- Hi, I'm Erik, The Travel Guy.

Today, we're on the West Coast, in Southern California.

Now don't be jealous, the perfect weather is just the beginning.

The gorgeous community of Long Beach is next, on "Beyond Your Backyard."

- [Narrator] "Beyond Your Backyard" is being brought to you in part, by the following.

(ice clanking), (fire roaring) (indistinct chatter) (cheerful jazz music) The Perillo Tours Foundation.

For 73 years, we've been bringing travelers to Italy.

It's where our heart is.

Escorted tours and custom vacations.

Italy, the dream destination.

- My name is Erik Hastings, yeah, that's me.

And for as long as I can remember, I've always loved to travel, and I still do today.

But you know what I've learned?

There's so much more that brings us together than divides us.

Which is why, I've made it my mission to do the very same things you can do, but to take you beyond the experiences, to uncover the soul of every place we visit.

Let me introduce you to the people, the places and the secrets, that remind us how exciting it is to share with one another, to understand one another, and to realize just how connected we really are.

I am Erik The Travel Guy, and this is "Beyond Your Backyard."

Thank you for watching and welcome back.

You know, it's another gorgeous, perfect day in Southern California.

Yes, it's sunny, yes, it's beautiful.

Now, don't be too jealous, because today we've brought you to the charming destination of Long Beach, located just south of Los Angeles.

You know, this is a very personal, small city.

It's diverse, approachable, and growing fast.

That's why on today's episode, we will show you how I personally learn how to drive and dock a Duffy boat.

We'll meet a queen, go take in a little art, and we'll show you the art of authentic Mexican cuisine.

It's gonna be a good one, let's get started.

- Our trusty map shows us that Long Beach is perfectly situated on the Pacific Ocean.

About 30 miles from downtown Los Angeles, 30 miles west of Anaheim, and about two hours north of San Diego.

Because this isn't a geography lesson, let's move on to the beautiful B roll.

Long Beach has been voted one of America's most walkable cities.

And it's comprised of eight distinct neighborhoods tucked in along the waterfront.

Trendy shopping, a diverse collection of restaurants featuring delicious food, world-class museums and a few one of a kind attractions.

This city was incorporated back in 1888.

And for about a decade at the turn of the 20th century, was one of the fastest growing cities in the United States.

The port of Long Beach opened in 1911, which is why we're starting with the introduction of a legendary ocean liner, the Queen Mary.

Captain James, good to meet you man.

- It's a pleasure, it's a pleasure.

- My gosh.

- Welcome.

Welcome aboard the RMS Queen Mary.

- This is an amazing ship.

- Welcome.

- [Erik] When did she get here?

- [Captain James] She arrived here in 1967.

- Legendary, it was in service from when, 19?

- From 1936, up until 1967.

- And she was doing transatlantic crossings only?

- Only at that particular time, but from time to time, she would go to Cherbourg, France, she would go from time to time to Australia, from time to time, she would go to Canada.

- It's very difficult to express what you will feel when you're on board.

I mean, today this is a working hotel, it's certainly a place that visitors come and visit, people get married here.

- Yes, they do.

- They meet here.

But, even seeing her in the harbor, how do you describe that feeling?

Of being onboard this ship?

And you've been here, what, 15?

- 15 Years I've been on board the Queen Mary.

The Queen Mary, the feeling that I feel is, she's a giver of life, a giver of love.

- Can we take a walk?

- We can do that.

- Do you mind giving us a little tour?

- Let's take a walk, let's take a walk.

The time frame for the Queen Mary began in 1926.

- So 26.

- That is when the dream started.

- Who had the dream?

- The dream was by Cunard.

- It was, and do we know why?

- Yes, because they wanted something speedy, speedy.

- And high rate of speed meaning what?

- Being five days over and five days back.

- [Erik] Got it.

- [Captain James] The Queen Mary was the fastest going sea vessel of her time.

And secondly, safer.

