Port of Los Angeles

I love watching rallycross on TV that I was so excited to see the Red Bull Global Rallycross live at the Port of the Los Angeles. With the single day general admission tickets ($ 35, $ 25 — early bird price), you get access to the pits to see the cars and meet your favorite drivers. I was able to meet Travis Pastrana, Tanner Foust and Brian Deegan. I liked the GA seating since we got a good view of all the action and rallycross drama from loose bumpers to celebratory donuts. The preferred seating cost $ 40 extra and was near the starting line with a better view of the joker.
There were typical concessions that you expect from a sporting event like beer, food and souvenirs. There were plenty of porta potties. Parking was $ 10 and was easy to find and exit. Since it was a hot day, sunscreen and hats were must haves. At this venue, you get the cool view of the ocean and the ships in the background.

This area has been cleaned up so nicely! I love that there is a farmer’s market near the maritime museum now. I wouldn’t go down here at night since it is near the projects and I am estimating like 80% of the crime that occurs in our town is usually happening on this lower half of town.
They now have various events down in this area too. It is a great walk from under the bridge all the way to Port O Call. Parking sucks though :(You have to walk quite a ways for free parking and risk parking in a bad area.
Your best bet is to park over by the Maritime museum/​Acapulco’s where it is free and then walk over towards the fountain area.

I will take any excuse to go to the Port of L.A. because I love it that much.
I love the ocean. Ships. History. And it’s all here at the Port of Los Angeles.
My appreciation for the Port goes even deeper, though. Without it, so many family businesses like ours would not exist.
So, today (10÷29÷14) my daughters and I saw the Cuauhtémoc, a Mexican Navy sail training ship. The Cuauhtémoc «is a Class A, three-​masted barque built in Bilbao, Spain in 1982.» Read more:
It was really cool. I’m glad we went there. It’s only there for another day, then I guess back to Acapulco.
I didn’t take them on the boat for a FREE tour because it would have been an ordeal with the stroller.
There are many places I have yet to check out at the harbor. It’s one of my favorite places in the Greater L.A. area. But USS Iowa is at the top of my list. And it’s docked just a short distance from this berth (46).
Parking was at the end of the loop on the other side of the S.S. Lane Victory and was FREE.
The cleanliness of the area (aside from the dead raccoon or whatever that was in the middle of the street) was admirable.
Review #310

This is also for the tall ships festival… I have always liked going to the Port of LA now I have bad memories and feel cheated. This was a terrible festival and probably why I don’t see separate Unilocal choice for them separate of the Port. Paying $ 7 I thought would be okay to see a bunch of tall ships and the duck– yeah no it was not! Plus paying $ 5 for parking far away because they said the other lots were full when they were not and on top of it all the online «fee» of $ 7 I call BU!! S#!T! What a rip-​off! You could pay there in any lot — not just the far away one– and have saved the «convenience fee».
There were no directions anywhere, everybody was lost. We went to a side gate and asked if this was the entrance and the guy said «uhh yeah if you have tickets, do you have tix?», I said yes and started to pull them on the phone and he just said ok and turned away letting us in before checking the tix… could have saved another $ 7 a pop and just walked right in…
Where were the tall ships? I saw 2 kinda tall sail boats and of course the mighty Iowa which is always there anyways. Some food trucks, a band and beer tent and a million people elbowing each other to get a selfie with the duck— Should have just waited a couple days and saw the duck with out the elbows and peoples sweat hitting me… What a sucky event!!!

Went to Port of LA to see the largest rubber duck: Mama Duck and Baby Duck. Took lots of pics.
Then we went to the LA Maritime Museum. It’s $ 3 adult donation.
It was a nice way to kill time before heading back to the SF Bay Area.

The previous week, the Rubber Ducky was in town with the Tall Ships. The place was a zoo! Parking was $ 8 and it was chaotic. It wasn’t worth it to see the Duck.
Lucky for me, the Duck was in town for 2 more week. and this time for FREE!
I came here on a Wednesday afternoon and they moved the Duck closer to 6^th Street, by the Maritime Museum. There was plenty of free, 2 hour street parking, and the Duck (and baby Duck) was right at the edge of the walkway.
Its a much better experience, not to mention free.
I feel bad for those who paid $ 7 and stood out in the hot sun and long line.

The duck bought me here to the Tall Ships Festival and has given me very fond and memorable experiences.
It was the best $ 12 I have spent lately. Not knowing I could be on the Amazing Grace Sail Boat from the dock all the way to the middle of the ocean. The Crew share their stories and the history of the boat. At times, we were told ，to move from one side to the other or covered our ears before they blew the honks or shot the gun.
The Patrols guarded the Amazing Grace as we leaving the port. Everybody we met at sea raised up their camera phone on us. The story on the journey on how they acquired the ship has moved us the most. It is the owners’ generosity and lots of support from a lot people to keep this boat sailing. I sure will go on their website to see if I can donate money so more people can ride on the Amazing Grace.
On the lighter side, the duck bought us lots of joy. Believe me adults were more excited than the toddlers. Then came to aboard two big battleships! I can’t imagine how these mountains of steel are built. Inside is very tight and compact. Quite a contrast.
Overall, the Tall Ships Festival is a very well organized festival. It is the spirits and shared vision that have this public event so special. I am sure I will stay tune with future events.

