Posted on 04/05/2010 8:10:25 AM PDT by djsunzi
Last month, I posted some questions about what to do in L.A. Well, I am finally arriving in L.A. on Tuesday, and looking forward to it. Mind you, the recent earthquake in southern Cali did send a couple of shivers down my spine, but that's regular life for Californians I guess! Hoping to catch plenty of nature and experience the real California, and not the Hollywood-filtered kind.
If you are going through LA make sure you wear your Che shirt so nobody bothers you.
Quick! Get out while you still can!
My condolences.
I hear California goes to great lengths to prevent people from leaving if there's even a hint they can squeeze another cent in taxes from you.
I think you’re looking for Twitter.
Griffith Park Observatory is a favorite of mine while I’m in LA. The La Brea Tar pits has a bunch of places nearby that are worth seeing too.
heh heh.
Hazmat suit? Air tanks filled?
Northern Mexico is nice this time of year....
Go to Pink’s hot dog stand.
Your timing is just right; the rain should be over by then. If you’re staying in Westlake Village, the only tourist attraction nearby is Magic Mountain in Valencia. There is supposedly an area for little kids there that your little one might like. There’s the Santa Barbara Zoo further up the 101. My daughter always liked going there when she was little; more than the L.A. Zoo.
Have fun!
Stick to West Los Angeles/Santa Monica.
Def go to the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, CA, it is not to be missed.
Check out the Reagan Presidential library in Simi Valley. Good place.
I recommend a visit to Compton, a nice little college town that’s centrally located, only minutes from downtown LA, the beaches, and the airport. Two US presidents, George H. W and George W. Bush once made this town, described as “lovely” by Barbara Bush, their home—they lived on the corner of Santa Fe and Myrrh.
Here are my favorite places in LA area: The Getty (Art and Architecture, The Nethercutt(amazing automobile collection, and The Gamble House (The ultimate Arts & Crafts Bungalow).
One of the most memorable things we did on our trip to Cali ten years ago was being at Griffeth as the sun went down. And for no charge!
Visit Watts and South Central areas. You can see first hand Obama’s constituents. But do not leave your car or even stop at a traffic light.
First of course is Disneyland. It’s the original, the one Walt Disney built. In Anaheim. Universal Studios is fun of course. I mean it is Hollywood and walking Hollywood Blvd around Grauman’s the footprints in the cement....Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, etc.
You may want to check out Santa Monica and Venice Beach nearby. The old Muscle beach where all the body builders work out outside and Venice has strange people walking around. Fun to look at and lots of interesting people.
The Beverly Center for a good Westside Mall. And Westwood Village where UCLA to walk around, get a ice cream or yogurt. The Getty Museum I hear is nice, just off the 405 and Sunset I believe. Lots to see in the Vally along Ventura Blvd and great places to eat. The original Brady Bunch house is in Studio City. I always liked Studio City and Sherman Oaks area. So many movies and TV scenes filmed in those areas. i.e. Adam 12, etc.
And if you go down to the OC, you have Newport Pier, Corona Del Mar, and Laguna Beach is probably the nicest beach to walk around......Las Brisas in Laguna, right on a cliff over the water is a great place to eat. Beautiful.
Lots and lots to see in Los Angeles, OC, the Valley. Ignore all the negative comments, it is still one of the best places to live for weather, food, beauty......sure the politics is not so good......but you’ll have lots to see. Mulholland Drive is great too.......when you get to the top, you look to one side and see LA/Hollywood and the other is the Valley.
If you like creepy stuff, take a ride up Beverly Glen to Cielo Dr.....the famous Sharon Tate murder house.....been there a few times for kicks.....LOL....Have fun.
If you visit “Lovely Compton,” you might as well take in nearby Watts, home of the Watts Towers, an interesting sculpture, to say the least, on East Santa Ana Blvd.
lol
Journey back to the Summer of ‘66 and drive past the Whiskey A Go Go (8901 W. Sunset Blvd, W. Hollywood, CA) where the DOORS where playing, before they became famous.
