June 14, 2013---Long Beach Harbor and Lighthouses

June 14, 2013---166712   Odometer reading

         Another day and again we're off to Long Beach to catch the final lighthouse in the Los Angeles area.  This is the Long Beach Harbor Lighthouse, not to be mistaken for the Los Angeles Harbor Lighthouse. It too is out to sea as was the Angel's Gate light, but there are two other "faux" lighthouses in the area worth photographing, so we'll be going to them too. Now mind you, neither of these are actual working 

tiny white spec on the left of the island

lighthouses. Only the harbor lighthouse maintained by the Coast Guard is a working lighthouse, but it’s not very spectacular looking, especially from the distance we had to take the photo. Not having a 400x lens (as soon as I win the lotto) the photos of it are less than spectacular. But in looking up the lighthouses, the write up did say that it was worth it to get 

white spec to the left of the ship is the Long Beach Lighthouse

the photos of these two faux lighthouses, and they were right.  Really inconsiderate of these lighthouse builders to put the real lights where people can't get to them for great photos...need to talk to someone about that. 

          This time we prepared to make it easier to find, as the routes to the lighthouses are not as easy as they seem, as we found out yesterday.  So we had specific directions…PCH to Westminster, left on Westminster to Ocean, and then drive right on Ocean to the Long Beach lighthouse and right on Ocean to the Lions and Parker lighthouses.  Simple, right?

Yeah, right!!!  Never did find Westminster. Once you get down into the maze of streets, railroad tracks, 18 wheelers, and unmarked streets, you’re doomed.  The only things marked are Piers…Pier F, Pier G, Pier H….nothing about streets, and sure as heck no signs saying, “Hey touristo, turn here for the lighthouses”.

Okay, so I make the decision to drive down into the piers following along with the huge trucks and massive cranes until I come to a pier I figure will be off limits and I can ask someone how to find the lighthouses. It worked..kinda. As we followed a huge truck into one of the piers, the signs said No Entrance…National Security, etc.  But there was a booth, and a nice lady in the booth. When I told her I was lost, she smiled and said probably not as much as you think. Where are you going? I told her I was looking for Ocean Blvd, and she had me do a U turn and follow one of the trucks that was leaving, go up over a huge tall bridge, and at the end was Ocean. Well, didn’t see Ocean at that point, but while sitting in an Albertson’s parking lot earlier, I had seen Pico Ave that lead to where we wanted to go, and low and behold, there it was. Left or right? Well, go West to the water! Saw Pier G & H to the Queen Mary and then we saw the Lion’s Lighthouse.  Roy spotted the real Long Beach Harbor lighthouse, off in the distance, so we pulled over by the side of the highway I jumped out with camera in hand, and shot a couple rounds. After doing a couple more U turns, we found  a bicycle route which looked like it circumnavigated the area, so followed it, and tah dah…..we found the Lions and Parker lighthouses.  

The most fabulous of the "faux" lighthouses is the Lions Sight Lighthouse, built and maintained by the Lions' Club. It is large, beautiful, well maintained and a highlight of the Long Beach Harbor Park. A superb spiral walkway encompasses the hill up to the lighthouse, with plenty of width to accommodate people walking, and others on skateboards and wheelie shoes. I 

Roy at base Lions Light

Jane at base Lions Light

told one of the young men if I was 30 years younger, I'd sure be doing it. He said it's fun but you have to be prepared for the scrapes and falls, and proceeded to show me his scab and scar down the length of his forearm from elbow to wrist. Ouch! But it still looks fun. 

Also on the spiral path was a small boy of about 6 years old. He laid down on the well manicured lawn, put his arms up over his head, and rolled down the manicured grass lawn to the next level down to where his parents and sister were standing. I remember this maneuver well...as does Roy...as I did the same thing down the back lawn and Mick and Velma's house in Minnesota some years ago when we were back visiting! As the boy stood up, he staggered and fell a few times before sitting still until the dizziness was over. We all had a great laugh, and I'm sure it was fabulous fun for him.

         Plus, we found out, the the Long Beach harbor area is spectacularly beautiful. A spiral path up to the Lions lighthouse, is surrounded by grassy areas, trees, sculptures, and of course, the water. A three masted sail ship was coming in to dock, and although the sails were not unfurled, it was still gorgeous. The sun was out, a slight breeze, temps in the high 70’s and the only thing that kept it from being perfect and our staying and loitering for much longer, was the fact that  no animals were allowed, so Guayo had to stay in the car. Plus side…handicapped parking is free!

           We spoke to people along the way…two ladies in lounges with umbrellas were

talking and taking in the beauty of the day, with light throws over them to protect from the breezes getting too  chilly. They laughed when I told them they knew how to relax, and invited us to join them, but we had to keep going to the top for the photo and back to Guayo. They asked where we were from, and we told them about my retirement and the road trip and they were excited for us.  I told Roy I meant to make business cards prior to our departure indicating our name, the Loos & Lighthouses Retirement Tour and the blog site, and just didn't find time. Maybe I will do that tonight and put it on a flash drive and take it to Kinko's or Staples and have them printed out for the rest of the trip.

          The theme from everyone was how beautiful it was there and how lucky they were to live in/near Long Beach so they could come to this park. I have to agree...Long Beach was raised to spectacular heights in my estimation of excellent places. 

          We left Long Beach, traversing Hwy 1, PCH, back to Huntington Beach.  On the west side of the road, we have encountered this outrageous vacation rental. It has been renovated from an old water tower. It has an elevator, but I can't even imagine what it looks like inside. I think next time we come over here to visit, we need to rent it for a night and check it out!

          On the way back to Jason’s home, we stopped at the Dog Beach in Huntington Beach and let Guayo off leash to run and play and have some fun. He’s such a good traveling 

Guayo & Dad with "Squirrel"

companion and never complains (well, sometimes he talks loudly to let us to let us know he has to get out and pee on a tree), and he’d been unable to walk with us at the harbor, plus I hadn’t gotten my feet filled with beach sand today, so it was a must do. He actually went out into the 

Sunset at the beach

waves to “rescue” his flying squirrel from being drowned…so much braver than the first day when he ran away from any possible contact from the waves. And as always, he found other wonderful dogs to play with and chase and sniff butts. 

Squirrel going into ocean

Brave Dog!!! Rescued squirrel from ocean

      

         We also came across two friends fishing and one of them actually caught a small perch. It's the first time I've ever seen anyone catch a fish off the beach. Lots of people fishing, but no one hardly ever catches anything. I don't think any of them are there hoping to catch supper, because if they are, there are a lot of hungry people most days! 

              This is the final Los Angeles area lighthouse for us. Tomorrow it will be a trip to the San Diego area to take photos of the Old and New Point Loma lighthouses, and a get-together with long time friends Kirk and Rose Stillwater and their daughter Cyndi and her family, whom I haven't seen in over 20 years.  It will be fabulous to see them again!