(Review is specific to the Tallships Festival LA 2014)
This past weekend I attended the Tallships Festival with my family. It was a fun afternoon, I went on Sunday which was the last day, and it was busy. You can buy tickets in advance, which comes with a service charge, but might be worth it. If you buy them on location, it will take about 15 minutes to go through the line process — so your call.
The biggest benefit is advance pay parking. I heard several people complain about the parking situation, which can be a headache. The waterfront has done a nice job of pumping money into San Pedro, but the parking aspects has yet to be perfected.
The value for entertainment factor was well worth it, we bought the $ 12/​person ticket which gave access to all the boats. The tall ships are cool, but my favorite attraction was the SS Lane Victory, which is a cargo ship with light guns that was active during WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. It has a rich history and also serves as a National Historic Landmark and museum. Every tall ship has a crew which is willing and excited to talk about the boat. On Sunday there were far fewer boats than they listed in the official program, which I found strange.
The day will take between 2 – 5 hours depending on what you want to get out of it. There are seveal tents on the perimeter which sell nautical related stuff, or fun mementos. Another plus is the barrage of food trucks, easily the largest gathering of food trucks I’ve ever seen, maybe 30+. My family tends to go with the lobster rolls on the seafood truck, ummmmm, good! Come with an appetitie, the food is a big part of this afternoon. Each day also has unique entertaiment (muisc). It can get hot/​sunny, bring a hat and UV sun protection.
For many, the highlight of the day was the 61′ tall duck (see pictures) — to each his/​her own, oddly my kids loved it! This was a fun family afternoon, with food, drinks, tickets, etc. it was about $ 100+ for my family of 4.

1. So the duck is displayed around the world, including other U.S. cities. And it’s free everywhere but in L.A.
2. Not only is it not free here, we get nickled and dimed, and more. Parking fee, «festival» entrance fee, tall ship entrance fee, and an exorbitant sailing fee. Not only are there entrance fees, but if you purchase online, you are charged exhorbitant handling fees. For what? So you can print the tickets yourself using your own printer and your own ink.
3. Festival. You are forced to pay for it, in order to view the duck. No money no duck. The rest of it consisted of trinkets booths and food trucks. Big whoop.
4. Tall ship. Um, you walk on, everyone else is right there on shore right next to you.
5. Sail for $ 150 or some such. I couldn’t really pay attention to that craziness.
What are we, your funding to keep exhibiting for the rest of the world? And why did it have to be paired with this Tall Ships Festival. The price gouging event marketing was such a turnoff, it made me not want to go, except I wanted to see the duck.
We were part of the very first group entering the «festival» area on Sunday. And apparently someone was late for work, because the fan that blows air into the duck was off, and the duck was completely deflating.
Info on the website and fb page was so unclear. Signage to help with parking location was horrible. There was one electronic sign, and if you blink you missed it, because it blinks too.
After an exercise in frustration, I actually ended up parking in a primo spot, directly across from the cruise building. But then we had to wait for a port worker to open the gate to let us out from the parking lot. We were trapped like caged animals. The port worker had to wait till the stroke of 10 to unlock it, and threatened us about only crossing in the crosswalk.
The long long line of poor slobs that we drove by, who were waiting to get in, because they parked where everyone else parked, ended up getting to the cruise building after us. Lol. Sorry suckers.
And then, the deflated duck. Because someone didn’t get to work on time to turn on the fan.
The only good parts of the whole thing were being able to get on the S.S. Lane Victory, and every single one of the exceptional and terrific member of the U.S. Navy.

Nice day to be at the Port today. Alot of people. Not only the Tall Ships, and the duck. OMG. The kids loved it. There where lines for the kids to take pictures with it. Great Marketing tool.
The staff for the most part did a great job in cleaning all the areas around the differents events. Alot of music.
Plenty of Catering trucks to eat at, but after walking most of the morning, wanted to eat inside of a Restaurant and be catered too.
The Tall Ships runs threw tomorrow. I would where some sun block and tennis shoes
The Trolley is free tomorrow. It will take you all the way to Ports o Call, however they put alot of people on this Trolley, you may have to stand up. Thank You Unilocal

I came here to board a cruise aboard Princess Cruise Lines. The port is pretty easy to get into and traffic in and out is very well orchestrated by the traffic cops.
Not the prettiest view as you go out of the harbor, but the sunsets are always nice. The Porter folks do a great job helping you with your baggage. Don’t be stingy with the tips or you bags will end up at LAX.

The Port of Los Angeles is America’s port! If it were its own country, it would have the 34^th largest economy in the world. Plus there’s the Iowa, the cruise ships, and the beautiful sunsets accompanied by a perfect breeze.
I’ve had only positive experiences at the Port of LA. Whether it’s embarking on a cruise from there or attending one of their events, it always ends up being a positive memory.