Something Unusual In Los Angeles
 

I'm will be in Los Angeles from July 18 to July 21 visiting/staying with an old friend in the Valley. This will be my third visit and I am looking for suggestions on what to do that is unique or unusual or "off the beaten track". I have been to Disneyland and California Adventure. I've taken side trips to Palm Springs, Joshua Tree, Big Bear and Catalina Island. Last year we went to the LA County Fair. I've seen Mission San Gabriel and San Fernando (and Ventura and Santa Barbara). I've taken in a concert at the Hollywood Bowl and have walked around Hollywood and Olvera Street. I've window shopped/wandered Rodeo Drive and Venice Beach. Driven Mulholland and Angels Crest. In otherwords, I've done almost everything you can do in Los Angeles (acording to the guide books) and am looking for suggestions for things to do/see for this trip. I'm not a big beach person, nor am I a big museum person, but a trip to the Getty may be an option. I've never been to the Santa Monica Pier so that may be an option as well. My friend has a car, but I don't want to get too far from LA. Any suggestions would be most welcome. Thanks! Keith

You could try the Arboretum or Huntington Gardens. They both have beautiful grounds and gardens. the Huntington has a museum that has "Pinky" and "Blue Boy" famouns paintings as well as the orginal home and furnishing of the owners.
Old town Pasadena has great shops and restaurants. If you are going to Santa Monica you could try Venice Beach pier as well, not for the beach but for all the "local color". Farther south is the Laguna Beach Art Colony, with small shops and galleries, there is a well known Mexican Restaurant that everyone goes to "Las Brisas" that looks out over the ocean.
I could probably think of more, but I hope this helps. Have fun!

LaBrea Tar Pits.

The idea of going to Laguna Beach is excellent. Not only is it a lovely seaside town and artists' community, you will be there in time for the Festival of the Arts, including the world-famous Pageant of the Masters-- a series of tableaux vivants (recreations of paintings using live models), which sounds hokey but is unusually stirring. They don't just do realistic paintings, either-- one year they did Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon", among other Cubist works.

In Long Beach, you could go to the Aquarium of the Pacific or take a tour of the Queen Mary. Stroll through the silly shops of Shoreline Village, have a margarita at Tequila Jack's, or one of 200 beers on tap at the Yard House, or killer seafood at Parker's Lighthouse. Head over to Belmont Shore, stroll down Second Street, have dinner at the new hot-spot, Bono's (run by Sonny's oldest daughter Christy), listen to good loud bar rock at Panama Joe's.

How about roller-blading on the Strand in Hermosa Beach, then go for lunch on the Redondo Beach Pier? Lots of little neighborhood bars to hang out in down there.

Hang out down in Surf City-- Huntington Beach. Another pier. Or, for that matter, you could check out Newport Beach and Balboa Island.

Have you... window-shopped on Melrose Avenue? Hung out on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica in the evening to catch the street performers? Hit the clubs on the Sunset Strip? Had drinks at the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel? Heard the acts at the Improv or Comedy Store? Done a tour at Hollywood Forever Cemetery? Checked out the art at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica?

Old Town Pasadena is another great idea.

If you decide to do the Pageant of the Masters, please be aware that it is selling out VERY quickly this year. Oh well-- even if you don't go there, Laguna Beach is still well worth a visit.

How about some "theme?" My vote would be architecture.

Union Station, the new Frank Gehry blob, the new cathedral, the Getty, old LA city hall, Hollywood/Highland and other movie-oriented places; great "theme" houses ("Spanish," "Olde England," etc. themed houses in Beverly Hills or Hollywood; best of all the Gamble House (as in Procter) in Pasadena (not far from some F.L. Wright houses) and similar places in the downtown/north area, convenient to the Valley.

Belmont Shore and the Long Beach coast strip are also good. Take your camera and stroll through Naples, just south of Belmont Shore, and see what happens when the "Venice" idea from up the coast really works.

I'd vote for downtown Manhattan and the MB pier for quintessential beach atmosphere.

