This Rant-A-Logue should probably be called "Cool Cheap Stuff To Do Around Los Angeles That The Overwhelming Majority Of Tourists Never See," but I'm too lazy to type such a long title.
Wait a minute. Know what? Only a day trip. You don't need a long rant from me.
:lol: The pictures were good, but they don't make me laugh the way your reports do.
h34r:
A little more detail:
The original intent was to go to the Griffith Park Observatory, which was having a "star party." It was obvious pretty early that there would be no stargazing due to the noted rotten weather. And since we got a good head start anyway we decided to tack on some other activities. We'd still go to the observatory, just later.
Another rail forum of which I'm a member -
On Track On Line (OTOL) - is holding its Southern California RailFest 2009 in July. I'll be attending, but because I'll also be flying to Denver that weekend to ride behind steam aboard the
Frontier Days Train I won't be able to join the OTOL Fest for its entire itinerary. One of the activities I'll miss before hurrying back from Denver is a ride aboard the
Port of Los Angeles Waterfront Red Car Line. This little line has been operating out at San Pedro - Port of Los Angeles - since July 2006. I'd been aware of it, but just never gotten around to riding. The line is 1.5 miles long, with four stations, and operates two replicas of 500 Class Pacific Electric interurbans as well as one quasi-original mash-up of a later type; more about all this at the above link.
Since we were in the area (sort of), and since I'll miss riding the line with OTOL, we decided to head out on the 110 (Harbor) freeway for a look and some riding. One thin dollar gets you unlimited riding, and there are other interesting things around San Pedro as well.
In the thread about my recent dome car ride aboard Surfliner 799, questions about my YouTube pic arose. "Where's the fez," several of my rabid fans were dying to know. As the poor beggars figuratively hung on my every word I patiently explained the provenance of the pic, and will do so again briefly cuz it ties in with this daytrip. The shot was taken during a day cruise aboard the
S.S. Lane Victory, a WW II-era merchant freighter.
Lane Victory is berthed at San Pedro, a short stroll from the Red Car Line's Cruise Center Station, so we went over to see it and get some pics. Train and ship are included in the Picasa album
Ride The Big Red Replica! The title is a take on the Pacific Electric promotional phrase "Ride the Big Red Cars."
Wartime merchant ships were often lightly armed against aerial attack, and Lane Victory still has its weapons. While editing the photos I became concerned that there were perhaps so many shots of Lane Victory that they'd get boring. I needn't have worried, though, as I quickly realized that the photos make for a rousing game of "Find The Gunmounts." Take a look and play at home!
Across the way from Lane Victory there were loading operations in progress at a container ship berth, so we went over to watch for a time. Also close by - all in the shadow of the Vincent Thomas Bridge to Terminal Island - is the terminal for
Catalina Express rides out to the Catalina Island. The terminal appeared deserted that day, which was okay because a trip to Catalina doesn't qualify as Cool Cheap Stuff To Do Around Los Angeles That The Overwhelming Majority Of Tourists Never See. A pond adjacent to the Red Car Cruise Center Station features displays of the
at 15-minutes intervals. The synchronized fountain performances are accompanied by music that IIRC was also used in the scene in the movie "National Lampoon's Animal House" in which Delta fraternity character Otter is clumsily seducing Mrs. Wormer, inebriated wife of Faber College's Dean Wormer.
Another Red Car station is at
Ports O'Call Village, an area of attractions, restaurants, and retail. The Patrick & Alice RailRiot 2009 Executive Assistant went to see about buying a dress here. I have not the slightest interest in entering a dress shop, except maybe around Halloween if I'm planning on the cliche of going in drag as a costume - and even that's a stretch. I busied myself with scoping out camera angles for the next pass of the Red Car.
The
Los Angeles Maritime Museum is close by, but that'll have to be for next time. Following a Red Car ride out to the Marina Station and back to the MegaMobile - Official Motor Vehicle of the Patrick & Alice RailRiot 2009 - we tooled around San Pedro a bit and were treated to some hilltop views of the town and harbor complex. In decent weather these views would be truly breathtaking, but under the conditions they were merely very impressive. Several representative shots, and some other interesting sights, are included in the Picasa album.
Our work in San Pedro complete, we made our way back toward L.A. proper and the
Griffith Park Observatory, which recently underwent a major renovation and expansion. No "star party" action to speak of due to the lousy weather, but there was still the Observatory itself. I well recall this place being majorly fun as a kid, and as was obvious it remains a real blast for kids today. However, in my current Old Guy state I was unimpressed. Call me a curmudgeon, but these days my preferred source of astronomical learning is television, from which I can absorb the information without the distractions of yammering kiddies or packs of the morbidly obese raucously finding it hilarious that they would weigh only 30 pounds on the planet Mercury.
Nevertheless, on the whole a very fine day of doing Cool Cheap Stuff Around Los Angeles That The Overwhelming Majority Of Tourists Never See.
