Family Friendly Stiff to do in So Cal… and Go!
 

So we are looking for stuff to do tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday. Saturday is Disney, Sunday is Luft, Monday is Disney and we fly home on Tuesday.

What cool stuff do we need to do? What beach is a must do?

We are staying in Anaheim and have a rental car. We can go anywhere.

What aquarium is the best?

My kids are 9 and 12.

Newport Beach is a family favorite. Rent bikes and cruise the boardwalk, the water should still be warm and the waves are manageable unless you hit the Wedge. A train ride down the coast to San Clemente Beach might be fun.

Long Beach Aquarium is hard to beat and reasonably close to Anaheim.

Spending a day at Griffith Park can be pretty great including nice easy trails on the N side and the observatory is a cool visit.

I would personally avoid downtown LA or anywhere that is filled with homeless camps. It's a 3rd world country there.

Edit: I don't know how much time you have spent in SoCal but traffic can be a vacation buster if not carefully planned to avoid the biggest jams. We always use an app like Waze to plan and navigate around the worst of it. Sometimes traveling 30 miles can take up to 3 hours if you are not prepared. Generally, heading towards LA/Long Beach in the AM and away from LA in the PM presents the worst snarls. Other than that, the weather should be great.

These kids look like they're having fun around a family friendly stiff.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1664915192.jpg


Birch Aqaurium at Scrips. Torey Pines Glideport. Both are a bit away but worth the drive. The beach at Scrips is pretty nice.

Catalina Island is worth it. Boat ride and a magical place. Check out the bison!

Petersen automotive museum

This right here. Also The Discovery Cube is just north on the 5 freeway from where you are staying...

https://www.discoverycube.org/orange-county/

https://www.discoverycube.org/oc-exhibits/

If you can afford the time, the Wild Animal Park or San Diego Zoo would be my best reco's for kids that age.
If you don't want to drive then the LB Aquarium is pretty nice too.
You can rent bikes at Huntington Beach too. Lots closer.

Check out hbcams.com for views of the pier at HB.

https://hbcams.com/

Rent an electric "Duffy" boat and cruise Newport Harbor, have some Champagne and see how the one per centers live.
Some good Octoberfest events are scheduled around also.

All good advice here. Should you make it to Newport Beach, be sure to check out the wedge. A buddy & I stopped there for a day in 1966 before heading to Catalina for some Scuba diving. I thought I was a pretty good body surfer here in Oregon, so had to try the wedge. I tried, only once...lucky I didn't break my neck! (edit) But it was an experience I'll never forget...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1hvP-_dMqY&ab_channel=TimBurnham

I have never thought of doing a family stiff.

(sorry, someone had to say it) :D

Some in Cindy's family would look better as stiffs...:rolleyes:

We will do Peterson’s and Newport Beach, the future home of my 76 930…

Every time my eyes scan past this thread, I do a double, and then a triple take on the subject, and I chuckle a little.

Family friendly stiff to do? LOL :D

How much time do you have? Will kids be bored out of their minds with two automobile torture days? All mentioned above are great, but they are old enough for the Griffith Observatory. Check out the interactive display inside the planetarium. If not just the view of LA is great. If you want to get to the highest point of the city, take a walk on the paved trail up to Mt Hollywood. Its about 15 min walk. Lean your back up against the entrance to the observatory and you will see the trail straight ahead. You can't get lost.

The Long Beach Aquarium is worth a visit. Kids will love it, or go down to San Diego to the Scrips. San Diego Zoo is a great place, but the Calgary Zoo is pretty dang good too, so you may or may not want to burn a day there. There's always Sea World down in San Diego.

Rents bikes and ride along the boardwalk in and around Newport, or Corona Del Mar. Plenty of places to see and eat at Corona DEl Mar. Hey, the women are sure trim and fit there so there's someone for you too:) Rent Kayaks at the back bay for 15 bucks an hour, paddle up and down there for a couple hours, enjoy the ocean, no waves and its normally 4-5' deep. Pull up to one of the small beaches and hang out for a bit. If you decide to do that, I can get you more info. My kids and I do it from April through October or November. Weather is really nice this time of the year.

Get a Harbor dinner cruise. Enjoy the ocean. That's what I do with my relatives when they visit from Calgary. If not, have dinner outside on the boardwalk. Its nice and warm but do bring a long sleeve shirt as the weather can get a few degrees cooler early evenings. 68 degrees or so in the early evening is the norm this time of the year, so not a real big deal.

The Griffith Observatory is great but usually packed. If you go, get there really early or expect a long hike up the hill from the street parking. It also cost a ton per hour so check the signs.
The LA Zoo is a good place as well as the Gene Autry Museum.
They are also in Griffith Park across the street from each other with free parking.
The zoo has great exhibits but if it's hot the animals just lay around. The Autry is all cowboy stuff, including a great collection of firearms of the old west. It is billed as western heritage, not western history so there are exhibits about western movies as well.
Up in the same area is Universal Studios.
Also, the Getty Center in Westwood has great views of the city as well as great art.
The Getty Villa in Malibu is designed after a Roman Villa buried by Vesuvius and has a fantastic collection of ancient art. Both Gettys are free, except for parking but you need to make an appointment, which can be done on their app.

Universal Studios https://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/web/en/us/things-to-do/rides-and-attractions/the-world-famous-studio-tour

Oh yeah, I forgotten about Universal Studio. Kids will love that place. Many things and rides they can relate to. If you asked me at the age of 10, between Universal Studios or the Getty? Before you finished your question, it would have been the Studio without even thinking about it even though the Getty is a very cool place and educational.

Check out the La Brea Tar Pits after you do the Peterson...it's just across the street. It's more interesting than you might think and it'll be a treat for your kids if they got bored with all the car stuff.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1664993809.jpg

Do you have your own car, or a rental?
If it's a rental, remove a wheel, go for a drive on the freeway.

https://t.co/ndF8JeoiMA