TRAVEL BY NIC…….The Perpetual Tourist!

Light Houses – San Pedro & Palos Verdas

So we ventured up from Orange County to San Pedro coast.  It’s a totally different feel from down South.  Right away you’ll find the cranes that are scattered throughout the Port.  Recently they moved the USS Iowa to San Pedro  I know it’s available to tour, but we just didn't make it there this trip.  You can’t miss Vincent Thomas Bridge!  It’s a 1500 foot suspension bridge that links Terminal Island & San Pedro.  Perhaps you’ve seen the bridge in some of these movies:  "To Live & Die in L.A.", "Gone in 60 Seconds" and "Charlies Angels".

Our 1^st stop was the Korean Bell of Friendship. (Located in Angel’s Gate Park at the corner of Gaffey & 37^th Street). Parking is free. It is a massive bronze bell donated to Los Angels from South Korea in 1976.  It is high on a hill overlooking the beautiful Pacific coast.  The bell is modeled after the Divine Bell that was cast in 771 for Bongdeok Temple.  It’s made with 17 tons of copper , tin, with gold, nickel, lead, and phosphorus added to the alloy for tone quality.  It’s 7 ½ feet with the average thickness of 8 inches and 12 feet high.  The bell is only struck 5 times a year:  New Years Eve (Korean American Day 1/13), 4^th of July, Korean Liberation Day (8/15) and every 9/11 in memory of the terrorist attacks.  The bell does not have a clapper; instead, it is sounded by striking it with a large wooden log.  The bell is covered by a pavilion that is beautifully crafted.  The bell is worth the stop, it’s very peaceful & beautiful on the hill!

Once you leave Angel Gate Park, it’s a short jaunt down the hill to Point Fermin Light house. Parking is free. The light house was built in 1874 and located in a beautiful coastal park.  We visited the San Pedro sites on Memorial Day so the light house was not open to tour, but trust me you will still enjoy the view and snapping photos of this charming light house.  Tours are available every day except for Mondays & Holidays. Since the lighthouse is located on the eastern edge of Palos Verdes peninsula at LA southernmost tip, this is one of the few places in LA from where you can see the sun rising over the ocean!

Next we drove up the coast to Trumps Golf Course at 1 Trump National Drive, Rancho Palos Verdes.  I’ve got to warn you….as you drive up the coast from San Pedro you will encounter a detour from your coast drive!!  Guess why!  The highway fell into the ocean!  I find that kind of errie!  Anyway, back to Trump!  We love stopping here to have lunch!  Eating at Trumps establishment just makes us feel like we are HOT STUFF!!  Burgers run around $14 and I enjoyed some great chicken sliders that were listed as appetizers, they ran around $12.  It is a beautiful place inside and out.  They do offer 2 different dining areas with one being a little more formal then the other.  We were out touring and wearing just nice shorts and leisure wear and we were fine for dinning at lunch time.  Afterwards we enjoyed walking the grounds taking pictures and watching the golfers.  I did notice that they have a grill going outside, so it is possible to enjoy the beautiful weather and set outside and eat while watching the golfers.  There is plenty of free parking on the hill in front of the building, but we splurged and paid valet…..guess it was all a part of the la-te-da part of the experience!  So who saw Adam Sandler & Drew Berrymore in "Fifty First Dates?!"  This would be the golf course they used in the movie!

Our final tourist spot was just a few miles up the coast to Pointe Vicente Lighthouse, 31501 Palos Verdes Dr W, Rancho Palos Verdes.  Again, free parking.  This is a beautiful, photogenic lighthouse located on the cliffs of the coast.  The lighthouse was built in 1926.  Again, with it being a holiday weekend we were only able to appreciate it from afar, but even then, I was not disappointed.  You can tour the lighthouse for free, the 2^nd Saturday of each month, (except in March when it is opened on the 1^st Saturday to coincide with Rancho Palos Verdes Whale of a Day Festival).

Finally, we ended our day with a sweet bite that I highly recommend!  Vanilla Bakery in Santa Monica!  To be honest, you should include this bakery when you’re visiting Santa Monica …..not when you’re doing this tour!!  It was quite a jaunt from San Vicente to the bakery!  It’s just that we had seen the bakery featured on the cooking channel and wanted to try it out since we were that far North.  It was really yummy!  Vanilla Bakery was featured on the program because their specialty is in mini desserts!  I had a banana parfait in a cup the size of a shot glass!  They have mini smores, tarts, and cupcakes.  They also have regular size cupcakes & cake pops.  I thought the tiny sizes were just right!  It offered you just a few bites of dessert instead of a huge piece that makes you sick!  I only spent around $2- something for my treat.

So for a wonderful day of leisure we just picked a portion of the coast that we normally don’t get to see and made a day of it!  Besides gas and lunch, we had an enjoyable free day!!