| Missions | Museums | Movie Locations | Other Fun Outings |
SOCAL TRIVIA TIME
Los Angeles has no original sports teams in the 4 major professional leagues. Basketball: the Clippers came from San Diego and the Lakers came from Minnesota (and play in Inglewood, not L.A.). Baseball: the Dodgers came from Brooklyn, NY. Hockey: the Kings play in Inglewood. L.A. has no professional football teams.
(The Mighty Ducks of the NHL and the Angels of the American League are both expansion teams but play in Anaheim)
This will all change soon when the Kings move to the new downtown Staples arena. (The Kings were an expansion team added to the NHL in 1966)
Click on pictures for full-size view.
The first Europeans in California were the Spanish who built the chain of missions throughout the state. These monuments of living history are a true link to our past stretching back over 200 years. Most missions are still in full operation as churches and have regularly scheduled masses. Most also ask a small donation as admission to their grounds. Please treat any mission you visit as you would your own church.
In the area of Southern California from San Juan Capistrano to San Luis Obispo there are 8 missions. Here are brief descriptions of each:
The grounds are richly planted with many flowers and has many meandering paths to get lost in. The ruins of the old church are very interesting and easy to imagine what it might have been like on that fateful day.
Take Interstate 5 south to Ortega Highway. The mission is located 1 block west of the freeway. An really fun alternate is to take the Amtrak San Diegan from Union Station in downtown L.A. The SJC station is one block away from the mission. Be sure to try a lunch at Ruby's diner next to the train station.
There is a legend here that a bag of gold coins is buried under the mission. The story has it that the early priests had the local natives build a series of escape tunnels in case relations went sour. In one of these tunnels the gold is buried.
One of the most recognizable parts of this mission is it's bell tower facing the new pedestrian plaza. In the garden are buried thousands of native americans who worked the missions lands. In the gardens are remnants of the missions winery (be sure to visit the old grape vine across the street) and vats that were used to make soap. Mass is still regularly held in the old church in both spanish & english. All are welcome to join in. The mission's fiesta is still held every Labor Day weekend.
Take Interstate 10 east to New Ave. Go north to the mission located at the intersection of Mission Drive.
Take Interstate 5 north to San Fernando Mission Bl. The mission is about 1/4 mile west of the freeway.
Take the 101 Freeway north from L.A. to downtown Ventura & follow the signs. About 1 1/2 hours drive from downtown L.A.
Take the 101 freeway north to State Street in Santa Barbara & follow the signs.
On a great big tract of land, La Purisma is very much the way is was over 200 years ago with no other structures nearby. On some weekends, volunteers dress in period costumes to make history come alive here. Be sure to check out the old waterworks, stables, and military barracks. There are also some very good hiking paths leading into the hills here.
Take the 101 freeway to the Buellton/Solvang exit. Head west to Lompoc. The mission will be on your right just before getting into town.
There are no big gardens or grounds to explore here like at some of the other missions but Santa Ynez sits atop a bluff overlooking one of California's most beautiful valleys. In the distance you can see a windmill. That is a house & was the first windmill in the danish themed town of Solvang. In back of the mission in the parking lot are what's left of the old waterworks for the mission.
Take the 101 freeway to the Buellton/Solvang exit. Head east to Solvang and drive straight through the town. The mission will be on your right just before leaving town.
The mission sits in a plaza in the middle of downtown San Luis Obispo (see the Nearby Getaways link) overlooking a beautiful creek. This is just a real nice place to hang out & relax after a day of seeing the town.
Take the 101 freeway to the Monterey Street exit in San Luis Obispo. Turn right. Monterey Street ends at the mission.
Southern California is home to many museums and they are very interesting. Be sure to check out some of these fine facilities while you are in the area.
PETERSEN AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM 
The sits right on the corner of Wilshire & Fairfax. Enter the parking garage from Fairfax Ave....there is a fee to park.
The Petersen is one of the world's largest automotive collections. It takes it's name from the Petersen Publishing empire which puts out many automotive related magazines.
The museum is designed more as a history of Los Angeles as it relates to the automobile and features many outstanding walkthrough dioramas such as an old gas station (butting up to the gas pumps of the future), a drive-up tamale stand featuring a 2 story tall, pipe- smoking bulldog, and a typical Southern California garage. Kids (and adults) can sit it an actual Indy car and see some very historic and famous vehicles. Well worth a visit when in L.A.
L.A. COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART
Across the street & east a bit from the Petersen Museum is this museum featuring an ever-changing collection of great art from early masters to modern artists. Adults can spend hours here but kids tend to get bored quickly.
