Who knew? I've been to the greater LA area about a half dozen times and have stayed in a variety of neighborhoods. I'm not sure why I picked Long Beach/Belmont Shores except that I saw it was close to the beach and thought it would be less hectic than Santa Monica or Venice. We were so pleasantly surprised! The neighborhood surrounding Ashley and Chris' charming apartment is lovely and residential, about a 10-minute walk from the beach. We did beach walks in the mornings, rented bikes through the SoBi app and biked along the beach and through the adorable enclave of Naples. We took a day trip to Catalina and had drinks on the Queen Mary. Every restaurant we tried along 2nd Ave was very good -- the service was uniformly friendly and attentive, too. We also spent an afternoon walking around Seal Beach. After our packed days, it was so relaxing to come back to Ashley and Chris' place -- it has a zen feel with the white walls and curtains. A lot of light and very private. Parking was always easy to find within a block or two. Many thanks for a rejuvenating long weekend!