California people, help?

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anitram

anitram

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I (along with a couple of friends) will be in LA this upcoming Friday-Monday, then we're off to the Grand Canyon, Vegas, Death Valley, Yosemite, SF, back to LA.

Any recommendations for things to do in LA itself? We're not really celebrity fangirls, don't care where they live and don't really want to do the various lot tours or Universal Studios or Disneyland. We're staying in Venice Beach so we can be outside a bit, but apart from taking a picture of the gigantic white letters on the hill, what do we do? We wouldn't mind day trips to the surrounding area (how realistic is San Diego in just one day?).

Also, any recommendations of nice places to stay on the drive down from SF to LA? We want to spend 3 days driving down so we can explore in leisure.

Much thanks!
 
anitram said:
I (along with a couple of friends) will be in LA this upcoming Friday-Monday, then we're off to the Grand Canyon, Vegas, Death Valley, Yosemite, SF, back to LA.

Any recommendations for things to do in LA itself? We're not really celebrity fangirls, don't care where they live and don't really want to do the various lot tours or Universal Studios or Disneyland. We're staying in Venice Beach so we can be outside a bit, but apart from taking a picture of the gigantic white letters on the hill, what do we do? We wouldn't mind day trips to the surrounding area (how realistic is San Diego in just one day?).

Also, any recommendations of nice places to stay on the drive down from SF to LA? We want to spend 3 days driving down so we can explore in leisure.

Much thanks!
Click to expand...

San Diego is very realistic within a day. It only takes about an hour and a half to get there and it's a beautiful drive. :) Just be sure to wear sunblock if you're driving around in a convertible. ;)

If you want to at least do the Hollywood thing, you can at least drive down Hollywood Blvd./Sunset Blvd. No need to really get out or anything. It's kinda eh... but it's worth the drive up and down at least once. :)

There's lot of things to do around Venice Beach, too. The pier area has some nice little restaurants (the Whaler is there - interesting crowd for Karaoke), a nice coffee shop, and other little things... that coffee place serves really yummy coffee drinks - but don't remember the name of the place.

You could also drive on over to Santa Monica Blvd. to check out some of the mod-type stores there.

As far as LA is concerned, I really don't go to that part of town. I'm more from the the south-western part and can tell you of some really neat places along the coast (Seal Beach, Sunset Beach, Huntington, Laguna, and Newport to name a few).

You don't have to go to Disneyland or Universal Studios. I'd say head to the beach for the day - it won't be crowded if you go on the weekday - and we've been having some really great spring weather the past couple of days.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any more questions.

If you do go to San Diego, Old Town San Diego is neat to go walk around and see. :)

Moonie :D
 
If you drive down I5 from SF to LA, you will have trouble staying awake. Hopefully you're taking the 101. There are nice little towns all the way down the 101. San Luis Obispo is a nice little town; Cambria is lovely, but expensive. Santa Barbara is great, but expensive as well. I like San Miguel and San Juan Bautista, but I like dusty old mission towns. :D
 
Re: Re: California people, help?

from Venice Beach

with our traffic it would be too much for one day
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moon_is_playing_tricks said:


San Diego is very realistic within a day. It only takes about an hour and a half to get there and it's a beautiful drive. :)
Click to expand...

Ya'all are messing with me. :wink:

How bad is the traffic on the weekends?
 
martha said:
I like San Miguel and San Juan Bautista, but I like dusty old mission towns. :D
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Actually, that sounds perfect to me. Thank you! :)

We're taking the scenic route. 101 is it?
 
How is Carmel? A few people told me they liked it.
 
Thanks, martha.

Have you driven from LA to the Grand Canyon? We've got a hotel reservation in Williams, AZ, and I'm wondering if the drive is nice as well. Then we're off to Vegas for 3 days at the Mirage.
 
:crack: I've made that drive many times.

It's really pretty. Williams is an hour from the Canyon, and I like the town too. Go to the Turquoise Teepee on the main drag and get some Indian jewelry. They have decent prices and a good selection. It's an old-school Indian jewelry shop. Some of the Indian jewelry shops in Williams are pricey and lame.
 
I've been to LA tons to visit family. I've spent many many many hours sitting on the 405 at all hours of the day and night. :| I'd kill myself if we had freeways like that in the Twin Cities :scream: Avoid that thing at all costs! It's a nightmare :tsk:
 
I say check out the Hollywood/Sunset area. Watch some music somewhere, or hit the Laugh Factory or something. Drop by Amoeba Music and pick up something U2 :drool: .
 
Calluna said:
When in LA, I recommend that you go and visit the Getty Museum.
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Yes I totally agree! I was there last year and the view alone is worth the drive :drool: It's absolutely beautiful there. I wish I could have spent more time there but we only had a few hours....then we had to drive back on the lovely CA parking lot/freeway system :barf:

Just be prepared to sit in a lot of traffic in LA. I've never seen anything like it any other place I've ever been to. :tsk:
 
martha said:


:ohmy:

OMG. I finally screwed up the courage to go there whilst waiting for Bruce. I managed to only buy one cd, but I'm scared to go back without lottery winnings.
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:up: haha, yeah, it's like being a kid in a candy shop
 
martha said:


This, unfortunately, is backed up by research. :|

We do tend to rearrange our lives by how the traffic will be at certain times.
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I live in the Twin Cities and it's no small place. We have our fair share of traffic but it's nothing like LA. When my LA cousin's come here they laugh at our rush hour traffic :|
 
anitram said:
I (along with a couple of friends) will be in LA this upcoming Friday-Monday, then we're off to the Grand Canyon, Vegas, Death Valley, Yosemite, SF, back to LA.