Breakfast at Nate 'n Al's (Bev. Dr.) and/or dinner at Canter's (Fairfax) for serious tsimmes or luscious latkes, with possibly a sprinkling of movie types.

"Off the beaten track" in LA is an oxymoron. Just go for the diversity and the history, and there'll be plenty left for the next trip.

The Observatory maybe?

Griffith Park Observatory is closed for major renovations until 2005.

gardyloo has some great ideas. Although I think the new cathedral ("Our Lady of the Warehouse") is an ochre-colored abomination, Gehry's new Disney Hall is turning out to be kinda cool (and frankly, I usually can't STAND Frank Gehry's work). The Biltmore Hotel and all the old Deco-era movie houses downtown are also beautiful.

The Beverly Hills house tour is always fun. From Paul Williams treasures (first successful African-American architect in the US, and designer of many houses for celebs living in LA) to the Witch House (a gnarled, shake-roof curio in the "flats" of BH) to those awful Tuscan-style wedding cakes being built by nouveau-riche BH newbies-- always fun. Pasadena is a treasure trove of Craftsman-style houses-- as is Long Beach (in the "beach bungalow" vein).

If you are downtown, stop and get a drink at the Hotel Figueroa which is a recently renovated hotel at the corner of Fig. and Olympic (right near the Staples Center). It may not look like much from the outside, but this is deceiving -- they've remodeled the interior in a Moroccan theme and they've got a cafe and several bars inside. Go to the poolside bar -- it's great.

Or take a walking tour of downtown with the LA Conservancy. They are offered on weekends only, but there are approximately 10 to choose from and are wonderful if you are interested in architecture and history. I believe their website is www.laconservancy.org.

I agree, unfortunately, with Gardyloo that off the beaten track in LA generally doesn't really exist. Most of the city (yes, that includes the Westside) is a wasteland and our malls and other such attractions (a la Santa Monica Pier) are our biggest draws but are very corporate. Sigh....

However, some of the studio tours are actually quite good if you like that kind of thing. I would recommend Paramount and Warner Brothers. Forget about Universal which is a theme park as you probably know.

I would also second the suggestion for the Gamble House tour in Pasadena, which is a great tour of a Craftsman style house. Maybe afterwards catch a play at the Pasadena Playhouse.

There is a walkable (yes, walkable!) strip of eclectic shops and restaurants along Sunset Blvd in Silverlake. Eat dinner at Cafe Stella (which is great) or just walk around and pick a place.

Visiting the Hollywood Cemetery is an interesting couple of hours. Lots of famous people buried there. One of my family members asked to go there on her last visit. While walking around we met an older gentleman who is kind of an unofficial tour guide. He was a wealth of information and juicy old gossip. There are grave maps at the entrance.

Of note, Marilyn Monroe is not buried here but rather in Westwood.

One more thing - add Greystone Mansion to RJW's Beverly Hills house tour.

MM......Westwood Memorial,Corridor of Memories,Crypt #24

A favorite of mine is a quick visit to the historic Union Station followed by a train ride to San Diego. Once there, you can wander the waterfront, Horton's Plaza, or the Gas Lamp District or you can take the San Diego Trolley (light rail) to Old Town. Once past San Juan Capistrano, the scenery is awesome and San Diego is always a great place to visit.

OK, some great suggestions. As I still have a month before I arrive, keep 'em coming. I will do more indepth research on the ones that most interest me. Thanks again!! Keith

Don't know if you are interested in fabulous antique cars, but in the NE corner of the Valley (Sylmar), is a collection and museum of beautiful classic cars which have been restored. San Sylmar requires a reservation for the free 2 hour tour, and is open Tues-Sat. The Nethercutt Collection is across the street. And all this is probably best described at their website.
www.nethercuttcollection.org

not sure what to think about this..... you've been to all these great places, done all this fun stuff, but are still looking for something more? heck, if you liked disneyland (or any place else), why not go back? almost sounds like you're just looking to put notches in your travel belt.

