Beach, specifically the Sushi restaurant, which was mobbed and The Hangout at Seal Beach.
We wanted some warmth and to get out of the rain, so decided to head over the mountains and back to the desert.
