Most come to Long Beach to visit the waterfront Aquarium of the Pacific because Long Beach is known as the Aquatic Capital of America. We have been to the aquarium with our children in the past but on this trip we wanted to see The Queen Mary and learned that this coastal city is considered the busiest container port in the United States.
It’s amazing how confidence affects us. If we are not confident we compare ourselves to others, we become bitter, our mood can change, we might dislike a person, and we rob ourselves from true happiness. I believe confidence is a state of mind and if we work on it we can be confident and nothing or no one can change it.
You see friends what I have learned is that confidence is a process. You can be confident in every area of your life. You just have to do it your way not someone else’s. At first you can get advice or inspiration from others but the sooner you do it your way the happier you’ll be. You have to work on it. You have to try. You can not compare yourself to others. You have to delight in someone else’s success and not become jealous or bitter. You will know when you are confident in a particular area because even if you fail at cooking a meal, learning a concept, teaching a lesson, or anything else you do it will not change the way you think of yourself. You are unique and beautiful. There is no one like you so be the original you. Not everyone will like you or what you do but it doesn’t matter since Christ loves you and he wants to use you for his glory. My husband, children, parents, and sisters love me for who I am and not what I can or can not do. Even after I think I have failed they love me as their wife, mother, daughter, and sister and that brings me so much peace and joy and I can get a glimpse of Gods unconditional love for me.
There will be those who will criticize us and try to stomp on our confidence but we can not let them win. I love the words of Theodore Roosevelt, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer or deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who err, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotional; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievements, and who at the worst, if fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with loose cold timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
Los Angeles Harbor Lighthouse
You can not walk up to the lighthouse. There is a fishermen’s pier at Cabrillo Beach that you can walk on and get a closer look of the lighthouse but the lighthouse is still far away. This lighthouse is located in a remote location so many lighthouse keepers did not stay long because it was so lonely. We often take the presence of others for granted. They must have felt as if they were in some sort of prison not being able to go anywhere since they were surrounded by the ocean.
Located at San Pedro, CA 90731.
Shoreline park has a lighthouse of its own. We stopped here so that we could get a better view of The Queen Mary in all her glory.
The Queen Mary Tour
There is so much to see and do when you board The Queen Mary. We picked the history tour and got a better understanding of the way people traveled and the segregation between the financial classes at that time. My husband and I had never experienced anything like that since we were born in USSR and we never heard about anything like this from our parents or grandparents. We also have never seen it in our lifetime while living in California. Maybe we saw a glimpse while flying in a plane and sitting in second class but that is as close as we have experienced segregation of classes. We are sure that we don’t have to be labeled or treated by classes.
We toured the Diana tour but no pictures were aloud in the exhibit. Since I’ve always been fascinated by the life of Princesses Diana I really enjoyed this tour and seeing some of her dresses on display.
The greatest hour was an interesting tour. We learned how The Queen Mary was once used for service instead of leisure during WW2. Churchill himself stayed on this ship.
When I was a teenager I remember going to the movies with my two sisters and mother to see Titanic. It was a big deal because that was the only time my mother had been to the movie theater in the United States. I loved this movie and really enjoyed seeing some of the artifacts and we learned that The Queen Mary was larger than the Titanic.
Located at 1126 Queens Hwy, Long Beach, CA 90802.
The Queen Mary Hotel
We have never stayed overnight in a ship before and we were excited that we were able to do so without the ship going anywhere. This was a very unique and interesting experience. It was interesting to be able to walk up and down the hallways after all the museum visitors had left. We loved watching the sunset and sunrise without anyone around. This is an experience you can not get if your just touring The Queen Mary. The rooms are “tight courters” what many may say. However, the view of the skyline of Long Beach lit up makes up for any inconvenience and this alone makes staying at The Queen Mary worth it.
Located at 1126 Queens Hwy, Long Beach, CA 90802.
USS Iowa Museum
This is one of the largest historic addition to Los Angeles port in the area.
