Going to LA in August. Help me plan please!

[biogeek]

Hey there!

Dear hubby & I will be spending a week in Los Angeles this coming August. We are going to be there for 2 main attractions: the J. Paul Getty museum & villa for a couple of days and then Six Flags Magic Mountain for two days. The rest of the week is open to whatever! This is the first week-long vacation we've had in about 10 years!!

The only day that's set in stone is the trip to the J. Paul Getty Villa in Malibu on Wednesday as that's the day we have tickets with our university group.

If you've travelled to LA or even live in the area & can give us some tips of what to do/see/eat, that would be wonderful!!

Things we DON'T want to do is go to Disneyland. Since we're already planning on visiting Six Flags, another theme park doesn't seem practical. We already have season tickets to Six Flags, so our cost there is very minimal. Otherwise, any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

We plan on renting a car, so we don't even mind driving a ways to see something worthwhile.

Please help if you can! Thanks!!

[dotsamantha]

Re: Going to LA in August. Help me plan please!

Well, although I haven't been to that Six FLags, I've been to Six Flags Great Adventure (NJ) a bunch of times. Bring water with you to avoid the annoyance of how much bottled water costs. Eat meat on stick type things, it can be a little iffy, but if it's just a turkey leg, chances are the bad thing will be marinade and that's it. Eat before you so you won't be too hungry anyway.

[staziaw]

Re: Going to LA in August. Help me plan please!

Hey BioGeek! Well, I live in Santa Monica and would be happy to help you out. I see that you are going to the Getty in Malibu. Are you also planning on going to the main Getty museum (yes, there are 2!)? What are your interests? Gardens, mountains, museums, walking, shopping, architecture? We have tremendous diversity in SoCal, so let me you know what you want, and I will do my best to help out. Also, in terms of food, what types do you like? There are some amazing seafood places! And lots of good ethnic food as well.

So, let me know what you want and I will do my best to lead you in the right direction! Where are you staying?!?! That will also be important information for me!

Stacy

[biogeek]

Re: Going to LA in August. Help me plan please!

Good advice regarding Six Flags, dotsamantha! We'll bring our water b/c in St. Louis, they charged $3.25 for a 20 oz bottle of water!

Stacy!! I'm glad to learn that you're a "local" to the area!! We do plan on seeing the main Getty museum, either on Tuesday or Thursday. The Villa was the only one that HAD to be on Wed. All the tickets are sold out so we are actually going on a day that's normally closed except to university/educational tours.

As far as interests are concerned, we love museums, zoos, gardens, and unique places. In regards to food, we''ll try anything once but would like to stay on the Atkins plan. If you've been to a particular restaurant or have heard reviews on it, let us know. We don't plan on visiting any restaurant chains as we have them here in Kansas. We'd love to try some local flavors.

As far as hotels....I believe we're staying at the Hilton Garden Inn when we're in the Six Flags area (2 nights) and our splurge for one night is the Malibu Inn, which is right on the beach. The hotels for the other nights haven't been booked yet since we weren't certain what we were going to do & where.

We had thought about driving to the San Diego zoo, but wasn't certain how far it was from LA or how crowded & hectic that drive would be for a day trip.

Thanks for your input!!

[staziaw]

Re: Going to LA in August. Help me plan please!

Hey BioGeek! Well, here is my list of favorite places . . .

The Huntington Library in San Marino. Gorgeous gardens!
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (in LA on Wilshire and Fairfax)
The LA Zoo - actually very nice (the San Diego Zoo is better, but that is a long trip!)
The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach is quite cool.
If you like modern art, there is the Museum of Contemporary Art in downtown LA.
For shopping, hit Melrose Avenue in LA for for the fun and funky, and Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills just for the chi-chi factor! Also, Robertson Boulevard in Beverly Hills is another interesting shopping/walking area.
You can drive through Bel Air and Holmby Hills (north of Beverly Hills) and look at all the big houses.
You can take Mulholland Drive from the 405 to Hollywood (nice drive - good views if it's clear!).
Rent bikes and go from Santa Monica down to the beach cities (Manhattan, Redondo and Hermosa Beaches).
Of course, in Santa Monica, there is the 3rd Street Promenade, but it is pretty boring in my opinion!
Pasadena is known for its Craftsman architecture, if you're interested in that.

For food, hmmmm, my favorite topic!
In Malibu, go to Moonshadows on Pacific Coast Highway (this will be between the Malibu Inn and Santa Monica). They have wonderful seafood! If they are serving a fish called escolar, get it! Yummy buttery fish. They also serve other fish and beef dishes and have a good caesar salad! Everyone in Malibu sends tourists to Duke's, but I think Moonshadows is better, cozier and has better views.
There are ethnic restaurants everywhere and it is fairly easy to get decent food.
Since this is LA, no one bats an eyelash at "interesting" food ordering.
Definitely hit In-N-Out Burgers at some point. Get a Double Double or a 3x3 or 4x4 "animal style" or "all protein." Really good burgers!

How about a drive up the Malibu coast to Santa Barbara? There is a restaurant on the pier in Santa Barbara that is fun! Also, State Street in SB is a nice place to walk and window shop. I personally would go to SB over San Diego. The drive is nicer! SB also has a lovely zoo! Small and easy to deal with.

