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October 2011 Moms
hopefulinCO
member
SoCal Ladies...please come in..
hopefulinCO
member
My husband and I are taking a road trip from Colorado to Southern CA at the end of July. I am trying to get some opinions on good beaches/attractions in the area. We plan on hitting Laguna Beach and also LA for a day or so.
Any other things we should see? Beaches that are worth it?
TIA!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: SoCal Ladies...please come in..
You definitely have to go to Venice Beach and walk the boardwalk. Tons and I mean tons of shops, there's also Muscle Beach which is a bunch of half-naked men flexing their muscles
. I don't know about actually going in the water at Venice or Santa Monica beach, though. I personally don't go in the ocean because I think it's disgusting, but I still like the beach for hanging out.
Santa Monica Pier is fun too, especially at night. It's kind of like a carnival. To me, Main St in Huntington Beach is small and the shops are very expensive (kind of high-end boutique), but the beach is itself is nice.
You can also go to the 3rd St Promenade in Santa Monica which is just a couple blocks from the beach. Tons and tons of shopping there.
Have fun!!!
BFP #1 3/13/13, MMC 4/17/13, D&C 4/19/13
BFP #2 8/7/13, Beta at 4w6d = 3,796
How long of a drive is San Diego from LA?
How long of a drive from LA to Malibu?
On your way to Laguna Beach (assuming you will be taking Pacific Coast Highway (PCH)), you can stop by Fashion Island in Newport Beach. Its a beautiful outdoor place to shop.
Mellymel mentioned the OC county fair, that's a pretty fun place to go too. While you're there, might as well go shopping at South Coast Plaza which is one exit down the freeway.
If you want to do a L.A./Hollywood/Santa Monica shopping thing The Grove, Melrose Ave. and Santa Monica Place are some recommendations.
Sorry, as you can see my hobby is shopping.
BFP Chart
OCT 2011 Moms BlogWithout traffic, about 20 or 25 minutes up Pacific Coast Highway to Cross Creek Road (kinda the main restaurant and shopping area).
Awesome! Thanks! I'm a total celeb follower, so it would be awesome to spot someone!!
Should be 2 hours. However, we have yet to drive without traffic, regardless of time (was backed up at 10pm Sat night!) so usually takes over 3.
I live in San Diego and of course all our visitors want to go to LA. Every single person we've taken there was disappointed and loved San Diego so much more, just something to keep in mind!
There is so much more to do in San Diego than in LA so I totally agree. Besides the beaches (La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Mission Bay), you can also do the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Wild Animal Park, and/or Seaworld! There are also awesome sights and restaurants in San Diego like the San Diego Harbor, dinner cruises, USS Midway museum, etc. Fashion Valley Mall in La Jolla is great shopping though!
Good luck and have fun! I love road trips too!
Malibu is great, although depending on the time, PCH is a little rough. The Getty is a beautiful place to visit. Neptune's Nest is a place that has some nice seafood that most people stop and eat at.
Venice is great for sight seeing. Depending on when you're around, First Friday's (first Friday of the month) are when tons of food trucks get together along Abbot Kinney in Venice.
Santa Monica is nice because of the pier. There are some nice shops/restaurants on 3rd street that you can walk through.
More inland, you have downtown LA. There are some great restaurants, but tons of one-way streets and parking is difficult. There are some nice museums, LACMA and MOCA. LA Live by Staples have great restaurants.
The Grove is an outdoor mall, with a farmers market. Celebrities will frequent there and I think they have performances over the summer.
There is also Redondo, Manhattan, and Long Beach. Those are kind of eh in terms of other things to do.
If you hit Orange County (south of LA), Newport is nice. Southcoast Plaza is a great shopping mall.
San Diego...
La Jolla is beautiful. Downtown La Jolla has a few nice shops, and you can walk down to the beach. Balboa park is a good place to walk around.
I've lived in La Jolla, downtown LA, and now live on the Westside (by the beaches), so those are the places I'm most familiar with. However, there are still tons of other places (ie. Hollywood, the valley, Dana Point, etc) that you can visit as well.
My Life
BFP 7.7.09 - CVS 9.10.09 (Girl) - 9.24.09 Severe Fatal Malformation - D&E 10.7.09 @ 17wks
BFP 6.1.10 - 6.10.10 Ectopic M/C @ 5wks
BFP 10.26.10 - 10.29.10 CP
BFP 1.30.11 - CVS 3.28.11 (Girl) - EDD 10.11.11 - Born 10.6.11
BFP 12.18.12 - 12.20.12 CP
BFP 3.18.13 - CVS 5.21.13 (Girl) - EDD 12.2.13 - Born 11.24.13
BFP 6.10.14 - CVS 7.2.14 (Girl) - EDD 1.12.15 - Born sleeping 8.6.14 @ 17w5d
Near Laguna check out the Beachcomber Cafe in Crystal Cove. It's a really unique place to visit - dining right on the beach.
End of July is also the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach. Huntington will be absolutely MOBBED with people, but if you're into crowds and want to check out some world class surfers you may enjoy making a stop to check it out.
If you decide to head south toward San Diego the races will be going on at Del Mar. It's a lot of fun to check out and Solana Beach is a gorgeous town.
Enjoy your trip!
Around the 23rd-27th, so hopefully we'll miss that!
Sounding more and more like San Diego's the place to go huh? I'm just so clueless!
I live in Orange County but I love San Diego. In my opinion LA is a nightmare and I try to stay away as much as possible. If you do head up to LA, check out The Getty Museum & Griffth Park. Both are beautiful and free. You just have to pay for parking at the Getty. Melrose is also fun to check out.
San Diego, I love taking friends to the Glider Port at Torrey Pines. It is fun to sit and watch. Just make sure it is a windy day. I love La Jolla, The Cottage is a great place for breakfast. Old Town is fun too, with lots of great choices for Mexican food. Del Mar Plaza in Del Mar has a great patio and restuarants. (I like to go out and eat)
Orange County, I love the beach in Corona Del Mar. Laguna is fun but usually crowded. Right now the Sawdust Festival is going on in Laguna and it is always fun to check out. It is all local artist and there is usually live music at night and on weekends. Across the way is the Festival of the Arts that starts in July. There are ton of restaurants to choose from and shopping.
Have fun!
Another vote to avoid LA! I grew up in Santa Barbara (about 2 hours up the coast from LA), but also lived in San Clemente (south Orange County) for a while, and in my opinion San Diego is much prettier and less of a PITA than LA and has way more to offer as a vacation destination!