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Southern California Close-Ups | A vacation guide to the Southland
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Did somebody order fish and ships?
The harbor area of southwest Los Angeles County -- the closest thing we have to a blue-collar coast -- is where the cruise ships call, where global cargo gets loaded and unloaded, where ton upon ton of maritime machinery hums and looms. It's where the Queen Mary passes her awkward retirement. Close at hand, the Pacific pounds the bluffs and pebbles of the Palos Verdes peninsula and 22 miles off the mainland, the island of Santa Catalina primps and sparkles for weekend admirers. This territory is "to me, is like a secret," confides Anthony Geich, who works the desk at Hostelling International's LA/South Bay hostel in San Pedro. "You're in L.A., but you're away from all the bull..." Read more... --Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times staff writer |
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Scroll over each image for info on each itinerary
1. A bottle of vino, a little boat, and thou. Just before Los Angeles County runs out and Orange County begins, a southbound traveler comes across the watery neighborhood known as Naples. It's a cluster of three upscale residential islands, with waterways in between. Click for more...
2. This way to the bat ray. You've gone as far south as the 710 freeway goes, to the damp heart of Long Beach. You've stepped into the Aquarium of the Pacific, a big and bright attraction that opened in 1998 near the city's convention center. Click for more...
3. Big ships. In a slightly different universe, the Long Beach waterfront would still be dominated by the old Long Beach Pike, a massive amusement park that went up in the early 20th century, a cousin to similar set-ups in San Diego, Santa Monica and Santa Cruz. But The Pike did not age well, and city leaders were scrambling for a new way to seduce tourists. Enter the Queen Mary, a British ocean liver built in the 1930s, retired in 1967, recast here as a floating hotel. Click for more...
4. Going retro. Just when you think you're beginning to figure Long Beach out, up pops bohemian Retro Row, a medley of funky vintage and design shops on Fourth Street, to show how little you know. About three-dozen shops are concentrated between Cherry and Junipero avenues. Click for more...
5. Eat drink shop stroll. The commercial spine of Long Beach's Belmont Shores area is a 15-block stretch of Second Street, three blocks from the beach. Tuck into a mound of Lebanese kebabs at one of Open Sesame's two busy locations (5201 and 5215 E. Second St.) and rest assured that next time, you could try crepes, pasta, cupcakes, tacos, Thai., whatever. Click for more...
6. When Catalina calls. Between Dana Point to the south and Marina del Rey to the north, there are five places to catch a ferry for Catalina. But you probably want the shortest boat ride possible, and that means starting in Long Beach with the Catalina Express. Click for more...
7. The island, new and improved. To impress the adults in your traveling party, book a room at the renewed Pavilion Hotel, right on bayfront Crescent Avenue. Formerly known the Pavilion Lodge, the place was redone and reopened in 2010 with lush landscaping in its courtyard, an inviting fire ring and hints of mid-century modernism here and there. Click for more...
8. Taking flight. If your Catalina trip is a family venture, look into renting a house or condo from Catalina Island Vacation Rentals, so you can defray costs by doing some of your own cooking. Also, between bike rentals, glass-bottom boat rides and miniature golf tournaments at Golf Gardens, you'll want to line up at Big Olaf's ice cream shop (220 Crescent Ave.) along the waterfront, where $4.50 buys a single scoop of Dreyer's ice cream with topping. Click for more...
9. High ground and chain link. San Pedro is a sleeper. Wedged between the docks of Long Beach and the mansions of the Palos Verdes peninsula, it has a throwback look (lots of 50-year-old signage) and a Croatian accent, because so many local families came from Croatia to work seafaring or waterfront jobs. Click for more...
10. Of golf, God and coastal redwoods. Venture north of San Pedro and boom -- you're out of blue-collar territory and onto the genteel slopes of Rancho Palos Verdes, snaking along the not-at-all-smooth blacktop of Palos Verdes Drive. Click for more...
11. Does that name ring a diving bell? A little farther north on Palos Verdes Drive, you'll reach at a grand blufftop chunk of land that longtime Angelenos will remember as site of the Marineland theme park from 1954-1987. Since 2009, these 102 acres have been the site of Terranea, a luxury resort that opened just in time to get kicked in the teeth by the recession. Click for more...
Video: Inside Long Beach, San Pedro and Catalina Island
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What are your favorite places in Long Beach, San Pedro or Catalina Island?