Please let me know if you have any questions or need any directions or information. I've lived here for 20 years and have my finger on the pulse!!

Stacy

[biogeek]

Re: Going to LA in August. Help me plan please!

WOW Stacy!!! You are a WEALTH of info!!!!!!

I've copied & pasted your post so that I can show my husband. I will definately add Moonshadows as a place to dine unless we can't get in b/c it's booked. The In-and-out burgers sounds interesting! "Animal style" -- I'm curious now....hope it doesn't mean raw!!

Santa Barbara sounds lovely....is there a place that you would recommend that we stay or another?

Thanks so much!!!!!

[staziaw]

Re: Going to LA in August. Help me plan please!

Check out www.moonshadowsmalibu.com! You can make reservations online! Try to get a window table.

Animal style is no bun! Funny, huh?

Hmm, hotels in SB? I usually just drive up for the day. The only places I know of up there are fancy-pantsy places that my boss stays, because he has more money than Trump!!

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or need any more information!

Stacy

[hey_nelson]

Re: Going to LA in August. Help me plan please!

Hi Biogeek, glad to hear you are coming to Cali LA for a visit. August will be warm so shorts, T's will be fine for some places and then light casual wear for others. Unless you are going to the Theater etc... Have you thought of Theater???

As for many of the places Staziaw mentioned, I'm sad to say I don't get out much and have only been to the Ghetty once and not even through all the buildings of art. I only go to 2 buildings in 4 hrs. Hows that??? I fail, I know.

When you come here enjoy, and get used to traffic, we have it everywhere. Magic Mountain 6 Flags will definately be very hot in Aug. It might be close to 90's to 100's when you are there, unless some Global warming event happens. Bring Water bottles with you as the charge an arm and a leg for beverages.

Just enjoy your time, and as Ahnold says: Welcome to LA ~~~ Now Go Home. (He'll be gone by then and He WONT BE BACK !!)

[staziaw]

Re: Going to LA in August. Help me plan please!

Re Arnold - you got that right, sister!!!!!

Stacy

[biogeek]

Re: Going to LA in August. Help me plan please!

Thanks for the Moonshadow's link, Stacy! It looks wonderful!!! We'll have to make reservations after we figure where we're going to be each day. I'm thinking Wedneday night after visiting the Getty. I saw that they have that fish dish you recommended on the dinner menu....hopefully it's still available in August! I also found the In-N-out burger's website and I think I've seen it featured on Food TV. We're adding it to the list of food places!! I think "animal-style" is the one for us!! I'll heed your warning about not staying the night in Santa Barbara! LA is pricy enough!

So, are there some tourist traps that we should avoid?? Also are there any bus tours that go around town? I know that's touristy, but I like the ones they have in Chicago....you get to see a lot of the landmarks without getting lost and you let someone else do the driving.

hey Nelson--thanks for the heat tip! I'm thankful that most places will be casual. The thought of dressing up on vacation isn't too pleasant unless it's for a special occasion. My clothes end up all wrinkley from the suitcase and who packs an iron? I'm going to test out some "no-wrinkle" slacks so we'll see how they work out. I haven't thought about the theater in LA....I usually think of NYC for that.

Thanks again!!

[staziaw]

Re: Going to LA in August. Help me plan please!

Oh yes, the heat in August. Definitely wear as few clothes as possible at Six Flags, but bring stuff to layer as you get closer to the beach. There can be a 20-25 degree difference from one part of LA to another!

For bus tours, Hollywood Boulevard is the place to be. There are tons of them. Now, me, because I'm such a weirdo -- I LOVED the Graveline Tour that takes you around to all the cool places where dead celebrities used to live and tells you fun stories about them. There are lots of standard tours, all approximately the same cost.

I'll think of some more things overnight and will post tomorrow!

XO
Stacy

[sillygirl]

Re: Going to LA in August. Help me plan please!

Even doing Hollywood Blvd is a real taste of Hollywood! That would be fun after that bus tour which I hear is fantastic, if you enjoy that type of thing. Great restaurant across the street from Paramount Studios called Lucy's El Adobe. Or, Venice Beach you can rent skates or bikes and do the bile path and watch all the freaks and hipsters!

[hey_nelson]

Re: Going to LA in August. Help me plan please!

Theater in La is great. I'm gong to see Les Miserables on June 14 with many firends. Check out the Dorothy Chandler Theater or type in L A Theater in the search engine and see whatcha get.

[biogeek]

Re: Going to LA in August. Help me plan please!

Alrighty!!! I'm leaving work at 1 today, so I'll have some time to check out the websites to the various tours you gals have listed for me. This is fantastic!!

I didn't realize that there would be such a temperature difference....layers noted.

Lucy's El Adobe is now on the list. We are more apt to visit a restaurant that's been recommended by real folks as opposed to those food critics in the newspaper. Thanks for that recommendation, SG!

Thanks so much for all the tips and recommendations!! We are excited to get away from the midwest for awhile!

[hey_nelson]

Re: Going to LA in August. Help me plan please!

Hey BioGeek, How bout with you coming here, I trade ya, and I go there. I never get out of this place. I don't have to visit Dinseyland, I live there....

patty