Thursday – February 5, 2026 – Los Angeles day 1
The featured image for today is a photo of the floor of the command area of the battleship USS Iowa – BB-61. The USS Iowa was the first of 4 battleships built in this class. Others were USS New Jersey (BB-62), USS Missouri (BB-63) and USS Wisconsin (BB-64). All 4 are anchored at ports in the US and serve as museums. You can read more about the Iowa-class battleships by clicking here.
We arrived at the Port of Los Angeles around 6:45 am and were docked by 7:30 am. We hadn’t scheduled an excursion and thought we might get on one of the “Hop-on, Hop-off” buses like we had seen in many of the cities we have visited. When we began to check, we found that the Port of Los Angeles is over 25 miles from downtown Los Angeles! We weren’t expecting that. We also found that there was no bus service like we wanted that came to the port. So, we began to explore other options for the day.
Docked very close to us was the USS Iowa – a battleship that had seen action in World War II, Korea and Iraq. It is now a museum which, we discovered, has a free admission to residents of Iowa! Armed with that information we disembarked and walked to the USS Iowa to see a piece of history.
The ship is staffed for the most part by volunteers. Some act as guides and others have specific areas of expertise that help keep the exhibit afloat (so to speak). There is a self-guided tour that is easy to follow which we began once we had shown our Iowa driver’s licenses. First area to view was the forward battery of 3 16-inch guns and their turret. There is a selfie of us in front of both sets of forward guns. I sure wouldn’t want to be near this ship when it fired – at least not without extreme ear protection.
At each of the stops there were placards or videos that explained the function that was on display at that point. There was a mock-up of a 16-inch shell (2,500 pounds) with the 6 powder bags (110 pounds each) needed to propel it. It puts into perspective the power of that explosion when compared to the grams of powder I used to propel fireworks. These guns could fire a 2,500-pound shell over 20 miles!
We climbed up and down stairways that were much steeper than those on MSC Magnifica. In the gallery you can see some of the points of the ship that the tour encompasses. As we moved toward the stern we saw the retrofit to include more modern weaponry – Harpoon missile launch and storage tubes.
Our path included crew quarters for officers and enlisted, showers, sick bay, enlisted and officer mess, an exhibit for “Vicky” (mascot of USS Iowa) and the basketball hoop and backboard (made from armor plate) on the starboard side. If you follow the links you’ll find some interesting stories about both Vicky and the backboard.
We spent about 3 hours on the Iowa and at the end got some guidance from Sue – the volunteer coordinator – for a place to have lunch. She suggested we go into San Pedro to the business district – there were plenty of restaurants there to choose from. Off we went for more misadventure!
When we arrived in the business district we noticed there were some panhandlers on the corners. As we approached a corner to stop and get our bearings, a panhandler began to approach us but was turned away by a San Pedro police volunteer. The volunteer explained that the city was trying to discourage aggressive panhandling using the volunteers. During our conversation we mentioned we were looking for a good place for lunch. He suggested an Italian deli a couple blocks away. We took his advice and found the A-1 Italian Deli. They had a great selection of sandwiches AND Mountain Dew! What could be better! Across the street from the deli was a public park with picnic tables and shade. We found a spot and settled in for sandwiches, chips and drinks. Also in the park was a homeless man and several men using the outdoor exercise equipment.
On our way back to the ship we met Sonia and Cristian who were also on their way back. We talked and walked with them for a block or so then paused to watch fountains in the public area that were “performing” to music. Not the same as the Bellagio Resort Hotel in Las Vegas but entertaining just the same. Entertainment for the evening was Avis Ellis who sang songs from Motown and Dionne Warwick.
You can view today’s photos here.