Hello, No, it is not an early NFL football outdoor stadium in So Cal. Although it held a packed crowd almost everyday surpassing the capacity of a football stadium in months. It was located on a beautiful coastal cliff, just 24 miles away, across the Pacific Ocean from Catalina Island off the So Cal coastline. It was one of the favorite destinations for 1000’s of families across the Los Angeles Metropolitan areas, right on a cliff top location on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Early Marineland on the Peninsula Point. San Pedro and Long beach are to the right, following the coastal cliffs, heading East. Our dad always took us for a cruise in his Buick sedans on the coastal highway running along the top of the cliff from San Pedro around the big point and into Palos Verdes to end up on the low flatland Torrance -Manhattan Beach locations. For us, it was a vacation road trip each time. Our dad grew up in San Pedro and knew these roads well. He also knew his favorite stopping attraction along this coastal cliff top drive. A vendor always parked his sedan with the trunk open and a small sign facing the roadway. No one could not drive by without stopping for what was being sold. It was salt water taffy. Back then, no store we knew of had “salt water taffy.” This vendor had cars lined up in the dirt side area of the cliff location and many cars were always stopped. It was lucky we had a fast metabolism as we always carried a bag of “salt water taffy” while watching the fish swim in the huge aquarium. For us as teenagers in the early 1960s, the road trip was always memorable day or night. During the day, the views are outstanding. The taffy guy was still there in that prime location. Catalina Island seemed like we could hit it with a baseball throw. At night, the roadway was dark, creating a mystery of sorts and a closeness with those in our hot rods/cruisers. Jnaki At first, the wonders of a huge aquarium was eye opening. Then, after a few times, it was still nice, but the attractions were pretty standard. Eventually, the popularity waned and the big corporation Sea World bought everything and moved to San Diego. So, the drive is still a wonderful place to have a multiple hot rod, car cruise as part of any hot rod event. We have taken the cliff top highway many times on holidays and summer trips. It never gets old. YRMV We even took a different view of the same peninsula point after Marineland was gone and a new enterprise popped up. But, this time, the photo was taken by my wife from the ocean, as we were sailing by on our way to Marina Del Rey and northern coastal adventures. The Terranea Resort arose from the cliff top location of the old Marineland property. It is a high end vacation spot and covers almost the whole coastal cliff top location. Still with the same views of the ocean below. We saw it from the water and it looked strange not seeing the old Marineland buildings and property. Note: In recent times, there is a strong support for limiting driving on the cliff top coastal road leading all around the Peninsula from San Pedro to Torrance to the North. Some have said that is the cause of the giant landslide beginning to happen in the area near the Marineland coast. The preservationists even took apart the historic Wayfarer’s Chapel high on a hill near the most recent landslide and have stored it away for the future. What future? The land keeps creeping towards the ocean and homes will continue to get damaged to no end. The future? Well, the listed known fault lines are nearby and if the Newport Fault Line is happening in severe amounts, we may be living on an island soon. Ha! But the big worry for most folks is the giant San Andreas Fault Line farther inland near San Bernardino. If that works, we would have a definite new island on the west coast and those inland communities would be coastal properties… yikes! The recent eruptions felt by us on the coastline comes from the closest ones to the current shoreline. So, there could be two new islands in the rough and tumble future... YRMV
The Jalopy Journal
