Long Beach Daily Photo: July 2006

Long Beach Daily Photo

A daily picture taken in and around the city I call home ~ Long Beach, California

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

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.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

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!

Monday, July 24, 2006

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.

Sunday, July 23, 2006

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!

Saturday, July 22, 2006

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.

Friday, July 21, 2006

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.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

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.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

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.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

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.

Monday, July 17, 2006

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.

Sunday, July 16, 2006

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.

Saturday, July 15, 2006

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.

Friday, July 14, 2006

Cherubs
















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

Thursday, July 13, 2006

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.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

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.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Sunlit Gate






















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

Monday, July 10, 2006

Island White (Night)
















An evening shot of Island White.

Sunday, July 09, 2006

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.

Saturday, July 08, 2006

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.

Friday, July 07, 2006

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.

Thursday, July 06, 2006

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.

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

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.

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

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.

Monday, July 03, 2006

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.

Sunday, July 02, 2006

Be Kind




















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

Saturday, July 01, 2006

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.