Things to do in SoCal?

[Signature]

So I'm travelling to SoCal this summer but I haven't really found enough things to cover all days. Do you guys have any recommendations? (Paging nubbinator :3)

[tp4tissue]

So I'm travelling to SoCal this summer but I haven't really found enough things to cover all days. Do you guys have any recommendations? (Paging nubbinator :3)

become a pot dealer.. !!

//dont' get shot.

[nubbinator]

Disneyland (I think it sucks, but, whatever).  Lots of awesome breweries.  Beach.  Amoeba records.  Museums.  Wander hip places like downtown Huntington Beach and Main Street Santa Ana.  South Coast Plaza if you're a shopper.  Knott's Berry Farm.  Six Flags.  Seaworld.  Legoland.  More breweries.  Carlsbad Caverns.  More beaches.  Originative.  Bunch of random things.

[Sent]

Nubs covered most of it.  Depends on what you're interested in, too.

[Signature]

Disneyland (I think it sucks, but, whatever).  Lots of awesome breweries.  Beach.  Amoeba records.  Museums.  Wander hip places like downtown Huntington Beach and Main Street Santa Ana.  South Coast Plaza if you're a shopper.  Knott's Berry Farm.  Six Flags.  Seaworld.  Legoland.  More breweries.  Carlsbad Caverns.  More beaches.  Originative.  Bunch of random things.

Thanks lots! Would you say Disneyland is better than magic mountain? Been to MM before, but it was really good... What is your favorite beach in the area?

[nugglets]

Disneyland (I think it sucks, but, whatever).  Lots of awesome breweries.  Beach.  Amoeba records.  Museums.  Wander hip places like downtown Huntington Beach and Main Street Santa Ana.  South Coast Plaza if you're a shopper.  Knott's Berry Farm.  Six Flags.  Seaworld.  Legoland.  More breweries.  Carlsbad Caverns.  More beaches.  Originative.  Bunch of random things.

Thanks lots! Would you say Disneyland is better than magic mountain? Been to MM before, but it was really good... What is your favorite beach in the area?

This is pretty subjective... Do you have small children or a strong desire to experience "Disney" related things? If yes, then maybe Disneyland is better for you.

Do you like roller coasters? Then absolutely, 100%, hands down and without question, Magic Mountain is better.

As for beaches, kind of depends on what experience you're after. If you want the touristy, take a bunch of pictures in front of huge crowds and see what people see on TV when they show CA beaches then Santa Monica / Venice are where you will get that. Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach and Newport Beach offer the same, but a bit smaller and fewer homeless people.

If you want a beach where you can just relax quietly and enjoy yourself, Strands in Dana Point is my favorite. Mostly will only find chill locals and surfers there. Honorable mentions for some of the southern parts of Laguna Beach, Sunset Beach and El Moro.

Just my opinions =)

One thing I tend to suggest people look into while they're here are any bands they might not normally get a chance to see. Depending on where you're from, sometimes bands don't tour nearby. So being in SoCal can be a great opportunity to check out a couple of concerts. The timing may not work out, but worth looking in to IMO. =)

[tp4tissue]

The beach is fine..

But def don't go to a theme park unless there's some pretty girl dragging you there, of whom you are banking on getting lucky with should you stick out the crappy day of waiting in line..

Theme parks are so god damn, Tp4 h8 theme parks..   even with the damn speed pass, it's just not good.

[Sniping]

dude go mountain biking

[sth]

 for ****s sake do NOT go to sea world

[reaper]

Go see demik irl.

[romevi]

Go see demik irl.

**** that bisch.

[consolelog]

Disneyland (I think it sucks, but, whatever).  Lots of awesome breweries.  Beach.  Amoeba records.  Museums.  Wander hip places like downtown Huntington Beach and Main Street Santa Ana.  South Coast Plaza if you're a shopper.  Knott's Berry Farm.  Six Flags.  Seaworld.  Legoland.  More breweries.  Carlsbad Caverns.  More beaches.  Originative.  Bunch of random things.

Uhm carlsbad caverns isnt in california...its in new mexico

[tp4tissue]

for ****s sake do NOT go to sea world

what's wrong with sea world ?

[digi]

for ****s sake do NOT go to sea world

what's wrong with sea world ?

FREE SNOW FLAKE!

[Spopepro]

It's worth considering where you will be, and how much sitting in a car you're willing to do. "LA" takes 2 hours to traverse with no traffic and there's always traffic. I agree with the people above that the best part of socal is getting out of the valley and doing outdoor stuff at the beach, in the mountains... but that kind of depends on what you're into. Drink beer and listen to music in the evenings.