Some of these have been mentioned before:

Huntington Library and Gardens in Pasadena
LA Arboretum in Arcadia
Descanso Gardens in La Canada
Old Town Pasadena

The three gardens listed above all have outdoor concerts by local orchestras on certain summer evenings, usually on the weekend. You can bring or buy a picnic. Similar to the Hollywood Bowl but without the parking hassles and crowds.

If you haven't yet been to the Getty, that would be my top recommendation. It's fabulous even if you are not into art museums. The view, architecture, food, and gardens can keep you happily entertained. Indeed, the art almost seems secondary sometimes.

A 45 minute drive up PCH is Charmlee Park. A lovely open nature preserve overlooking Malibu. Only a short, easy walk to the edge of flower-filled meadow overlooking the beautiful Pacific. We saw mountain lion tracks but no signs of the actual cat!

thanks rjw....had also heard about pageant of the masters. Figured I'd check it out when I visit in August. Had no idea tickets were selling out. After reading your post I then bought 6 tickets for my family on Wed evening in August and only seats left were way in back. Had I not seen your post I'd miss the show! How much time should I spend in Laguna Beach. Have kids age 9-16. Was thinking of seeing Warners Bros Studio tour in morning and driving to Laguna Beach for the afternoon and show at night. Is this feasible? What's the best time to avoid highway travel on this route? Thanks. Elliot

Something different might be the Farmers Market. It has a large collection of food stands of a wide variety of ethnic cuisines.
I concur that Pageant of the Masters in Laguna is most enjoyable. I thought it would be painfully hokey, but I was totally captivated.
The Getty is for sure a must see.

FINDING Westwood Memorial is always a bit of a mystery (it's hidden behind the Avco cinema on Wilshire) -- a great little cemetery -- aside from Marilyn, there's Natalie Wood, and a host of others.

No one's mentioned Griffith Park, which is a really neat place for all sorts of outdoor activities, as well as a trip to the Greek (you will JUST miss the Neil Young concert by 1 day -- he starts on the 22nd).

A hot air balloon ride in Del Mar is fun. Great view of the Pacific Ocean too.

I don't think the new Disney concert theatre will be open by then, will it? That's something we're all looking forward to -- but at least go downtown, across from the music center to check it out -- very cool, and I hear the acoustics are, thank god, quite good (better than the nightmare the new Kodak has been).

I agree the Strip is a fun spot to check out, depending on your age and interests.

If you enjoy theatre, you might consider checking out our local theatre productions, from the Mark Taper to the Geffen in Westwood, to the Odyssey in WLA.

esg: Hmmmm, I confess I've never been on the Warner Bros studio tour. Don't know how long it takes or if it has enough ancillary activity to keep you busy for very long.

Laguna Beach is worth at least an afternoon's visit-- its downtown area is full of funky little shops and quite high-end art galleries (including that of the late animator Chuck Jones), and the beaches are pretty great there as well.

Avoiding traffic is dependent on the day you're traveling. From Burbank to Laguna Beach will take at least an hour. Weekend traffic is usually lighter, but as you approach beach communities, it gets congested very quickly.

Note also that the site for the Pageant is a bit north of downtown Laguna Beach; you might want to park in town for a nice visit there, then move your car (I just don't know if there are shuttles up to the Pageant/Art Festival site-- though there probably are).

Because advance reservations are required, I have decided to go ahead and get tickets for the Pageant on Friday, July 18. I've also decided to hike the "Little Grand Canyon" at Whiting Ranch and continue my "mission mission" and visit San Juan Capistrano whilst in southern Orange County. These three things should occupy one full day. Any suggestions for a decent but inexpensive place for dinner in the Laguna Beach/Dana Point area? Thanks for all your suggestions/input so far. Keith

Try El Torito in Dana Point. The food is okay but the walk around the harbor is great. Also if you are hiking Whiting Ranch, consider going down to Hertitage Hill Historic Park at Lake Forest and Serrano. It will show you what Orange County was like before it became all tract houses. Have coffee and pastry at the Black Forest Bakery which is adjacent to the Park.

