Pooka Does LA

[PopCulturePooka]

At 1:30pm Jan 3 2008, I will have checked into a hotel in Anaheim, California for a 5 night vacation, before flying to Mexico for a 10 day tour.

Rather joytastic if I must say so.

On Jan 6 I am going to Knotts Berry Farm with a friend and I leave LA on the 9th.

That gives me the 4th, 5th, 7th and 8th to explore LA and the surrounding areas.

I won't be driving, so its feet, buses and trains.

And so gentle readers I ask of you, what are some recommendations from LA and Socal natives and visitors. What are good places to go, to hang out at, to shop, to visit... TO EXPERIENCE!


I'm defiantely thinking a day on Venice is a must. Probably downtown LA as well. But I'm open to any and all suggestions

(and possibly offers to hang out, PM me).

[TommyA]

Go to Balboa Peninsula, Disneyland and especially California Adventure ABOVE Knott's (that place has been ghetto for YEARS), go to Pink's in Hollywood (CLASSIC), go to South Coast Plaza, Irvine Spectrum (at night), eat at Fat Burger, In-N-Out, get some good Mexican food too, go to Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Long Beach pier area, Seal Beach, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica Pier...

I could go on if you want more!

[Life25Karma]

Have fun - If I hear of any spots to check out I'll let you know.
Heh, I'm moving there in August 08'.

[stsparky]

I can meet people at Disneyland. Or at Newport Beach's Crab Cooker. And the Santa Monica Pier is a short walk from here.

[Plekto]

Okay - I'm assuming you'll have a car. Check.

IMO, the tourist trap places stink in the winter, doubly so being alone. That said, there are a lot of things to do in Los Angles. One of the more fun, for instance, is to get tickets to one of the movie studio tours(free but usually need to reserve a few days or weeks in advance). There's also tons of great food, of course. The beach is overrated, though.

We kind of need to know what your preferences are.

[Urameshi YuSooKey]

I won't be driving, so its feet, buses and trains.

No car for Pooka. What would be a central location for your stay? If you aren't driving anywhere, that is essential.

[xtine]

If you even remotely like art/architecture/culture-y stuff, a visit to the Getty Center (http://www.getty.edu/), is a must. Pretty close to Santa Monica/Venice area.

There's also the Metro Art Museum and Japanese American Museum near Little Tokyo, Museum of Tolerance, Natural History Museum, if you like that stuff. Of course, if you haven't been, Disneyland, Hollywood, etc. are also interesting the first time around.

[Masa the Masta]

I'll actually be in the greater L.A area Jan 4-6th. So will Your_Mom, I think.

But it's for reasons that Pooka would completely disagree with, but whatever floats everyone's boats.

Hope you enjoy your stay, Pooka.

[PopCulturePooka]

Is it Anime related?

[ellie]

How touristy are you wanting to be?

I go to school in NC but I live in LA during the summers, for the most part.

I'll let you know--the Metro is SUPER easy. You can get wherever you want on it. It can take a while, but it's easy and cheap. If you want SUPER touristy, I LOVE Hollywood Boulevard. You can see all the Stars with celebrity names, you can go to Mann's Chinese Theater, you can see the Hollywood sign. And you can pay like $30 to go on a chartered, limo tour around the area and see some fancy-pants celebrity houses. I think it's fun. Hollywood Blvd also has other touristy things like the Guinesses Book of World Records Museum, a Wax Museum, like a million tattoo and piercing places, and also, IO West. IO West is an improv theater that is totally cool--some of the actors are AMAZING. .. some of them less so, but you'll definitely see some good comedy shiz.

Hmm...I've been in the audience for Wheel of Fortune and stuff like that, which is actually strangely fun. Go to the websites for TV shows like that and you can get free tickets.

I know a TON of people out there and could get you into most big theater lots: I've been on the sets of most of the major TV shows that are filming currently, like Grey's Anatamony etc. I'm thinking that it would be harder for me to get you onto the actual sets since I don't really know you, but I could give you driving directions to some cool places.

Lets see.

Um okay. I have the address of the Playboy Bunny mansion if you want it?

[Masa the Masta]

Is it Anime related?

Unfortunately.

Just the thought of it will keep you at least 30 miles away from me. I'll be busy partying and drinking and hanging out with friends I don't see very often, so have fun in Mexico. :watson:

[erbiumfiber]

Stupid question but is this your summer vacation? Not sure how the school year works down there in the southern hemisphere.

Enjoy yourself (although I despise southern California and only go there when I want to see relatives.). Note that Disneyland is only fun if you haven't been to some other Disney place. If you've already been to DisneyWorld or Tokyo Disneyland, I wouldn't particularly recommend the original. It's a lot of the same stuff. But if you're a Disney fanatic, then of course it's a must-see.

Don't know if the Queen Mary is still in the Long Beach area (I think that's where it was. My cousin is a stevedore in the harbor somewhere around there) but my mother was pretty impressed by that. I forget if you could stay overnight there or go to dinner or whatever.

Edit: Link for the Queen Mary:

http://www.queenmary.com/

Looks like you can do whatever you want there. Although staying on a ship is a bit cramped and you can stay on land cheaper with a larger room. But maybe a meal there? It might be more significant if you were about 50 years older (which is why my mother was so impressed- all kinds of history for her).

Mexico will be great.

[stsparky]

Pooka - I've an Annual Pass for Disneyland... and am baching it for a bit.

[mochyan]

i would offer suggestions if i got to explore socal, but being at school in a desert w/o a limits where i can go and places to know.

i can say that santa monica has a really pretty beach

[ak24]

If I knew you people in real life, I'd be like... "Come and stay at my house for free! I live 10 minutes from Disneyland!" because I live alone currently at a house for the moment, but then, I am in NorCal now... and since this is the internet, it'd be weird to see pedophiles (I'm sure you guys are not, but like I said this is the internet so who knows :P) at my house.

[ak24]

And I probably murdered this thread into pieces.

[LJustus]

Pooka does L.A.

L.A. gets V.D.

lol

[stsparky]

Pooka - PM me.

[ak24]

So... Have fun in SoCal, Pooka.

[Juli Sniping Arrow]

I'll also throw in the San Pedro's Ports of Call, Malibu beaches (if there's anyway for you to transport there) and Universal Studios.

If you're into clubbing, The Highlands (Hollywood and Highland) is my personal pick, though most other spots in Hollywood are cool enough. To check out some random indie gigs: Knitting Factory and House of Blues.

Also Pasadena has a few good eats.