A Photo Journal

Ako's Birthday
Weekend

October 2023

3 Locations
3 Days
Long Beach, California

The Queen Mary

Launched in 1936 and retired to Long Beach in 1967, the RMS Queen Mary is one of the great ocean liners of the twentieth century — and one of Southern California's most atmospheric places to spend a night. The ship is a museum, a hotel, and an Art Deco time capsule all at once. Its funnels, portholes, ballrooms, swimming pool, and staterooms are intact enough to feel genuinely transported back to the Golden Age of transatlantic travel.

The birthday weekend included an overnight stay aboard the ship. The afternoon delivered a spectacular Southern California sunset — the sky over the Long Beach port turned deep red and orange, and the ship's rigging cut black silhouettes across it. After dark the city lights shimmered across the harbor, and below the bow the annual Halloween Scream Zone carnival was in full glow, Ferris wheel spinning.

A sailboat on calm blue Pacific water, viewed from the Queen Mary's upper deck
A sailboat crossing the harbor — viewed from the Queen Mary's upper deck.
A large antique porcelain doll in a Victorian dress, seated in a chair on the Queen Mary
One of the Queen Mary's infamous antique dolls — a life-size Victorian porcelain figure in white dress and pink ribbon.
Long Beach skyline and the harbor jetty, framed through a heavy steel porthole of the Queen Mary
Long Beach skyline through a steel porthole — the Queen Mary's riveted frames still weigh hundreds of pounds each.
The Queen Mary's iconic red and black funnel towering against a blue sky
The Queen Mary's red-and-black funnel — three of them crowned the ship when she first launched in 1936.
Eddy and Ako selfie on the Queen Mary deck with a brilliant red and orange sunset sky behind them
Eddy and Ako on the deck at sunset. The sky put on quite a show.
Dramatic red sunset over the Long Beach industrial port, with the Queen Mary's rigging cutting black silhouettes across the sky
Sunset over the Long Beach port — the ship's rigging becomes a silhouette against the red sky.
The Captain's Day Cabin on the Queen Mary — a preserved 1930s stateroom with Art Deco furnishings and blue carpet
The Captain's Day Cabin — the ship's interior has been preserved with its original 1930s Art Deco furnishings and fittings.
Night panorama from the Queen Mary's bow deck — Long Beach city lights reflected in the harbor water
Long Beach at night from the bow deck — the anchor chain in the foreground, the city glittering across the water.
Ako taking a selfie in one of the Queen Mary's ornate Art Deco salons, with dark wood paneling and etched glass panels
Ako in one of the Queen Mary's Art Deco salons — dark teak walls, etched glass, and patterned carpet.
An original amber alabaster torch lamp with a brass base, with a bronze equestrian statue visible in the background
An original Art Deco amber alabaster torch lamp — the ship's interior fittings date to the 1930s.
The Grand Salon ballroom of the Queen Mary — a vast Art Deco space with parquet floor and a gold-curtained stage
The Grand Salon — the Queen Mary's main ballroom, with its parquet floor and gold-curtained stage, hosted some of the grandest parties of the 1930s and 40s.
The Queen Mary's indoor Art Deco swimming pool — now drained, with multi-level tiled galleries and balconies
The indoor first-class swimming pool — drained for decades, the tile work and balconies perfectly intact. It's also considered one of the most haunted spots on the ship; guests have reported splashing sounds and apparitions of women in 1930s swimwear wandering the galleries.
Long Beach skyline at night from the Queen Mary — palm trees, the Long Beach Arena, and colorful city lights reflected in the harbor
Long Beach at night — the white dome of the arena, palm trees along the waterfront, city lights on the water.
The Queen Mary Scream Zone Halloween carnival at night — a glowing Ferris wheel with red and blue LEDs, carnival tents and rides below
The annual Scream Zone Halloween carnival, seen from the ship's upper deck — the Ferris wheel in red and blue below.
Looking up at the Queen Mary from the dock — two red-and-black funnels against a deep blue sky, with the Queen Mary sign in the foreground
Arriving at the Queen Mary — her red-and-black funnels tower over the dock. The sign reads "Experience the Grandest Ocean Liner Ever Built."
Eddy and Ako selfie on the Queen Mary's sun deck — the red funnel behind them, clear blue sky
On deck in the afternoon sun — the funnel behind them, the Pacific in front.
Two steel portholes side by side on the Queen Mary, one looking out to Long Beach harbor and skyline
A pair of portholes — the Long Beach skyline visible through the bolted steel frame.
Ako reaching up toward the giant red Queen Mary funnel with one hand, looking up at it against a blue sky
Ako testing the funnel's altitude. It did not come down to her.
The Queen Mary's wheelhouse — original brass steering wheels, binnacle compass, and navigation instruments in the dark wood bridge
The ship's bridge — original brass binnacle, telemotor wheels, and helm controls. City lights glow through the rain-streaked windows behind.
Visitors descending steep rusted ship stairs during a below-decks tour on the Queen Mary
Descending into the ship's lower decks — the Haunted Encounters tour takes you through the engine room and below the waterline.
Eddy and Ako smiling together in a dark interior space against a large black painted bulkhead door
Somewhere in the lower decks — both still smiling, which is a good sign.
The Queen Mary's red funnel glowing at night through sea fog, deck equipment and a second funnel visible behind
Late night on deck — sea fog rolled in and the funnels glowed red in the mist.
Eddy and Ako selfie at night on the Queen Mary deck, the red funnel glowing behind them in the fog
Midnight on the top deck, funnel glowing in the fog. Ako's expression suggests the ghost tour may have had an effect.