Have you been to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno? You order tickets by mailing in a request with an SASE. Might not be too late for your dates.

If you do a Fodors search for "The Tonight Show" you will find the thread where I asked questions about it before I went.

Have you been to the Long Beach Aquarium? It's better than the one in Monterey in my opinion.

If you are interested in history, you might be interested in the Richard Nixon Library in Yorba Linda.

There is also the Getty Museum (get a parking slot through the website). Do not forget to eat in the restaurant--it's wonderful. The art and the location are wonderful too.

And, you did not mention The Queen Mary. If you haven't seen that, go!

Baseball at Dodger Stadium!

Montreal at L.A.
July 19 @ 7:20PM
July 20 @ 7:20PM
July 21 @ 12:10PM

If you are in decent shape you might consider hitting the Angeles National Forest and hiking up Mt. San Antonia, aka. Mt. Baldy. It's just over 10K feet and makes for great day outside.

MM

I know there is (or used to be) a tour of the Hollywood cemeteries and they drive you around in a hearse.

If you can manage a "crack of dawn" tour, you can go down to the L.A. flower market where flowers are delivered right off the boats. There is also a bakery tour that ends at a cafe for croissants and coffee.

Studio tours and tapings are so.much.fun. It's really something to see how TV is made.

Ke1th! Come back! Tell us what you ended up doing and seeing!

So far I've purchased tickets for Friday July 18th Pageant of Masters in Laguna Beach and for Saturday July 19th tickets for "The Blue Planet Live!" by the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. I will probably visit San Juan Capistrano Mission and hike Whiting Ranch on Friday since I'll be in southern Orange County for the POM. On Saturday, before I have to be at the Hollywood Bowl, I'll probably visit the Getty and maybe do some Hollywood sightseeing. I want to visit the Cemetery where Marilyn Monroe is interred (last visit I did "Forever Hollywood" where Valentino is interred). I plan on eating dinner at Hollywood and Highland (I've eaten at the Grill before) and then take the shuttle from there to the Bowl. Sunday is still open. Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions. Keith

The historic Farmers market at 3rd and Fairfax is fun for Sunday breakfast.

The Getty is open until 9pm on Fri and Sat, and the fine dining restaurant there is very good...exquisite views.

Sunset at the Getty! Yeah!

www.getty.edu

Ke1th, if you've eaten at the Grill, then why not try Vert at Hollywood and Highland? This is an upscale Wolfgang Puck restaurant run by his brother (looks just like him). Food is outstanding. You can book this on opentable.com (we do this because we earn points and it costs nothing). Request the second room. Or, if you want old Hollywood, the Pig N' Whistle is across the street one block and has been restored. The food is very good but not as good as Vert. It is right next to the Egyptian theatre, also beautifully restored.

Go hiking or horseback riding in Griffith Park
Go to a Dodger game
Catalina Island
Melrose Ave.
Sony Studios Tour

I forgot to add, for the quintessential Southern California experience, grunion hunting. July 18th and 19th are two nights when this might occur!

One of my favorite things to do in LA is to take in a silent film at The Silent Movie Theater on North Fairfax in Hollywood. Complete with live music accompaniment, it's a great night out. I'm sure they have a website with a schedule of events.

I just got back from this long weekend trip to Los Angeles and wanted to thank everyone for all the suggestions that were given. Here is what I ended up doing....