- [Erik] Got it.

- [Captain James] This ship is all about craftsmanship.

They didn't have a shipyard in England, large enough to build the Queen Mary, so therefore, they went to Scotland to build this ship.

- How long did it take?

- It took six years.

During World War II this was a troop ship.

The entire outside of this ship was painted battleship gray.

She was given the nickname, the Gray Ghost.

The Queen Mary transported 15,000 soldiers, per crossing.

- [Erik] Wow.

- [Captain James] And many of those soldiers slept here.

- I was gonna say, what's the capacity?

- On these decks.

- When it wasn't a troop ship.

- [Captain James] 2000 passengers with a crew of 1200.

We're now entering into main hall.

Onboard the Queen Mary, there was no steerage.

- [Erik] Yeah.

- [Captain James] But, we did have stowaways.

This is my favorite room on board the Queen Mary, this is the Queen Salon.

- Okay.

- [Captain James] For the first class passengers only.

During World War II, this was the Officers' lounge, onboard the Queen Mary.

- Got it.

- [Captain James] This is art decor.

- [Erik] Right.

- [Captain James] All of the woods that you see in here are original.

The artwork that you see in here is original.

But directly in front of us is a model of the Queen Mary.

This ship was built according to the model that you see right here in front of us.

The Queen Mary did not have stabilizers.

- [Erik] What does that mean?

- [Captain James] Up until the 1950s.

Stabilizers looked like wings on either side of the ship, that project, and when the ship runs into a storm.

Up until the point that those stabilizers were added, whenever the Queen Mary would run into a storm, she would rock and she would roll.

They gave her the nickname, the Rolling Mary.

And at that time my friend, they had not yet invented Dramamine.

- Oof.

Captain, you may find this hard to believe, I did.

There's some people that don't know, this is an actual working hotel.

- Yes it is.

- And has been since when?

- Since 1971.

- 71?

- Yes.

- [Erik] How many rooms?

- [Captain James] As a matter of fact, we have 347 hotel rooms onboard the Queen Mary.

- Can we take a look at one of the rooms?

- I think that's a great idea.

(laughs) Follow me in this direction.

- It's like we went to a production meeting, I love this.

(laughs) This couldn't have worked out any better.

- Yes, indeed.

Enter.

- This thing is massive captain.

- Yes it is.

A regular suite could consist of up to 10 rooms.

- Really?

- 10 rooms.

- [Erik] Why would somebody need them?

- [Captain James] Because they would bring their butlers, their maids, their valets and perhaps from time to time, even bring their children with them.

- How did these rooms size up with what was available on the market in 1936.

- [Captain James] Onboard the Queen Mary, these rooms are larger.

Larger than most ships at that particular time.

And then this room, the woods are beautiful.

This ship had over three Farries die for it.

As far as wars are concerned.

So there are 56 different types of woods being used throughout this ship.

- [Captain James] Come on in.

This is the helm, this is the heart of the ship.

Where you would drive and steer the ship.

- What are we working with here, the radio?

- No, these are called voice tubes.

Voice tubes only work up here in this area, as well as, out here in this docking wing on the starboard side, as well as the docking wing here on the port side, as well as in the chart room, and beneath us, in the Captain's quarters.

And it went something like this.

Ahoy mate, ahoy mate, fix me a hamburger, I am hungry.

And all of that information, in turn, would pass through these metal pipes to its destination.

And guess what?

They never had one, not one dropped call.

If you wanted to communicate with the rest of the ship from up here in this area, then here, in this encasement, you would use the louder phones.

- [Captain James] Awesome view, man.

- [Erik] Oh, come on, this is gorgeous.

- [Captain James] During the winter, beautiful snow caps.

- [Erik] How do you describe this town to people that haven't been here?

- I describe this town as a city that welcomes any and everyone.

- Because it's deceptively large.

- It is large.

- It's what 450,000 people in the city limits.

- That's right, that's right.