Links

Catalina Island, California

Avalon

Twenty-two miles off the coast of Los Angeles, Santa Catalina Island feels like a different world. Avalon, its only incorporated city, wraps around a natural harbor where dozens of yachts and sailboats swing on moorings in vivid blue water. The hillsides above are dry and golden, dotted with white stucco houses climbing toward the ridgeline.

At the tip of the harbor sits the Avalon Casino — built in 1929 and not actually a gambling house, but a showpiece entertainment complex. Its circular Art Deco theatre on the lower level holds some of the most elaborate ceiling murals in California: sweeping ocean scenes of fish, kelp, and sea creatures rendered in deep blues and earth tones, arching overhead while a black-and-white film plays on the screen below. The ballroom above it is a masterpiece of the same era — a domed rotunda ringed with ocean-view windows, its ceiling pleated outward from a grand central chandelier like the inside of a shell.

Inside the Avalon Casino Theatre — Art Deco ceiling murals of sea creatures over red velvet seats, a black-and-white film on screen
Inside the Avalon Casino Theatre — the ceiling murals of fish, kelp, and ocean life arch overhead while a classic film plays below.
The Avalon Casino ballroom — a spectacular circular Art Deco dance hall with a domed ceiling and grand central chandelier
The Casino Ballroom — a perfect circle of Art Deco grandeur, its ribbed dome ceiling radiating from a central chandelier, ocean visible through every window.
Avalon harbor from above — dozens of yachts and boats moored in vivid blue water, surrounded by golden hillsides
Avalon harbor — the natural anchorage is almost always full of boats. The town climbs the hillside behind it.
The ornate entrance colonnade of the Avalon Casino — arched ceiling with pendant Art Deco light fixtures and painted murals
The Casino's entrance loggia — Moorish arches, pendant Art Deco lamps, and painted tile murals at the threshold.
The Avalon Casino illuminated at night — its white colonnade glowing against the dark hillside, reflected in the harbor water
The Casino at night — a long exposure from the harbor. The beacon on the hill above it has guided boats into Avalon since 1929.
The Queen Mary seen from the Catalina ferry — all three funnels visible as the ship recedes across Long Beach harbor
Looking back at the Queen Mary from the Catalina ferry — all three funnels visible as she shrank across the harbor.
Ako smiling in the Avalon Casino's white arched colonnade, sunglasses on her head, ocean visible through the arches behind her
Ako in the Casino's loggia — the arches frame the harbor behind her.
The Avalon Casino at blue hour — the building glows warm gold against a deep blue twilight sky, boats in the harbor below
The Casino at blue hour — the sky still held color when the building's lights came on.

Links

Hanagi Restaurant · Anaheim, California

Dinner at Hanagi

The weekend ended with a birthday dinner for Ako at Hanagi, a traditional Japanese restaurant in Anaheim, surrounded by close friends. The table was set with teppanyaki grills and scattered with hand-folded origami cranes — a small, festive touch for the evening.

Dinner moved through Hanagi's signature courses and finished with the kitchen presenting a Japanese cream cake crowned with fresh strawberries and a fleet of paper cranes, a single candle lit. A warm, unhurried close to the weekend.

Ako smiling as a Hanagi staff member presents a Japanese birthday cake decorated with origami cranes
Hanagi's kitchen presented a Japanese cream cake decorated with origami cranes — Ako's smile said everything.
A beautifully plated short rib dish at Hanagi — stacked tall with green beans, crispy garnish, and rich brown sauce
Hanagi's signature wagyu short rib — stacked high, surrounded by green beans, and ringed with origami cranes on the table.
Friends smiling together at the teppanyaki table at Hanagi
The birthday dinner with friends at Hanagi's teppanyaki table.
Overhead view of the Japanese birthday cake — white cream cake with strawberries and origami cranes on top
The full cake from above — fresh strawberries, cream, and a fleet of origami cranes around the Happy Birthday plaque.

Links