You will soon realize why “Happiness is the LA area in your rear view mirror” or why did God waste this wonderful climate on these “fools”!
Seriously there are part of the area that are just beautiful but do to liberal socialist governance....not a place, for the most part, where you would want to live and raise your kids..
“I recommend a visit to Compton”
What are you trying to do, get djsunzi killed?
That is the part of LA to be avoided at all cost, don’t even drive through it in broad daylight.
You might want to visit the Santa Monica pier, Marina del Rey, drive along the coast on Pacific Coast Highway.
Of course there also Disneyland, that’s worth it, if you’ve never been there.
One more lovely place — the Huntington Gardens.
One of my favorite places is the Palm Springs Tramway. Still snow on the top of the tram with 60-70 temps in Palm Springs.
I would also recommend a visit to the Richard Nixon Library in Yorba Linda. Here, one can see Nixon’s original birthplace, complete with the original furniture, and board the presidential helicopter.
My people in NorCal call LA smeLL-A
Watch it, some of these people are trying to get you killed, by telling you to visit Compton, Watts, etc.
They think it’s just great fun, directing you to places like that, because they know it’s unsafe, but if you are not familiar with the Los Angeles area, you may not know — stay out of East and South LA, which includes Watts, Compton, etc — they are really dangerous, I think some years back some tourists got murdered near the Watts towers.
There are lots of lovely areas that are safe — all along the beach — Malibu, Santa Monica, Marina del Rey and you can take an hour or so drive to Orange County and visit their beaches, as someone suggested; also Hollywood, Huntington Garden, Disneyland, Reagan Library, UCLA Westwood Village, Natural History Museum, Los Angeles County Museum — many lovely, interesting places. Just watch people’s recommendations and check things out with local people, friends or people at the hotel, before you embark on the adventures.
Here you go, I understand this is now one of the local ‘things to do’.
On Los Angeles Bus Tour, an Insider View of Gang Life - NYTimes.com
Jan 17, 2010 ... The inaugural run of LA Gang Tours visited key locations in the city’s street gang history.
www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/us/17tour.html
[snip]Although passengers had signed releases warning of possible dangers and Mr. Lomas said he had reached agreements with several gangs not to harass the riders, the only perilous moment came when a car skidded long and loud next to the bus as it negotiated a freeway.
“What’s the main purpose of graffiti?” one man on the tour asked, sending Mr. Lomas into a long explanation that touched on recognition and the “symptom to an underlying disorder.”
At a few stops, several former gang members aboard the bus took the microphone to testify to life on the streets, something several tourists said they found to be the most riveting part of the tour.
Watch your cornhole, bud.
http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/comedy/watch/v18730478hQNFxWPr#
Don’t say “Cali”.
Stay away from the garment district at night
(or day for that matter).
Ditto to Reagan library! You won’t regret it. It’s close by here and rainy now but will improve.
Santa Barbara also is tops on list.
BTW, Compton, Watts, East LA are not safe for anyone in the evening, but if you make a wrong turn somehow and end up there during the day YOU WILL NOT DIE for goodness sakes. Jeez people. relax.
Where are you staying. What are your interests?
“I think you’re looking for Twitter.”
LOL, yes, this post is very “twittery”. WTF?
Be sure to post what you have for lunch.
Just stay at In-N-Out Burger the whole time!
Is that place still there? To think of all tghe great bands that played on their stage...
Don’t forget to visit the home of the “French Dip” sandwich
Phillipe’s downtown.
Magic Mountain is a gang magnet....and this week’s likely “spring break” for many of the darlings in the area.
I lived in LA for a few years and I always liked getting out of the city by driving up the coastal highway - usually ended up stopping at the beach in Malibu. It’s a large beach with plenty of walking room and was rarely too crowded to enjoy. Manhattan beach is also a nice one.
I also liked going to Chinatown in the city where there are lots of good places to eat including sushi if you like it. Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills is worth a visit for window shopping at least. The Farmers Market in Santa Monica was worth going to as well.
