Friday Photos: Long Beach, California

The Ocean Center Building at 110 West Ocean Boulevard

On the penultimate day of my 2012 visit to America, I went to Long Beach, California. I had never been there before, and wanting to get out of downtown Los Angeles, a trip to the ocean seemed just the ticket before a long flight back to Australia. Here are some snapshots of my visit.

For Sale? Yes, please. Long Beach, California

I assumed Long Beach was part of Los Angeles, but it seems Long Beach is a city in its own right. In fact it qualifies as the 36th-largest city in the United States, and the seventh-largest in California. In addition, Long Beach is the second largest city within the Greater Los Angeles Area, after Los Angeles itself. As of 2010, its population was just over 462,000.

Parkers’ Lighthouse, Long Beach, California

Long Beach apparently suffers from some of the worst air pollution in Southern California and the United States. Thankfully, on the afternoon I visited, non of this pollution seemed to be in evidence judging by the mostly cloudless, and ever present bright blue sky.

Lighthouse, Long Beach, California

The Port of Long Beach is the United States' second busiest container port and one of the world's largest shipping ports. Trade valued annually at more than $140 billion moves through Long Beach, making it the second-busiest seaport in the United States.

Carnival Inspiration (left), and Queen Mary (right), Long Beach, California

The RMS Queen Mary is a 1936 art deco ocean liner which is permanently docked at Long Beach. Roughly 200 ft (61 m) longer than the RMS Titanic, the former Cunard Liner is famous for being the fastest in the world from 1936 to 1952; for its distinctive art deco design, and for its use during World War II as a troop transport. It was purchased by the city of Long Beach in 1967, and converted to a hotel and maritime museum. Unfortunately, I did not have time to get any closer than this view, which is a pity. As a former ship yard worker, I would have loved the opportunity to go on board and give the ship a closer inspection.

The Carnival Inspiration, Long Beach, California

With the Carnival Inspiration berthed so close to the Queen Mary, it was a perfect opportunity to make a visual comparison between the old and new cruise liners. One imagines vast differences between the layout and facilities of each ship, but both no doubt have their champions, even today. If you had a choice, which would you prefer to sail on?

Shopping outlet at Shoreline Village, Long Beach, California

I did not have time to check out other attractions around Long Beach, but the 5-acre (20,000 m2) Aquarium of the Pacific is located nearby, as is the Long Beach Convention Center, and the Shoreline Village, where these two images (above and below) were taken―as were the two photos above of Parker’s Lighthouse. 

Waiting for my ship to come in at Long Beach, California

Downtown Long Beach is located approximately 25 miles (40 km) south of Downtown Los Angeles. I got there by boarding a Metro train somewhere downtown, and riding it to Long Beach. I enjoyed my visit, although it was far too brief, and given the chance I would like an opportunity to spend several days in the area exploring further.

More Information

Thanks to Wikipedia for the background information used in this post. See the full Long Beach Wikipedia entry here...

P.S. Click on the images to view full size. 

Ferry Hopping Around Sydney Harbour

~ Have I told you about the day I spent ferry-hopping my way around Sydney Harbour? No? Well, then, this is as good a time as any to tell you about one of Sydney’s hidden gems – the Day Tripper transport pass.

The $17.00 Day Tripper Pass gives you unlimited transfers across the whole of Sydney’s trains, buses, and ferry services. During my Sydney stay I decided to purchase one and use it to ride as many of Sydney’s iconic ferries as I could. In the end I only managed to travel on four of eight ferry routes, but I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of my time on the Harbour.

My first ‘port of call’ was of course, Circular Quay, where I boarded the first available ferry for my adventures out and about on Sydney Harbour. As it happened, the first ferry I spotted was going to Manly, so I quickly boarded and found some free space up by the bow.

I should have guessed the Manly ferry would be one of the most popular operating out of Circular Quay, and indeed a good 80% of the passengers were tourists and visitors like myself.

