Just Above Sunset
August 7, 2005 - Long Beach and Los Angeles Harbor from a Blimp













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Much happened in the world last week, and much was said about it, but Thursday, August 4th was devoted to a ride on the Goodyear blimp, "The Spirit of America" - a drive down to Carson, a mid-afternoon flight out over the Long Beach and Los Angeles harbors, a drive back and then editing the more than two hundred photos.  Fifty of those shots can be found in a photo album here.  Bob Patterson's On the Scene column this week explains the flight.

 

Here are some of the aerial shots…

 

The Vincent Thomas Bridge connecting Long Beach to San Pedro:

The Vincent Thomas Bridge

Long Beach:

Long Beach, California

Approaching Long Beach there's the geometry of shipping – click on each thumbnail for a full-size version.  

Long Beach Shipping, Aerial View

Long Beach Shipping, Aerial View

Long Beach Shipping, Aerial View
















Long Beach Shipping, Aerial View

 
The miles of South Bay refineries are ugly, but the mountains of extracted sulfur are pretty.  

... mountains of extracted sulfur

The Queen Mary, retired, docked at Long Beach – launched September 26, 1934, arrived finally in Long Beach on December 9, 1967 and never left.  The Queen Mary is now a hotel with restaurants, a wedding chapel and sixteen Art Deco reception salons for private parties.  Next to it is the geodesic dome for the long-gone Spruce Goose.  That's been gone for years.  Note this from the Long Beach Press-Telegram in mid-July:

 

The Queen Mary's executives on Tuesday won 90 more days to steer their company out of bankruptcy.  A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge granted the extension, allowing Queen's Seaport Development Inc. more time to submit a plan to reorganize and pay off more than $25 million in debt.

 

The Queen Mary is a pleasant place to visit and watch the Long Beach fireworks on the Fourth of July – but they don't seem to do that any longer.  The editor recommends the tour of the amazing engine rooms, but not the fancy restaurant, Sir Winston's.

The Queen Mary, Long Beach

The Queen Mary, Long Beach

Cranes are good:

Port of Los Angeles, Cranes

A cool schoolyard from the air:

School playground seen from the Goodyear Blimp

"You haven't seen a tree until you've seen its shadow from the sky." - Amelia Earhart

Palm trees seen from the Goodyear Blimp ...

The Photographic Platform:

The Goodyear Blimp
















 
 
 
 

Copyright © 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 - Alan M. Pavlik
 
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