We were on the road by 9:30 am after the Marine front cleared a bit. We decided to take the Pacific Coast Highway and travel through the beach towns along the way. Surprisingly, the beach towns were anything but. Instead we traveled through large, congested cities unlike the beach towns on the east coast. Our destination- the Queen Mary in Long Beach.
The Queen Mary made her Maiden Voyage in 1936 and was considered the grandest ocean liner ever built. During her heyday, many considered her the only civilized way to travel. With the outbreak of WW II , she was transformed into a troopship overnight. By the end of the war “The Grey Ghost”", as she was fondly called, carried more then 800,000 troops, traveled more then 600,000 miles and played a significant role in virtually every major allied campaign.
( Read the top two lines of the picture)
She was retired in 1967 and purchased by the City of Long Beach and has remained an icon for the city for over 40 years. She has been transformed into a hotel and has spent more years in Long Beach then her 30 years at sea.
We decided to take the self-guided tour of the ship and the ghost tour. Fortunately we arrived just in time for the ghost tour and were immediately brought to the bowels of the ship.
There has been many claims that the ship is haunted although our tour guide states he is a skeptic and has never encountered a ghost.
While hearing about all of the sightings and sounds people claim to have heard we were given a lesson in “classes” on the ship. First class passengers were the elite while second class passengers were like the middle class in today’s society. Then there was third class who were afforded much fewer amenities including the lack of use of the pool.
The indoor pool was for the first and second class passengers. Over time third class passengers complained loudly that they had nowhere to swim. Cunard Line finally gave in allowing third class passengers the opportunity to use the pool when the first and second class passengers were at “High Tea.” Before the first and second class passengers were allowed back in the pool it was drained and refilled with ocean water.
The claim is that the pool area is haunted by both a young bride and a little girl. People claim to have seen the bride wandering around in her white gown and the little girl playing hide and seek peeking around the columns. HMMM!
After the ghost tour we began our own self-guided tour. The ship is quite beautiful and very modern for it’s day. It is very large at over 1100 feet long and had the capability of sailing at 34 mph or 30 knots. It was the fastest vessel of it’s day.
We had free reign of the ship to explore as much or as little as we wanted.
Getting around the ship involved a lot of up and down stairs because all of the elevators except the one to the main hotel are shut down.
After climbing and descending many flights of stairs we decided that it was time for lunch. There are three restaurants on the ship. Our first choice was closed for a private function so we dined in the Promenade Café.
Then it was off to explore more of the ship. Did I mention the ship is huge and has lots of stairs!!!! One corridor in the ship allows you to see the full length of the ship –too far for the camera to capture.
Ron’s favorite part of any tour of any kind of a ship is the engine room.
Then it was up to the Bridge where everything on the ship was run by man and not computer.
Then we toured the outside of the ship.
FOR THOSE WHO WOULD TO SEE ALL FOTOS LINK:
https://plus.google.com/photos/114778397272444136731/albums/6112994040981148289
We toured for over four hours and really enjoyed being on an 80 year old ship that has been so well maintained.
Ron got some nice shots of Long Beach from the ship.
Notice all the masts of all the sailboats in the marina.
We had a great day and sadly had to leave the ship. I told Ron after spending time on the Queen Mary I am ready for another cruise – him – not so much!
Back at the CG Ron took Jewel for a walk. There is another MH in the park identical to ours and Jewel wanted to go to that MH on the way back. Didn’t know she knew what our MH looked like.
We secured a week at Evergreen CG in downtown Oxnard about 6 miles from Nancy. So will be heading out in the morning. Looking forward to spending time with cousin Nancy.
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