- [Captain James] And just like Los Angeles, we have many things to do here.

- [Erik] Yeah, because it's transformative.

- [Captain James] Yes it is.

Speaking of transformative, I present to you, the TV show, "CSI-Miami."

- [Erik] (laughing) Right, there it is.

- [Captain James] Filmed, right here, in Long Beach.

- [Erik] Yeah, you're right.

- And you know what else?

Every April, we have the race cars coming through.

- [Erik] I love this air out here.

- [Captain James] It's beautiful.

- [Erik] It's really stunning.

- [Captain James] It's beautiful.

This is one of the few cities in the United States that you can actually, during the winter, go to the mountains and ski.

- [Erik] Yeah.

- [Captain James] Come back in the same day, come to the beach and lay out.

- [Erik] And get in the water.

- [Captain James] And get in the water.

- [Erik] They must leave here, after even coming to visit for the day.

But whether they spend the night or not, they must go home and say, my gosh, that's an experience of a lifetime.

- [Captain James] The interesting thing is, we get people coming back 10 years later, speaking about their experience onboard the Queen Mary.

- [Erik] That's awesome.

You are an outstanding steward for this phenomenal place.

- She fell in love with me, and once again, I fell in love with her.

So therefore, here we are.

- [Erik] It's unreal.

- [Captain James] It is unreal.

Thank you.

- [Erik] Thank you for this captain.

- [Captain James] Thank you for coming onboard.

- [Erik] This once spectacular ocean vessel is hard to miss on the horizon.

And on select days, you'll also see a carnival ship in port, returning or departing for another amazing, exotic voyage.

And speaking of water, make time to visit the Long Beach, Aquarium of The Pacific.

The family will love meeting more than 12,000 animals in more than a hundred exhibits, including sharks, penguins, sea otters, and sea lions.

It's an attraction that makes sense for Long Beach.

And while I enjoyed my time there, I also wanted to take in a little visual art, at the Long Beach Museum of Art.

Help us out a little bit in terms of first of all, somebody that's never been here.

Let's start with what they can expect when they step through the front door.

- We have the historic Anderson house, which was built in 1911.

It's had many uses through the years, but in 1950, the city started a municipal art gallery.

It started collecting shortly thereafter, and became a museum right away.

The collection now is around 4,500 pieces.

It has become a significant collection.

- [Erik] Doesn't the collection have a lot to say about who lives here and who cares about this community?

- I am so glad you said that because it's so true.

And that's part of the story and who we are, and it's amazing the roots and the depth that that goes back into with this community.

So for me, the programming and what happens here, I think is really wonderful when you've got that basis to work for.

- [Erik] Yeah.

- [Ron] And then you take a real hard left-hand turn and you bring artists in to paint on the walls at the museum.

It's the audience that is there, that's building, and what's happening with this city.

It is very exciting.

We are the state curriculum for the Long Beach Unified School District for the fifth grade.

And it was here.

So you have over 11,000 kids per year.

Each of them to have an experience, that's gonna be memorable, and that they're gonna wanna come back.

- And doesn't that have everything to do with the message that you're sending, which is art, truly is for everybody.

- [Ron] Yeah, it's a visual language.

It speaks to you in that manner.

I think that people respond to things they see online, but they still wanna see the real thing.

- But we're always talking about what the artist is feeling, and what the artist is putting forth.

But the artist really is paying close attention to that, but they're paying close attention to how people will see it, oh my gosh.

- [Ron] And that goes from the process of the actual applications of materials, and the manipulation of them.

But, it also is the process of what the artist is traveling in their brain.

And, when it hits and when it's successful, you're like, yeah, I get it.

I mean, that's pretty awesome.

- It's good to meet you.

- It's good to meet you too.

- Thank you for this.

- My new BFF, Ron and I could have talked education, and the importance of art awareness and understanding by young people for hours.

It's clear as a resident, he's dedicated to his area of study and the town itself.