[aptivaboy]

I've lived in the OC pretty much my whole life. What are you interested in? Maybe I can steer you in a certain direction.

Bob

[atarione]

this is pretty nice if you are going to be in LA area

http://suihoen.thejapanesegarden.com/new/

also served as a location for one of the very stupidest episodes of Star Trek the Next Generation


 

[atarione]

If you go to San Diego.. there is a fair bit of stuff to check out also

I like this place quite a lot:
San Elijo Lagoon (my wife and I got married here .. reserved the upper floor of the visitor center)
https://www.sanelijo.org/home

also Torry Pines State Natural Reserve
https://torreypine.org/

also check out Coronado

and Swammis in Encinitas

[rsadek]

Here are a few tips in LA:


There is a wonderful bike path from Redondo Beach to Santa Monica which is fun and beautiful. I recommend going for a ride there. Local places will rent you a bike for a few hours if you don't have one with you. 


You might also visit Sushi Katsu-ya in Studio City, order from the "specials" menu, not normal nigiri. Katsu-ya is famous for its California-style sushi (I think they invented the California roll way back when).


Visit Venice Beach, lunch at Abbott Kinney Pizza. I highly highly recommend a slice of the bizarre-sounding yet delicious Salad Pizza. Then Intelligentsia Coffee is half a block away. Their coffee is amazing.


Enjoy SoCal! I miss it!
-R

[Badwrench]

Here are a few tips in LA:


There is a wonderful bike path from Redondo Beach to Santa Monica which is fun and beautiful. I recommend going for a ride there. Local places will rent you a bike for a few hours if you don't have one with you. 


You might also visit Sushi Katsu-ya in Studio City, order from the "specials" menu, not normal nigiri. Katsu-ya is famous for its California-style sushi (I think they invented the California roll way back when).


Visit Venice Beach, lunch at Abbott Kinney Pizza. I highly highly recommend a slice of the bizarre-sounding yet delicious Salad Pizza. Then Intelligentsia Coffee is half a block away. Their coffee is amazing.


Enjoy SoCal! I miss it!
-R

Totally agree with this stuff.  The bike path in particular is awesome, if not just for the people watching.  If you decide to do this:  early morning (around 9ish) for a beautiful empty beach and glassy water, or 4ish in the afternoon for large crowds and tons of people to see. 


If you make it further south (san diego), I highly recommend a stand up paddle board rental in Encinitas for a nice paddle in the morning when the water is glassy and there is no wind.  Also tons of good food and beer down here as well if you are of drinking age.   

[jonathanyu]

Street racing

[tp4tissue]

Street racing

I can't race my van..

But I haz played Need For Speed : Most Wanted.

Tp4 xpert @ that game.

[Leslieann]

You can do almost anything in So. Cal. so you need to be precise about what you want to do.


However, a serious warning...
The thing you will be doing most is driving. Blah, Blah, Blah the traffic.  NO! Seriously, listen up.

Do not underestimate the traffic, there. Driving in traffic is LIFE in So. Cal. Whatever you expect, double it, then double it again, you still don't get it. Do not expect to go from one major attraction to another after staying late into the night. For example, do not go to Magic Mountain or Disneyland, and expect to go back to a hotel, shower, sleep, and then wake up early and go to the another theme park because it won't happen.  My advice, plan out your trip, and post it here, people can give you an idea of the trouble spots on your travel routes and times. You think I'm joking, but seriously, unless you live there, you can't understand the traffic. You THINK you get it, but really, no matter how prepared you think you are, you're not until you actually experience it, it's mind warping if you end up on the wrong freeway at the wrong time.

A 20 mile drive, depending on the time of day and even the time of year, can take 20 minutes or 3 hours, and this is with no accidents. And then there are highways where if you are only doing 80mph, you better be in the slow lane (far right).

OH...
And if you are not used to aggressive driving, rent a big SUV, not a commuter car. So. Cal. drivers are driving bullies and will literally try and run you over if you get in their way (STAY OUT OF THE WAY!). The bigger or more expensive the car, the bigger bully they can/will be, that big Mercedes is less likely to cut you off if you are in a big SUV, but isn't going to think twice about doing it to that tiny Kia and if you are not used to this sort of thing it will probably scare the hell out of you.

[tp4tissue]

You can do almost anything in So. Cal. so you need to be precise about what you want to do.


However, a serious warning...
The thing you will be doing most is driving. Blah, Blah, Blah the traffic.  NO! Seriously, listen up.