It was neat to explore the ship and see how the life of a sailor was. We saw that the headquarters were much tighter here than on The Queen Mary. This sure made us have a greater appreciation for the men and women who give up their lives to serve us. We also found it interesting to see some of the modern weaponry which they had on board the ship. My husband was intereged with the altereary shells that were taller than he is. We are very glad that ships like this end up serving as museums for generations to enjoy instead of being recycled. They offer youth stem education and school tour programs here.
Located at 250 S. Harbor Blvd., San Pedro, CA 90731.
The Pike Outlets
This is a great place to grab something to eat or do some shopping all. It is an open outlet and is very modern. There is a beautiful bridge to cross the main road and lots of great restraunts to choose from. We ate at Bubba Gump. There is also a beautiful park known as Rainbow Lagoon Park are you’ll find beautiful bridges there as well, but no one is able to access the Island any longer. It is a great place to watch birds at. If you want to get away from the busyness of all the shoppers then this is the park to come to.
Located at 95 S Pine Ave, Long Beach, CA 90802.
Thank you Queen Mary for hosting our stay.
Thank you for reading our post. We share a new post every Tuesday and Thursday at 8pm.
Cindy
Looks like an amazing tour on the Queen Mary, especially staying overnight and seeing the coast. I had no idea it was larger than the Titanic. Very cool!
Elizabeth O
It looks like you had a brilliant trip. It always seems like you have the most fun exploring all these places!
Chris
Hey love long beach and your blog in general. You take really nice photos… may i ask what camera you use?
Nati
I loved reading your post! I agree what you said about self confidence, and I have (finally) reach this stage where I love myself unconditionally. It was a long struggle, though.
This trip and visit to the Queen MAry sounds amazing and also romantic!
Marie
Wow it looks like you had a great time! It’s impressive to see how much history there is behind the Queen Mary.
Letty
It’s a wonderful place. I would love to go there and watch the sunset with my loved one!
Eileen Mendoza Loya
How awesome it would be to experience a stay at the Queen Mary Hotel! I’ve read all great reviews about it and I dream of a vacation there someday. Hopefully, when me and my husband get over our health issues, we can start traveling again. Thanks for sharing your photos. They were lovely.
Marjie Mare
First, let me say that your pictures are beautiful. Second, what a beautiful post, I agree that confidence is a state of ming, I will also say that Happiness is a personal choice. Thanks for sharing.
Stephanie
Wow, this sounds like such a neat place to visit. I would love to do the Queen Mary tour as well, just because I’ve always loved boats and ships and would be interested in all of the history of it. Also, I’ve been to Bubba Gump before in other locations, it’s so yummy!
Holly @ Granola on the Side
Oh how fun…it looks like you had a blast. This is definitely a place worth visiting.
Sarah
Looks like you had an amazing time. How beautiful ♡
Angela Tolsma
Staying on a ship would be such an interesting experience! I love the picture looking out the window.
Lois Alter Mark
I’ve been to Long Beach numerous times and always find something new to explore and enjoy. That said, The Queen Mary, with its unique history and charm, will always be at the top of my must-visit list! Glad you had such a fun trip!
Stephanie
My uncle from Long Beach has been inviting us to come over for the longest time.. I’ve come to realize that there’s so much to see in this place! Personally interested to do The Queen Mary tour just because it’s fascinating to revisit old artifacts and history…More power to the Lovely couple!
Janelle
Looks like a fantastic trip! I really love what you said about confidence and becoming bitter from jealousy. It’s my middle name. I don’t know why by I get very competitive at things I think I do well at, I feel it makes me a bitter person. I am trying to become a better person, it just takes some time.
KAPILA RATTAN BHOWMIK
Wow. This looks like a wonderful place. Specially the deck during the sunset would have been an amazing experience.
sarah camille
What a fun trip! This part of California seems so cool to visit. You made a great point about comparing yourself to others. That alone is evident of a lack of confidence. I think it can be really hard to build up your confidence if something has knocked you down. But seeing how your loved ones appreciate can definitely help us find confidence.
Christina
Love your photos! Looks like y’all had a great time!
Julia
I love the pictures! And you are such a lovely couple.
Regine L.
I love the lighthouse. And what an amazing view. It looks like you’ve had a great time.