Beach Day

It was another hot and muggy day at the beach...at least what passes for a beach here in Long Beach. Our beach here in Long Beach is "protected" by a break water that has something to do with the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. As such, our beaches don't have crashing waves like Huntington or Newport. But hey...it's still a beach.

To the upper left of the picture is the Belmont Pier. At the upper right is another of the oil islands much like Island White featured in previous posts. It is supposed to be a bit cooler today with the high in Long Beach only reaching 80 degrees F.

Port of Long Beach

I took this shot of the Port of Long Beach from Bluff Park. More cargo and containers move through the Port than any other Port in the United States according to their website. According to Wikipedia, the Port is the second busiest in the United States and the tenth busiest in the world. I plan on taking a trek over soon to get some more shots in and around the area. Look for them soon!

Peace

Sometimes I get a little bit stressed out by all the drama going on in our world. It's at times like these that I head up into the canyons for a little quiet time. I walked across the stream on this log and then sat there for a while absorbing the sounds of nature...and nothing else. It was nice.

Weird Weather

Credit for this photo goes to my neighbor. We've been having really weird weather here in Southern California including lightning and thunderstorms, high humidity and extremely HOT temperatures. Watching the lightning play off the water during the nighttime was incredible!

Virgin Mary

On the grounds of the Long Beach Sagely Monastery is this statue of the Virgin Mary. It always seems a bit odd to me that a Buddhist Monastery has a statue of the Virgin Mary. Fresh flowers are placed on or around the statue every day. We've even seen people kneeling in front of the statue saying prayers.

Long Beach Sagely Monastery

The Long Beach Sagely Monastery is a branch of the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association which was founded by the Venerable Master Husan Hua. I often see the monks walking along the beach in the early morning or late afternoon. Although the majority of his disciples are Chinese, history will probably remember him [Hua] primarily for his work in bringing the teachings of the Buddha to the people of the West.

Beach Bench

I was walking along a beach popular with tourists when I noticed this bench. It looked kind of cool and made a great back-drop for some family pictures.

Historic Home

I wish I knew the history behind this home that sits on a full block. This view from the front doesn't really do justice to just how large and impressive this house (and it's guest house) really is.

For the Tourists

I was walking along the Marina and noticed this artist's stand. A bit later as I was walking past again, I noticed that the artist was busy doing a portrait of one of the many tourists that have made their way to my fair city.

Hand Wash

Luggi at Los Angeles Daily Photo gave me the idea for today's post with his Car Wash post. This Hand Wash is located on the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) and is where I get my car washed. It's a ritual here in Southern California to get your car pampered on pretty much a weekly basis.

Goodyear Blimp

It was a clear, hot, windless day yesterday which was perfect weather to load the beaches up. As such, the flying billboards were out in full display including the Goodyear Blimp. As it sailed past my house, I grabbed the camera for this shot. It's promising to be another extremely hot day today.

Hazy Canyon

When it's really hot, like the forecasters are calling for it to be today, the best time for a hike is early in the morning when it's still hazy and cool. This is a photo of a canyon I went hiking in...you can see that the haze has not cleared and it was very comfortable. Today is supposed to be our hottest day of the year. I'm off to the beach.

Cherubs

These cherubs appear to have found a way to stay cool during our current heat wave.

Historic Neighborhood

The other day I showed you a photo of my neighbor's gate. Today I thought I would show you a photo of the same neighbor's house. The neighborhood I live in consists of large (on average 5,000 sq ft), historic homes built between 1900 and 1920 (my house was built in 1920). Apparently this neighborhood was popular with the Hollywood stars of the day, including Alfred Hitchcock who lived just around the corner from me (although way before my time). Several homes in this neighborhood are like this one; almost as if the architects were attempting to give them a "castle" look.

Sailor Memorial

The City of Long Beach has recently added this statue in Bluff Park to honor sailors, both military and civilian. All around the statue of the sailor and his bag are tiles with names of sailors who have passed on.

Sunlit Gate

I was walking past my neighbor's house last evening and the gate to their backyard caught my attention.

Island White (Night)

An evening shot of Island White.

Dinner

Last night's dinner was from our favorite hole in the wall walk-up taqueria ~ 5 tacos w/ carne asada ~ 1 bean & cheese burrito ~ 1 tostado w/ bean & cheese.

Skywalk II

A couple of days ago I posted a picture looking up into the latice work of the Skywalk that goes over Shoreline Drive from the Pike to Shoreline Village. Today I thought I'd post a picture of what the Skywalk actually looks like. It is kind of reminiscent of a rollercoaster.

Lubery

MoonSoleil from Saarbrücken Daily Photo gave me the inspiration for today's post with her post Sex Shop. I drive past the Lubery every day on my way to work. For those in the area, it's located on Broadway just before Redondo. As with all sex shops, it sells everything associated with sex although, as indicated by its name, the specialty is lubricants.

Queen Mary

Originally built as an Ocean Liner, the Queen Mary also served as a troop carrier during World War II. Following it's retirment, the Queen Mary was permanently docked here in Long Beach. It now serves as a hotel and tourist destination. Also has several restaurants that are really good.

Skywalk

To walk from The Pike (a collection of shops, theaters, restaurants and bars) across Shoreline Drive to Shoreline Village, I chose to use the skywalk. From a distance, the skywalk looks like a roller coaster at a theme park. I took this picture standing in the middle of the skywalk, looking up.

Shoreline Village

Shoreline Village is an ecclectic mix of restaurants, candy shops, arcades and bicycle rentals shops. It's a great place to spend a lazy afternoon.

Lighthouse

This lighthouse is located at the entrance of the marina at Shoreline Village. At night I can sit on my front porch and see the light flash across the water.

Be Kind

This post from Aliso Viejo Daily Photo was the inspiration for my post today.

Perfect Day

I walked out onto my front porch early this morning to have a cup of coffee and saw this boat sitting on the perfectly calm water. It was still a bit hazy out, but it's clearing up now and will be a beautiful day here with temperatures in the 90's.