A Morning Walk Along the Water

Everyday starts with a walk.

We, myself and the dog Dede, head in different direction each morning.

Dede would rather head to the beach where she can visit the squirrels. To reach the beach we would head south. To go to the closest park we would go north. You can only go east so far unless you are a seagull.

Some places remain the same each day and other are constantly changing or moving.

Empty warehouses remain empty. 

Tracks rust

or they grow grass gardens

Awnings fade and phone booth stop ringing

Across the channel giant cranes wait for more containers on Terminal Island 

You can't walk by the federal prison from San Pedro without a detour via Long Beach 

Next to the prison is the Coast Guard Station

The building in the distance are downtown San Pedro about a mile away.

The once large fishing fleet is now small in numbers

A reefer from South America unloads Chilean fruit.

And you can't get coffee any more at Canetti's

Ghost Town Marina

The Port of Los Angeles built a new marina here in San Pedro after tearing out the old one and rearranging the streets and wharf.                                                    
                                         
                                               

                                                                                                               
Marina gates and rails running along marina.

Facing north.

Facing south where half of the slips remain empty.

Catalina can be seen in the distance

Looking across the West Channel towards PV.

Two cranes have been installed to place boats in and out of the water. There is a large fenced storage yard for boats and trailers. All of this is blocked off and has never been used. Actually the parking lots for the southern half of the marina is blocked from entrance from the street but you can still walk along the edge.

Flowers and plants are everywhere. Tables and benches plus a nice wooden boardwalk can be enjoyed.

The marina is located right next to great food and beverages

At the south end the Lane Victory is docked and can be visited.

For more info about the Lane Victory

Not often but this week a cruise ship was here for a day next to the ghost town. The port just finished building a large parking lot for the occasional cruise ship when the cruise ship terminal next to the USS Iowa is full. 

A rare sight to see is the Flag of the City of Los Angeles

More May colors

The street that runs by the ghost town marina has a very nice green belt running between the two traffic lanes.  

There is rarely any traffic which makes walking or cycling great but it can be windy in the afternoon.

Pathways are a combination of boardwalk, dirt, and slick.

Diving Pelicans

Update from older blog.

Anyway I bought a new Toshiba Laptop with Windows 8 installed and here we go. I live on a sailboat year around. Weather that is windy or cold. Rain, fog and plenty of sun shine.

The water is often filled with large schools of fish. People argue about what kind of fish these are but the sea lions and birds enjoy them. The sea lions can become very vocal and often actually rock my boat with their diving and splashing. The pelicans fly up and down the fingers between the docks searching for fish. They often follow the sea lions and the gulls follow the pelicans hoping to steal a catch from the pelican or seal when they surface.

The fishing goes on in the morning and sometimes after the sun has set. How the pelican can see the fish below the surface with so little light is amazing. But these birds have been doing this for a long time and are very good at it.

They often dive very close to the boats and perhaps someone should suggest they wear helmets.

Or have sirens to warn anyone in the water.

I paddle my surf ski in the afternoon and have never been dive bombed by a pelican but I have had runs in with sea lions. One dove right next to me a swapped by ski and got me nice and wet.

The water quality falls off after the rain and makes it difficult to see the schools of fish until they start jumping out of the water to try and escape the sea lions.

After the pelican resurfaces he or she must position the catch in the bill before swallowing.