Art & Inspiration A cool roadside attraction!

I lived less than 30 minutes from national harbor but never stopped in. Caught plenty of catfish from my boat not far from there. That reminds me of two places just down river. On the MD side there is the old Fort Washington and on the VA side is George Washington's home Mount Vernon

 

Long Beach, CA
The central attraction is the 4 mile long… beach that runs along the city’s West end harbor (Los Angeles River mouth) to the Seal Beach Breakwater at the Alamitos Bay jetties. (early cruising allowed us to drive over a tall, but short bridge over the Alamitos Bay channel entrance… now gone.)

The whole area from Seal Beach entrance is protected by a long breakwater that keeps the majority of big storms out of the bay and attacking the pristine white sandy beaches run along the shoreline back to the harbor. The last big (and only hurricane in 1939 downgraded to a tropical storm) to hit the Long Beach shoreline destroyed a row of homes near the Alamitos Bay curve, heading into the long peninsula.


Hello,

Having grown up in this city from 1946 to the last time we sold our final house in 1998, it has been a wonderful learning experience. As a young kid, our bicycles took us all over the Westside community where we lived. We even rode over to the elevated railroad track that separates Long Beach city from the city of Wilmington to the West. The nearby streets led us to be able to explore the area to the Southwest, to the LB Shoreline and trips down to the working harbor in Terminal Island/Wilmington area.

One of our favorite walking and bicycle trips was the huge, elevated flood control channel of the Los Angeles River allowed us to ride our bicycles along the top all the way to the shoreline and the famous Pike that sat in front of the early LB Shoreline Harbor area. No cars, a few “hobo” folks and a fun level ride following the LA River on the top pathway made us feel as if we lived on the water and coastline.

The early history of Long Beach is well documented. But, it was so close to Los Angeles and was known for many years as the bedroom community of the much larger city just a few miles North. We grew up relatively isolated in the Westside of Long Beach due to the large swath of an open field prior to the industrial railroad and Terminal Island Freeway setting the Western edge of Long Beach proper.

From our first house, it was a short walk in 1955 to the nearby Lion’s Dragstrip. So, yes, it was a defining thing that helped us get started on our hot rod/drag racing lifestyle as long as it lasted. The Westside was a small area of working class residents, with a large Navy base nearby in Terminal Island and a Navy specific housing tract near our homes. There were government rental apartments adjoining the Navy housing and then the rest of the area were single family homes with the apartments sporadically interspersed on the edges of the R-1 neighborhoods.

The fun thing was that the huge industrial tract was across one of the busiest streets in all of So Cal, Pacific Coast Highway. That road is part of the Highway 1 named PCH or 101 highway that goes from Northern California down to the Mexican border.

Jnaki

We grew up on land 90% of the time with our hot rods and cruisers. But the view from the air recently showed the whole coastline of the 4 miles+ of shoreline and beaches of Long Beach the harbor entrance to the Alamitos Bay is shown in the lower right. Seal Beach and Orange County is to the right side of the small harbor/bay opening. It is the start and continuing long stretch of sandy shoreline all the way to San Diego and the border.

Aerial photography has advanced in giant leaps and bounds. The circular arena is the Long Beach Sports Arena that was built and finished in late 1962. Our final graduating high school class was the last group to have their ceremonies in the adjoining historic Long Beach Municipal Auditorium (now gone) that shows up in many of the early custom car show photos from early on in hot rod history.


The recent 2022 LB Gran Prix event, once held on Ocean Blvd is now held to the left of the Sports Arena parking area. The course changed so as not to impede flowing traffic on the busy Ocean Blvd through this portion of Long Beach during the event.

So, as fortunate as we were as teenagers to cruise and use these beaches and streets along the cliff top, it was a cool place to grow up and have fun. If we did not like cruising the LB Downtown/Harbor/Pike area, then the curving beach top street, Ocean Blvd. was enjoyable to say the least. The long street also led to Belmont Shore’s 2nd Street, which led to the Westminster Blvd empty roadways that we called the “midnight drags” location in Orange County.

Before leading into the OC, turning South on PCH led to Seal Beach and all surf spots heading to San Diego. The city is old, has a ton of history and we experienced it as much as we could and then some… So, choose your spot, your grand event, visit when the pandemic is over and it may win you over as a “Cool Roadside Attraction…” At least, if you drive your hot rod down Ocean Blvd, you will see what is so nice about the area.

P.S. If you happen to go past the city limits on the Western edge, you will cross over the newest bridge in the USA and one that was built in 1960. The direction leads to San Pedro and the continuing coastal cruising roadway that is one of the best around the local, Palos Verdes Peninsula.

