Want to spend a little time on a beach and hit some good street food, love Korean, Vietnamese Thai, seafood etc.  Maybe a decent B&B for a room very near the ocean which can be a little spendy as a coupon will cover airfare.

Doesn't need to be LA proper, that's just the airport we'll use.  

Any locals have ideas for me?   We are kind of frumpy 50 somethings so not too worried about nightlife.



Update: Found a house to rent on South Outer Balboa Island.  $425 for 3 nights.  Place looks nicely kept, beachfront with an ocean view patio.  

$56 for 2 round trip tickets and $71 for the rental car.  CHEAP!!!  

We'll have a couple beach days and a day to head inland an hour or so if needed to hit some great Asian joints.  Sushi, Viet and maybe Korean BBQ will be targeted.

Then I can not help you.... AND GOOD DAY TO YOU SIR!

Can you make this happen while you are there?

You will need this for your truck or whatever you're driving there...

LOL
GD info is the best info

The LA zoo is one of the best in the country, if not the world.

Venice Beach and Santa Monica, Knotts Berry Farm/Disneyland/Six Flags, botanical gardens, LA Conservatory, the Getty Center, or walking around Rodeo Drive is a good start.

San Diego Zoo/Wild Animal Park is a couple hours South and much better.

Thanks but no zoos or other tourist areas.  Maybe some kind of botanical garden or reserve to hike - wife loves that stuff and the walking keeps me from nodding off.

And could use suggestions for a good beach to target nearby lodging like B&B.

Do you want to stay in the city or would you be willing to drive up the coast?

I presume you are going to fly into LAX and rent a car.  If so you could head up Pacific Coast Highway, stay in Santa Barbara or even further up the coast.

There's a place up near Hearst Castle/San Simeon that I've stayed at with the wife.  Right on the beach.  Tour the castle and the town just to the south has a bunch of neat little family run restaurants.

http://www.cavalierresort.com/

Here's another place near San Luis Obispo.  Haven't stayed there myself but know others that have.

http://www.cliffsresort.com/

According to my grandmother, the San Diego Zoo is world-renowned

I've been to both Zoos.  San Diego is better.

We have a LOT of good museums here:

LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art)
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Galleries
Annenberg Space for Photography
Armand Hammer Museum of Art
Autry National Center
Battleship IOWA
Fort MacArthur Museum
Fowler Museum
Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden
Geffen Contemporary at MOCA
Getty Center (the museum architecture is often more interesting than the art, which is substantial.  The view is amazing, and there is an Italian restaurant on site that is nice for lunch).
Getty Villa (Historically significant.....see how the other half lived)
Grammy Museum
Griffith Observatory (also spectacular views.....where James Dean had the "switchblade" fight in "Rebel Without A Cause"....recently renovated)
Guinness World Record Museum
Hollywood Bowl Museum
Hollywood Heritage Museum
Hollywood Wax Museum
Los Angeles Fire Department Museum and Memorial
Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust
Los Angeles Police Museum (***standing exhibit from the North Hollywood BankofAmerica Robbery)
MOCA at The Pacific Design Center (Museum of Contemporary Art)
Museum of Contemporary Art
Museum of Tolerance
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Page Museum (La Brea Tar Pits)
Petersen Automotive Museum (**one of my favs......COOL cars....)
Warner Brothers Museum


ETA:

For an upscale hotel ON the beach, look into "Shutters"  in Santa Monica....or immediately adjacent is "Casa Del Mar" (very swank).......or to a lesser degree, right up the street is Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel (nice but more pedestrian).

For Thai / Vietnamese, you're going to wanna hit Thai Town on Hollywood Blvd between Western Avenue and Normandie Avenue.
While I typically eat at their other North Hollywood location, I will recommend Sanamluang Cafe for Thai.  For Vietnamese, the wife and I often hit up one of the many Pho 999 (local chain) locations.  Both are inexpensive, VERY fast, and VERY flavorful

Stay away from restaurants that have a "B" or "C" rating in their window......LA City Health Dept. rates them on cleanliness......stick to the "A" 's.

ETA2:  The beaches further North are nicer...try Zuma (North end of Malibu) or anything North of that

La Brea Tar Pits, I think there is a trail up to the "Hollywood" sign, Venice Beach for the freak show -

I've heard this place is nice. You would be in Santa Monica which is not too far from most of LA City.

Eject from the LA area immediately upon landing, and drive up to Santa Barbara.

pj

Visit 3rd street in Santa Monica.  Visit the pier and get some beach in.

I prefer Malibu State beach, much less crowded
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=835

You'll also like Paradise Cove
http://www.paradisecovemalibu.com/

Disneyland & Universal Studios

South Figueroa Street between 4th St and 5th St

^^ that, or down south to Huntington Beach / Newport Beach area! Orange County > LA
I live in OC and worked on an ambulance for 7 months in LA. I'll be sticking to Orange County for now on hahaha

Last time I was there I went to Santa Monica beach and then down Venice Beach.  Venice Beach was full of a bunch of hippies and derelicts.  We stayed in Burbank which wasn't bad.

