jerirl

Thanks again for the responses. Now I'm trying to coordinate the various things we want to do. Perhaps some of you local folks can help.

We have tickets to to see Deal or No Deal at 2pm on July 3rd at Culver Studios. We also want to see standard Hollywood sites, take the Warner Brothers tour (only offered Mon-Fri) and maybe go to the La Brea Tar Pits & Museum (if we can get our son to agree). In addition, as mentioned, we want to try a couple restaurants/shopping areas recommended above where we may see celebrities.

I don't have a good sense of which of these can be combined together in the same day. Don't want to spend all our time driving. Any advice?

Also, I'm thinking we'll spend Friday, the 4th & Saturday, the 5th in Santa Monica. Someone on another site said there would be fireworks from private beaches in the area that we could probably see. Does anyone here know about this?

casey_reed84

There are no private beaches in California. Every beach is open to the public even if it's in someone's backyard.

Jean

FYI, traffic will be worse than usual on 7/3. Locals will have 7/4 off, and 7/3 will be "get away" day for a long weekend. Traffic in Santa Monica on 7/4 will be excruciating and not much better on 7/5. This is the busiest weekend of the summer, especially with 7/4 falling on a Friday.

MBnancy

There will be Fireworks in Marina del Rey on July 4th. I'd suggest staying there if you can still get a hotel reservation somewhere. Maybe the Marriott.


JULY 4 FIREWORKS EXTRAVAGANZA, MARINA DEL REY, 2008
The traditional fireworks extravaganza over the main channel in Marina del Rey will be
presented on Friday, July 4th, starting promptly at 9pm. This event is sponsored
by the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors. The fireworks are
choreographed to patriotic music, which will be broadcast in sync with the pyrotechnic
display over FM radio KXLU, 88.9 on the dial. The music will be relayed over loudspeakers
in Chace Park for those watching there. Call 310-305-9545 for more information.
Street Closures and Map of street closures

mlgb

Actually, there are private beach clubs in Santa Monica. It is only the part of the beach below the mean high tide line that is in the public trust. The area above the line (the dry sand) needs to be owned by a public agency such as the State or County to be a "public beach".

There is a fireworks show at Santa Monica College. I don't know if the beach clubs were permitted to have fireworks this year.

http://www.smgov.net/news/releases/a...om06102008.htm

tracys2cents

You can do Tar Pits, Hollywood, WB all in the same day, and don't miss Griffith Observatory either day or night (have your son watch Rebel Without a Cause beforehand).

You'll probably want to wait out the morning traffic so have breakfast in Santa Monica and then around 10am head for the Tar Pits, 10:30am. (You might skip the fossil museum and just explore the pits themselves depending on your son's interest.) Nearby is the Grove shopping mall and the Farmer's Market, you could kill time here from 11:30 to 1pm, then head up to Hollywood and Highland for a couple of hours. Check out the Walk of Fame, the Kodak (Oscars) theatre, the footprints at the Chinese theatre, etc. There really isn't a lot to do here unless you hang around for souvenir junk shops etc. Book the latest tour of the day at Warner Brothers which is probably around 3:30pm. After the tour, around 6pm, have dinner nearby to sit out the traffic hour. McCormick Schmicks seafood is next door to Warner Brothers, or visit the Toluca Lake neighborhood about a mile away, where Bob Hope, Henry Winkler, Roddy McDowall, Ron Howard etc have all lived. A few good restaurant choices here including Paty's Coffee Shop or Bob's Big boy.
Afterwards you have an easy drive (after 7pm) down to Griffith Observatory and you can hang there until 9 or 10pm taking in the spectacular views of the city all the way out to the ocean. Sunset there will be something your son will always remember.

A jam-packed day for sure, but if you plan wisely and move along briskly, you can fit it all in and you will b glad that you saw everything.

Jean

"... move along briskly." That's what I'm saying will be so difficult. This is a Thursday before a long weekend. Traffic is going to be awful and will not improve as the day goes on.

I'd get to the Tar Pits when it opens at 9:30 a.m. Go to Grauman's if there's time before you need to head to Culver City for the "Deal or No Deal" taping at 2:00 p.m.

Unless you plan to eat lunch on the run, you might consider going to:

Ford's Filling Station
9531 Culver Boulevard
Culver City
310-202-1470

The restaurant is about 2 long blocks from Culver Studios. The chef-owner is Harrison Ford's son. It's a little pricey and a little noisy, but the (American) food is very good.

