LA with kids - 3 days only
 

We are planning a trip to LA, staying at the Crowne Plaza in Redondo Beach on November 11 to 14, 2010. Does anyone have any suggestions of fun stuff for the kids, and perhaps some things for adults? Any restaurant suggestions? Kids are 6 & 8, girl and boy. Thanks.

I assume you've decided yes or no on Disneyland already, but I do like the Mouse, even if only for a day.

La Brea Tar Pits.

The museums at Exposition Park, especially Natural History.

I'm not sure if there is still the "scene" at Venice Beach that time of year.

A Los Angeles thing to do is to see a movie at a great movie theater. Since you have kids, I think I know the perfect place. Disney refurbished a movie theater called El Capitan, absolutely gorgeous decor, sound, sometimes an event before the movie. Doormen were dressed up with gold tassels on their uniforms and the whole bit. Checked Yelp briefly and it's still really well liked; you might read their reviews.

Thank you 5alive. This time around, we will not be visiting DISNEY but will try some of the other suggestions. We would like to take a drive on Rodeo, see Venice Beach, take a drive down Beverly Hills Blvd. and any other suggestions that you guys may have.

Hopefully another poster will discuss if Venice Beach is still busy in November. It's been a long time since I've been there and I can't really remember. Also, not far from there is Santa Monica. Kids aren't that into shopping but there is also the pier. Again I don't know if things close in the off season. The carousel was in several movies including The Sting.

One day up in Hollywood/BH would be plenty. You could hit El Capitan, Chinese Theatre, Walk of fame, etc. Then drive down Sunset to Rodeo Drive (not sure what you mean by "Beverly Hills Blvd"). You could also continue on Sunset all the way to Pacific Coast Highway and head south to Venice Beach. However, that's a lot of time in the car for the kids.

Across from your hotel is a bike rental place. A ride along the beach might be fun for them. Ruby's is a kid-friendly restaurant also directly across from the Crowne Plaza. Let us know what types of restaurants you like and we can give you more suggestions.

Other Suggestions:
Griffith Observatory www.griffithobs.org/
California Science Center www.californiasciencecenter.org/

Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach www.aquariumofpacific.org/
Tide Pools along the Palos Verdes Peninsula and San Pedro
Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro (where they nurse injured sea lions back to health)www.marinemammalcare.org/visitcontact.html
Cruise around Los Angeles Harbor www.spiritmarine.com/public2.php

Looks like we are going to have some nice weather-in the 70's during the day. lvk gave you some great ideas. There's not much a 6 & 8 yr old would like in Beverly Hills. Guess you could walk around a little. If the weather is as nice as it says it's going to be I would do the tide pools and/or the Marine Mammal Center. You could maybe tie that in with a visit to the Aquarium in Long Beach.

Renting the bikes for a ride along the boardwalk in Redondo/Hermosa/Manhattan Beach would be fun.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions...is the drive along the PCH spectacular? Also, does anyone have any restaurant suggestions, for example pizza place and family-type of restaurants?

Rent some bikes in Redondo or Hermosa Beach and ride up the strand to Manhattan Beach. Lots of cool restaurants along Manhattan Beach Blvd. I think one is called the Kettle?

Santa Monica Pier and 3rd Street Promenade is fun.

The drive along the PCH is spectacular, but not for the driver. You'll want to keep your eyes on the road. There are pull-offs where everyone can take in the views.

PCH is nice between Malibu and Santa Monica. Between Redondo (where you're staying) and Santa Monica it vears away from the coast and is not attractive at all. However, there are some great drives going south from Redondo, along the Esplanade and around the Palos Verdes Peninsula. http://wikitravel.org/en/Palos_Verdes

I would recommend only spending one day fighting the traffic and checking out the tourist spots up in LA/Hollywood/Venice and the other two enjoying the natural beauty of the area where you are staying. Your kids will thank you for not having to spend so much time in the car.

Pizza: Mama D's in Hermosa & Manhattan Beach, Buona Sera in Redondo:
www.mamadsrestaurant.com/
http://www.buonaseraredondobeach.com...iao%20%21.html

Captain Kidd's is a casual fish place across from your hotel. http://captainkidds.com/
For more upscale but still kid-friendly places, within walking distance:
Kincaid's: www.kincaids.com
Bluewater Grill: http://www.bluewatergrill.com/locati...ondo_beach.php

There are chain restaurants closeby also, such as Joe's Crab Shack, Chart House and Cheesecake factory.

Up in Hollywood, adjacent to the El Capitan is the Disney Soda Fountain, which may appeal to your kids:
http://elcapitan.go.com/soda_fountain/

Thank you everyone for your comments and suggestions. We stayed and explored Rodondo Beach the rest of the day when we arrived, and the next day as well. Mamma D's was great for everyone, and the next day we ate at El Torito, which offered us a most spectacular view of the waves hitting the beach (since it was not too busy, we got a beautiful table overlooking the beach!). Next day, we drove to Venice Beach and walked along the pier and beach, followed by a couple of hours spent at the Santa Monica Pier -- the kids enjoyed the rides and games, and we actually had plaster head castings of the kids made up by one of the artists. Later, we headed to Malibu Beach (ate a pizza slize at delicious D'Amores) and headed out to Hollywood. In Hollywood we toured Graumans Theatre and the Kodak Theatre, finishing off with ice cream sundaes at the Disney Studio Cafe. A drive along Sunset Blvd. and Rodeo Drive, and later to In-n-Out for burgers topped off our great day exploring the beaches of LA. Kids too young (5 & 8) for Universal, saving Disney for Orlando trip, and too cold for Legoland Park water park activites. All in all, everyone had a great time. Only bad experience was dropping our movie camera off the back of our paddle boat ride from Rodondo Beach, heading for the sea lions -- a guy in a fast boat scooped up our floating bag, handed it to us, and then we headed back to shore. Bag dried, camera works (but perhaps not for too long since it fell in salt water)and hopefully, we'll be able to recover the Mini DV tape.

Cheers.

Glad you had a good time. This past weekend was one of the most beautiful we have had all year.

Thanks for reporting back. Glad you had a good time and that your camera survived the trip. I hope your tape made it too.