Located only about 30 minutes south of Los Angeles, I’ve been privileged enough to visit the Queen Mary a few different times. The Queen Mary became a fixture in Long Beach after her final transatlantic trip in 1967 and opened to the public in 1971. In 1980, Howard Hugh’s ‘Spruce Goose’ joined the Queen Mary in a large dome building on the dock. The Goose was moved to Oregon to in 1993 and its former home is now part of the Carnival Cruise terminal. Today, the Queen Mary provides an all encompassing entertainment venue. It still includes physical and historical tours, along with a few ‘ghost tours’, but also contains a hotel, several restaurants, entertainment venues, and also hosts travelling exhibits, provides on board demonstrations, and also has a Soviet Submarine nearby to tour. However, this has come at a price – felt in your admission ticket. If you’ve not been on a very large ship and/or have an interest in the amazing history of this specific vessel, the Queen Mary is a worthwhile stop*, but may not merit the drive if you are limited in time and are working in LA or farther north. SAS Score: 3

*note: As my thoughts are not provided around vacation destinations, simply whether you should make a bit of time to see something when traveling on business, the Queen Mary might score a bit different if you were weighing whether or not to stay onboard for a few days.