Posted on 06/03/2015 7:59:45 AM PDT by GOP_Party_Animal
I am planning to fly into LAX this August with my daughter (7) and son (9) while Mom stays home with the other two. We are mainly going to spend an afternoon with my dad on the Iowa at his Navy reunion, but will have a day, day-and-a-half to do other things.
I would definitely like to go to a beach as the kids have never seen the ocean. Some other attraction or park would be nice too.
I've never been to the L.A. area before and am not entirely sure what to expect. Could use some advice! Thanks.
Also.
If you're flying in try for a flight in and out of Long Beach, Orange County is OK. LAX is a plague on mankind by ANY measure, including vehicle traffic and TSA delays, LB is easy aproach, little delay, near freeway,etc.
If, having stuck your toe in the water, you decide at some future point to spend a couple of weeks exploring, then from San Diego north to the Bay Area or even further to the redwoods will be completely fascinating and inexhaustible--well, exhausting, but chock-full of compelling experiences. The only one I'll add to the plethora already mentioned is San Diego's Wild Animal Park. SD's Zoo is rightly world-famous, but this is NE and inland, near Escondido. Lions, giraffes, hippos, rhinos, zebras, etc., roam free on hundreds of acres, which you can view from the safety of an aerial tram. It's really unique and a must-visit. Check their website sometime.
Have fun!
If you like art of all kinds, check The Getty...
Art museum housing the personal collections of J. Paul Getty...Very large, and can take more than one day to work thru it all...
IIRC, admission is $5 for adults and kids are free...Parking is also free...Reasonably priced food available on site...Kid friendly...
In the hills above Santa Monica with spectacular ocean views from outside walkways...
Highly recommend...
Go to the beach in Orange County on a weekday, when not so crowded.
Huntington Beach has 9.5 miles of flat paved trail, for a bike ride or a walk. You can rent bikes there by the hour, half-day or day.
Or further South in Laguna Beach there are hills, coves, etc.
Anyway there are 43 miles from Seal Beach to San Clemente to pick from.
“In n Out IS the best burger in town! Double-double is the GREAT! Eat your fries first....They go from tater to fries in a couple of minuets! Don’t forget the grilled onions on your burgers!
Carl’s caters to adolescent teen age boys with it’s gripping ketchup on a busty model’s white dress commercials........One reason I’ve boycotted them for the past 25 years!”
Greater Lost Angeles has to be one of the hamburger capitals of the planet, from being the birthplace of McDonalds, to Bob’s Big Boy, to Carl’s, In N Out, and some others too.
Recently a new place opened near me call “The Habit” which is a burger restaurant, started in Santa Barbara in 1969.
Your request reminds me of when my 85-year-old Aunt Verna came out to visit from Oklahoma. The two requests she had were (1) go to Knotts Berry Farm; and (2) see the ocean. The first day we took her to Knotts Berry Farm and she had a grand time.
The next day we took her to Huntington Beach. It was quite a stroll on the sand until we came to a crest and the ocean spread out before us. She was quiet as she gazed out over the broad expanse of blue and then said, “This sure beats the HELL out of Knotts Berry Farm.”
Go find Sean Penn’s new house & you & the kids leave a surprise on his porch, film it & his reaction and pay for college with the viral views...
Fun for the whole family & buy an education to-boot.
sell em
you can thank me later
“Recently a new place opened near me call “The Habit” which is a burger restaurant, started in Santa Barbara in 1969.”
As a contracting sub-contractor I built Habit burgers locally as they expanded into Nor Cal....they’re still going! Yes, the greater LA area is a burger mecca....I always liked “Lucky Boy” in Pasadena....a trip there was like being in a Saturday Might Live skit....Burger, burger, Coke, Coke.....lolololol the burgers were great and my friends still living there say they’re still going strong!
The areas around both the HB pier and the MB pier can get crowded but in between isn't bad at all. Check online for any volleyball or surfing tournaments. You'll get a real feel for SoCal beach culture at these events.
Lots of places to eat at both piers (Hermosa's has a plaza that's a bit noisy on weekend evenings). At 22nd street in Hermosa there are a couple places to eat. At 33rd street there is a deli Bocato's with good sandwiches and a hole in the wall Mexican place with a couple of outdoor tables.
In Hermosa, parking is metered close to the beach, and in the close-in residential areas without meters, you'll risk a ticket without a resident pass. But once you're about a half mile from the Beach, parking is all free.
The surf lessons mentioned by another poster are a good bet (morning surf is better than afternoon "chop").
Hi GOP,
SMASHBURGER (Smash fries - rosemary dusted - yum!) and THE HABIT (not sure if available everywhere in So Cal) much better, but ‘In and Out’ okay just to say you ate there. Note biblical references on their burger papers, and cups, too, I think.
