We arrived in San Pedro (the port of Los Angeles) very early this morning (before 5 am I think) and preparations were begun immediately for EVERYONE to disembark the ship to clear customs and immigration. I thought this a particular silly process - everyone parading off the ship thru the terminal building and then back onto the ship and figured it would be best for us to “clear out of Dodge” for as much of that process as possible by going on an LA Highlights excursion. Turns out I probably didn’t need to…We were separated into two groups and all US citizens not disembarking permanently in LA were told to report to the lounge in the back of the ship by 7 am. Our new non-US friends were given basically the same instruction though they were to report to the theatre in the front of the ship. The lounge in the middle of the ship was reserved for those permanently disembarking under the relatively new (what I call) “Carry Your Own Crap” program (if you don’t want to wait for your luggage to appear in the terminal (which can take an hour or two) you can drag all your belongings with you and go ashore at your scheduled time and then head out to your next destination. Sounds like a reasonable plan - doesn’t always work that way.
In any event, right at 7 am our group was instructed to head to the gangway near us and we were guided across the bridge and directly to customs & immigration. It was speedy, it was efficient and everyone of the people directing us (including the custom official!) smiled and said “Welcome Home!” Seriously, even Gerry said it was the fastest and most cordial custom process we’ve ever encountered and we were all loaded on our bus and leaving the port by 7:30 am for our day in Los Angeles. (The Canadians were on their own bus - I think Princess was providing a Canadian interpreter for this tour!)
Once we got out of the port (and into early morning rush hour traffic) we headed for downtown LA. Our first stop was the Los Angeles Coliseum - home (at one time or another) to the Angels, the Dodgers, the Raiders, the Rams, the 1932 & 1984 Summer Olympics (the only venue to host two different Olympics). Adjacent to the Coliseum is the LA Memorial Arena where the USC basketball team, the Clippers and the Lakers have at one time played as well as the site of the 1960 Democratic Convention. It houses a large statue to John Kennedy there but the building is scheduled now for eventual demolition since USC has built another beautiful facility just a block or two away and the professional teams have moved a bit further down the street to the Staples Center (along with a hockey team - you can see a hockey game in the afternoon and a basketball game at night on some days). It is right next door to the LA Convention Center which hosted the 2000 Democratic Convention.
These new buildings are part of the LA Live district. As the downtown city of LA reinvents itself and becomes the new upscale, trendy part of town in which to live, work and play many new (fabulous) venues have been created - the new Disney Concert Hall is an amazing work of art in and of itself and I would like to come back to hear something presented there since the acoustics of this facility are touted to be the absolute best in the world. It is directly across the street from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (home to the LA Opera under the leadership of some guy named Placido Domingo) once home to the Oscars.
Hooray for Hollywood! We head from downtown to LA to the famous intersection at Hollywood & Vine and view some of the walk of fame. Though many store fronts appear to be closed our guide tells us these really aren’t stores but rather clubs and the entire scene will come alive at night. We stop at the Kodak Theatre (the home to the Oscars for the next 25 years - they’ve adorned the columns in the large entryway to this building with spots to list the Academy’s “Best Picture” winner and have optimistically reserved spaces through 2072!)Walking along the street Gerry & I recognize the names of celebrities we grew up with: Morey Amsterdam, Danny Kaye, Spencer Tracy. Names that people of our kids’ generation don’t have a clue about (except for our kids. We’ve done what I feel is a great job introducing them to the classics - Bing Crosby, June Allyson, Jimmy Stewart and they are the only ones among their peers who know all the words to the complete works of Barry Manilow and the Car
penters. As you might well imagine they have not been able to express their appreciation for the depth of arcane knowledge we have imbued them with but they will no doubt appreciate our efforts when they play trivia on cruise ships!) We found Winnie the Pooh’s star (and Donald Duck’s - apparently the stars are not just for human celebrities) and Gerry spotted Paris Hilton’s star as well (this star and celebrity left intentionally blank!).After everyone’s snapped a few photos of Batman and Marilyn Monroe (the faux celebrities wandering about Graumann’s Chinese Theatre it’s off to find lunch and treasures at the Farmer’s Market. It’s an amazing place with a lot of history (something like 75 years here) and was originally just a bunch of local farmers who set up shop from the back of their trucks selling produce they just finished picking a few hours before. Now anchored by Nordstroms and World Market it’s definitely a bit trendier but the original section of the market (with those first bit of buildings) remains pretty much in tact. Lunch for us was similar to Panda Express back home but far more authentic (and amazingly cheaper). We wander the various stalls and vendors and discover a “hot sauce” store - Gerry says he has never before seen so many different varieties of hot sauce all in one place. They don’t sell too many of the 1-4 types (wuzz) but 10+ (basically hell in a bottle) are abundant. You’re going to want to ask what type of sauce Gerry has used BEFORE trying anything at his next few BBQs!
Our process for returning to the ship has again been streamlined and we are dropped at the terminal door by the bus and proceed directly to the ship where staff on board are quick to recognize the returning travelers all while welcoming the new arrivals. After two weeks of practice we are easily able to opt for 7 flights of stairs leaving the elevators to newbies (since it appears that all of the new passengers are of the family type and we have many, MANY children on board for this leg of the cruise).
Dinner became quite the process - the rookies don’t understand the concept of sharing a table and so the line snakes around most of the atrium as they wait for their own table. Of course we didn’t realize this until we had a couple of rounds of drinks in the bar waiting for the line to shorten (he-who-must-not-be-named will not wait in line). We finally get to go in and our table of 8 has two couples that have just joined the ship in LA - one is a very young couple from Vancouver and this is her first time cruising. She told the waiter she couldn’t decide on dinner and he brought her two entrees - I told her it’s a short cruise but she might want to pace herself!
We set sail for Canada and ultimately home. As we make the turn northward once past the islands off shore, the waves turn choppy. Fun ride!
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