BEACH COTTAGE steps from OCEANFRONT and BAY beaches, close to SoCal attractions

We are Tracy and Catherine …. Tracy is a retired television comedy writer with credits including the Golden Girls, Married with Children, Home Improvement and many others over a 30 year career. His last show was one he created called “8 Simple Rules” starring John Ritter and Kaley Cusco as well as Amy Davidson and Martin Spanjers, a great cast.

I am an artist, currently doing stained glass mosaics, but love all sorts of arts and crafts involving wood, metal, ceramics etc, but mostly using repurposed materials.
I was born in Montana, grew up in Midwest until I was 10 (Chicago area) and Tracy was born close by in Santa Monica, has lived in California all his life.
We recently bought a home in Vancouver WA so we will be back and forth from there to Long Beach to frequently visit family and friends.
We both like to travel, have been to most parts of our country, to Europe 6 or 7 times, most recently England for a month. We do love green places and seasonal weather (our Irish/Midwest roots) which is why the house in Vancouver.

Location, location, location!
We stumbled on this area when looking for colleges for my daughter and fell in love immediately. I love it here for so many reasons - it's what I call "a big small town."
I like the small streets of Belmont Shore where I live, the beach city vibe, easy for walking or biking. The canals of Naples are a must see (on other side of bay and across from Peninsula) and little Seal Beach next door has a beautiful beach for swimming and surfing and a Main St. of it’s own.
The people are friendly and it's a relaxed place to be but for those who want action there's plenty. There's the beach and bay for swimming and other water activities and local attractions like Aquarium of the Pacific, the Laugh Factory, and the Queen Mary. You have the Performing Arts and Convention Centers and various sporting events hosted here like beach volleyball and the Long Beach Grand Prix, and other sporting and music events at larger venues around LA. There’s the 18 hole El Dorado golf course and Catalina is just a 40 minute boat ride away. In September there’s the Classic Car show on 2nd St and there are various planned activities on the beach during summer, like a Polynesian Festival, boat races and movie nights on the beach.
There are great restaurants everywhere, Pine Ave/downtown, Shoreline Village, Alamitos Bay and in my neighborhood on 2nd St.

In addition to everything listed above is the convenient proximity to a wide variety of attractions and destinations in Los Angeles (Griffith Park Observatory, Disney Hall and other LA music venues and of course the iconic Hollywood Bowl) and Orange County (Disneyland.). There are 3 airports to choose from that service the area - LAX, Long Beach and John Wayne in Orange County, all within 29 to 30 minutes (have to consider traffic). Farther afield but still within reach you are about 2 hours away from San Diego Zoo and Santa Barbara, with Malibu, Santa Monica and South Bay beaches in between.
Everything you need is close by such as RiteAid, Ace Hardware and a Post Office up on 2nd St. with a variety of grocery stores to choose from such as Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Gelsons, Ralph’s and Vons. We are proud to have an In and Out at Pacific Coast Hwy and 2nd.
Freeways are easily accessible but if you’re going south to Huntington Beach, Newport or Laguna Beach it’s a nice ride along the coast if you take Pacific Coast Highway.