Today we are super excited about our guest Mary Lansing. We like reading her adventures in Los Angeles, she goes to the most fun fairs! and today she is sharing with us all about San Pedro, Mary Lansing writes at Along Comes Mary. We are honored to have her write about what she saw and loves about this beautiful seaside village.
Mary has lived in Los Angeles for about 3 years now, after having been near Santa Barbara and is loving living near the beach and plenty of choices for fish tacos! She was born in Pasadena and her favorite childhood memory is growing up is frequenting the Huntington Library where she was convinced Pinky & Blue Boy were her friends.
We hope you enjoy reading all about San Pedro as much as we did, thank you Mary for doing a guest post for us and make sure you visit Mary's Facebook Page
Where
can you see a Danish Castle, Korean Friendship Bell &Victory ship?
San Pedro, of course! ;)
Being a California native, one of the things I love
most about my state is that it seems to be never ending! Most recently I was
reminded of this when I took the long (ahem…about 20 minutes) trek over the
majestic Vincent Thomas Bridge from Downtown Long Beach into the sweet seaside
village of San Pedro. Boats, seagulls & water surround you in this port city
& I immediately felt like I could be in San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf.
Annexed in 1909, San Pedro (named after St. Peter of
Alexandria, an Egyptian bishop) has been home to many Navy warehouses &
held aircraft carriers, support ships & battleships. One of their
attractions I have yet to check out but seems awesome is their Frank Gehry
designed Cabrillo Marine Aquarium…. with complimentary admission, I know where
I will go next time I want to see some sea creatures! ;) They also are home to
the largest maritime museum in the state complete with SS Lane Victory Ship. It
was interesting to learn that as I would have thought San Diego had that title!
The reason for my journey to San Pedro after all these
years was to check out their newest venture, CRAFTED. Their amazing arts &
crafts center housed in one of the old warehouses. Currently, CRAFTED is home
to a few hundred LA-based vendors, specializing in assortment of handmade
goodies from jewelry to paper crafts, from homemade pies to body lotions &
from children’s clothing to jams! The plan is to keep expanding & with a
lease of 35 years, they hope to become the largest crafts center in the
country…go San Pedro! ;) I cannot think of a better way to support local artists
than to check out this weekly event. It goes from Friday through Sunday &
while admission is free, parking is $5. With the holidays inching closer (too
close if you ask me!), I know where I will be heading for shopping as there Is
something for everyone of all ages at CRAFTED. & if you work up an
appetite, there are usually food trucks out front, too.
Another famous feature of San Pedro is Ports
O’ Call; there, you will find all your typical tourist kind of shops but they
also have delicious food stands for everyone to enjoy. Whether you’re with the
kids, friends or on a date, this is a perfect destination. While we just
stopped to check out the stands after they were closed, some of the highlights
for me I would want to try are the tacos, pizza, shaved ice & margaritas. The Mexican
booth even had some great deals if you’re with the family, for 30 or 40
dollars, you can feed everyone with tacos, burritos, nachos & plenty of
sides.
Nearby at Ports O’ Call, they even had a restaurant that
looked to be the happening spot…The Krusty Krab…made me wonder if that’s where
the inspiration for where a popular sponge who lives in a pineapple under the
sea is employed at came from…hmm??;) I also would bet money on they are asked
throughout the day where Squidward is!
I cannot wait to return to San Pedro. I will be there on
September 15th for their famous Lobster Festival! Would you like to
come, too? Check out my blog post about it HERE & you might just
win tickets from me!
If you want to read more great adventures that Mary has on her blog here are some of my favorites: Balboa Park A Day at the Aquarium of The Pacific and LACMA
It is a fun town to visit, and people of LA often forget about. I'm fortunate because I live in this very city, and I must say I fall in love with it more and more every day.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, often, when people ask where I live, they raise their eyebrows... C'est la vie, but I love the little town i reside in. It's quaint and beautiful and a gem I don't mind keeping to "myself" ;)
We lived close to it when I was growing up, my grandparents lived in Harbor City and we would often spend the day enjoying the views. :)
DeleteWe lived in Long Beach growing up and my mama worked in San Pedro, I've always liked it and loved going across the Vincent St. Thomas bridge :) My favorite sub sandwich is from San Pedro at a place called Dino's - kinda excited to check out Crafted LA though! And can you believe we have never been to Ports O' Call as a family (my own little family) - Maybe soon! Thanks for sharing Mary!
DeleteSan Pedro is a hidden gem. Crafted, the SS Lane Victory, The Maritime Museum...there's so much to see and do. And I love the historic downtown.
ReplyDeleteThose all sound like lots of fun, last time I was in San Pedro I was a teenager. I think we should visit it soon as a family. :)
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