Places Visited: Tuesday, May 17, San Mateo Campground (state park) San Clemente, California: Free but normally $24 with water & 30-amps central dump. Paved interior roads and sites. N33° 24.365' W117° 35.006'. We had a great day packed with fun and excitement. The big event we were looking forward to was meeting "Stan" from the RV-Talk e-mail group. We have been "virtual" friends for years but today was our day to actually meet each other. But first we had to make our way from San Clemente to Newport Beach and the Balboa Peninsula where our agreed upon meeting place AKA, Blue Water Grill restaurant was located. Stan and his "supervisor" AKA wife had an 11AM meeting with their landscape architect so we weren't meeting for lunch until 1PM. This gave us ample time to leisurely drive up the coast and stop at various vista points, marinas, beaches etc., on our way. It goes without saying that we stopped and took pictures at every opportunity. In Laguna Beach we stopped at one of California's famous beaches. It is often referred to as the Pacific Riviera of Southern California. It is easy to see why this resplendent seaside resort would garner that moniker.
The public beach in town was totally enchanting. Professional level volley ball players were performing/volleying at multiple volley ball nets. Exercise buffs were performing routines much to the delight of onlookers. Some were just sitting on the lush green grass enjoying the wonderful sea air and scenery.
Others were walking, roller skating, doing whatever people do with dogs and plastic bags. We enjoyed it all in addition to the immaculately manicured lawn and colorful landscaping.
Back on the Pacific Coast Highway Joyce spotted a "Vista Point" sign that we followed to Crescent Bay Point Park a City of Laguna Beach and County of Orange Park located in a ritzy neighborhood. Limited parking was available around an enlarged cul-de-sac. Crescent Bay Point Park is situated at the end of the cul-de-sac on several "residential" lots perched high atop Crescent Bay Point.
Then we parked and walked to the multiple "vista-points" located strategically around the park. Totally breathtaking is the only way to describe views from this cliff. Hundreds of feet below are beautiful rock tide pools.
Offshore large rocks project up from the water.
On either side of the point are protected bays with sandy beaches. To the south is the large city beach in downtown Laguna Beach complete with picturesque hillside filled with exquisite homes and condominium complexes.
While we were enjoying that city park a number of residents walked through the park each speaking with the government employee "gardener" that was tending to the plants and sprinkler system. Each sang his praises bragging on how nice he maintained the park. We could have stayed there all day but we had other opportunities beckoned.
In Corona del Mar we stopped at Lookout Point and Begonia Park to view the ocean and the entrance to Newport Bay from the Pacific Ocean. The park is situated high on a cliff that overlooks the Pacific Ocean and a wonderful sandy beach to the west while to the north the view is of the protected pass and southern tip of Balboa Peninsula.
Joyce and I could watch the boats entering and leaving the protected harbor for hours. But we have a dinner date and a list of other things to see and experience. After leaving Begonia Park we followed Bayside Drive around to the bridge leading to Balboa Island.
Joyce had read about Balboa Island in some of our literature, in other words she knew what to expect. I had to hit the door locks as we passed through the business area on Marine Avenue lined with oodles of beachwear shops, boutiques and eateries. A home on Balboa Island would be something we could both agree on but it ain't going to happen unless we hit a double lottery. Extremely nice homes are shoehorned together on Balboa Island making maximum usage of each square foot of land. Managing to stay in the Saturn and avoid the shopping melee that certainly would have occurred if a parking spot would have been available, we followed signs across Balboa Island to the small 3-car ferries shuttling cars and people from Balboa Island to Balboa Peninsula.
