TRAVEL

Are You Planning a Trip to Southern California?

Tips and suggestions from a native

The sun, sand, surf, palm trees, the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, and the amazing weather year-round lure many visitors to Southern California.

I know a few things about the state with the best weather because I have lived here my whole life.

It’s no wonder why so many people flock here. There really is nowhere else in the United States with comparable weather. Believe me, we are looking to move eventually and will compromise on the weather anywhere else.

While most of my time in California has been in the southern region, I did spend a few years up near San Francisco.

California is overpopulated and I believe that it’s important to know that before you visit. There are around 40 million people that live in California, and almost half of those people live in Southern California.

So, if you fly into Los Angeles International airport, be prepared to see crowds and traffic on the freeways immediately when you exit the airport. This is normal. Traffic times used to be at rush hour on weekdays but now you can no longer predict the traffic.

I’d say the only time you can be 80% traffic free is around 3 am. Ok, I’m kind of kidding. Maybe from 12 am — 4 am.

Flying into Orange County would be a better option if you are traveling south, as the airport is easier and smaller.

Let’s start with different counties in Southern California.

Los Angeles County

LA county is huge. It covers a little over 4,000 square miles with 10 million people and is the largest county in the United States.

I was born in LA County, about 30 minutes from the downtown area of Los Angeles in a city called Torrance. It is part of the South Bay, which is compromised of cities such as Rancho Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, and some others.

I spent my high school years living in Rancho Palos Verdes and hanging out in San Pedro. There are many cool things to do in this area that might get overlooked by many coming to California.

First, the incredible views of the Pacific Ocean from anywhere in Palos Verdes are mind-blowing. If you have some money to spend, stay at the Terranea Resort and you won’t be disappointed.

If you don’t have money to spend, you can park and walk along the cliffs here, as we have done many times. You can walk down to the beach, as well. There are also good restaurants with sweeping views.

The Point Vincente Lighthouse and Wayfarers Chapel are top sights to see here. Both are beautiful and worth the stop. There are many hiking trails up and down the coast, all with spectacular views. It takes around 30 minutes to drive around the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Beware though, the roads are rocky because of the shifting ground.

You can follow the coastal drive down Paseo Del Mar into San Pedro, which also has sweeping views. Along the way, you can stop at the Sunken City which is an abandoned beachfront area destroyed by a large landslide in 1929, now known for its graffiti.

Also worth visiting, is the Korean Friendship Bell that was cast in Korea and shipped to San Pedro in 1976 to represent the friendship between the two places.

Ok, enough about the South Bay even though there are many beaches to speak of. Actually, if you do want to hit up the beach in Southern California, you can’t go wrong with any of them in the South Bay. Torrance Beach, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Hermosa all run into each other via the boardwalk. You can bike or skate from Torrance to Santa Monica in about an hour.

If you are coming to California for the first time, you should make a stop at Hollywood Blvd to see the stars. It’s a fun walk to check out your favorites, although if you are looking for one in particular you might want to map that out beforehand because there are 2,700 stars to sift through.

I wouldn’t spend too much time on Hollywood Blvd. The area is full of tourists and it’s not the best area, which is how it is in all of Los Angeles. You can be in a nice area, and within a minute, in a terrible area where you wouldn’t want to be walking around alone.

Here are some places in Los Angeles that I would recommend if you are coming for your first time.

• Hike the Hollywood sign but not on a hot day because there is no shade. The views are beautiful, minus the smog.
• Hit up the Griffith Observatory. During my younger years, we would come for the Pink Floyd experience which I don’t see playing anymore but they have many other fantastic events.
• If you are interested in museums, visit the LACMA. There is even an art installation out in front which is free of charge but the inside is well worth a visit, too. The Broad is great and you can’t miss the iconic Getty Center.
• If you love hiking, the best trails in my opinion are in the Santa Monica Mountains or in Malibu because you get views of the Pacific Ocean and you get mountainous terrain with beautiful vegetation.
• If you have time for a concert, the Hollywood Bowl is amazing and small enough that each seat has a great view. Plus, it is outdoors which is perfect for a summer concert and it really doesn’t get that cold here so you can’t go wrong unless it rains, which doesn’t happen that often.
• The canals and Venice boardwalk are interesting to walk around and good for people watching because of the eclectic crowd that this funky, artsy town attracts.
• If you are a shopper, I would suggest the Santa Monica Promenade which is a block from the beach.