Another one of those cool locals, is Jack Morris.

He owns Boathouse on The Bay and was persuaded, to teach me how to pilot a Duffy boat.

So people come to visit for the first time.

Are they surprised at how pretty it really is?

- It's shocking to a lot of people when they do walk in, they don't think they're still in Long Beach.

And I have to explain to them, we're on this side of the orange curtain, we're all good.

And so many different things you can do.

You can rent a Duffy, you can rent a jet ski, you can rent the hydro bikes down at that end, you can go diving, this guy right here, has two dive boats that go out every weekend.

There's more paddle boarders out here every day.

- [Erik] You can go kite surfing out here too from what I understand?

- [Jack] Yeah, on the other side of the housing over here, you've got the kite surfing on the water side, the ocean side.

- [Erik] Right.

- [Jack] So there's so many things to see and do.

It's just, if you come to Long Beach, there's a little bit of, and we have the largest Cambodian community, outside of Cambodia.

- [Erik] Yeah.

- [Jack] Not many people know that.

- [Erik] No.

- [Jack] So, and they got great little restaurants.

Not many people know that.

- [Erik] Right now, first of all, what is a Duffy boat?

We have to talk about this.

What is it?

We're on one, are we on one?

- I like to call this, my limousine on water.

- Okay.

- And it only goes like five to seven miles an hour.

It's all electric, it's good for eight to 10 hours.

- All right.

- So we take guests out.

We donate a lot of this to the charities, then we do a dinner for eight on the Duffy boat for an hour, we take them out in the bay, and we have fabulous music come to the boathouse deck every night, so you can just sit out here and just listen to the music.

- Can we take a little ride?

Would you mind?

- Absolutely.

- Wait, this is like one of the easiest things I've done all week.

- [Jack] Isn't that nice?

Just kick back.

- Yeah.

Oh, what are you talking about?

I don't even care about this TV show, I just want to sit here.

- [Jack] You can just sit and relax, isn't that nice?

- [Erik] Yeah.

- [Jack] There's no better place to take a break.

You can see the downtown skyline right from here.

- [Erik] I know it's 85 degrees, but it doesn't.

- [Jack] We're on a Duffy, we've got a little bit of a breeze on the bay, then, go around this buoy, now slow it down.

And I just wanna show you something when you get ready.

- [Erik] Who has the right of way here?

- [Jack] You.

Bring it up to the neutral, all the way straight up.

- [Erik] Okay.

- [Jack] Okay, now, you let it sit for a pause, till the gears kick in.

- [Erik] Meaning?

- [Jack] Now, now you're gonna hit it towards back.

Go ahead, back it up.

Now get ready to spin the wheel the opposite way, right?

All the way back.

Feel that thing spin now.

Keep going back, more speed.

- [Erik] Oh, I see.

Oh, got it.

- [Jack] So then go ahead, hit it forward, go to neutral, hit pause, now hit it.

- [Erik] So people could come out here, they have no idea what they're doing, you give them a short lesson and they just take it out?

- [Jack] You can rent a Duffy next door to us.

And they have like 30 Duffies.

Go around that five mile out sign.

- [Erik] How quick?

- [Jack] A bit of power, just go ahead, yeah.

Go ahead, turn it to the right some more, keep going.

Just drift, it's all right.

- [Erik] Well, it is a dance, isn't it?

You really can feel the water.

- [Jack] Oh yeah.

- [Erik] It's cool.

- [Jack] But now just make that loop again that you made earlier, and into that dock.

- [Erik] All right, I got this.

- [Jack] Slow it down just a touch more.

(upbeat music) Go to reverse.

Harder.

Look at you, look at you, look at you, you're a pro!

- [Erik] Yes!

- Awesome, that was a nice backup.

- [Erik] Thank you, it's my first time, was good teaching.

- [Jack] That came out really well.

- One of the themes I see emerging here, is Long Beach is a town diverse enough to charter your own experience.