Ferry rides are so unique. We like to do them when we have a chance. This one was no different. The ferry ride across the harbor is only a few hundred yards but the view is priceless. Sea lions were playing in the water; huge yachts were moored choc-a-block. It appeared that any vessel less than 40' in length was not allowed. From their immaculate appearance we could only assume each vessel had had a cadre of hired hands to keep it that way. Ninety nine percent of these showpiece boats are secured in their dock space with virtually no vessels under way except the two ferries. Even on the weekend over 90% of the boats were in their moorings. What gives? Do these people just own the boats to sit in the marina? I suppose they are like trophy motorhomes. And the world moves on. While on the ferry we called Stan on our cell phone to let him know where we were. Our GTG set for 1PM at the Blue Water Grill was still a go all Joyce and I had to do was spend about 30-minutes getting familiar with Balboa Peninsula which we did in high style. We tried hard to get to the area know as the "Wedge" one of the world's premier body surfing spots attracting surfers from around the world. The road in that area was closed for some major work so we could not get close enough to the beach to watch the surfers. All we got to see was the opulent waterfront homes with impeccable landscaping.
We did locate the legendary "Pavilion" on Balboa Peninsual but didn't locate a parking space and actually walk around in it.
That is the Pavilion at the end of this prominade.
Then it was time to head to Blue Water Grill which was easy to find. It was located across the marina from another upscale restaurant located in an old cannery building.
An anchovy purse seine boat was tied up between the two restaurants. I was fascinated with all the winches and gear on the anchovy boat but did not get a chance to ask questions of the crew until after lunch.
The Blue Water Grill featured a large assortment of pictures showing trophy fish landed in the area for the past 50-years. This area has produced some huge sea bass and sword fish in addition to blue marlin. We always enjoy looking over the classic old photographs of the giant fish caught in the "good old days". Our lunch with Stan & Anne was wonderful. We are no longer just "virtual" friends. I could sit and listen to Stan tell about improvements he has made to his coach for hours on end. Stan is a retired engineer that still loves to tinker.
After lunch and generous chatting we each headed our separate ways. Joyce and I returned to the little 3-car ferry that took us back to Balboa Island where we retraced our route through the ritzy Balboa Island shopping area and back to the Pacific Coast Highway.
On our way back to the motorhome we decided to stop by Dana Pt Marina one last time. It attracts us like a magnet. The boats and water have that effect on us. The commercial fishing boats are what really interest me.
Neither of us had the energy to head to the beach for the sunset. We must be getting lazy.
Scrub Jay to the left and brown towhee to the right. San Mateo State Park Campground has been interesting. Marine helicopters from Camp Pendleton have been doing exercises up and down the valley south of us so we frequently hear the rhythmic thump, thump, thump of the blades.
The park is full of California quail that make such plaintive calls. The valley is teeming with agriculture. I wonder if Camp Pendleton leases land to local farmers.
The campground is literally overrun with rabbits and ground squirrels.
Rangers told us that we would see bob cats, not that we might see bob cats or could possibly see bob cats but that we would see bob cats. Well, we didn't see a bob cat even though we looked. We thought that with this many rabbits and ground squirrels that we would hear or see a coyote but we didn't. A great horned owl stopped by briefly last night for a few hoots before locating what he wanted and heading on. We have enjoyed San Mateo Campground and recommend it if you are in this area.
Wednesday, May 18, Golden Shore RV Resort-- Long Beach, California: $45.90 with GS discount FHU-50amp. Paved interior roads gravel sites. N33° 45.919' W118° 12.210' California quail were wailing away when we awoke this morning. They sound so pitiful. That sound makes us think the other has lost their life partner----but they all do it and they do it all the time. It is probably just quail talk. We had discussed our journey from San Clemente up to Long Beach with Stan during our lunch yesterday. Stan advised that we take the interstate system otherwise there would be too much stop and go traffic. We thought long and hard about that advice. In the end we decided to take the Pacific Coast Highway CA-1 because we wanted to see that section of the coast and because we had to get out of the State Park we were in yet the Campground in Long Beach did not want us to arrive before 2PM. We had a dilemma on our hands. The solution was to spend as much time in between San Clemente and Long Beach as practical. We did that by driving up the Pacific Coast Highway. It was as slow as Stan had said it would be but we were able to see the coast including Huntington Beach State Park, Huntington Beach, Bolsa Chica Beach State Park, Sunset Beach, Surfside, Seal Beach and finally Naples before getting to Long Beach. The drive through downtown Long Beach and all the skyscrapers was exciting to say the least. We knew the GPS would lose lock when we were surrounded by those skyscrapers but it didn't. Thank goodness since we had to make a crucial turn to the campground in the midst of that jungle of concrete and steel. After getting set up we headed to Uncle Al's Seafood a special little restaurant on the corner of first and Elm in downtown Long Beach. Uncle Al's has long been a favorite of locals. Most of the customers order without a menu and the favorite item is Al's Salmon burger with Al's special sauce. Joyce and I did what the crowds do and ordered the Salmon burger. We even got some hush puppies and caramel plantains. Al's isn't a 5-star destination restaurant but it does have great seafood. If you are in the area give it a try.
