Los Angeles/Long Beach

Los Angeles / San Pedro / Long Beach
January 27, 2009 Tuesday

Webcam from the Bridge of the Queen Victoria is found HERE.

In Los Angeles, The Queen Victoria docked in Pan Pedro, just across the bridge from Long Beach, directly south by about 20 miles of downtown Los Angeles. The first Queen Mary is permanently berthed to the east. It has been a museum and floating hotel since it arrived here in the late 1960s. Long Beach itself has a checkered history but has undergone a renaissance and sprucing up in recent years.

The Port of Los Angeles is buttoned up tight these days. Unlike Sydney or Auckland where passengers could walk off the ship into the middle of the city, there was nothing at the port to see other than container ships the buses that either carted people off on tours of Los Angeles or over to Long Beach. Long Beach is not a bad destination, however, since passengers can economically catch the Blue Line light rail to many sights, including Hollywood and Universal Studios in Burbank.

Victoria’s passengers had a murderous time getting off the ship because of the U.S. customs people. In Japan and Australia customs people sailed on board the Victoria for several days prior to entry into their country. This expedited entry. While American citizens mostly moved through customs steadily, some foreign travelers waited in line as much as three hours, and some told us they waited until 1 p.m. before they were allowed through customs.

This made a mess of the tours that passengers had paid for, and resulted in one group arriving at the Getty Museum near Westwood with less than an hour to see this famous and elegant museum. This treatment contrasted with how visitors said they were treated at the two earlier American ports of New York and Fort Lauderdale.

How visitors to the United States are being treated at the border is a source of increasing trouble for the United States. In the last year alone several Germans and Canadians and an Australian investment banker who has done business for years in the United States have pointedly told me they will never come to the U.S. again.

Los Angeles is my city. I love the energy, the dysfunctionality, and the over-the-top people. I lived here for five years and still have interests here, and even a storage unit at the Burbank Airport. I return often. Carol Anne and I had reserved a rental car but as time getting through customs lengthened, we decided merely to walk Long Beach, have a late lunch on shore and return to the ship. I’ll be back in Los Angeles in the spring anyway.

PHOTOGRAPHS
The Port of Los Angeles in Pan Pedro, just west of Long Beach.
The Blue line in downtown Long Beach offers easy access to many part of the city.
A McDonald’s in Long Beach. Pete was ready for a menu he could understand.