Do not underestimate the traffic, there. Driving in traffic is LIFE in So. Cal. Whatever you expect, double it, then double it again, you still don't get it. Do not expect to go from one major attraction to another after staying late into the night. For example, do not go to Magic Mountain or Disneyland, and expect to go back to a hotel, shower, sleep, and then wake up early and go to the another theme park because it won't happen.  My advice, plan out your trip, and post it here, people can give you an idea of the trouble spots on your travel routes and times. You think I'm joking, but seriously, unless you live there, you can't understand the traffic. You THINK you get it, but really, no matter how prepared you think you are, you're not until you actually experience it, it's mind warping if you end up on the wrong freeway at the wrong time.

A 20 mile drive, depending on the time of day and even the time of year, can take 20 minutes or 3 hours, and this is with no accidents. And then there are highways where if you are only doing 80mph, you better be in the slow lane (far right).

OH...
And if you are not used to aggressive driving, rent a big SUV, not a commuter car. So. Cal. drivers are driving bullies and will literally try and run you over if you get in their way (STAY OUT OF THE WAY!). The bigger or more expensive the car, the bigger bully they can/will be, that big Mercedes is less likely to cut you off if you are in a big SUV, but isn't going to think twice about doing it to that tiny Kia and if you are not used to this sort of thing it will probably scare the hell out of you.

Canada drivers are even more aggressive imho..

[meiosis]

You can do almost anything in So. Cal. so you need to be precise about what you want to do.


However, a serious warning...
The thing you will be doing most is driving. Blah, Blah, Blah the traffic.  NO! Seriously, listen up.

Do not underestimate the traffic, there. Driving in traffic is LIFE in So. Cal. Whatever you expect, double it, then double it again, you still don't get it. Do not expect to go from one major attraction to another after staying late into the night. For example, do not go to Magic Mountain or Disneyland, and expect to go back to a hotel, shower, sleep, and then wake up early and go to the another theme park because it won't happen.  My advice, plan out your trip, and post it here, people can give you an idea of the trouble spots on your travel routes and times. You think I'm joking, but seriously, unless you live there, you can't understand the traffic. You THINK you get it, but really, no matter how prepared you think you are, you're not until you actually experience it, it's mind warping if you end up on the wrong freeway at the wrong time.

A 20 mile drive, depending on the time of day and even the time of year, can take 20 minutes or 3 hours, and this is with no accidents. And then there are highways where if you are only doing 80mph, you better be in the slow lane (far right).

OH...
And if you are not used to aggressive driving, rent a big SUV, not a commuter car. So. Cal. drivers are driving bullies and will literally try and run you over if you get in their way (STAY OUT OF THE WAY!). The bigger or more expensive the car, the bigger bully they can/will be, that big Mercedes is less likely to cut you off if you are in a big SUV, but isn't going to think twice about doing it to that tiny Kia and if you are not used to this sort of thing it will probably scare the hell out of you.

Canada drivers are even more aggressive imho..

r u implying you haven't been givin us your honest opinion bb

[nugglets]

You can do almost anything in So. Cal. so you need to be precise about what you want to do.


However, a serious warning...
The thing you will be doing most is driving. Blah, Blah, Blah the traffic.  NO! Seriously, listen up.

Do not underestimate the traffic, there. Driving in traffic is LIFE in So. Cal. Whatever you expect, double it, then double it again, you still don't get it. Do not expect to go from one major attraction to another after staying late into the night. For example, do not go to Magic Mountain or Disneyland, and expect to go back to a hotel, shower, sleep, and then wake up early and go to the another theme park because it won't happen.  My advice, plan out your trip, and post it here, people can give you an idea of the trouble spots on your travel routes and times. You think I'm joking, but seriously, unless you live there, you can't understand the traffic. You THINK you get it, but really, no matter how prepared you think you are, you're not until you actually experience it, it's mind warping if you end up on the wrong freeway at the wrong time.

A 20 mile drive, depending on the time of day and even the time of year, can take 20 minutes or 3 hours, and this is with no accidents. And then there are highways where if you are only doing 80mph, you better be in the slow lane (far right).

OH...
And if you are not used to aggressive driving, rent a big SUV, not a commuter car. So. Cal. drivers are driving bullies and will literally try and run you over if you get in their way (STAY OUT OF THE WAY!). The bigger or more expensive the car, the bigger bully they can/will be, that big Mercedes is less likely to cut you off if you are in a big SUV, but isn't going to think twice about doing it to that tiny Kia and if you are not used to this sort of thing it will probably scare the hell out of you.

Canada drivers are even more aggressive imho..

tp4 only leaves his house for work and chicken, and yet I'm supposed to believe he is an authority on aggressive drivers? :dogethink:

[digi]

NOR CAL > SO WEAK CAL

[nugglets]

NOR CAL > SO WEAK CAL

This is one of those rivalries that only exists if you're from NorCal.