LA BREA TAR PITS/GEORGE PAGE MUSEUM
Just outside the door of the art museum is one of Southern California's most famous parks. Here you will see a lake and several small ponds which cover deadly pools of tar underneath. In ancient times, animals would get caught in this muck and die as they sank in. Bad for them but good for us as it gave us thousands of perfectly preserved fossils...including the oldest known L.A. murder victim!
Visitors can watch staffers digging for fossils in an active archeological dig in the northwest corner of the park. On the eastern edge of the park is the Page Museum devoted to displaying and interpreting the fossils found here. You can also watch the archeologists at work as they clean the bones found in the tar pits.
Go north on Fairfax to 6th Street and turn right. Park along 6th Street or in the small lot at the corner of 6th & Curson Ave.
Also along Museum Row (but we have not yet visited it) is the Miniature
Museum with it's miniature dolls, houses, and other knicknacks. This is
directly across the street from the art museum and the tar pits.
All museums along Museum Row are fully accessible to the disabled. The best handicapped parking is found in the lot at 6th Street & Curson and in the parking lot of the Petersen Museum. Accessible restrooms are found throughout each museum.
Located in Griffith Park on the eastern edge of the L.A. Zoo parking
lot. Take Interstate 5 north to Zoo Drive.
The Autrey Museum is fully accessible to the disabled. Handicapped parking is found in the lot directly in front of the museum. Accessible restrooms are found throughout the museum.
Some of the jewels of the collection are AJ Foyt's indy car, another indy car that has won 2 Indy 500's, an ice-racing motorcycle, a stunt biplane hanging from the ceiling that can be manuevered via electronically-controlled cables, and many, many more artifacts and pictures detailing the Justice Brothers years in racing. This is our favorite automotive museum.
The museum is open during the Justice Brothers Company operating hours
which are 9-5, Monday through Friday and admission is free. Be sure to
check in with the receptionist first. Take Interstate 605 north to the
end and exit on Mt. Olive Drive. Turn right on Huntington to Las Lomas.
The Justice Brothers Company is located 2 doors past Las Lomas on the right,
park in the company lot.
The Museum is fully accessible to the disabled. Handicapped parking is found in the lot next to the building. Accessible restrooms are found next to the elevator.
Many of the teams winning cars are displayed here as are quite a few Indy 500 pace cars (which are awarded to the winning driver in each Indy 500). Also on display are many of the teams awards & photos. Sometimes cars are pulled from the collection to race. This is a small, one-track museum, but well worth a visit from any racing fan, even if you're just a very casual one.
Located on the premises of Longo Toyota in El Monte. Take Interstate
10 east to Peck Road North exit. Go north to Stewart Street, turn right.
Longo Toyota will be on your left, just behind HomeBase (look for the big
Longo sign). Turn left into Longo's lot. The museum is open Mondays, Wednesdays,
and Fridays from 10 till 5. Admission is free.
The Penske Museum is fully accessible to the disabled. To enter in a wheelchair, head down the ramp that leads to the dealer's service area. At the bottom on the right is the entrance. Non-wheelchair users can use the staircase that is reached via the showroom. Handicapped parking is found in the lot directly in front of the dealer. Accessible restrooms are found in the dealer showroom.
Get updated information on current movie/TV filming location in L.A. by visiting the EIDC web site.
Being the movie capitol of the world, there are many locations throughout the region that will give you a strong sense of deja vu. That's because you've probably seen them in many movies & TV shows as production companies film on location everyday. You may just get lucky & run across a crew that is filming while you're at one of these sights.
Take the 210 Freeway east to Baldwin Ave. Go south on Baldwin about 1/4 mile to the entrance on your right. There is a small admission fee charged to enter.
Some locations that will strike you right away are:
No, it's not really haunted
but Hollywood sure likes to make a lot of horror movies here...just check
out the picture above from a shoot on March 6. This old house in Bradbury
has been the site of many a spooky movie (and at least one True Value Hardware
commercial). It can look creepy sitting up on the hill like it does. The
house is located 18 miles east of downtown Los Angeles in the sleepy community
of Bradbury at the foot of the San Gabriel mountains. Take the 210 Freeway
east to the Mt. Olive exit. Head north to Gardi St. (1/2 block past Royal
Oaks Drive) and turn left. The house is located at the end of the block
at 2001 Gardi St. For a better view, park along Mt. Olive and walk west
on the Recreation Trail, located at the corner of Royal Oaks & Mt.