Big city?

Sure, that's close by.

The world-class theme parks at Anaheim, are a short drive away.

Of course the water and the beach, is around just about every corner.

Or you can take a ferry over to Catalina island.

The resident population is culturally diverse, and that is absolutely evident in the local shopping and restaurants.

That's why I dropped in for a delicious meal at Lola's.

- [Erik] It's good to meet your man.

- Good to meet you as well.

- This is gonna be fantastic.

- We're starting off with our birria.

- [Erik] Okay.

- So it's our family recipe, it's almost like the cousin of a barbacoa.

- [Erik] Okay.

- [Luis] You know, the barbacoa is from a different region in Mexico.

- [Erik] Got it.

This looks incredible.

How long does it cook?

- About four to five hours.

The pork, bone in, by the time we're done, we can pull that bone right out, yeah.

We coat it with the adobo.

We cook it down and the flavors of the chilies and it's a flavor bomb.

So what we do, you load yourself up.

- [Erik] Lime, or no?

- [Jack] Yeah, oh yeah.

- [Erik] Okay.

Yeah, this is gonna be incredible.

- [Luis] Go to town.

- [Erik] Do the lean, see, look at the lean, gotta do the lean.

(smooth jazz music) These are not complex flavors, but together, it's like a symphony almost, isn't it?

- You marry these flavors together and then you have the acidity of the lime.

You have a little bit of a smoky flavor of the salsa.

The meat has the adobo and our beans, we don't use a traditional pinto.

- No, you don't?

- We use a Mayocoba white bean, and they're so basic, we cook them down, garlic, onion, and salt, and it's just such a creamy bean and the skin's a little bit thinner, than the traditional pinto.

- [Erik] That's great.

- [Luis] But that's all you need.

So it's a very, I guess, indigenous way of cooking.

But when you put it all together, there's nothing better.

- Except the other nine dishes we're gonna have.

- Yes.

- Well, I mean, really.

Let's talk protein first.

What's the name of the dish again?

- This is our cochinita pibil.

It's a pig that was brought over from the Dutch, into the Yucatan peninsula, the region.

And then the pibil is Mayan for the achiote.

- [Erik] Got it.

- [Luis] So, cochinita pibil is a very, very traditional dish from the Yucatan.

And you roasted underground, banana leaves the whole night.

This is our habanero salsa.

- [Erik] Okay.

- [Luis] We've got some pickled onions.

- [Erik] Love them.

- Since we're now showcasing the Yucatan, we're using black beans.

And then you got the plantain.

And you see that really beautiful, like orange-red color, that's the achiote, the seed, it's a hard seed, I mean, it's really, really difficult to pulverize.

- [Erik] Right.

- [Luis] Now, in today's age, they already sell it, a paste, or you can get it pulverized, but it just gives it this beautiful flavor.

And what you do is you take the achiote, with fresh squeezed orange juice, and that's how you make this rub.

I mean, it's really, that's my childhood right there.

- [Erik] Crossed on that situation right there.

Allow me, please.

- [Luis] Thank you.

- [Erik] Yes sir.

Cheers my friend.

- Cheers.

- That's amazing, that is delicious.

I love what the corn tortilla does for it.

That's a phenomenal flavor.

- Yeah, the flavor is just amazing.

- Every section of my tongue found something on that bite, nothing was overpowering, nothing's clearing my sinuses, nothing.

It's just this really soft, mellow yet incredibly flavorful.

- Everything we do here is made from scratch.

Initially with the birria, which is, from where my family's from.

Then we had the cochinita pibil, which is from the Yucatan and now we're going into mole poblano, which is more central.

So the mole poblano is the most traditional mole out there.

There's so many moles, if you get into, like, even the region of Wahaca, and you talk about like the seven moles, where you got the mole negro, the mole amarillo, which is the yellow mole.

People were eating what was available to them.