P.S.S. Also, the Hollywood production companies have found the great Long Beach weather and ocean location is ripe to insert, as other TV/Movie locations. The magic of studio editing, location shots used are without spending tons of transportation set up and filming costs in the real locations. The harbor, city and shoreline places in Long Beach have been known as Hawaii, Miami Beach and Texas plus other coastal areas in TV/Movie productions. The location shots go by quickly, but once living in Long Beach, those places are still around and the location is perfect for film production, all year around. YRMV

 

went on a small road trip this week in an off topic truck to pick up an on topic part stopped by Jug Rock Shoals IN

 

Vincennes big peach and small Washington Monument and Uncle Sam

 

Just a little bump to see some more COOL stuff along the roadsides.

 

Here's something a little different . . .

 

Redondo Beach Pier and surrounding harbor attractions


Hello,

With Winter coming soon, if not arriving early, some have to lock away their hot rods and play toys. Out West, winter is still available until the massive rainstorms attack the Westcoast and drop snow everywhere in the higher elevations. But for us, winter is and was a new direction in available surf spots. The Northwest/West swells hit certain beach breaks and various point breaks with a fury. Normall, not seen during the summer swell sessions. So, it gave us a different approach to finding surf spots with a different swell direction.

It made for planning out our sojourns to the Northern coastal beaches another adventure added to our repertoire. It was cold, and later, wetsuits were necessary. But, those early sessions were intense to say the least. Add to those powerful cold waves hitting with a fury, the arrival of offshore winds created a cold, stinging attack on our eyes and bodies.

So, long sessions were there, but the body called for warmth of a hot coffee, cocoa and a nice warm nap until the afternoon session. As good as it was, it definitely called for a warm rest, hot drinks, food, and great nap in most locations. The ultimate road trip is approximately 100+ miles away in Santa Barbara County, but for shorter nearby surf spots in the Los Angeles South Bay locations, it was just a short hop North on PCH from our Westside of Long Beach house.

The Redondo Beach Pier was unusual. For us, Redondo Beach was a destination place, although it seemed like it had two attractions. The odd shaped pier and restaurant and the famous Redondo Beach Breakwater surf spot. The rest of the city in the early days was just a small coastal beach city with all the “funkiness” that a seaside city can offer. Nice beaches, fog that rolls in at night on a daily basis, and the smell of “Salt” air drifting around and settling on your clothes.

It was a out of the way place that a lot of Coast Highway drivers just flew by on their way up or down the coast, with destinations like Santa Monica or Malibu to the North along the coast. Or… Palos Verdes Peninsula coast line to the South. But, these days cities are competing for the almighty tourist dollar and have done much upgrading the attractions everywhere in the city proper. Luckily, Redondo Beach had a small harbor and it still is a small harbor. But, for us, a necessary one for a stop over for supplies and gasoline/diesel, when we sailed up or down the coastline.

7th generation version

Jnaki


My wife and I had stopped many times during our early coastal journeys. The attraction of a cool restaurant overlooking the unusual shaped water below was fun and enticing. Many year later, we sailed out of the small harbor into 20 mph winds and a large swell/ strong current. It was a rental boat that we thought we were going to buy, but wanted to sail it first to see how it was going to work for us. We were blasting all the way to the Santa Monica Pier and returned in some of the strongest winds we had ever encountered. Then upon returning to the docks, we realized we needed a larger sailboat. Whew!

During the early 1960-62 time period, we actually surfed inside of the semi-circular pier. It was breaking just right and we had some fun rides. The cool thing was that it was right in front of the restaurant and the customers were enthralled at the "cold surfers” getting waves down below. It was cold, but the pier and structures helped keep the surfing area relatively low wind and great waves. Show time at its finest. When my wife and I were eating dinner after the 327 Ford Sedan Delivery took us there many years later, the view was quite nice and I instantly remember those fun wave riding days.

But, just down the way to the North, is a sometimes terrifying place with a lot of local history.

2018 photo by Mike Balzer... at the end of the Northern end of the boat harbor docks… The Redondo Beach Breakwater surf… Yowza!!!

 

Anyone doing any traveling since the lockdown? This wasn't along the road, but cool. It's from our last Disney trip.

 

^^^^Paul Bunyan's Big Wheel^^^?

 

Carthage, Missouri. Both on Rt. 66...

 

The artist who did the truck sign and the flying manure spreader, Lowell Davis, died recently. He was an amazing artist and a very interesting man. We went to his recreated home town Red Oak ll, on one of my HAMB Drags cruises. Good memories.

 

Sorry to hear that. He loved to chat with visitors to Red Oak II.

 

The "cars" setup at Disney Art of Animation hotel is really cool

 

I passed this cool little service station! So I turned around and went back and took a couple pictures. Has anyone seen any cool stuff?

 

Logging dolly, seen in a field out in Central California years ago.
NO, this is not the original prototype for the " SUPER BELL DROP AXLE "

 

Probably just got that way from the heat!

 

My Hot Rods are all snowed in their garages today. Do you have any pictures from maybe some warmer weather? I liked this cool little bridge from fall.