‘Freddy’s Burgers’ interesting, but maybe not located everywhere. ‘Gladstones’ - bring $$$. A restaurant takes too much time, tho, IMO.
Some places have sweet potato fries.
Beaches - certainly pay attention to those closer to where you’ll be, - Santa Monica, and the pier, are do-able. I believe this is where Sunset Blvd. ends. Further north is Malibu - can stroll around the stores there in a small ‘village,’ and get a drink - right off the Coast Highway - maybe see a ‘star’ - note Pepperdine University on the hill.
Be sure to note the beautiful houses along the way. There’s surfers to watch, also. Sometimes there’s surfers using parasails - fun! Bronze bodies and bikinis! And that’s just the guys!
Me? I’d keep going north if you have time. Less traffic, also. If you keep going north there’s a beach where the highway bends to the right - name fails me - oh - Zuma Beach; a little further is the beach and tide pools at Leo Carrillo Beach - fun. Catch the parking lot to the right, walk under the highway to the beach. (Google ‘Leo Carillo’) Keep driving and you’ll see Mugu Beach at Mugu rock. But no amenities there.
If you feel you want to turn around at some point, you’ll have to keep an eye out for areas to do that.
If you get as far as Mugu Rock, and want Santa Barbara, an hour from there, leave Mugu continue north a mile or two, and take the Las Posas exit. Travel across agricultural fields (where your food comes from!) and hook up with the 101 Ventura Freeway at Camarilo, to Santa Barbara. (Camarillo has Outlet stores - - )
Once there at Camarillo, take the 101 north to S.B. - it’s an hour from there.
If you drive the 101 Ventura Freeway to Santa Barbara, there’s a multitude of things to do there.
The beach, the Mission, stroll State St., Kid’s World - the best play structure for kids you’ve ever seen. Google ‘Kid’s World.’ Pack snacks or lunch. Sometimes truck vendors there, but don’t count on it.
Ya know, if I had to choose one beach to send you to, I think it would be Leo Carrillo because of the tide pools. Bring food there, too. Remember to take a rock or two with you!
Oh - a trick - bring baby powder and a washcloth (in a large baggie) - this will rid the body of sand like nothing you’ve ever seen!
Keep in touch if you care to -
There’s an ‘In N Out’ a mile from us. It was here before ‘Smashburger, and ‘The Habit’ came to town. Love ‘Smashburger’ and the Rosemary Fries.
For one reason or another, the gang will choose ‘In and Out.’
You have to know where to look, and when. Have someone constantly looking at the hills and don’t take their eyes off if you want to say you saw the sign!
We haven’t been to ‘Canter’s’ in years. My taste buds are watering right now!
La Brea Tar Pits are great, but I think the kids want a beach.
This family is land-locked, I believe.
The Reagan is the best library (kids: not a book library - ) and museum.
I can’t imagine any other presidential library better than this.
The location is not to be matched - sitting on that hill looking miles over Ventura County. One must take the time to take it all in - both sides.
Walking thru Air Force One goes quick - not that you can’t do it over and over.
One notes just how small it is - if you think it’s a huge super liner, it isn’t. That was the ‘80’s, after all.
I would take the 101 Ventura Freeway, then the 118 to Simi Valley.
How old are the kids?
Kids who like dinosaurs usually are interested in the Brea tar pits.
My kids loved the movie studio tour, if they still give it. the Jaws exhibit was big when my kids went there and they are having a twenty year anniversary this year, that’s how long ago it was.
I would take a look at the sites that the bus tours visit and pick and choose from among those sites. We visited all the sites when we first moved to a So Cal and never went back. It was too hard to get there from Orange County.
No, not the same thing. The 101 is the Ventura Freeway.
Sunset Blvd. ends at the ‘1’ - Coast Highway. The 101 is a few miles further inland.
The beach there is Zuma. Or is it - getting mixed up - - -
You can easily see the Santa Monica Pier from the end of Sunset.
I drove this way (Coast Highway, from where we live in Camarillo, to Sunset Blvd.) for 6 weekends, plus rehearsals, as a granddaughter was in ‘To Kill A Mockingbird” at a community theater on Sunset, 1 mile from the ocean.
Haven’t mentioned Pt. Dume Beach - - -
And then there’s Carpinteria - billed as ‘The World’s Safest Beach.’ It’s a few miles before Santa Barbara, going north from L.A.
HowEVer, as I suggested earlier, go to Leo Carrillo for the tide pools. They are small pools of water which are fun to walk thru and see what is residing there - - -
‘’_______crash course in Espanol. You will need it.
No you won’t.
Bet you knew that - !
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