calamarichris

Thanks Nach!

It's right up the hill from the San Pedro Beach, up by the old artillery fort. Check out the movie, "The Usual Suspects." The same actor who played the hillbilly r@pi$t in "Pulp Fiction" was in it, and he flicked a lit cigarette into Billy Baldwin's eye. It's a pretty convincing scene, and when I watched it again with the commentary, they said Baldwin nearly lost his eye because of it.

If you like San Pedro, you'd be like a pig-in-poo if you ever visit the Toxas (errr... I mean Texas) coastline.

diphthong

the korean friendship bell, fort macarthur and point fermin are all lumped together in the same area and about a 3 mile ride from the
rancho palos verdes "switchbacks." lots of picture opportunities, lots of history and great views. excellent spot for a scheduled or impromptu
rest break. unfortunately, the main coastal access road to the nw-paseo del mar-had a significant portion slide into the ocean about 2.5 years ago
(and won't be repaired anytime soon) so getting to/from the area from the palos verdes peninsula is a little more circuitous than it used to be.
still well worth the effort as it is a nice, short side trip from the palos verdes loop.

diphthong

and great travelogue action chris!

GP 

We stay at the Doubletree across from the Victory Lane. It's in a nice area. We usually rotate our Southern California meetings between Morro Bay, Santa Barbara, Oxnard and San Pedro.

calamarichris

You can do worse than a Doubletree, but I reckon y'all don't do much saltwater swimmin' while y'all're in town. The water in your nighttime photo looks lovely and inviting, but I've launched from that beach a few times to paddle my kayak to Catalina Island, and I always take care to hop directly into the boat, pretending the toxic water at the mouth of the West Coast's busiest port (and the one most profitable to China) is hot lava. It's worse than lava, it puts the "die" in diesel fuel.

Alas, we have to get our Walmart bargains from somewhere...

GP 

You're right, the only water we touch is as a mix at happy hour.

You should be fine in Tevas if you're launching from the ocean side of the breakwater. I'd change to rubber waders if you're launching from inside. Maybe a dry suit and respirator if the wind is up. I've heard that the only reason they get an F rating is because they don't have a G or H.

megalowmatt

Great pictures and the ride looks like a lot of fun.

You actually kayak to Catalina?!

calamarichris

Yep. Made the crossing three times, and nearly died the first time when the winds suddenly came up and they declared a small-craft advisory while I was already out on the water. I quickly learned to check the weather forecasts a little better.
Could never find anyone to go with me, and I decided after the last crossing that it's a little too long to spend pulling water and listening only to your inner monologue for 5+ hours.
Depending on the wind, I can get there in about 5:30, and about 5:00 to get back.




More fun to take your mountainbike on the ferry IMO. It's still 80 miles from Avalon to Parsons Landing, and about 11,000 feet of climbing.

ZippyThePinhead

calamarichris

Yes! 0:57 of your second vid was the younger Baldwin's sole convincing thespian moment.
I salute your Youtube search skills! haha

Genaro

Theyve filmed a bunch of stuff there. I can remember a Steven Segal fight scene at the bell.
I had a stupid moment there with my high school buddies where we decided it would be a fantastic idea to ring it one night w/ a sledge hammer. My buddy fell into a pit and broke his ankle and we almost got arrested. The cop was a little more amused at the whole thing and let us go

edenooch

great trip report and pics

lilpoindexter

CalamariChris...you are my hero. I've done bits and pieces of your ride, but never all together.

AdvXtrm

Great thread, thanks for sharing all of this. Traveling through those nasty industrial ares is unfortunate, and something I'd definitely try to avoid if I can.