 

Watching my grandson play soccer and fun with some buddies

 

Sorry, with the thought of warm weather I got a bit off topic with my previous post.
This is a roadside attraction from our trip to Nats East Last year.

 

The Sandy Jug Tavern. A Portland landmark. I grew up just down the street. Still there, anyway last time I drove by. I think they hire ladies with no clothes, which is thoughtful of them.

 

That is why they have sandy Jugs

 

Oceanside Pier
Oceanside, CA home of Camp Pendleton.

Hello,

Cities that have piers are nice places to visit. It normally is a nice view from the shore, but to walk out to the end of the pier is giving you an extra wide, deep view of the coastline from out on top of the deeper water. The only way to get a similar view at any time is to go sailing and skirt the piers for the exact viewpoint.

The Huntington Beach Pier is quite long and the view from the end is extensive due to the almost straight coastline North to Palos Verdes/San Pedro on a clear day. The view to the South goes to the Dana Point Headlands. But, from the water, it is awesome. A different look that normally is not seen. Perhaps, it is/was those times we were sailing our sailboats up and down the coastline that gave us a different perspective of the ocean and coastline here in So Cal.

We have been to Oceanside plenty of times during our surfing days. The harbor has great waves, the pier also has good waves. Recently, a junior division of surfers had their contest there and the waves came in during the swell. But, the action was out in the water. Young men’s division and women/girls division looked like a big time pro surfing contest with the outstanding skills shown out in the water.

For us several weeks earlier, we took a drive down the coastline like the old days. When we got to the Oceanside Harbor, we went to several unused sections of the harbor for different views of the waterfront location. Some of the nice restaurants have closed due to the pandemic and it makes the area like a ghost town. But, as we drove down the rest of the ocean front roadway to the pier, it made the whole place come alive again. There is something to be said about crashing waves and the symbiosis between people and nature…
very close to the ocean one way street

Jnaki

Oceanside is well known for the Camp Pendleton massive complex sitting between Los Angeles and the San Diego region. The main entrance being across the freeway from the public Oceanside Harbor facilities. 20 plus miles of raw coastline that have been private since the early days. Some places are still not for public uses, although more areas are allowing access with permission of the provost marshall’s office. It still is one of the largest military training facilities in the USA. If you are military and have credentials, it is possible to get on the base and explore.

If one had permission to be on the Camp Pendleton base, it has one of the least known roadways in the region. Being on a military base allows one to stay on the road, but warning signs are everywhere. This drive from the main base entrance goes all the way North to the San Onofre State Beach entrance and is a wonder in itself.

Basilone Road

Not many folks have seen the whole roadway and what different views are offered. It is a little eerie… The whole time on the road I saw 2 military vehicles going the other way. The approximately 32 miles of roadway goes from the Main gate to the exit at the far Northern end of the whole Camp Pendleton base.

Note:

But, on the other hand, the City of Oceanside allows the general public access to the “closest to the water access” on a public roadway for everyone to visit.

The Northern end, start of “The Strand” about 2 miles to the pier.


It is a “cool roadside attraction” found in the San Diego region of the So Cal coastline… One of the closest public roadways to the Pacific Ocean.


The southern end of the “water front roadway” The Strand.

Note 2: When my wife and I drove up/down the Atlantic coastline in Florida, we were amazed at how close the main road was to the ocean at places. Most of the beaches we passed up had big white sandy areas. But the highway was right by the water. That was impressive, but hardly a safe place when those hurricanes come calling…

In this So Cal coastal drive, it is a similar location to the water and sandy beach. It is a place no one wants to be at King Tides and big waves that happen during the years. But, to decrease the access of waves against the rocky shore, cities along the ocean have been for years, battling the constant shifting of sand that leaves the beaches with little to do against waves that constantly pound the shore.

Normally, the outlets of the inland rivers bring new sand to the beaches and the natural drift of the currents supplies the down coast shorelines with plenty of additional support. But, nature has its own way of evening out the balance. Sometimes, there is enough new sand to create a wide beach South of the river exits along the shorelines. Other times, a trickle almost stops the natural replenishment of sand for the beaches and then the local cities have to revert to ocean floor sand to make the shoreline sand wider.

But, as we all know, it is not nice to mess with Mother Nature… YRMV

 

StoryTown U.S.A. Lake George NY Long Gone-



Other Gone Lake George attractions

 

Robert^^^That reminds me of Storybook land at Woodbridge Va. I went there as a kid.s d

 

How ‘bought the world’s largest dime in a box….located (where else?) in Dime Box TX?

 

Just got back from a trip out to Yellowstone and Grand Teton





The Sapphire Motel in Bozeman MT is a restored 50s/60s motor lodge with a cool neon sign and an Oldsmobile and retro lobby.

 

In Jackson Wyoming I saw these...

 

At 8400ft of elevation in the teton pass