Long Beach, CA

Long Beach, CA

It was many years ago that I first went to Long Beach. I was in the Navy and assigned to a ship that was in dry dock in Long Beach. Back then (I won’t tell you how long ago) Long Beach was a bustling NAVY town. There was a huge Navy presence there and the PIKE was still going strong.

In case you are too young, or don’t remember, the Pike was an ocean front amusement park. When I got there is was dirty and sleazy and I am glad they tore it down. Now, the area it used to occupy is filled with shops, restaurants and the convention center, a huge improvement.

Anyway, Long Beach has grown up. The downtown area is modern with good restaurants and hotels and is a safe place to walk (during the day). If you are interested in shopping, visit 4th street for trendy shops, restaurants, and people watching. Another decent area is Belmont Shores.

The Long Beach airport is the SECRET for visiting L.A. I fly JetBlue from Chicago to Long Beach whenever I can. The Long Beach airport is a throwback to the 1940’s, tiny without many services, but the easiest airport to get in and out of in the state. The airport is convenient to all the coast communities as well as downtown L.A. If you have the opportunity to fly into Long Beach please give it a try, I guarantee you will like it.



There is a very nice Marriott hotel at the Long Beach airport. It is great if you are a business traveler but you wouldn’t want to stay there if you are a tourist because there is nothing else near it except the airport.

There is also a very nice Hyatt Hotel in Long Beach, I recommend it.

In summary, Long Beach has a nice downtown and ocean front and the best airport in southern Cal.