Another beautiful weekend, another reason to hop into Klaus the AdventureWagen and check out more of the Golden State.
The Queen Mary has been a hotel and major LA-area tourist attraction for over 40 years. We considered spending the night on board at
the hotel on Saturday evening, but the rates were a little too expensive for our budget at this time.
Built with 1" - 1.5" thick steel palte and plenty of beautiful
Art Deco style, she was considered the grandest ocean liner ever built upon her launching in 1936. During her heyday, many considered her the only civilized way to travel. With the outbreak of WWII, she was transformed into a troopship and dubbed "The Grey Ghost". After WWII, she was overhauled and soldiered on as a luxury liner for twenty more years until her Long Beach retirement. Upon arriving in Long Beach, three of her four propellers were removed as well as her boilers. As part of the contract between Cunard, the ship's owner during her years in service and the city of Long Beach, she will never again move under her own power.
Celeste likes them birdies
I have a little family history with the ship, I'm told that my paternal grandmother sailed from England on it. I need to get more information on when she traveled. Unfortunately Cunard discarded all of the passenger manifests a few years ago.
The Arcade
I first stepped foot on the ship in 2000 when Schwinn Cycling and Fitness had a road show on board. It's still the coolest hotel I've ever stayed at.
One large exhaust pipe
We took two tours of the ship, both documenting her supposed haunted nature. Not being one that believes in ghosts, supernatural, etc., I still found it entertaining and learned plenty about her history.
Don't call it a "boat"
The pool is probably the most interesting space. Filled daily with North Sea ocean water and (mildly) heated by the boilers and the fact that it was above and between two of the boiler rooms, first class passengers would swim first. After the first class passengers swam, third class passengers were allowed in. After the third class time was up, the water was drained and refilled with fresh water for the first class passengers. Second class passengers had their own pool (which has since been removed). Unfortunately when the boilers were removed, so were some of the pool supports - it can no longer hold 24,000 gallons of water.
We ate another picnic lunch in our dining room on wheels and headed back to the ship. The second tour,
Ghosts and Legends, was more like a show and was filled with special effects - fog, lighting, some pitch black and loud sounds. Sadly they proved to be too intense for our grrrl, so we had to bail after the first "scene".
Since we left the show, we spent another hour or so just exploring. Went past the Churchill Suite - where the namesake would stay when on board during the war. Also wandered around the various decks.
I think I spy one of the many reported ghosts
Randomness:
From the bridge
Whole mess o' rivets
A super-friendly rock-retrieving pit bull named Lucy:
A Schwinn Roaster trike with a fine coat of coastal rust:
And a couple of outdoor fireplaces:
And we're home by 9 PM. Goodnight, and good riddance, to 2008.
Celeste likes them birdies
The Arcade
One large exhaust pipe
Don't call it a "boat"
We ate another picnic lunch in our dining room on wheels and headed back to the ship. The second tour, Ghosts and Legends, was more like a show and was filled with special effects - fog, lighting, some pitch black and loud sounds. Sadly they proved to be too intense for our grrrl, so we had to bail after the first "scene".
Since we left the show, we spent another hour or so just exploring. Went past the Churchill Suite - where the namesake would stay when on board during the war. Also wandered around the various decks.
I think I spy one of the many reported ghosts
From the bridge
Whole mess o' rivets
Just in case you forgot what they serve
Yes, it was ooey, hot and chewy. Dig the eye channel too.
The three of us managed to kill a large. I probably ate half of it myself. Good thing I went for a mountain bike ride an hour later to burn off that gut bomb. Four hours later I'm still stuffed.
Schlitz - The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous
LegoLand California opened in 1999 and is pretty much hidden in Carlsbad. You'd never see it driving down the roads that it borders. December is definitely the slow season, so crowds were minimal. Celeste has really been in to Legos for the past couple of months, and I've enjoyed Legos for the past three decades or so. 
"C" is for Celeste!
Celeste and Allie
"O Brickmas tree, o brickmas tree..."
...which has bicycle-style cranks and pedals. Sadly pedaling does nothing except get the blood moving.
After that, we tried the KidPower Tower (or something along those lines). With generous power assist, pulling the rope would bring us to the top of this rotating tower.
I think I can see our house from here.
Note that the mini figures had no faces or arms and legs at this point.
Lego boat!
The park's highlight was Miniland, Lego's recreation of some scenes from the US, including California, the NYC skyline, New Orleans, DC, the Las Vegas Strip and "other" - some rural scenes that I guess represents the flyover states (said with tongue firmly in cheek). As Allie put it, "it was a feast for the eyes."
Allie and The Governator on the path to Miniland
US Capitol
SF (not pictured - Golden Gate Bridge, Wharf, Chinatown)
SoCal lifeguard station
New Orleans riverboat
Guggenheim
Treasure Island (aka "T.I" - a place I've spent far to many nights at for tradeshows)
Foreclosure victim in Miniland's rural community
Me, Allie, Jimmy and Celeste
What was interesting is this beer had an 8.8% alcohol content. That's pretty high - I generally don't like beers with more than about 7% as they start to taste too bitter.
Ted (left) and Ollie (right) chose the Hop Head Red and Barley Wine.