Any recommendations for things to do in LA itself? We're not really celebrity fangirls, don't care where they live and don't really want to do the various lot tours or Universal Studios or Disneyland. We're staying in Venice Beach so we can be outside a bit, but apart from taking a picture of the gigantic white letters on the hill, what do we do? We wouldn't mind day trips to the surrounding area (how realistic is San Diego in just one day?).

Also, any recommendations of nice places to stay on the drive down from SF to LA? We want to spend 3 days driving down so we can explore in leisure.

Much thanks!
Click to expand...

I forgot to add in my traffic posts that you should drive to Joshua Tree National Park. It's too beautiful for words! :drool: I'd move to Southern CA just to be able to go there whenever I want to. I was there twice in the last six months and it's just incredible there. You won't be sorry you went and it's better than going to LA! :yes: I love So Cal but I don't have too much good to say about LA. It's just not me at all but I could easily live anywhere outside of LA. It's so beautiful everywhere you go there.
 
spend as much time as possible at the grand canyon. its just too awesome to believe. on the way there, also check the nice little towns in arizona.. there is one with all the cars in 50s style.. barbra streisand is living on the way, find out where (i forgot) and say hi if you care.. drive by the town where the UNA bomber grew up, its kinda weird... check some indians shops on the way, if you can. if you have any more time to drive around, go see the bryce canyon.
 
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Los Angeles only rewards those who take the time to meet it halfway and truly explore it. There is SO much to do here.

I would recommend checking out Griffith Park, which is a really beautiful place and a little slice of Zen in the middle of all the traffic. You can enter it off Los Feliz Blvd, which runs parallel to Hollywood Blvd. There's a carousel, pony rides, some nice picnic areas and trails, and if you can find it off the beaten path, the old cages remaining from the defunct Zoo--really cool shit!

Also, downtown Los Angeles is something that is largely ignored, even by most of the residents. While it hasn't been much of a hotspot since the 30's or 40's, it's on the rise again and there's some great stuff down there like the MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art--free on Thursdays!), which has MUCH better work than the Getty, and Broadway, where you can see all the old movie palaces (most of which sadly are now flea market-looking storefronts). If you make it to Broadway you DO NOT want to miss Clifton's Cafeteria, which has a forest lodge theme and is one of the more bizarre places in L.A. Every visiting friend I've taken there loves it. They have a website if you want to know more about it (www.cliftonscafeteria.com). There's a really cool hotel called The Biltmore which has a famous bar, and the Standard Hotel has many scenesters and is supposedly a lot of fun. They have a pool on the roof that people hang out around. Personally I'd recommend the Golden Gopher, a fairly new bar on 8th St. that has a really good mix of a crowd.

Something else near downtown of historical and cultural interest is Olvera St, the spot of the original Pueblo de Los Angeles settled by Mexicans back in the 1800's. There's a lot of tourist/souvenir stuff there but it's definitely worth checking out. Due East of that is Filipe's French Dip, a little diner-type place that just celebrated its 80th anniversary. I'm pretty sure it's on Alameda.

If you're still in Los Angeles on Monday night you should check out Spaceland, which is one of the best rock clubs around. It's primarily indie rock; they have a really cool crowd, there's no cover charge on Mondays, and they have cheap beer specials. It's in the Silver Lake neighborhood (on the East Side--as opposed to the trendy, tourist, Hollywood phony West Side), and they're on the web as well (www.clubspaceland.com). Every month there's a house band that headlines each Monday, and they usually are an act worth checking out.

hope you have a great time here, feel free to email me if you need any more info: lazarus2005@gmail.com.


laz
 
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martha said:


Yep. It's lovely. Monterey is worth a stop; the aquarium is expensive but worth it.
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When people ask where is my favorite place to go in the world, Monterey is close in second to Cornwall, England.

Monterey is absolutely stunning. There is just something about that place that calls me. Carmel is nice, too.

Kyle and I were driving the 17 mile drive and an older man was stopped on the side of the road, looking a bit lost. Apparently, his car broke down and he had no way of getting ahold of his wife. He gave Kyle a quarter to go call her from a pay phone (we didn't have a cell phone in 1997) and he gave Kyle the number. I stayed with the man so he'd be OK (he looked rather shaken) and Kyle drove on over to the country club to make the phone call. All worked out and his wife showed up to help him.

So, yeah. it was a nice experience in Monterey and Carmel. :)


I'm sorry, anitram... i thought you were staying in Venice Beach then leaving to San Diego... are you driving from S.F. and then stopping in Venice, or are you driving from S.F. to San Diego? That would be a drive. ;)

If you are, you can easily make the trip to San Diego and back for the day. it's a nice drive.
 
moon_is_playing_tricks said:

I'm sorry, anitram... i thought you were staying in Venice Beach then leaving to San Diego... are you driving from S.F. and then stopping in Venice, or are you driving from S.F. to San Diego? That would be a drive. ;)

If you are, you can easily make the trip to San Diego and back for the day. it's a nice drive.
Click to expand...

I'm staying in LA for the weekend, then I'm off to the Grand Canyon, then Vegas, then Death Valley, around Yosemite up to Tahoe, then to SF, then back down to LA.

So the only way I could fit a trip to San Diego would be on Saturday or Sunday (next weekend), but as I already have a hotel in LA, it would have to be just a day trip.
 
i don't think it is worth the drive for a day trip


there is bad traffic on weekends on the 5 fwy

the ghetty museum is close and a great idea
 
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