Then we drove to the Queen Mary and walked around the harbor area watching container ships being loaded and offloaded. Long Beach is one of the busiest container ship harbors in the US. We could see one container ship being offloaded from where we were sitting and 5 of those large gantry cranes were offloading the huge containers.
We timed the operation and each crane was able to connect to a container in the ship lift the container clear of the ship and deposit the container on a waiting 18-wheel tractor trailer rig in 60-seconds. In other words each of those 5-cranes was able to offload one container per-minute.
In order for that to take place the 18-wheeler with the newly deposited container must exit the loading spot only to be replaced by another 18-wheeler. And there were 5 of these operations per-ship. The level of activity is mind numbing. There is no telling how many container ships in port…… does anyone know the size of the Long Beach Shipping Terminal? The flow of 18-wheel tractor trailer rigs into and out of the port is staggering. For every 18-wheeler hauling a container out of the port one is arriving with a container to be loaded on to one of the waiting vessels. This level of operation continues 24/7. The organization and coordination that has to take place to make all this work has to be enormously complex. Containers are arriving and departing the port in ships, tractor trailers and rail road.
Until next week just remember how good life is. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mike &
Joyce HendrixPlaces Visited: Tuesday, May 17, San Mateo Campground (state park) San Clemente, California: Free but normally $24 with water & 30-amps central dump. Paved interior roads and sites. N33° 24.365' W117° 35.006'. We had a great day packed with fun and excitement. The big event we were looking forward to was meeting "Stan" from the RV-Talk e-mail group. We have been "virtual" friends for years but today was our day to actually meet each other. But first we had to make our way from San Clemente to Newport Beach and the Balboa Peninsula where our agreed upon meeting place AKA, Blue Water Grill restaurant was located. Stan and his "supervisor" AKA wife had an 11AM meeting with their landscape architect so we weren't meeting for lunch until 1PM. This gave us ample time to leisurely drive up the coast and stop at various vista points, marinas, beaches etc., on our way. It goes without saying that we stopped and took pictures at every opportunity. In Laguna Beach we stopped at one of California's famous beaches. It is often referred to as the Pacific Riviera of Southern California. It is easy to see why this resplendent seaside resort would garner that moniker.
The public beach in town was totally enchanting. Professional level volley ball players were performing/volleying at multiple volley ball nets. Exercise buffs were performing routines much to the delight of onlookers. Some were just sitting on the lush green grass enjoying the wonderful sea air and scenery.
Others were walking, roller skating, doing whatever people do with dogs and plastic bags. We enjoyed it all in addition to the immaculately manicured lawn and colorful landscaping.
Back on the Pacific Coast Highway Joyce spotted a "Vista Point" sign that we followed to Crescent Bay Point Park a City of Laguna Beach and County of Orange Park located in a ritzy neighborhood. Limited parking was available around an enlarged cul-de-sac. Crescent Bay Point Park is situated at the end of the cul-de-sac on several "residential" lots perched high atop Crescent Bay Point.
Then we parked and walked to the multiple "vista-points" located strategically around the park. Totally breathtaking is the only way to describe views from this cliff. Hundreds of feet below are beautiful rock tide pools.
Offshore large rocks project up from the water.
On either side of the point are protected bays with sandy beaches. To the south is the large city beach in downtown Laguna Beach complete with picturesque hillside filled with exquisite homes and condominium complexes.
