When you imagine a road trip, you see an endless stretch of open road with mundane scenery rushing by. In another scenario, your car swept past rows and rows of pines in a forest, music blasting from the rolled-down window. At the end of the trip, your destination awaits but the journey to get there is just as exciting to remember. Now, imagine a small road trip closer to home, in your town, and down familiar roads.

a van and car parked outside the Edison Theatre.

In today’s TRC USA Staff’s Diaries, we would like to invite you on a city walk through downtown Long Beach, California, where the TRAVELER’S COMPANY CARAVAN will be making its first stop on its USA Road Trip journey. Follow this guide for our recommendations of things to do around the neighborhood, and other gems you shouldn’t miss out on while you go on this short road trip!

TRC US CARAVAN First Stop – Intertrend

228 E Broadway, Long Beach, CA 90802
Date: Nov 2nd – 3rd, 2024
Hours: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM on 11/2 Saturday, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM on 11/3 Sunday
Recommended parking: 51 E 3^rd St, Public Parking Lot C

The front façade of the Intertrend building in Long Beach.

Let’s start the trip at our first destination right in the heart of Downtown Long Beach – Intertrend. Intertrend is an award-winning creative agency based in Long Beach, California. They create innovative campaigns for brands that focus on thought leadership through Asian American perspectives, experience, and influence in the global context.

A fun fact for travelers, in 2020, TRAVELER’S COMPANY USA was established on the basement floor of this creative institute before moving to its current location in Signal Hill. This space will now also be a dedicated meetup space for TRAVELER’S notebook fans when you visit the caravan event on 11/2 – 3. On the first floor, you can shop from the entire TRAVELER’S COMPANY line up, special TRAVELER’S FACTORY items, TRC USA Limited items, and experience the Spiral Ring Notebook Viking Event.

When you need a space to rest between the SPIRAL RING NOTEBOOK VIKING event or want to look over a friend’s TRAVELER’S notebook, please visit the space downstairs!

Basement and resting area of Intertrend building.

When visiting the US CARAVAN at Intertrend, look out for a corner of local vendors making up TRAVELER’S TOWN. Enjoy browsing books from a curated selection by Bel Canto Books, our friendly bookstore neighbors in Long Beach. We also welcome KADO’S pop-up store from Los Angeles, featuring artisanal Japanese home goods and fun items for travelers.

Blue Volkswagen van parked in front of a mural.

Intertrend also spearheads Art Renzei, a local community effort to highlight different artists through decorative murals in the city of Long Beach called Long Beach Walls. As you walk around town, look up at murals three to six stories high, created by artists around the globe.

The entrance to the public parking lot C by Intertrend.

Finally, if you are driving, we recommend parking at the public parking lot at 51 E 3^rd Street, Long Beach. It’s only a short promenade walk away from Intertrend, with a lot of fun eateries on the way.

Recommended eats around Intertrend

TRAVELER'S notebook next to a slice of pizza and a can of soda.

If you are longing for a bite or looking to quench your thirst at the event, there are plenty of places to fill your stomach around Intertrend. Looking for a cup of joe to start your day before the event? Recreational Coffee and Ground Hideout Coffee are all favorites of the TRAVELER’S COMPANY USA Staff when they used to work in the area. Both serve coffee and simple pastries and sandwiches if you need some energy in the morning.

A view of Leo's Mexican Grill across the street from Intertrend.

For lunch, right across from Intertrend, Leo’s Mexican Grill serves up delicious street tacos and enchiladas in its unassuming storefront. Following up with dessert, Long Beach Creamery is just a block next door featuring delicious flavors like Burnt Caramel and Whiskey Vanilla.

A view of Long Beach Creamery next door to Intertrend.

If you have a bigger appetite, we recommend booking a fine dining experience at AMMATOLI, a James Beard-nominated restaurant with a focus on Levantine Cuisine and Mediterranean flavors. Want something hearty and down-to-earth? Altar Society Brewing and Coffee Co. serves up New York-style pizza with a cool brew to match.

A view of Ammatoli, a Levantine restaurant close to Intertrend.

Other Things to Do in Long Beach

It’s not a road trip without some side quests and out-of-the-way exploration. Long Beach is a charming coastal town, vibrant with Latin American art and other contemporary cultural hotspots. Let us recommend a few more places you must not miss when you are visiting Long Beach.

Take some time out of your day to visit the Museum of Latin American Art, the only museum in the western United States that exclusively features modern and contemporary Latin American art.

The entrance to Twelves Record Store with a yellow paint storefront.

A block away from the museum is Twelves, one of the top 5 best independent record stores in Los Angeles. The retro crates are filled with all kinds of music genres imaginable, with some highlights on Latin and Hip-Hop.

The front window of TWELVES Record Shop.

The store is small but stands out with its unique yellow exterior, a vintage experience that goes well with the TRAVELER’S notebook.

On East 3^rd Street and Cerritos Ave, we’d like to recommend Black Dog Coffee Roasters, a roastery that collaborated with TRAVELER’S COMPANY USA to release three single-origin beans earlier this year. The owner of Francisco is a passionate coffee purveyor and car enthusiast. Not into coffee? Their matcha is also one of the staff’s favorite drinks.

TRAVELER'S notebook next to an iced coffee by Black Dog Coffee Roasters.

Sharing the same building, don’t miss out on Relics, a film and camera specialty store for photography enthusiasts. Owner and photographer Drake Woodson wouldn’t hesitate to give you tips on your photography gear.

The interior of Relics, a film and camera store in Long Beach.

You can also pick up point-and-shoot cameras or Instax films to capture precious memories on your future trips.

The interior of Relics is filled to the brim with all kinds of film and camera gear.

Finally, venture out to East 4^th Street to visit Retro Row, a street that is a unique showcase of Long Beach culture lined with local small businesses intermixed with vintage and antique finds.

A neon sign of a vintage store on 4th Street.

From coffee houses with poetry readings to boutiques and thrift shops, you are bound to encounter some treasure to take home or record in your TRAVELER’S notebook. In September, TRC USA celebrated Reading Month with local bookstore Bel Canto Books, which also has a small outpost on Retro Row.

The exterior view of Casita, a bookstore on 4th street in Long Beach.

If you are a book buff, don’t miss out on visiting other bookstores in the neighborhoods: Casita (children’s book), Kitchen Lingo Books (recipe and pantry books), and Page Against the Machine (independent bookstore with a focus on social movements and activism).

The storefront of Kitchen Lingo, a bookstore focusing on culinary genre.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a trip to Long Beach without dipping your toes along the sandy coast. Enjoy a serene and peaceful beach walk by the Long Beach Museum of Art at Junipero Beach. Watch out for skaters and bikers as you meander along the path. Enjoy the beautiful sunset to end your road trip to Long Beach.

A TRAVELER'S notebook Passport Size held against the sandy beaches of Long Beach.

With this itinerary, we hope you enjoy a great time visiting the TRAVELER’S COMPANY US CARAVAN in Long Beach, California. We can’t wait to bring you our recommendations at the next stop.

Have a nice trip!