As we cast off from the quay, the jockeying for prime photographic positions was well and truly underway. Those passengers on the right (or starboard) side of the ferry, concentrated their cameras on the Sydney Opera House, while those on the left/port side, aimed their ‘weapons’ at the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The best placed travellers at the bow of the ferry were of course, able to capture both landmarks, while those at the stern aimed their cameras at the slowly receding city skyline, before turning their attentions to both the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

The 30 minute trip to Manly went smoothly enough, and as I disembarked at Manly Wharf, my intention was to spend another 30 minutes having a quick look around before reboarding the next ferry back to Circular Quay. Two hours later I finally forced myself back onto a ferry to complete that circuit!

Ah, Manly. Even in April the sunbathers were still to be seen stretching out on the sand soaking up as much warmth as the late autumn sun could offer.

Manly. The name says it all. Venice Beach it isn’t, but Manly Beach can still muster up a good showing of inline skaters, joggers, visitors, skateboarders, gawkers, dog walkers, swimmers, promenaders, tourists, surfers, poseurs, and the afore mentioned sunbathers.

While there, make sure you take the time to sample the fish-n-chips from one of the numerous outlets along the foreshore, or The Corso, that strangely named thoroughfare leading from Manly Wharf to the main beach.

The ferry to and from Circular Quay sails parallel to the ‘heads’ separating the north shore from the south. As we cruised past the entrance to Sydney Harbour – or if you prefer, the entrance to the Pacific Ocean – the ferry bucked and heaved in the rising swell. Tourists around me oo-ed and ah-ed as the sea spray hung in the air, and the ferry carved its way into calmer waters again for the remainder of the journey to Circular Quay.

At Circular Quay I quickly boarded the Neutral Bay ferry service. This service makes a number of stops along the North Shore, and includes Kirribilli, where the Australian Prime Minister has his Sydney lodgings (at the appropriately named Kirribilli House).

Back at the Quay my next cruise was on the Balmain/Woolwich ferry. Instead of doing the full circuit, I decided to jump off after several harbourside stops at Greenwich Point. From the landing site I had a clear view of the Sydney skyline, and as the afternoon sun began dipping in the west, I took photo after photo of a golden sunset reflecting off the glass and steel of the buildings in the CBD.

My final ride was on the longest of the eight major ferry routes servicing Sydney Harbour. This route, which runs up the Parramatta River to the suburb of Parramatta, is serviced by a RiverCat vessel – a large catamaran type craft designed to navigate the lower depths of the river, especially at the Parramatta wharf end.

By the time I boarded the RiverCat, the sun had all but disappeared below the horizon. For the next hour, I and my fellow passengers were treated to a spectacular evening cruise that took in Luna Park, Darling Harbour, Cockatoo Island, Olympic Park, and almost a dozen other harbourside stops. And best of all, I was able to stay on the craft and return by the same route – albeit in reverse order – and once again wallow in the luxury of Sydney Harbour at night.

In a previous entry (Circular Quay, Sydney) I wrote: “I never thought I’d say this, but I think the area around Circular Quay is as vibrant, exciting, and involving as any similar part of New York City (where I spent two months last year).”

Well, I never thought I’d say this either, but in terms of setting, Sydney Harbour beats Manhattan, hands down. Of course, New York has more skyscrapers, and taller ones than Sydney, but in this case size doesn’t matter.

What Sydney has is one of the most stunningly beautiful natural harbours in the world. Port Jackson (to give Sydney Harbour its official name) is 19 km long with an area of 55 square kilometres. If you were to walk around the perimeter of the harbour you would cover a distance of around 317 kilometres.

For my small investment of $17.00 I saw only a fraction of this vast expanse of water and the beautiful city that has grown up around it, but I loved every minute of it. If you have the time to do as I did, I urge you to spend as much time on the harbour as you can. I guarantee you, you won’t be sorry.

Image: Sydney Ferry, Narrabeen

Photographer: Jim Lesses