Things to do in LA

malibu beach inn is closed and reopening sometime around september. i think larry ellison owns it now

surprised no one mentioned burgers at fathers office or the counter, both in santa monica.

did you day when you were coming? if late july or august, go to manhattan for sixman volleyballk tournament. week after that will be manhattan open.

if you/wife wants celebs, try mr. chows, beverly wilshire, and the bar at the peninsula hotel, all in beverly hills

 

West Hollywood is located well to take in Universal Studios and adjacent sites (Huntington Library in San Marino is great), downtown, Dodgers, the beaches, Grove/Farmers Market, Sunset Strip and some cool shops and restaurants on Melrose. If you're going to spend much time in Orange County, you could stay in Long Beach and make trips north and east.

 

I also don't care for the "new" father's office. Especially their rule about eating the burger as is, with no additions/deletions.

 

The wife wants to stay in Santa Monica, and after doing some research/mapping etc. it doesn't seem bad.

I mean, we'll be up super early and heading to the hotel super late.

Is Santa Monica a decent location from which to travel to all (read: most) destinations that are outside Anaheim? (we're staying at Disneyland when we do that)

 

You can do any damn thing you want in LA LA land. It's the land of make-believe.

 

It's been a couple of days since I posted that, so I'm not sure exactly what I was trying to say.
I think I was saying that Santa Barbara was nice but a bit of a hall, so if you're going that far you might as well keep going to Pismo, Grover, Arroyo, etc.
Takes me a little over an hour to get from Shell to Santa Barbara.
I'm not sure where 'a mile' came from in my post.

 

14 years. So, the Green Burrito isn't good anymore?

 

I like Santa Monica. Good location for hitting the beach communities. You'll deal with traffic when you want to head inland.

 

Santa Monica is a good call...no clue about your budget, but check out the Loews, very nice, right across from the beach, fairly reasonable for a luxury hotel. There's a Marriott next door, I think it's pricier.

As for convenience, just assume nothing is convenient, and you won't be disappointed. It takes 45 minutes to get anywhere. It's like a law or something. Slightly less from Santa Monica to the Brentwood/Westwood/Beverly Hills area.

 

If you're into pick-up basketball, check out Horny Corner in Long Beach. One of my finest days in hoops was getting onto a 4x4 team that won 10 straight; we were on the court 2 straight hours. Fulfilling but draining. Plus, it's always nice to have hotboxes in bikinis cheering you on.