Had a bit of a sleep in to-day and got up at 7am to get ready to go to Long Beach to see the Queen.
It was easy to get there.
We took a little back pack of clothes and caught the Metro, just up the road here and arrived in about 30 mins or so.
Then we caught the free shuttle bus from the long Beach Transit Centre to the Queen Mary, which is right in town, but you have to go over some bridges and into the pier area to board her.
The people who stand out front to welcome visitors thought we were something else, arriving with our back packs on and took some photos of us.
The lady on the booking in counter at reception thought we deserved an upgrade from an inside cabin to a 2 bedroom suite and of course we just grinned and bore it!
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| Off to see the Queen! |
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| Just ordinary little homes dot the road to Long Beach from LA... |
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| Drizzling rain, the first since we've been here, greets us as we arrive in Long Beach... |
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| Long Beach roundabout... |
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| It seems everywhere must have a wheel... |
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| Our first glimpse of the Queen from the free shuttle bus in Long Beach... |
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| Free shuttle bus to the QM and a few other tourist spots in Long Beach... |
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| Here she is...The Queen Mary...She is HUGE! |
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| It feels like a real cruise about to take place... |
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| Val and I about to board the QM for a night of luxury...in a two bed inside cabin... |
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| It sure feels like a cruise about to set sail! |
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| Veronica, the reservation sweetie who surprised us by upgrading us to a 2 bed room suite... |
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| Our cabin was just up from the main foyer, suite 165 |
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| Bed room 1 in our upgraded suite on the QM... |
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| Checking out the scenery... |
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| Way in the distance in bedroom 2, is Val... |
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| Val in her own room which had the bathroom in it... |
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| Val's room... |
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| Just testing...feels good to me! |
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| The view out the porthole window...raining... |
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| Original brass tap fittings remain, plus the non plastic bath tub! |
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| Off we go on a tour of duty, exploring our home for the next 24hrs...! |
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| All very glamorous for sure... |
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| An elegant casual dining room, one of many onboard the QM... |
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| The verandah deck for chatting and sipping cups of tea... |
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| In the rain, the distant lights of Long Beach, still look nice... |
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| A nice sitting area in the main foyer...Val decided to sit down while I was photographing...drat! |
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| We decided to dolly up and go have a cocktail in the bar as it was happy hour and there were a squillion Marines on board for a BALL...Yes, a ball... |
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| A Margarita and a Chardy...is about all the names we know! |
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| Those drinks are magic...Look what appeared before we even took the first sip! |
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| Then along came a couple of Marines and the one with all the medals said his guest for the Ball didn't turn up, so I said I'd buy him a drink to ease his pain and then he asked me if I'd like to accompany him to the ball as his guest. Val was chatting to a lady at the bar, so off I went, knowing she couldn't get lost to-nite. |
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| So, off I went, duly escorted by an USA Marine! The meal was 3 course and was a salad, then chicken a-la-something and fillet steak, a desert, coffee... |
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| This guy, his fiance and I got on sooo well, we enjoyed each other's company. My date had to go early, so I chatted with these guys...awesome people. |
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| And the band played on... |
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| The battalion was celebrating a significant birthday also... |
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| So, after the noise got too loud, I thanked my hosts and glided out into the night, wandered out on deck and came upon a Marine proposing to his girl...how romantic. She said yes! And so ended my Cinderella evening at a Ball on the Queen Mary hosted by the USA Marines...albeit 10pm! |
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