Attractions for the Whole Family

Something we have yet to do when we have vacationed in Southern California is rent a bike and ride down the beach. This year we thought we would take a day and do just that. We found a little shack on Redondo Beach that rented bikes and carriers since we have a little guy we needed the carry cart on the back. To rent a bike for one hour was $9.00 and for a cart another $3.00. So we took off on our bike ride. We rode from Redondo beach, Manhattan Beach to Hermosa Beach before our hour was up.

To our surprise our son loved the cart and loved the bike ride. We enjoyed it as well. In L.A. one of the most common and big things here is exercise and athletic activity. Everywhere you go you see people working out. So this made it a very fun experience, since everything is accommodating for bike riding. We enjoyed being able to see the beach and all the area in between these beached with out being in a car and with out walking. There is so much to see and it is hard to do it all by foot and car. By bike you can see so much more and enjoy being out doors while doing it.

We enjoyed our experience so much that a few days later we went back to the same place with my brother, who lives in L.A., and took him on a bike ride. He had actually not seen this area yet and really enjoyed the calm laid back ride.

The place we rented our bikes from was called Marina Bike Rental's. They also rent skates and boogie boards. The couple that owns the place is very friendly and were very helpful in getting us set up and ready to go with all our bikes and cart. They also sell some drinks, sunblock and snacks. All the things you could possibly need on the ride.

One of the nice things about this area and the bike riding is there is a marked bike path that goes for miles between the three beaches. There are mile markers to show you how far you have ridden and also a specific bike lane for bikes. But make sure you follow the bike rules or else you could get a ticket.

One of the most visited spots by tourists in L.A. is probably Hollywood and Highland. Every time I visit there are huge crows walking around taking in all the sites and attractions that represent Hollywood. This is the street where the walk of fame begins. All the famous actor, actresses and entertainers in radio, music or tv have earned a star to represent the hard work they have put in, You can walk for blocks and blocks and see people from Dick van Dyke to Keifer Sutherland. It is truly an experience to see the generations mixed and what they represented.

The main attraction here is the Grauman's Chinese Theater. It is a huge theater that host movie premieres and events and right out in front are the famous hand and footprints in the concrete. This where many well know entertainers have made there mark in history. You can see people placing there hands and feet int he mold seeing how there hands and feet compare to some of Hollywood's finest.

Situated right next to Grauman's is another notable building, it is the Hollywood and Highland mall and also the Kodak Theater. The Kodak Theater is home to the Academy Awards Show, also know as the Oscars. When you enter the grand stair case where all the celebrities enter there is a marble floor and staircase, the stairway up to the ball room displays all the best picture movies since the Oscars began. It was absolutely gorgeous. You can feel the sense of the prestigious ness of the Academy Awards just standing on the marble stairway.

The Hollywood and Highland mall is just about like any other mall, typical stores and food establishments. There are a few out of the ordinary places like a Wolf Gang Puck restaurant but other than that a very nice mall with lots to see and do while still experinceing the Hollywood scene.

Across the street is the El Capiton Theater which is also a popular location for movies premiers and films. In this area you will also see the Roosevelt Hotel, tour buses and other museums that attract the tourist eye.

This area has so much that it will keep tourist busy for hours. You can spot the Hollywood sign from here and find lots of gift shops to pick up something to remind you of your experience.

The La Habra Children’s Museum is not far out of L.A. and at the time was the only children’s museum open. The L.A. one is under construction. Once again looking for something fun for our 4 year old son. Well we succeeded. The Museum was a hit and my son had a lot of fun.
The Museum had lots of different fun and learning activities. The first room we went into had a ton of dress up clothes. Of course the first thing my son went to was the fire gear. So we all dressed up in the turn out gear and goofed off. In that same room was a stage with a microphone where the kids could pretend to sing or act. The next room had a few different things that were educational, some fossil digging, a gas pump and some weather stuff. After you left that room you went in to the pretend playroom, where you could grocery shop, ride a carousel, drive a buss and right out the doors you could get on a train and walk through it. The last room in this part was a train room; it had 2 real running mini train tracks with all sorts of people and animals. There was also a separate room for the small kids (2 and under) where they could play and not be harmed by the big kids.
This museum really had a lot to offer for kids and kept us busy for several hours, the cost was pretty reasonable and the hours were flexible. The staff was friendly and the location of the place was easy to find and in a great neighborhood.
The prices and hours are:
PRICE
$7.00 per person.
$6.00 La Habra residents
Children under 2 are free.
HOURS
Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed Mondays and all Major Holidays

The Long Beach Fire Museum is a working museum that many retires and active Long Beach firefighters are in the process of restoring. Every Wednesday, retired and active Long Beach firefighters volunteer their time to work at the museum and give tours. The hours are quite early but when you have a son who loves fire trucks and all that entails you make it work.

The hours are:
Wednesdays 7:30- 11:45 AM
The second Saturday of the month 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
The tour itself is free but they take donations, this is what helps them be able to restore what they have.
The station and tour was great. They had so much stuff from years and years of service. You could see how the oxygen masks have evolved over the years. There was a wall of Fire helmets from many in service and from different years they were used. Of course there are tons of pictures and stories. There was actually so much stuff I could not even tell you it all. However I can tell you that we had a great tour guide we were the only ones there so we had him all to our self. He answered any questions we had, told us lots of stories and gave tons of explanations of everything. They showed us an old video with fire trucks that they had restored in their museum. They had several old classic fire trucks, a few that they actually still use for parades and stuff.
My son was able to get in one or two of the fire trucks and ring the bell and play like he was a fireman. When we were done there we got to go over to the station that is now functioning and see the modern day turnout gear, fire pole and equipment that they use now day. We were unfortunate in that the fire trucks were all out on calls, but we still got to see the other stuff.
This place was defiantly a hit with our son and allowed us to get an early and inexpensive start to the day.

The Long Beach Aquarium is located in Long Beach right on the water. We decided to go here for our son, we thought this might be something enjoyable for him. I suppose this aquarium is like many others but I must say I was a bit disappointed. i felt like for a place that was right on the ocean it would have big exhibits and lots to explore and see. There really was not much to it. There were lots of fish aquariums and a few big animals but that’s about it.

When you walk through the exhibits you travel through several different parts of the ocean looking at different regions of sea life. You will see stuff from the Southern California Baja region, the Northern Pacific Region, Tropical Pacific, Gulf of California and some other places. There is a shark lagoon and a forest area. The Shark Lagoon was pretty cool. They had big sharks and smaller sharks and with the sharks were all sorts of fish and stingrays. Here you could pet them. Although during feeding time(which we got to see) they ask you not to touch the animals so they do not get confused that you are food or taking there food. This was a neat experience to see how they hunt and find there food.

This area where you could see the sharks was outside. Also outside was a play area for the kids. They could run around and play in boats, there was also water that sprayed out from the toys that the kids could run through. Here we ate some lunch and to a break as to prepare for the next part of the museum. When we started back we saw sea lions and more fish.

The aquarium offers many amenities as well; there is a gift shop, a café and food machines, picnic tables and chairs, 3D movies, tours and group rates.

The prices for the aquarium are:
Adult: $23.95
Child (3-11): $11.95
Senior (62+): $20.95

They are open every day of the year from 9-6