What should you avoid in LA?

It’s hard to avoid driving unless you break it up into areas because as a whole, LA is not a walkable city. If you don’t want to get a car, you can Uber anywhere.

• For me, I would skip the amusement parks because I don’t care for them but I guess the best would be Universal Studios. Touristy spots like Madame Tussauds and many different shopping districts like The Grove are all way too crowded, although a quick stop at Rodeo Drive doesn’t disappoint.
• I’d skip sketchy areas of town like Skid Row, Watts, some parts of Downtown LA, and West Adams because of the crime. I don’t even like driving through these areas.

Orange County

This is where I currently reside and it’s been my home for the past 22 years. Orange County is also a massive area spanning 948 square miles with around 3 million people.

Most people come here for Disneyland but that would not be at the top of my list. As you can probably tell, I am not an amusement park fan. I would frequent a lot when my kids were younger, back during the time that you could visit on a weekday and the crowds were minimal and you could get a season pass for $150 dollars. Now, it costs that much for one day.

If you come to the OC, the beaches are where it’s at. From Seal Beach to San Clemente, you can’t go wrong at any of the beaches.

I would recommend:

• My favorite beaches of Orange County have to be the little nooks and coves of Laguna Beach or the endless sand of Huntington Beach.
• In Newport Beach, you can take a ferry over to Balboa Island, even in your car. The kids love this. There is a quaint small town feeling in Balboa, even though it is packed with tons of visitors.
• Most of the beaches here have their own piers, which are great for walking and viewing the surfers and the sunset.
• There are a few cool hiking spots off the beaten path in Orange County. My favorites are Red Rock Canyon at Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park and Top of the World in Laguna Beach.
• If you are looking to shop, Irvine Spectrum Center or Fashion Island in Newport Beach are my favorite places.
• The iconic Huntington Beach pier and Main Street are worth a visit, too.

I would avoid going to Downtown Disney, which is not a popular thing to say but it is so crowded and the parking is awful. But, if you have young kids and love Disneyland, I am sure you are coming to Southern California for that reason.

I would also avoid Santa Ana and most parts of Anaheim, staying near the beaches in Orange County is your best bet.

San Diego

Another massive county spanning 4,200 miles offers so many different things to do. You can be amongst the crowds in the hip downtown area of San Diego, hit up the coastal beaches, or hike in the mountains.

I lived in San Diego for two years and I loved to visit Pacific Beach, aka PB. The beach here is gorgeous but it does attract a younger, party crowd, which is why I liked it in my 20s. The main street is full of restaurants and bars.

I would avoid the zoo and Sea World, for obvious reasons. I don’t frequent those places now that I don’t have young children but even if I had young children today, I would skip those places.

Because San Diego is very close to Mexico, they obviously have the best Mexican food spots that you can’t skip. Old Town San Diego has many to choose from and I haven’t had bad Mexican food anywhere in San Diego.

I could eat Mexican food every day and I really have no complaints from anywhere in Southern California, but I do have my favorites. The last time we were in San Diego, we had the best food at Las Cuatro Milpas.

My favorite thing to do in San Diego is to take the Coronado Bridge over to Coronado Island to walk around, bike, or lay on the beach at the Hotel Del Coronado.

Southern California outskirts

A few other notable places in Southern California that I love are Palm Springs, Joshua Tree, Temecula for the wineries (obviously not for me anymore but I did have a great time there), and Big Bear. You can be in the mountains where it does snow sometimes and at the beach all in a day’s time, as they are only 2 hours away from each other.

During the day here, it never really gets under 50 F or over 100 F. If you are by the beach, the average temperature usually ranges from 60–80 all year round.

This is what will make it hard to leave but the crowds are driving me out. Please ask me anything in the comments and I will give you my advice!

Stay tuned for my next segment about Northern California…

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Thanks for reading!

Much love, Michele