Meanwhile, we're down here in the sun forgetting NorCal even exists. 

Just keep sending us water and no one gets hurt. 

[digi]

NOR CAL > SO WEAK CAL

This is one of those rivalries that only exists if you're from NorCal.

Meanwhile, we're down here in the sun forgetting NorCal even exists. 

Just keep sending us water and no one gets hurt. 

DOH! Good one!

Hey how those L.A. Rams doing?

Raiders about to pickup Marshawn and win the SB! <3

[nugglets]

NOR CAL > SO WEAK CAL

This is one of those rivalries that only exists if you're from NorCal.

Meanwhile, we're down here in the sun forgetting NorCal even exists. 

Just keep sending us water and no one gets hurt. 

DOH! Good one!

Hey how those L.A. Rams doing?

Raiders about to pickup Marshawn and win the SB! <3

Hmm, Raiders... Raiders... That team who last won a Superbowl in Los Angeles, right? 

Bringing the Rams back to LA was probably the worst sports decision ever made. No one wanted them except the city/county officials who wanted the stadium built.

[digi]

[Signature]

Thanks all for the wonderful tips. I think we are staying in San Diego for 5 days, and then travelling to Las Vegas and Salt Lake City and then back to LA and we are staying there for another 5 days. The Sushi is def something I'm gonna check out, and I haven't really planned to go biking but since so many of you recommended it I'm going to give it a shot! Have any of you been to any nice national parks? We went to Yosemite last time and it was really nice, just a bit similar to Sweden  We are currently looking at Zion national park, which looks cool aswell as Bryce. Have any of you tried the Eggslut in LA? Looking for a couple of nice restaurants 

[Spopepro]

Zion is awesome and worth stopping by if you're going that far. If it's the right time of year (I.e. Not 50 degrees out) Death Valley and Joshua tree are roughly between vegas and LA and are really cool (I think). There are bike rentals around (but I don't have any experience with those down south) but I think most of the fun dirt is around big bear lake.

You'll want to seek out some proper Mexican food, but I'll defer to those living down there currently to spill the details on that.

[iri]

We went to Yosemite last time and it was really nice, just a bit similar to Sweden 

Then you need to hike in a desert

[Leslieann]

Canada drivers are even more aggressive imho..

There are places with more aggressive drivers (try Vegas cabbies!, but not in the bulk, in this amount of traffic, over such a large area.

[tp4tissue]

Canada drivers are even more aggressive imho..

There are places with more aggressive drivers (try Vegas cabbies!, but not in the bulk, in this amount of traffic, over such a large area.

cabbies in general are aggressive no?

They all drive like formula 1 drivers running up that fare..

Crazy taxi, 4 realz

[Leslieann]

cabbies in general are aggressive no?

They all drive like formula 1 drivers running up that fare..

Crazy taxi, 4 realz

You haven't seen cabbies in the midwest... Most seem to drive like grannies. They are often one of the slowest drivers on the highway.

[aptivaboy]

For San Diego, don't forget Balboa Park - tons of super museums and it's literally just down the road from the zoo. You can do both the same day. Definitely check ahead for tickets if they're having special exhibits. I've seen the Dead Sea Scrolls there, among other things. The air museum there has some superb exhibits, including some Apollo equipment like the Apollo 9 CSM.

Consider doing a Temecula winery run. Just north and inland is Temecula, home of the best SoCal wine country. There are some so so wineries there, but also some outstanding ones. The food is AWESOME. Check around for which types of wines you like and then hit those. I like reds, so Bel Vino and a few others.   

This is one of those rivalries that only exists if you're from NorCal.
Meanwhile, we're down here in the sun forgetting NorCal even exists. 
Just keep sending us water and no one gets hurt.

This is so true, I'm laughing so hard! We really don't care what NorCal does. Does it even exist? Just another wasteland overrun with Berzerkely anarchist stoner hippies.
 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

Back on track, do check the traffic reports on the radio when driving. The roads can get clogged very quickly. Oh, and in San Diego consider the Gas Lamp quarter for some good food as well as Old Towne San Diego - some great food there! 

Have a super trip!

Bob

[Spopepro]

This is one of those rivalries that only exists if you're from NorCal.
Meanwhile, we're down here in the sun forgetting NorCal even exists. 
Just keep sending us water and no one gets hurt.

This is so true, I'm laughing so hard! We really don't care what NorCal does. Does it even exist? Just another wasteland overrun with Berzerkely anarchist stoner hippies.
 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

I don't care, and I don't care so much I need to tell you how much I don't care! And here's a few insults because I need to stress how much I don't care!

The posters doth protest too much, methinks.