I remember one evening I had to drive from downtown to the Hollywood Spaghetti House for a business dinner meeting. Being new to the area, I just got my map book out and looked for the shortest route to get there. Don’t do that because you can get into some pretty bad areas. On the way there I got lost and had to go to 11 gas stations before I found someone to ask about directions who actually spoke English. All Spanish speakers. The 11th one was a Chinese man who spoke English! So a good tip is to bring a little Spanish/English dictionary with you unless you happen to speak Spanish.
By the way, on the trip back from the meeting, I had the misfortune to witness a gang murder and the cops I found in a patrol car several blocks away told me to never drive thru the downtown area I was in. So make sure you know the right way to get to the places you visit.
One more thing. I know you said you wanted to enjoy nature but that’s not easy to find near LA. So if you are stuck in the city with insufficient time to make a long drive to get to more natural surroundings, check out the jewelry mart downtown if you are into that sort of thing. It is a huge building full of various dealers many of whom are little old Jewish fellows who like to make deals. Not a really great neighborhood around there so keep your money close.
My neighbor is a car operator for the tram.....yesterday, he got to clock in before 4am because of their Easter Sunrise activities.
After a quake the locals get together and start speculating on the length and where it rates on the richter scale. Some of my fellow Californians are so attuned to the shakers that they don't need the news media to tell them a quake’s strength.
For a taste of beautiful, vintage L.A. residential architecture, take the drive up Beachwood Ave. in the Hollywood Hills. You’re underneath the Hollywood sign and the homes and apartment buildings are right out of an old postcard. You can eat at the Village Coffee Shop or shop at the Beachwood Market (expensive, but great staff), and right across the street is the original sales office for the “Hollywoodland” real-estate development.
Driving CA freeways can take a little getting used to if you're not familiar with traffic congestion and aggressive but generally very competent drivers. Plan your route ahead of time and make generous allowances for occasional freeway gridlock.
Westlake is very near the Reagan Presidential Library and I'd recommend it as a "must." You can even tour his Air Force One at the Library. It's also just over the hill from Malibu and the beaches. Drives down Malibu or Topanga Canyons are interesting and will take you directly to the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) and the ocean where you'll have many options for beach fun or dining. If you go to the Getty Malibu be sure to make parking reservations in advance. It's all free but parking is limited.
A short drive south will take you to the Santa Monica Pier and the many touristy options in Santa Monica (if you can tolerate the generally pious liberal atmosphere of the place). S.M. has many fine restaurants and the Third Street Promenade can be fun. From Santa Monica it's just a short trip to the Venice area and its carnival atmosphere. Don't forget to flex your biceps at Muscle Beach!
Universal City is a short hop from Westlake and it's great fun. You can hike down the Walk and dine in excellent restaurants, visit the various ride attractions and take the studio tour which is a "don't miss" in my book. You might want to stop by Jerry's Famous Deli in nearby Studio City where many actors grab bagels or hot pastrami sandwiches during shooting breaks. The food's great even if you don't spot any stars.
All these areas are safe, as is the downtown Jewelry District where I do a lot of business. (Use reasonable precautions -- it's a big city with plenty of grifters and opportunistic criminals. Keep an eye out. Most of the crime there is against the merchants who are mainly Armenian and Asian.)
The area generally considered to be "L.A." is huge! It's nearly 200 miles from my little town to Palm Springs but both places are covered as part of "local" L.A. newscasts. You'd need at least a month to visit and enjoy all the attractions mentioned in the thread, and there are hundreds more. Relax, plan your outings carefully and have a lot of fun while here! L.A. has an enormous amount of offer.
If you are light skinned I would not go to Compton for any reason. It's not safe to just drive around in those areas. Stay in the safer areas. Even if you are black of Hispanic, if you drive through a gang area wearing the wrong colors, beware.
Um, don't. They may be armed. Don't stop to get gas or visit a restroom there.
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