S I T E O F T H E 2 0 0 9 N A T I O N A L S Q U A R E D A N C E C O N V E N T I O NN O T J U S T A N O T H E R P R E T T Y B E A C H

B E P R E P A R E D

The staff of Square DancingToday have written aboutmany unbelievable destina-tions worldwide. Locationsrun the gamut of any imagi-nation—majestic, quaint,trendy, and so on. When weelected to include LongBeach, California in this edi-tion—after all, it is the site ofthe 2009 National SquareDance Convention—we knewit would impress. But takeone look at the images onthese pages and you immedi-ately understand why thispristine, West Coast wonder-land has us teeming withexcitement. Read and discoverthe balance of historic andmodern attractions—it’sindeed a trip we can’t wait tomake with all of our squaredance friends.

B Y J O H N S T E V E N S O N

W O R L D W O N D E R S

World’s largest mural. It took fourweeks and 3,000 gallons of paint tocreate it. And when environmentalmarine artist, Wyland, completedPlanet Ocean, the Guinness Book ofWorld Records certified it as theworld’s largest mural. The life-sizemural is more than 10 stories high,1,180 feet in diameter and covers theentire 116,000 square-foot surface ofthe Long Beach Arena.

World’s largest selection of beer ontap. Earn a world record of your ownby sampling beer from around theworld. More than 250 tap handles ofdraft beer can be found at the YardHouse, located on Rainbow Harborin Shoreline Village. Their draft beerselections range from Dead Guy Aleto Guinness Stout, making any beerlovers choice a tough one.

World’s longest breakwater. LongBeach’s breakwater, a man-made rockjetty constructed in the 1920’s to slowwave action and create a calm harbor,stretches nine miles, making it thelongest in the world.

World’s Largest Selection of Hats.The Village Hat Shop at ShorelineVillage boasts the world’s largestselection of hat and carries everythingfrom Panama hats to berets.

Fish with wings? Experience theworld’s only flying fish boat trip, witha day trip to Catalina Island just 22miles off the coast of Long Beach.Santa Catalina Island Company

Discovery Tours offers seasonaltours aboard 50-passenger vessels toview these unique fish that don’t onlyjump out of the water, but fly across itfor many yards.

N A T I O N A L N O V E LT I E S

House of style. The nation’s skinni-est house, shown on Ripley’s Believe itor Not, is located at 703 GladysAvenue. The Skinny House was builtin 1932 by Nelson Rummond on abet that he could not build a inhabita-ble residence on the lot which meas-ured only 10 feet by 50 feet. He wentahead and built the compact house,which is 3-stories high and 860 squarefeet.

Full speed ahead. More than200,000 racing fans flock to LongBeach each year to witness thenation’s biggest race through citystreets, the Toyota Grand Prix of LongBeach.

Bikestation demo now a perma-nent delight. The city of LongBeach’s Bikestation at the First StreetTransit Mall is the first full-servicebike transit facility in the UnitedStates. It opened as a transit-demon-stration project in 1996 and mimicsthe bicycle facilities that are so popu-lar in Europe. Since it’s opening, ithas parked more than 20,000 bikes.

Egypt or Long Beach? Cal StateLong Beach’s on-campus sports andathletic complex opened in 1994 to

become one of only three true pyra-mid structures in the United States,and is the largest space-frame struc-ture in North America.

Oil islands in disguise. TheTHUMS Company operates offshoredrilling rigs on the islands just off thecoast of Long Beach. To make theislands soundproof and pleasing to theeye, the THUMS Company sur-rounded them with condo-like high-rises, curving walls, colorful lights,waterfalls, and swaying palm trees.They’re the only oil islands in theU.S. decorated as such.

Take a Gondola ride through pic-turesque canals. Gondola Getawayfeatures authentic Venetian gondolasmanned by costumed gondoliers whomay even croon an Italian love songfor you. Sip on your favorite bever-age as you glide past the beautifulhomes of Long Beach’s exclusiveNaples Island neighborhood.

Run, bike, or walk through 26 sce-nic miles of Long Beach. TheInternational City Bank Marathontakes place every October and is atruly unique event. It is the onlymarathon in the world where 80 per-cent of the racecourse is adjacent towater. The marathon winds arounddowntown Long Beach’s RainbowHarbor, passes near the Queen Maryand travels for 5 ? miles along abeachfront bike path, and also givesparticipants scenic views of theColorado Lagoon, Marine Stadiumand picturesque Alamitos Bay.

W o r l d W o n d e r s a n dN at i o n a l N o v e lt i e s

From the world’s largest number of beers on tap to the world’s biggestmural, Long Beach holds its share of world records and unique treasures.The following record setters, rare treasures, and mysterious marvels canall be found in Long Beach:

THE QUEEN MARY<<

GET TO KNOW

LONG BEACHI NCORPORATED1888

POPU LATION475,460* (Fifth largest in California) gath-ered from US Census 2003

L O C A T I O NSituated along the scenic shores of thePacific Ocean, Long Beach is 22 milessouth of downtown Los Angeles, 10 milessouthwest of Anaheim and 90 miles northof San Diego. The city of Long Beachspans 5.5 miles of sandy beachfront andtotals 50 square miles in area.

MAJOR ATTRACTIONSLong Beach Aquarium of the Pacific;Queen Mary; Soviet-built Foxtrot-classsubmarine, Scorpion; Shoreline Village;The Pike at Rainbow Harbor; PineAvenue; Museum of Latin American Art;Long Beach Museum of Art; GondolaGetaway; Rancho Los Cerritos; RanchoLos Alamitos; Alamitos Bay; and BelmontShore’s Second Street.

NEARBY ATTRACTIONSCatalina Island, Disneyland and Disney’sCalifornia Adventure, Universal StudiosHollywood, Getty Center, andHollywood, Downtown Los Angeles, andBeverly Hills.

RECREATIONAL ACTIVITI ESSailing, jet skiing, windsurfing, scuba div-ing, parasailing, water skiing, fishing,kayaking, harbor cruises, whale watching,rollerblading, biking, horseback riding, ten-nis and golf.

HOTEL ROOMS2,000 in Downtown, more than 5,000 city-wide. Room Tax: 12 percent. Room Rates: $60 to $150Hotels with Meeting Facilities: 15