Shoreline Village

One of my fondest, summertime memories is
of staying on my dad's boat as a teenager,
hopping in a dingy and heading over to Marina
Del Rey's Fisherman's Village. It was such a
quaint village, with a windmill and friendlier
people who left their cares at home to spend a
leisure day wandering through shops. I was
saddened to know, when my father moved his
boat to Long Beach, that my children wouldn't
get to experience this cheerful memory of
mine. With a couple of years of good
intentioned talk, we finally made it out to his
boat with our kids for a weekend. I was thrilled

to see that Long Beach has a "Fisherman's Village" too, their's, though, is called
Shoreline Village. The store fronts were colorful and the outdoor band drew in a
happy crowd. There was so much to do. One could rent a bicycle for one at $10
an hour or one that seats as many as six for $30 an hour and a variety of others
in-between. There were paddleboat rentals as well as big time boats, and a
charter sailing company that offer's instruction.

There were a variety of shops, where one can buy a unique hat or explore your
heritage. One shop even writes your name on a single grain of rice! There are
outdoor vendors who sell jewelry, draw your portrait or even tell your fortune.

Restaurants include the Yard House, Parker's Lighthouse, Island Sunfish Bar &
Grill, Stephano's Pizza, Tugboat Pete's, Tequila Jack's and for dessert there is
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Heidi's Frozen Yogurt and Swensen's Ice
Cream. Pelican Pier Pavillion is just the right place for kids to expend their
energies, playing arcade-style games and others where they win tickets to
redeem prizes. The main attraction here, though, is an original Looff Carousel
built in 1906. It is one of only 17 machines created by Charles Looff and only ten
are still in existence. It is composed of 62 wooden hand-carved animal figures
and four chariots. The animals feature Austrian crystal jewels and genuine horse
tails. Most intriguing to me was it's all-wood construction; no nails were used.

Open daily 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

If you've still got ambition after wandering around here, visit the Queen Mary,
it's just a ferry ride away.

Located off the south end of the 710 (Long Beach Freeway), follow the Aquarium
sign past Pine and turn right on

Shoreline Village Drive.

Website: www.shorelinevillage.com