What to do in California?

[Jason]

I live in one of those "worthless fly-over states" and I'm going to the LA area next month. Being from where I am, I'm asking what is there to do in Cali?

Jason

[Cant_hit_apex]

If natural history interests you at all, a trip to the La Brea Tar Pits http://www.tarpits.org/ might be worth it. Fascinating place.

[comfortably numb]

Peterson Automotive Museum.

[Jason]

how cold is it usually in the middle of Jan? I do want to go to the parks, but a few people I have talked to said not to bother this time of year.

Jason

[comfortably numb]

Depends how far you are from the coast and how far from L.A. you want to travel.
If you want to drive a trip to Joshua Tree national Monument or the palm Springs Aerial Tramway.
Bundle up and take walks on the miles of beaches.
Take the boat to Catalina Island and explore the town.

[comfortably numb]

If you have a mountain of cash there is Disneyland, Knotts and Universal Studios.
They will not be as crowded mid-week.

[Jason]

That's part of the problem is I don't have much money. this is a family trip so we have to do what we all can do. Joshua tree park is on the list, but not sure how much we can do. That island is on the list too. But again, not sure how much we can do.

Jason

[Jason]

Cali

is there any good deep sea fishing out there? I saw a ton while visiting florida last year. No, I didn't go. I wanted to.

Jason

[comfortably numb]

Many places to go out---day trips and overnights.

[Frank Capua]

At Joshua Tree don't forget to visit the Gram Parsons Partial Cremation Memorial.

[crispy]

That's part of the problem is I don't have much money. this is a family trip so we have to do what we all can do. Joshua tree park is on the list, but not sure how much we can do. That island is on the list too. But again, not sure how much we can do.

Jason

is there any good deep sea fishing out there? I saw a ton while visiting florida last year. No, I didn't go. I wanted to.

Jason

???

If you don't have much money, a deep sea fishing trip is the last thing you can afford. I keep meaning to do a private chartered boat myself and was finally going to do it when we went to Destin FL last fall.

Oops, so much for that. Thanks BP...

[Niseguy]

You could go to Perris, you need to check and see if Disneyland etc is open mid week. They have not been open 7 days a week all year long and if open they close early.

You should do the sunset blvd/Hollywood and vine thing if for no other reason than to say you did. Sort of underwhelming IMO. Do the Santa monica beach to Malibu drive. Go to Peperdine University for a great sea view.

Catilina Island cruise to Avalon is nice, but beware of cold conditions, 50's with an added windchill. Weather can range from mid 70's to near freezing depending on how far inland you go.

They have had a very cold wet season to date.

[Media Boy]

Just make sure you get to an In 'N Out Burger at least once. That won't set you back anything at all. I also recommend eating fish tacos at least once on the trip. Find a Rubios. Sure, these are both the equivalent of fast food stops, but they're REALLY GOOD and they are stops you cannot make at home--and they fit anyone's budget.

I like Huntington Beach, too. Plenty of great beaches to visit anytime.

If you can make it down to San Diego, GO! It's one of my favorite places. You can even hop on a train and go to Tijuana and take in a show...(well, don't take in any shows). Have fun. Take it from a cheapskate like me who travels from time to time on business--there's plenty to do that has local flavor that will not cost you an arm and a leg.

[Jason]

each one of us is supposed to make up a list of what we want to do. So far all the others have the city tours, movie studio tours and other movie related things. I think it's funny cause I wouldn't recognize any movie stars unless it was Sam Elliot. So I'm really not too interested in all of that stuff. The tar pits sounded interesting, if there isn't too much walking. I've heard a lot of horror stories about the traffic out there too. Is it really as bad as I hear?

Jason

[Media Boy]

Yes. It's REALLY bad if you get stuck in it--just like any other big, big, big metropolitan area in the country.