Catalina Island to Long Beach and Alex's Birthday, October 11, 2011

The next day we rented a car and drove to La Brea Tar Pits (between Beverly Hills and Hollywood). It was the first really hot day of the trip with the thermometer hitting 100 degrees by noon. Luckily, most of the fossil exhibits were inside the air conditioned Page Museum. However, the walk outside to see the remaining tar pits and then back to the car was really hot. Our next stop was Paramount Studios where Cindy had reserved tickets for a tour to see how pictures are made. The studio is made up of dozens of warehouse looking buildings that house the sets where movies and television shows are filmed. We walked through Dr. Phil’s set, as well as a few other sound stages for T.V. shows that none of us watched. The most impressive part of the tour was the outside street scenes that depict different neighborhoods in Manhattan: Soho, Washington Square, and the Upper East Side. We didn't see any actors but it was fun to see where they work. Later, we went to see Grumman’s Chinese Theater with its famous concrete slabs signed by the stars complete with hand and foot prints. We walked along the trail of the stars and read many of the star's plaques that are set in the concrete sidewalks along Hollywood Blvd. It’s amazing how many adult costume shops there are along Hollywood Blvd, I guess when the lights are turned out everyone in California is an actor (smile). It was still really hot and we must have drunk a gallon of water that day. We finished off the day at Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. We were happy to get back to the boat where temperatures were not as stifling.

Alex talked us into staying one more night so he could meet up with Sam again. We didn't mind staying since we hadn't yet seen the cruise ship, Queen Mary which had been permanently moored across the harbor and was turned into a museum and hotel. Our tour of the ship started with ghosts of Queen Mary tour in celebration of Halloween. We learned about all of the restless souls still haunting the ship, and had a laugh or two at their expense. The ship is enormous and we must have walked miles before we had seen enough that we were ready to leave. Alex took a cab to Sam's that evening, as I had already returned the rental car.

At this point we were eager to get to San Diego, so we cast off the dock lines once again and headed down the coast. San Diego is about 100 nautical miles southeast of Long Beach, so we decided to make the journey in two days. Oceanside Harbor is a bit more than half way to San Diego and about the only place to stop along the way. Much of the coast is off limits due to the military reservations that stretch out between LA and San Diego. As it turned out, Oceanside Harbor was a delightful stop. You enter the harbor by going around a jetty that parallels the shore protecting the real entrance that is flanked by two jetties. Ocean swells build into large surf just beyond the jetties. As you motor into the harbor, you can see surfers not very far away riding the big waves in. On the day we sailed into the harbor the surf was exciting to watch but we were in no danger. The public dock was easy to find and really very nice. Restaurants were a short walk away, and while we were walking to one a couple stopped us to ask if we were joining the Baja Ha-Ha. When we told them we were and that we had sailed from Seattle, they invited us to dine with them at their Yacht Club. We thanked them but declined. We had dinner in a little pub that was playing old rock-n-roll music. Cindy and Alex really enjoyed the tunes and stayed to hear the band warm up after dinner.  Our thoughts turned to the San Diego and the preparations that we needed to make to be ready for the sail down the Baja.      

It would have been fun to stay at Catalina Island longer but we all wanted time to see Los Angeles before heading to San Diego. We also promised Alex we'd be in Long Beach for his birthday. He wanted to go to Long Beach to see his friend, Sam, from soccer that moved to Long Beach from Woodinville. Our plan was to take Alex to dinner for his birthday, Sam would be his guest. Later, the boys could hang out around the waterfront for a few hours. It’s been more than a month since Alex had any companions his own age, so he was really eager to see Sam. We took the boys to Bubba Gump’s Restaurant and they both seemed to enjoy the Forest Gump decorations and the questions the waiter fired at us about the movie. Between Sam and Alex they got all but one question correct. We gave Alex a cell phone for an early birthday present before the trip, so he wasn't expecting any presents on his birthday, but Cindy surprised him with birthday cards and gifts from his grandparents. The surprise made Alex a very happy boy.

We left Catalina Island after a stay of only two nights. It was a 20 mile run across Catalina Channel to Long Beach and there were many boats around to keep us company. As we approached the middle of the channel the fog set in so thick you couldn't see more than 500 feet. Thanks again to our new Garmin RADAR we weren't the least bit nervous about travelling in the fog, despite the fact that Long Beach is the busiest harbor on the west coast. The breakwater that encircles the harbor is many miles long but we found the opening closest to Shoreline Marina with no difficulty even though the fog persisted.