Sunken City | San Pedro

An abandoned but not forgotten pile of painted rocks

Me and Logan in Sunken City, 04/23

Of all the places I've been to, this one was one of the coolest, but also strangest. To start, it's not that far from LMU, which isn't typical for one of my goofy-ass road trips. I see "3.5 hour eta" and I think "sweet, we can spend the day there!" Sunken City was maybe 25, 30 minutes tops? And I was made skeptical by that, because I had difficulty believing something so beautiful was less than a 30 minute drive away from campus. It couldn't be, right? The desert's at least a hour, with traffic more. What could possibly be in San Pedro?

Me and Logan, Wide Shot of Sunken City, 04/23

I love being wrong so, so much. Look at this place! Me and Logan are on top of the world! We're the main characters!

According to wikipedia, "the Sunken City is the site of a natural landslide which occurred in the Point Fermin area of the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles, starting in 1929. A slump caused several beachside homes to slide into the ocean. It is one of the only landslide areas along the coastline of San Pedro that remains closed to the public, however as the graveyard of a San Pedro neighborhood, it has also become an attraction, drawing tourists and locals alike. The area is still visited by sightseers [today]".

So in other words, we're trespassing every time we go. We have to shimmy our way through a hole in a fence, and we may or may not have been escorted out by law enforcement once or twice. But look at this place! And tell me you wouldn't do the same!

Me and Brett, Sunken City, 04/23

The whole thing overlooks a the pacific, and it's pretty much a straight drop off the cliff. You've got to move kind of slow, as the ground isn't the sturdiest thing in the world, but as long as you go during the day and don't do anything stupid (like be intoxicated at night or play tag by the ledge) you should be fine.

And as far as the illegal trespassing part goes, I've never seen a place more bustling with touristy-type people than the Sunken City on like a nice Thursday night. My friend's immigrant parents who are scared of getting deported have hung out here, so obviously it can't be that bad. And the fact that it's not that far of a drive from campus just makes it all the more surreal.

Me at my Friend's Birthday, Sunken City, 04/23

Honestly of all the places I've gone, if you were going to go to any of them this would be the one. It's the closest, really cool, and you don't have to spend 1,000 years in a car and $1,000 on gas. Over all 9/10, only deducting a point because I've been kicked out once or twice. But would and will go again!