January 19, 2023 – Los Angeles, California

We arrived in port of San Pedro this morning before sunrise.  I opened our curtain as we were closely passed the battleship Iowa.  Within a few minutes, we were docked.  The port is the busiest container port in North America and was known for an efficient, sustainable supply chain.  Not so sure now.  There were 9.9 million container units handled in 2022.  This port is also known for the World Cruise Center.

LA is the end of leg 1 (Ft Lauderdale to LA).  Today many passenger’s disembark, but we gain several hundred from LA that are also world cruisers.  Every passenger was required by law to disembark whether you had a tour booked or not.  We disembarked early and went through customs/immigration to show our passport.  We boarded a bus and went to Santa Monica and walked the famous pier (built in 1909).  I didn’t realize it was the end of the infamous Route 66 (end of the trail sign).  Remember, Forrest Gump running across the country, saw the ocean, ran to the end of the Santa Monica pier, turned around and ran back.  

What a beautiful day! Our guide tells us it’s been colder than usual in LA area.  We past the LAX airport and could see the Hollywood sign in the distance.  We then drove up a hill to Brentwood (located in Santa Monica Mountains) to visit the Getty Center.  I’ve wanted to visit this museum for years.  The Getty Center is a 24 acre campus of the Getty Museum, Research Institute, Conservation Institute and other programs of the Getty Trust.  The $1.3 billion center opened to the public in 1997 and is well known for its architecture, art, gardens and views overlooking Los Angeles.  We were dropped off at bottom of the hill and got on an electric tram that winds it’s way up to this glowing entrance of the Getty Center.  The entire facility is made of limestone and is stunning.  The views of the mountains behind you all the way over to the ocean.  We could see Santa Monica where we visited this morning.

We only have 3 hours so we had to narrow down what we wanted to explore.  First, we took some pictures outside of the beautiful gardens, landscape and views of the valley below.  We spent the majority of our time with European masterpieces (Van Gogh, Rembrandt).  Then we found ourselves in the antique furniture gallery by accident and thrilled we were there.  The craftsmanship of these pieces were spectacular.  The beauty of each piece.  The intricate detail of every piece, from tables to clocks and chandeliers.  Desks with hidden drawers.  One chandelier was designed with a glass bowl that hung down to hold gold fish.  Lol.  My kind of chandelier.

As with many ports of call, we decided we need to return to LA to spend more time at The Getty Center (including the Getty Villa).  We also want to visit The Peterson Museum (car museum) but did not have time.  I’m making a list of places to visit when we do a cross country road trip.  We will spend more time here and of course, we love our National Parks so we’ll head to Yosemite and Sequoia.  I love driving up the coast of California and some side trips into the mountains for some fun driving.

Back to San Pedro to board our ship.  Many familiar faces boarded today in LA that were on the 2020 World Cruise.  We have a cruise reunion luncheon in a few days.  Will be nice to see everyone.

Farewell LA.  Until we meet again.