And then you look at the history side of it and you see, as I mentioned with the cochinita, which was the pig, which wasn't indigenous to Mexico, but it was brought over by the Dutch.

And then you talk about the English influence in Vera Cruz and you start moving into this stuff, which is a mole.

I mean, I don't think a lot of people understand what a Mole is.

- I would be one of them, do share.

- In the original dialect of the indigenous Aztecs, mole means to grind.

And you would grind the nuts, and you would grind the chilies and you would roast them and you would create this very intricate, silky flavorful sauce.

Once you pair the pickled onion with something like this, you get a complete different experience.

But when it comes down to the mole, - [Erik] Yeah?

- [Luis] The sauce is the star of the dish.

And there was a misconception too, because we were like, oh, that's that sauce that has the chocolate in it.

- Yeah.

- But the chocolate is just such a small piece of the puzzle when it comes down to a mole.

- [Erik] Yeah.

- And not all moles come with the chocolate, which we're gonna see right after this one.

- What, right after this one?

- We got one more.

- Oh my gosh.

- And this is our mole verde.

So this stems from Toluca, we're still dealing with the nuts, we're dealing with the almonds, but with the mole poblano, which is a little bit more on the sweet side with the plantains and the chocolate and the raisins, this is the complete opposite of that.

- I'm gonna love this.

- So now we're talking earthy, we're talking poblano peppers, jalapenos, garlic, onion, lettuce, Italian parsley.

- [Erik] Oh my gosh.

This is a perfect representation of the culinary passion that is igniting in this town.

- Good to meet you, man.

- Thank you for not serving dessert.

- [Luis] Oh, we've got churros coming.

- Oh please.

I'm not doing that.

(laughing) You're awesome.

Palm trees, the Pacific Ocean, and a community of locals ready to welcome you with everything they've got.

Sounds pretty perfect to me.

In Long Beach, I'm Erik, The Travel Guy.

Thank you for exploring "Beyond Your Backyard."

(bouncy music) (upbeat music) Wow, now that's a long beach.

Ah, see what I did there?

Subliminal advertising.

(upbeat music) Woo, somebody want to crack an egg on my forehead?

Whoa.

Why does he have his eyes closed?

Oh, just like in life.

Perfect!

(laughs) Oh, the dreaded closed mouth laugh.

Oh, I loved that outfit.

I had managed to botch like all, every third word, roll the teleprompter back.

We literally have a see-through scroll, 'cause we can't afford to teleprompter.

Here's a suggestion I make.

Here's a suggestion, I'm.

And I have another tip for you, wear some sunscreen while you're out here, whoa!

But also pay a visit to the Pike Place Outlet.

That's not what its called.

♪ And now we play the waiting game, ♪ ♪ Ta da da ta ♪ Who loves to sweat in the waiting game?

♪ ♪ I am, I am.

I'm gonna have to go back to that mini suite and take a little nap.

(laughs) This is nice.

I feel like Gilligan and the skipper all at once.

- [Producer] More like Gilligan ate the skipper.

(laughing) - It'll crash.

(indistinct) (upbeat music) For more information on this episode, visit ErikTheTravelGuy.com, and while you're there, you'll discover other fascinating destinations, just "Beyond Your Backyard" and links to follow me on social media.

That's ErikTheTravelGuy.com.

(ice cubes clanking), (flames roaring) (indistinct chatter) (cheerful jazz music) - [Narrator] The Perillo Tours Foundation.

For 73 years, we've been bringing travelers to Italy.

It's where our heart is.

Escorted tours and custom vacations.

Italy, the dream destination.

- Hi, I'm Erik The Travel Guy.

You know, I've been exploring the world professionally, for more than a decade, and you know what I've learned?

It's that fantastic experiences await you in every corner of the globe, but you don't always have to travel that far to uncover them.

So join me each week as we go on and off the beaten path, learn something new and sample delicious culinary.

We're exploring, "Beyond Your Backyard."

(upbeat music)