While we were enjoying that city park a number of residents walked through the park each speaking with the government employee "gardener" that was tending to the plants and sprinkler system. Each sang his praises bragging on how nice he maintained the park. We could have stayed there all day but we had other opportunities beckoned.
In Corona del Mar we stopped at Lookout Point and Begonia Park to view the ocean and the entrance to Newport Bay from the Pacific Ocean. The park is situated high on a cliff that overlooks the Pacific Ocean and a wonderful sandy beach to the west while to the north the view is of the protected pass and southern tip of Balboa Peninsula.
Joyce and I could watch the boats entering and leaving the protected harbor for hours. But we have a dinner date and a list of other things to see and experience. After leaving Begonia Park we followed Bayside Drive around to the bridge leading to Balboa Island.
Joyce had read about Balboa Island in some of our literature, in other words she knew what to expect. I had to hit the door locks as we passed through the business area on Marine Avenue lined with oodles of beachwear shops, boutiques and eateries. A home on Balboa Island would be something we could both agree on but it ain't going to happen unless we hit a double lottery. Extremely nice homes are shoehorned together on Balboa Island making maximum usage of each square foot of land. Managing to stay in the Saturn and avoid the shopping melee that certainly would have occurred if a parking spot would have been available, we followed signs across Balboa Island to the small 3-car ferries shuttling cars and people from Balboa Island to Balboa Peninsula.
Ferry rides are so unique. We like to do them when we have a chance. This one was no different. The ferry ride across the harbor is only a few hundred yards but the view is priceless. Sea lions were playing in the water; huge yachts were moored choc-a-block. It appeared that any vessel less than 40' in length was not allowed. From their immaculate appearance we could only assume each vessel had had a cadre of hired hands to keep it that way. Ninety nine percent of these showpiece boats are secured in their dock space with virtually no vessels under way except the two ferries. Even on the weekend over 90% of the boats were in their moorings. What gives? Do these people just own the boats to sit in the marina? I suppose they are like trophy motorhomes. And the world moves on. While on the ferry we called Stan on our cell phone to let him know where we were. Our GTG set for 1PM at the Blue Water Grill was still a go all Joyce and I had to do was spend about 30-minutes getting familiar with Balboa Peninsula which we did in high style. We tried hard to get to the area know as the "Wedge" one of the world's premier body surfing spots attracting surfers from around the world. The road in that area was closed for some major work so we could not get close enough to the beach to watch the surfers. All we got to see was the opulent waterfront homes with impeccable landscaping.
We did locate the legendary "Pavilion" on Balboa Peninsual but didn't locate a parking space and actually walk around in it.
That is the Pavilion at the end of this prominade.
Then it was time to head to Blue Water Grill which was easy to find. It was located across the marina from another upscale restaurant located in an old cannery building.
An anchovy purse seine boat was tied up between the two restaurants. I was fascinated with all the winches and gear on the anchovy boat but did not get a chance to ask questions of the crew until after lunch.
The Blue Water Grill featured a large assortment of pictures showing trophy fish landed in the area for the past 50-years. This area has produced some huge sea bass and sword fish in addition to blue marlin. We always enjoy looking over the classic old photographs of the giant fish caught in the "good old days". Our lunch with Stan & Anne was wonderful. We are no longer just "virtual" friends. I could sit and listen to Stan tell about improvements he has made to his coach for hours on end. Stan is a retired engineer that still loves to tinker.
After lunch and generous chatting we each headed our separate ways. Joyce and I returned to the little 3-car ferry that took us back to Balboa Island where we retraced our route through the ritzy Balboa Island shopping area and back to the Pacific Coast Highway.
On our way back to the motorhome we decided to stop by Dana Pt Marina one last time. It attracts us like a magnet. The boats and water have that effect on us. The commercial fishing boats are what really interest me.
Neither of us had the energy to head to the beach for the sunset. We must be getting lazy.
