#14 Harbor Cruise

Living in a harbor town is really cool, but most people don't take any time out to appreciate everything that goes into running an international import/export business. The Port of Long Beach has a really active outreach program, and
one of the things it offers is a harbor tour. The tour is 40 minutes by boat and is narrated by Port staff.
Having worked there for a long time now, I know most of things they mention during the tour, but I dragged
three friends with me so they could share in the fun!

The day I chose to go was the annual Green Port Fest. This is a whole day of activities, tours, performances and displays celebrating port workings and environmental initiatives, local businesses and local culture. There is also free food, and lots of it.
The harbor tours book up quickly during the year, so I thought there would be a better chance of getting tickets if I went during Port Fest. It worked!
We boarded our vessel and headed out. One of the first things we saw was ITS (International Transportation
Service).

This is one of six container terminals on Port property. The vessels carrying the cargo dock at these container terminals, and their containers are loaded and unloaded here by those massive cranes. Here is an example of a
docked vessel being unloaded. The size of these vessels are astounding.

Next we saw Sea Launch. This company takes satellites into open water to launch them into space. So Cool!

As a special treat for the Port Fest visitors, the Long Beach Fire Department had a water boat spinning around and spouting water. Very fun.

On the right, we passed the weather station.

One way that the Port is helping the environment is by encouraging tenants to use shore-side power. This shows a vessel from Alaska Tanker charging up at BP.

As we sailed past this bouy, we saw a group of seals hanging out.

At the end of the tour, we docked next to the Queen Mary.

You'll get a closer look at the Queen Mary a little further down the list ;-)

I have been waiting to take this tour for a long time, and I am so glad I finally got to go! Even though I knew most of what we learned on the tour, it was so cool to see the things I've been working on in action up close and personal. It was also really cool to introduce my friends to my world of work.

Miles: 8.2
Cost: FREE!

Miles to date: 503.6
Cost to date: $172.66