Seeing Southern CA for the Second Time - Day 4

When last I blogged, Mom was in town, and Chris and I had the chance to take her around our nearby beach cities for scenery and snacks.  The next morning, Chris was off on a bike ride while I hit the gym and Mom slept in; once I got back home and cleaned up, she and I hopped in the car to do our weekly Trader Joe's/grocery store run (hey, it's not all exciting when you visit our house).  Once we were all back and cleaned up, it was time to hit up Elise's Tea Room, a local Bixby Knolls institution (and the location for my monthly book club meeting).  Mom and I had tea at Elise's the first time she visited, and Chris was happy to join us this time.

Time for tea!

We enjoyed a relaxing time at Elise's, eating their delicious scones and sammys, as well as drinking their unique blends of tea.  After tea, it was back to the house to get in less fancy clothes and head through the port area to nearby San Pedro (pronounced Pee-dro - it has a large Italian immigrant population).  We looked seriously at a house in San Pedro when we settled here last year, and although the area is still developing (read, not quite crime-free yet), it's coming along quite nicely.  One of the highlights in the area is Brouwerij West, a really cool brewery, located in the same plaza as Crafted, an artisan marketplace.

Enjoying some pints from Brouwerij West

and noms from the food trucks parked outside.

Tea sammys are great, but they aren't super filling.

A wall o' kegs

Chris inside Crafted

After wandering Crafted for a while, it was back into the car to nearby Point Fermin, which comes complete with the Point Fermin lighthouse.  While we didn't go on an official tour of the lighthouse, we wandered the area around it, enjoying the scenery and the sounds of a troupe of actors in the nearby outdoor amphitheater, earnestly practicing the Scottish play.

That's a big tree...but what's that with it?

We know those two!

The lighthouse

Another lighthouse shot

Looking toward Rancho Palos Verdes..

and the Trump National Golf Club.

Yup, really.

Head thataway.

While we were wandering the park, we noticed some folks flying kites from a vantage point above our heads, and as we drove around, trying to find their area, Chris noticed some sort of shrine or pagoda or something.  Since the three of us have never met a statue or monument or historical building we wouldn't visit, it became our new mission to find and visit this mystery location.  As it turned out, it's called the Korean Friendship Bell, and it's a very recognizable part of Angels Gate Park.  Look familiar?

Who's seen The Usual Suspects?

Yup, that's it!

And if you haven't seen The Usual Suspects,

you need to go do so now,

so we can still be friends.

Kudos to Chris for immediately recognizing
where we'd seen this before.

Details around the structure...

...and on the bell itself.

That's the Statue of Liberty

with a Korean statue, symbolizing the friendship

of the two countries.

As we headed back home, we drove past another parking lot that gave us some great views looking back toward the ports of LA and Long Beach, and Chris hopped out to grab a few pictures:

A panoramic of the entire area

Both ports appear in this short.

The ports of LA and Long Beach are

the number one and two ports by volume

respectively, in the entire US.

That's counting each port separate from one another.

Dang.

After our visit to San Pedro, it was back home to make mu shu pork for dinner and do some laundry; Chris and I chilled out and watched Fargo (chilling while watching this season of Fargo is actually not accurate) while Mom packed up to move further south the next day.  She and Chris stayed up to watch The Accountant, but the dog and I packed it in, heading to bed before too long.  Next time on the blog, we take Mom to San Diego and visit with even more family!

Later!

Amy