I was the one who recommended the park int he morning and something else in the afternoon.

If you really want to see animals, head to Venice Beach! What an experience.

TTess-LOL!

Thank you for all the links and ideas! I am going to read through them and do my homework before the trip.
Now a few more questions:

lkv- Thank you for the idea of The Autry center. I checked Google Earth, it shows that the Zoo and the Autry is just across from each other.
I also like the idea of Long Beach. Is it doable using only public transportation? You mentioned the subway Blue line. How long does it take from Sunset/Vermont? how safe is the Blue Line? I was warned before about southern part of LA. Is it still the case?

Jean: thanks for the idea of the Barnsdall Art Park. We will definitely visit it if there is any time left. I wish we stayed longer

A few questions that were left with no answers: How much time do you think we need for the Getty center? What day to go? Is it too crowded on the weekend?

TTess,I did not get the joke! Do you mean the Venice Beach locals, their pets or both?

You can get to the Long Beach Aquarium by public trans. Take the Red line from your hotel to 7th Street/Marketplace and switch to the Blue line. I think this journey could easily take 90 minutes in each direction. When you get to the Long Beach Transit Center (end of the Blue line), you'll have a walk of just under a half mile. If this Google map link works, you'll find the Transit Center near the top edge and the Aquarium near the bottom edge of the map:

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

www.aquariumofthepacific.org

I don't ride the metro trains often, but I've never felt unsafe during daylight hours. My 85-year-old mother has made the trip to Long Beach a couple of times.

OK, now the Getty.

www.getty.edu

The MTA link indicates it's a journey of about an hour on two buses:

www.mta.net

Just plug in "Vermont/Sunset" and "Getty Center" as your starting and ending locations. There are not a lot of departure time options, so your plans will dictated somewhat by MTA. I don't think it matters which weekend day you go. If the weather's nice, it will probably be very busy. You could spend anywhere from two to four or five hours there, depending on how interested you are in the exhibits, walking the gardens, eating lunch, etc.

Well, I see the Google map link didn't work. Just go to Google maps and search "Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, California." Zoom in a bit and look for the little blue train symbols and "Long Beach Transit Center" to the north of the aquarium. (I like the satellite view.)

Jean,
Thanks for the info and the links. It will help a lot in my planning since we want to get the most of our 2.5 days stay. Hopefully, we will have enough time to see the Observatory, the Zoo, The Getty center, the Autry Museum and possible Long Beach.
If not we'll save it for the next trip

The Getty, IMHO, takes all day. I wouldn't miss it but that's me. I just don't see how you can get all of that done in two days. I would spend one day at the Getty and then next in Santa Monica.

You could also take the Big Blue Bus into Westwood. You could tour UCLA (GO BRUINS!!) and see the Hammer Museum: www.hammer.ucla.edu. You could have lunch on campus at the student center or in town on Broxton.

Needsun - is there a reason you are not renting a car?

Ttess,
There is a reason... I hate driving in a city that I do not know, especially with crazy traffic like in LA. Watching the road, reading the traffic signs, looking at the map. Nope, that would be too stressful for me. I am used to one highway here, and just do not want to compete with California pros

needsun - I completely understand. We can get pretty impatient with tourists trying to navigate our roads. I hope you have a great trip!

By the way, the animals at Venice Beach? Yes, I was referring to the people. It's lots of fun for people watching.

To be honest, I think needsun's first idea was right on. I think seeing the observatory and zoo were an excellent idea. If there is time left, downtown Los Angeles has Olvera Street. There are other things to do in Griffith Park, horseback riding, etc. I think you get a GREAT flavor of LA by spending a day in Griffith Park, which is what a lot of us who live here actually do, as opposed to shopping on Melrose or going to Santa Monica.

I think there is still a weekend shuttle up to the Observatory from Vermont/Sunset.

I live in Long Beach. I don't recommend taking the Blue Line. It goes thru some hairy neighborhoods that might make you a bit uneasy.