For walking around botanical gardens, Huntington Gardens (in San Marino in the San Gabriel Valley) is worth a trip (http://www.huntington.org/) and after your visit there you can try Golden Deli (Vietnamese) in San Gabriel which is adjacent to San Marino (http://www.goldendelirestaurant.com/).  It can get hot in the San Gabriel Valley in summertime, just FYI.

For a beach trip, Bolsa Chica which is in North Orange County (http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=642) then after that try Udupi Palace (Indian) in Little India (Artesia), the channa batura and dosas are great (http://www.udupipalace.net/).

Planes of Fame in Chino - Gets you out of LA and it is a kick ass aviation museum.
http://planesoffame.org/index.php?page=admission-hours-and-directions

Drive by the Proud Bird restaurant right by LAX to see all the WWII planes on a stick.
http://www.theproudbird.com/proudbird/default.aspx

There are a few smaller hotels on the beach in Hermosa / Redondo Beach area.. Little spendy, but right on the beach and good night life.. There are cheaper hotels on the beach in Huntington / Bulsa area but in the summer time, fuck that.. People and parking nightmare..

Battleship IOWA in San Pedro and the aquarium in Long Beach are good.

Good food anywhere you go really.. That is not a problem.

Not sure exactly how much you want to spend but if you has $$ check out Terrana in Palos Verdes.. Old Marine Land site and one hell of a place..

I've are moving out Aug 18.. If you are here before that, hit me up.. I'm in Redondo a block from the water.

ETA - Fort McAurthur museum is neat.. Old 16" shore gun bunkers and such.. Worth a stop.. Only a me or so from the USS IOWA..

Lol.. Was there last night..

You must blend in with the homies..

Roscoe's chicken and waffles.



You're welcome.

We are flying in Friday Sept 5 arriving 8am and heading back out Sunday at 3:30pm.

I think I'll pick the beach then pick a good B&B close by and try to minimize driving for the trip save for same good eats.

Great suggestions here.   Gracias!

The Huntington Library for Botanical Gardens and art

Catalina Island (Take the ferry over there… you may see flying fish or dolphins/whales… Maybe stay at the Canyon Resort?)

Will Rogers Park - nice hiking, fun drive to get there (Sunset Blvd), interesting small Will Rogers museum, and keep going west afterwards to hit the Ocean. Then go north to Malibu.

Will check it out but we (my Wife) would tend more toward an older, nicely kept B&B serving breakfast on premises.  If there's some old knick knacks for my wife to peruse and "ooh myyyyy!" conversation to be had with the Proprietor about the delicious scones so much the better.  

$250/night is prolly the limit.  $150 much preferred but we don't travel together often so whatevs.

For what??

Jelly

OP you need to go hiking!!

Mt San Antonio

Mt. Wilson

IM me if your willing to drive to the Inland Empire, ill give you some good spots to go hiking

Remember to pepper your angus.

One day should be a train day.

Go to Catalina... do some snorkeling.... http://www.catalinaexpress.com/

What you are looking for is Northern California Carmel or Mendocino not LA.

Great suggestion, but Wife has spent several weeks there with Girl Scout troups.   (yes, I too think the GSA is a lesbian training ground run by leftist commie sympathizers,)

Want to buy a townhouse?

What you are looking for OP does exist in LA county, but you will find much more of what you are looking for either north near Santa Barbra and beyond or south in Orange County and in the Del Mar areas..

All ask my parents, they may be able to help some..

http://www.huntington.org/
 







































 


 

Day 1. Drive to San Diego.

Stay there until you leave.

Sometimes Hertz has specials.

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Tomb in Simi Valley is not that far away.  One of the Stone copies of the Declaration of Independence is on display, as is a previous iteration of Air Force One.

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And Spahn Ranch is a State Park in Simi Valley you can hike in.  Anniversary is coming up August 9  


And Corriganville Regional Park is a county park, set for Fort Apache

Four days?

Watch 'Escape From L.A.' and reenact it?  Don't forget the surfboard.

Already got one.....and one HOA is enough.

Although, my wife is actually looking for an investment property.  IM me if serious and I'll run it by her.

Update in OP.  Should be a decent getaway weekend.

You will love it..

I didn't consider Balboa as it is usually much more spendy.. Good work at finding that deal..

Great little island to chill and do noting but read, eat and walk around.. Take the ferry across the channel and walk around Newport..

I didn't know about Airbnb.com but my wife did.  House is owned by a couple that live in TX half the year and other half the year on Balboa Island.  When they aren't there airbnb.com is used to rent the place out.   Same for their TX place I'd assume.  

Pretty excited for the trip now.