TheBoots1

For the Magic Castle---Under 21 is allowed on Sundays. In fact, many of the magicians that day are teenagers getting their start. I would guess that since you have a teenager along, there might be an added benefit to that. As for getting in, If you stay at the Magic Castle Hotel (which is right next door and very reasonable in cost) you are automatically allowed to go to the Castle although you'll still need to make reservations. You have to pay, it's not free, but you and your family can get in.

5alive

I just researched the Griffith Observatory,and we did not end up going because there is a theatre nearby that makes parking very difficult (or so it said). You may want to read up on that.

I would recommend you stay in Anaheim so that you can get an early start. In the summer the park opens at around 8 am depending on the day.

If you were still ambivalent about one day versus two at Disneyland....a one-day ticket as I understand only gets you into one or the other of the parks. A two-day park hopper allows access to both.

mlgb

I think you can now park at the Griffith Park Observatory. No theatre. Not sure what you're talking about.

Jean

The Greek Theater. On nights with performances, you'd be better off approaching and leaving the Observatory using Western Canyon Road rather than Vermont Canyon Road (and having to get past the Greek). Parking in the Observatory's lot is limited, but parking is allowed on the roads. Theater-goers will also park on the roads.

There is shuttle service to the Observatory on weekends.

http://www.griffithobs.org/vshuttle.html

Heavens

My teen daughter loved the Third Street Promenade, all of Santa Monica, really, the Getty, Westwood, Farmers Market (my favorite place, great place to eat) and the Forum. You might think about tickets to a Dodger game if they are in town. They are fun to watch. And maybe tickets to some kind of theater. I know Wicked is in town, not sure what else. They Disney Hall downtown is supposed to be pretty amazing to see. Hollywood is OK for a little while, but it is easy to tire of the crowds and the lack of celebrities. Rodeo was a waste of time in our opinion, and so was Universal Studios. Disneyland rocks and teens never tire of all there is to see. Disneyland is for all ages. You might plan to eat out of the park, though. I have never found any decent food at the Park. Maybe head to Downtown Disney for a meal. Have fun and stay cool. The traffic can really grate on your nerves. Just plan ahead and make sure he brings is IPOD to cope...

Jean

From Heavens' suggestions:

The Dodgers have no home games from late June until July 7th.

Goldstar.com has available orchestra section tickets for "Wicked" at about $65 per person for the following performances:

7/2 at 8:00 p.m.
7/4 at 8:00 p.m.
7/5 at 2:00 p.m.
7/5 at 8:00 p.m.
7/6 at 1:00 p.m.

You have to "join" Goldstar, but it's free. Just go to their website and enroll.

If you want to get two birds (or three depending on your loyalties), you could go to the Hollywood Bowl's Dodger Night on 7/2, 7/3 or 7/4. There will be fireworks (albeit small and limited due to the setting), Randy Newman will be the guest performer (with the L.A. Philharmonic), and some Dodger greats of the past will be introduced. I didn't check all the seating options, but there are tickets available for each night. Best available on 7/2 and 7/3 are excellent but cost $120 per person. Best available on 7/4 are halfway back (not bad at all) for $50 per person. If you decide to do this, look into the various Hollywood Bowl shuttle bus services available from many locations in L.A., or buy a parking ticket with your performance tickets.

There are also Hollywood Bowl tickets available for 7/5 which is Warner Brothers Broadway Night. No guest artists, and I'm not sure what type of music will be performed. It could be that Warner Brothers is just sponsoring the event, and the music will be Broadway tunes. But I really couldn't tell from the TicketMaster website.

jerirl

Thanks for the helpful advice so far. Here is our tentative updated itinerary. What do you think?

Wednesday, July 2 - arrive LAX, pick up rental car and check into Doubletree Suites in Santa Monica.

Thursday, July 3 We have tickets to see Deal or No Deal in Culver City at 2 pm. That's the checkin time, not the show time. Maybe combine it with LaBrea/Page Museum and/or auto museum.

Friday , July 4 Had been thinking to hang out at beach in Santa MOnica, but maybe if it's running on the holiday, take a tour of stars' homes. I know, it sounds bad, but I think our son wants to do it. Maybe then we can get him into one museum.

Saturday, July 5 Beach day. Maybe rent bikes to Venice Beach. Also, if he can, our son would like to take a surfing lesson or two. Does anyone know if we can we arrange that once we get there? The Hollywood Bowl would be cool, but I don't know if he wants to hear the symphony. (BTW, we took him to see Wicked in NYC. We all really enjoyed it.)