Scrub Jay to the left and brown towhee to the right. San Mateo State Park Campground has been interesting. Marine helicopters from Camp Pendleton have been doing exercises up and down the valley south of us so we frequently hear the rhythmic thump, thump, thump of the blades.
The park is full of California quail that make such plaintive calls. The valley is teeming with agriculture. I wonder if Camp Pendleton leases land to local farmers.
The campground is literally overrun with rabbits and ground squirrels.
Rangers told us that we would see bob cats, not that we might see bob cats or could possibly see bob cats but that we would see bob cats. Well, we didn't see a bob cat even though we looked. We thought that with this many rabbits and ground squirrels that we would hear or see a coyote but we didn't. A great horned owl stopped by briefly last night for a few hoots before locating what he wanted and heading on. We have enjoyed San Mateo Campground and recommend it if you are in this area.
Wednesday, May 18, Golden Shore RV Resort-- Long Beach, California: $45.90 with GS discount FHU-50amp. Paved interior roads gravel sites. N33° 45.919' W118° 12.210' California quail were wailing away when we awoke this morning. They sound so pitiful. That sound makes us think the other has lost their life partner----but they all do it and they do it all the time. It is probably just quail talk. We had discussed our journey from San Clemente up to Long Beach with Stan during our lunch yesterday. Stan advised that we take the interstate system otherwise there would be too much stop and go traffic. We thought long and hard about that advice. In the end we decided to take the Pacific Coast Highway CA-1 because we wanted to see that section of the coast and because we had to get out of the State Park we were in yet the Campground in Long Beach did not want us to arrive before 2PM. We had a dilemma on our hands. The solution was to spend as much time in between San Clemente and Long Beach as practical. We did that by driving up the Pacific Coast Highway. It was as slow as Stan had said it would be but we were able to see the coast including Huntington Beach State Park, Huntington Beach, Bolsa Chica Beach State Park, Sunset Beach, Surfside, Seal Beach and finally Naples before getting to Long Beach. The drive through downtown Long Beach and all the skyscrapers was exciting to say the least. We knew the GPS would lose lock when we were surrounded by those skyscrapers but it didn't. Thank goodness since we had to make a crucial turn to the campground in the midst of that jungle of concrete and steel. After getting set up we headed to Uncle Al's Seafood a special little restaurant on the corner of first and Elm in downtown Long Beach. Uncle Al's has long been a favorite of locals. Most of the customers order without a menu and the favorite item is Al's Salmon burger with Al's special sauce. Joyce and I did what the crowds do and ordered the Salmon burger. We even got some hush puppies and caramel plantains. Al's isn't a 5-star destination restaurant but it does have great seafood. If you are in the area give it a try.
Then we drove to the Queen Mary and walked around the harbor area watching container ships being loaded and offloaded. Long Beach is one of the busiest container ship harbors in the US. We could see one container ship being offloaded from where we were sitting and 5 of those large gantry cranes were offloading the huge containers.
We timed the operation and each crane was able to connect to a container in the ship lift the container clear of the ship and deposit the container on a waiting 18-wheel tractor trailer rig in 60-seconds. In other words each of those 5-cranes was able to offload one container per-minute.
In order for that to take place the 18-wheeler with the newly deposited container must exit the loading spot only to be replaced by another 18-wheeler. And there were 5 of these operations per-ship. The level of activity is mind numbing. There is no telling how many container ships in port…… does anyone know the size of the Long Beach Shipping Terminal? The flow of 18-wheel tractor trailer rigs into and out of the port is staggering. For every 18-wheeler hauling a container out of the port one is arriving with a container to be loaded on to one of the waiting vessels. This level of operation continues 24/7. The organization and coordination that has to take place to make all this work has to be enormously complex. Containers are arriving and departing the port in ships, tractor trailers and rail road.
Until next week just remember how good life is. Mike & Joyce Hendrix
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In
addition to a beautiful sandy beach they have rocky shoreline coves with sheer
cliffs, small bays, pristine waters where dolphins, sea lions and whales perform
in addition to numerous protected tide pools. 
The
lawn & landscaping were stunning. The place was absolutely beautiful from
the street. 