Friday, July 18th: In the morning my friend and I hiked several miles through the canyons of Whiting Ranch in the Cleveland National Forest in Southern Orange County. After several hours of this, We drove to San Juan Capistrano and toured the mission grounds. The gardens here are beautiful. The "Serra Chapel" is said to be the oldest building in California. By now it was around 4, so We headed over to Laguna Beach. We parked near the Irvine Bowl, home of the Pageant of the Masters, and walked the short distance into Laguna Beach. After a brief stroll browsing through the town, We walked up the hill to Las Brisas for dinner. This place has a gorgeous view of Laguna and the ocean. I had the Camarones Tampiquenos, which is probably one of the best seafood meals I've ever had. My friend had the grilled swordfish. After dinner and a few drinks, We walked back down into Laguna and then to the Arts Festival, just outside the POM. The guest artist at the festival this weekend was Jane Seymour. I hac no idea she was a gifted painter. At 8:30 pm, the POM program began. I knew what the POM was from reading about it, but I had no idea how uncanny these live tableaux would be. It was amazing. As I knew one of the performers, my friend and I were able to get a back stage pass/tour. Seeing how all this comes together was very insightful. If you've ever thought of going, but just didn't know if it was worth it, I'm here to tell you that it is definitely worth it.

Saturday, July 19: Had brunch at a diner in Hollywood. Nothing spectacular here. Just watching the people walk up and down Hollywood Blvd. was fun, however. After brunch, we drove over to Westwood and visited the cemetery where Marilyn Monroe, Natalie Wood, and Billy Wilder, among others, are buried. I was very suprised at how small this cemetery actually is. And how it is hemmed in by the tall buildings of Westwood. If you didn't know it was there, you'd never see it. After Westwood, we drove to Hollywood along Sunset Blvd. Shopped for DVD's and CD's at the big Virgin store on Sunset where Schwab's Drug Store used to be. Saw lots of beautiful people, but no major celebrities. After Virgin, drove over to Hollywood and Highland and parked the car in their huge underground deck. Walked up and down Hollywood Blvd checking out the "Walk of Fame" stars. (Even took a roundtrip ride on the Subway, just to say I've done it). At about 6:30, decided on dinner at "Trastevere" in the H&H complex. Had the Pollo E Broccoli pizza. This is a 12" thin crust pizza with chicken and broccoli. I ate the whole thing by myself. My friend also had one of the pizza dishes and also ate the whole thing. As we were stuffed, we decided to walk it off and walked from H&H to the Hollwood Bowl for that evenings concert. The concert that night was "The Blue Planet". Music written for the BBC/Discovery Channel production about our oceans and all the varied and unusual life that lives in them. The composer of the music, George Fenton, was also the guest conductor of the LA Philharmonic. Scenes from the documentary were shown on big screens as the music played in sync. Very moving and also very intense at times as the brutality of nature was given equal time. The MC was Ed Begley, Jr. So, I saw at least one celebrity in Hollywood, if a minor one at that.... :)

On Sunday, we just stayed at home, watching some of the DVD's we had purchased at Virgin the day before. We had a BBQ with some of his friends. He had purchased a cut of beef "discovered"
in California called "TriTip". It was
very tasty. Kinda like a prime rib.

I flew BlueJet from Atlanta to Los Angeles. I left Thursday evening and returned Monday morning. I have no complaints against BlueJet. My roundtrip tickets cost about $200.00, I was able to choose my seats when I booked my tickets online. The seats seemed to be slightly bigger than the seats I remember on other airlines. The seats were leather and had the small display screens in the back of the seat in front of you with about 25-30 DirectTV programs to watch (as well as a GPS map of your progress). I've never seen these screens on DOMESTIC flights before. Of course, no meal was served, but they were very generous with the snacks and drinks. Would definitely fly them again. (Blue Jet actually flies Atlanta to Long Beach)


Had a great time for such a short trip and really appreciate all the suggestions given here. As a trip to LA is so reasonable for me (no hotel or rental car bill), I will definitely keep a list of some of the things suggested here and use them in the future. Thanks again

Keith

Wow, KE1TH, sounds like a great visit!!

The JetBlue Long Beach/Atlanta service is quite new. I'm planning to fly them LGB-Las Vegas sometime soon (I live 10 minutes from Long Beach Airport). How did you like walking out onto the tarmac to board the plane (up the ol' Jet Stairs)? Like flying back in the 40s, isn't it?