Sunday, July 6 Made reservation to have lunch at The Ivy. Then will probably look around at some Hollywood sites - Grauman's theater, Walk of Fame etc.

Monday, July 7 Plan to take Warner Brothers tour. If we sign up for the 10:40a time slot that will hopefully avoid rush hour traffic. We also have tickets to another show, Championship Gaming Series at 5:30 in Santa Monica. May cancel this one to do more sightseeing.

Tuesday, July 8 Check out of Santa Monica and check in to Candy Cane Inn in Anaheim. Visit with relatives in Orange County. Depending on relatives' schedule, we may want to do something on the way. Any suggestions? Possibly a different beach, depending on the weather & our mood.

Wednesday, July 9 Disneyland

Thursday, July 10 Return to DC

Jean

Just a comment on the Hollywood Bowl. Yes, it's the L.A. Philharmonic, but on 7/5 it won't be Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, etc. I'm guessing Broadway show tunes or music connected to Warner Brothers Studios (cartoons, movies, TV shows). Anyway, the Hollywood Bowl experience is as much (or more) about being there, having a picnic during the performance and enjoying sitting outside on a warm L.A. night. There may even be celebrities there, but I think that's more likely on the Dodger nights.

Lots of surfing websites:

http://learntosurfla.com/html/index.htm
http://www.surfingla.com/
http://www.surfacademy.org/home.php
http://www.malibulongboards.com/

5alive

It sounds like a good trip to me, Jerirl.

And Jean, yes, it was the Greek Theatre I was reading about. Thanks for explaining that.

joesorce

I would definitely try to get Hollywood Bowl tickets for July 3, after Tar Pits. (If you're running late you can skip Tar Pits). Whether he likes the music or not, it is probably one of the only places that your son will run into celebrities. (And he has to keep a sharp eye out...they don't have a sign on them that says "I'm famous!", nor do they look like they do on the red carpet!)It's also a very memorable only-in-Los-Angeles experience. Park at Hollywood & Highland mall, grab some quick picnic food-n-drink somewhere, and walk up to the Bowl with the crowds of people. (Don't try to park up at the Bowl, it's a nightmare to exit.)

Another must-visit place is The Getty Center, even if you think your son is "not into art museums". Reservations for a fine dinner there on Saturday night would be recommended....then you could get your son there under the guise of "it's a restaurant" instead of "it's a museum". Again, very memorable and only-in-Los-Angeles.

Griffith Observatory is another must. Open until 10pm so you can surely fit in a visit.

If you set your son up for seeing celebs, he may likely come home sorely disappointed. But not if you fit in all of these unique L.A. experiences that you all will remember for a very long time. He's at an age when you should be trying to open his eyes to the world, not planning your itinerary around his current likes & dislikes....don't you think?

Heavens

The Ivey is incredibly overpriced, $30 chicken ceasar salads. Be forwarned. There are two locations, one in Hollywood and one in Santa Monica. My understanding is that the Ivey is not where the stars hang out, but the producers. But I could be isinformed. There might be better star gazing restaurants out there is my point...

http://losangeles.citysearch.com/

This site might have more suggestions. My experience is that you run into stars when you least expect it. We have seen quite a few just doing things in Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Haven't seen anyone on Rodeo Drive or in the real posh areas, more in restaurants and dashing by on the streets.

Good luck and be sure and give us a report when you get back as to how many stars you saw and/or recognized. That is half the battle, you might see one and never know it, or never know just who they are, there are so many young ones these days...

Jean

I agree the Ivy is grossly overpriced. There will probably be one or two recognizable people at the Robertson Blvd. location (and paparazzi hanging around), but they will be of the desperate-for-attention-and-looking-for-work types and not the A-list stars you probably hope to see. Lindsey Lohan, yes. Reese Witherspoon, no. Then again, maybe your son would rather see Lindsey or Paris.

I also agree that you probably wouldn't notice a star walking down the sidewalk. I often see actors near my office in Beverly Hills, but it takes half a block for the light bulb to go off in my head.

ReneeS

Just a word on Disneyland good eats for "Heavens":

There is some good food to be found in Disneyland if you know where to look: New Orleans restaurant for monte cristos, Bengal Barbeque in Adventureland for beef and chicken and asparagus skewers, Dole whips in front of the Tiki Room, bratwursts at the Fantasyland Theater, chocolate honeycombs on Main Street, fritters at the mint julep bar and clam chowder at the veranda in New Orleans Square are some of my favorites.

Last time I went to Disneyland there was fresh fruit in kiosks all over the park.

Have a great trip!