Olive, about 2 blocks. There is a very good view from the trail, this is
where the picture above was taken from.
Aside from being historically connected as the location where the Mexican outlaw Tiburcio Vasquez hid while running from the law, this is the location Hollywood hides in whenever beautiful desert scenery is needed. Countless productions have filmed is these intriguingly tilting rocks (caused by the nearby San Andreas fault). A few you will recognize are the town of Bedrock in the "Flintstones" movie, the headquarters of the "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers", and the place where evil Bill & Ted hocked loogies on the good Bill & Ted in "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey".
The park is a very beautiful place filled with lawns, lakes, meandering streams, and lots of nooks & crannies to disappear in. The park does tend to get very crowded on summer (May - Sept) holiday weekends.
There is a small zoo ($1.00 admission for everybody over 6) with native animals such as deer, coyote, fox, hawks & eagles. Their most famous resident is Samson the hot-tubbing bear.
You
may remember Samson from the news a couple of years ago. He liked to come
down from his wilderness home in the San Gabriel Mountains into nearby
Monrovia and enjoy a dip in local residential hot-tubs & pools in between
dumpster diving for food.
One day, Samson was found in a local pool and looked like he was very sick. Game wardens were called in to capture the old, toothless bear and the decision was made to euthanize him due to his old age & poor health. Local residents, for whom Samson was never a bother, formed a movement to save Samson eventually convincing Gov. Pete Wilson to issue a reprieve for the bear. Orange County Zoo officials offered to take him in and constructed the nice home Samson enjoys today (complete with swimming pool & waterfall) as you can see in the accompanying photo.
There is also a small train that rides through parts of the park ($2.00 admission) and many hiking trails leading into the nearby wilderness area (beware of mountain lions).
Take I-5 south from downtown L.A. to Katella Ave. in Anaheim. Go east
(left) on Katella about 7 miles. Katella will become Villa Park Bl. and
then Santiago Canyon Rd. before it ends. At the end, turn left into the
entrance to Irvine Park. There is a $2 -$5 entry fee per vehicle (depending
on what day of the week you come). Food is available in the park but it's
even better to bring a picnic or something to barbeque.
There are plenty of handicapped parking spots though the spots near the zoo tend to be a little narrow & fill up fast. Accessible restrooms are located near each parking lot. The accessible stalls have all the proper railing but are not big enough to get a wheelchair in all the way to be able to close the door. The train ride is completely accessible as is the zoo. There are a number of accessible paths in the park as well as a paved path along the creek.
This huge park, surrounded by the industrial bottomlands of the San Gabriel Valley, protects one of the last bits of true desert environment left in the L.A. area. There are a lot of trails here to hike on, including a great desert nature trail, and lot's of room to roam.
Bring
your mountain bike if you have one because there are miles of dirt trails
here leading to the park's wild areas. The paved San Gabriel River Bike
Trail (part of the LARIO bike trail system - see picture above) cuts a
path through the park providing access to Azusa Canyon to the north and
the trail to Long beach to the south. There is about 5 miles of paved bike
trail within the park (including 2.5 miles along the top of the dam) and
many more miles of dirt trails for riders of every ability.
Fishing is also popular here at the lake which is also open to non-motorized boats under 12 feet.
In the summer there is a nice swimming beach (which has chlorinated & aereated water). This is also a popular area to have a picnic or a barbeque.
Towards the north end of the park (turn right at the entrance) is a group camping area and a nature center that tends to stay uncrowded even on busy weekends.
Take the 10 freeway east from downtown L.A. to the 605 freeway. Go north
to the Live Oak exit. Go east on Live Oak (which will merge with Arrow
Highway) to the park entrance. The park entrance is EASY TO MISS so keep
a lookout for it on the left on the eastern side of Santa Fe Dam. There
is a $6 vehicle entry fee. Pedestrians and bike riders pay no admission
to the park.
There are plenty of handicapped parking spots throughout the park. Accessible restrooms are located at various locations by the lake...this is the only part of the park with restrooms! Keep that in mind before going to some of the more remote areas of the park. There are a number of accessible, paved paths in the park. The nature center trail is paved and accessible. The bike path is also available to wheelchairs in the park and provides several miles of accessible trails. The San Gabriel River bike trail does NOT have any accessible entrances or exits outside of the Sante Fe Dam park. We are working with the City of Duarte, just north of the park, to at least have one put there but it is not in place yet. Do not leave the park on the bike trail without planning on coming back the same way.
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