Much happened in the world last week, and much was said about it, but Thursday, August 4^th was devoted to a ride on the Goodyear blimp, "The Spirit of America" - a drive down to Carson, a mid-afternoon flight out over the Long Beach and Los Angeles harbors, a drive back and then editing the more than two hundred photos.  Fifty of those shots can be found in a photo album here.  Bob Patterson's On the Scene column this week explains the flight.

Here are some of the aerial shots…

The Queen Mary, retired, docked at Long Beach – launched September 26, 1934, arrived finally in Long Beach on December 9, 1967 and never left.  The Queen Mary is now a hotel with restaurants, a wedding chapel and sixteen Art Deco reception salons for private parties.  Next to it is the geodesic dome for the long-gone Spruce Goose.  That's been gone for years.  Note this from the Long Beach Press-Telegram in mid-July:

The Queen Mary's executives on Tuesday won 90 more days to steer their company out of bankruptcy.  A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge granted the extension, allowing Queen's Seaport Development Inc. more time to submit a plan to reorganize and pay off more than $25 million in debt.