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We were just wandering along the Belmont pier & beach,
enjoying the mellow evening. As the sun went down and we
walked away, somebody said, "Look at the tree on the
pier."
Belmont Shore
is a place that's very urban, yet it has a beach, a
pier, and even a clan of noisy parrots that fly in the
trees and live near the pier (not sure how the condo
residents get along with this vocal creatures).
Among our favorite
and nearby Southern California piers to visit, we have a
few favorites. Huntington Beach is one, though it gets
quite windy when the sun goes down on a winter night. So
wee've begun to frequent a few piers north such as Seal
Beach Pier (very nice, wooden pier) and Belmont Shore's
pier, formerly called Belmont Veteran's Memorial Pier.
Having met some
really nice people there on the holidays, we find that
folks travel long distances to fish for entertainment
and relax as this pier. With a predominantly Hispanic
crowd, the pier is culturally interesting. You can
wander and see the demographic change somewhat from Seal
Beach, a very small town pier with a lot more older
folks, more Caucasians, and tourists. Belmont
Shore, which is a local, younger audience, comes to fish
primarily. And they spend lots of time on the pier
fishing. Bringing lawn chairs, buckets, poles, and even
packing up meals to eat for the day or evening, this
crowd feels quite at home on the pier as we wanderers
are just passing through.
When you
leave Seal Beach and enter Los Angeles County's Long
Beach neighborhood of Belmont Shore, you discover that
homelessness exists on the beaches and near the pier.
There's also a lot more debris on the beach here, as the
port, Los Angeles River basin and other factors have
made this one of the most polluted beaches in
California. That doesn't deter us, however, from
enjoying its charms, and recognizing that the beaches
are inter-connected and should be viewed in the "big
picture".
With an urban
setting and urban issues, Belmont Shore is exciting. You
can stand on the beach near the Belmont Pool, or stand
at La Palapa restaurant overlooking the beach & pier and
notice there's lots going on in the water and lots to
look at. The huge freighter ships from around the world
move ever closer as they near the ports of Los Angeles
and Long Beach, the Queen Mary is within sight, and the
wonderful mid-size city skyline of Long Beach
illuminates bright, then fades with setting sun.
Getting to Long
Beach beaches: Head toward Ocean Blvd. in Long Beach You
can access it via San Diego Freeway (405), or the Long
Beach Freeway (710), or the Garden Grove Freeway (22).
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