David Massey wrote:
>
> The only problem is saying "since I am in Long Beach I think I will pop in
> and have a look at the Golden Gate Bridge" is akin to saying "since I am in
> the Isle of Wight I'll pop in and have a look at the Shetland Islands."
> The bridge is that far from LA. The Golden Gate is in San Francisco (Which
> is a very interesting city and well worth a visit but it is some 300 miles
> north of Long Beach).
Well, perhaps not quite _that_ bad, even though it's more like 400 miles
(650km) from Long Beach to San Francisco. Still, if you've got the
time, it's a beautiful drive up Pacific Coast Highway (which makes it
even farther, it's not the most direct of routes. Roughly 10 hours
driving time each way.). And, there is regular air service from Long
Beach to San Francisco.
The Queen Mary is worth a look (once <g>), and afterwards be sure to
take a drive across the Vincent St. Thomas bridge to the west, where you
can look down on the largest container cargo terminal in the world.
IMO the Petersen Automotive museum is worth a look, as are the La Brea
tar pits and the associated Page museum. All are located in LA, roughly
30 miles from Long Beach.
If you are interested in old machinery, the Antique Gas & Steam Engine
Museum in Vista, CA (roughly 80 miles south of LB) is also worth a
look. http://www.agsem.com/ or
http://members.aol.com/maxbrother/maxdir/test.html
Again if you are interested in such things, consider the Laserium show
at the Griffith Park Observatory (in LA). This is basically a live
laser light show projected onto the planetarium dome and set to music.
Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon is my favorite piece.
http://www.laserium.com/ for more info.
Of course, we also have an impressive collection of tourist traps
(Disneyland, Universal Studios, etc.), amusement parks (Magic Mountain,
Knott's Berry Farm, Raging Waters, etc.), museums (Getty Center, etc.)
and what-not in the area.
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=los+angeles and
http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/U_S__States/California/Cities/Long_Beach/
have lots of links.
Venice Beach is a good place to see why California is the land of fruits
and nuts (and I'm not talking about the kind that grow on trees <g>).
If you go on the weekend, look for the guy yelling "I'm going to set my
black ass on fire !". He at least occasionally does do it.
Randall
Lakewood, CA - walking distance from Long Beach
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