O/T Things to do in Malibu/Santa Monica/Venice or anything nearby

[Knight9]

Bros,

I am going to the Malibu/Camarillo/Thousand Oaks area for a wedding in May with my significant other and we are going to try to make the most of our time there. When not doing the wedding festivities, we will probably be there an additional 2 to 3 days. I am trying to do as much as possible while still allowing it to be relaxing and not making it seem like we have 1000 things to do. I had Catalina Island on the list and Santa Barbara but I have pretty much crossed them off and thought better of it to simply stick to Malibu/Santa Monica/Venice. Besides obvious things like training at Golds and eating at Firehouse...what other things should I be doing or considering? And they should really have nothing to do with bodybuilding or the lifestyle....just a fun couples vacation. I have looked into letting her shop at the Promenade in Santa Monica and perhaps a nice dinner at Geoffrey's in Malibu. Also driving Pacific Coast Highway and getting off at various parks/lookouts etc. Really hoping to get some more suggestions from people who are familiar with the area or have done this before. Thanks.

 

[Mini Truck]

Sounds fun Knight.

Just my two cents, but encourage your girl to be really proactive with what to do, where to go and where to eat.

It's tough being the gf of "most" bodybuilders.
They put up with a lot and still love us!

Priorities can easily get out of balance unless we work very hard at keeping
them in line.

Know what I'm saying Bro?

-MT

Bros,

I am going to the Malibu/Camarillo/Thousand Oaks area for a wedding in May with my significant other and we are going to try to make the most of our time there. When not doing the wedding festivities, we will probably be there an additional 2 to 3 days. I am trying to do as much as possible while still allowing it to be relaxing and not making it seem like we have 1000 things to do. I had Catalina Island on the list and Santa Barbara but I have pretty much crossed them off and thought better of it to simply stick to Malibu/Santa Monica/Venice. Besides obvious things like training at Golds and eating at Firehouse...what other things should I be doing or considering? And they should really have nothing to do with bodybuilding or the lifestyle....just a fun couples vacation. I have looked into letting her shop at the Promenade in Santa Monica and perhaps a nice dinner at Geoffrey's in Malibu. Also driving Pacific Coast Highway and getting off at various parks/lookouts etc. Really hoping to get some more suggestions from people who are familiar with the area or have done this before. Thanks.

 

[ThinkTank]

Obviously Muscle Beach...

 

[conanster]

Reagan Library/Museum is in Simi Valley. (kinda between Thousand Oaks and Camarillo).
Santa Monica boardwalk can be fun, always a freak-show but this time of year its a little slower than normal

 

[Growman]

I only lived in LA for six months but there is a ton of stuff to do. Just remember its not like they make it out to be in the movies, shit is really spread out !!!

Hollywood blvd is a lot of tourists but you gotta see it, and its not far from Santa Monica. But you are on the right track definitely do Santa Monica/Venice, and let your girl do some shopping. Go check out Hollywood for half a day and thats about it, Downtown LA has nothing going on...

 

[TrinityD]

Take her to California adventure / disney . Use the park hopper and watch that one show...shoot what's it called. World of colors??? It's at California adventure.
Once in a lifetime unique experience man. Nh but my girl and I loved it.

 

[Knight9]

Sounds fun Knight.

Just my two cents, but encourage your girl to be really proactive with what to do, where to go and where to eat.

It's tough being the gf of "most" bodybuilders.
They put up with a lot and still love us!

Priorities can easily get out of balance unless we work very hard at keeping
them in line.

Know what I'm saying Bro?

-MT

Definitely bro! Training at Golds and eating at Firehouse are just some quick things I want to knock off the list and quite honestly I might just do them by myself while she is sleeping one morning. The rest of the vacation will be void of anything bodybuilding related.

 

[rhinozine]

Swing by the OJ crime scene. LOL, no joke. My cousin lives very close to it. Santa Monica has the pier which has fun rides and the beach is covered in fun athletic equipment. You can climb ropes and swing on adult sized obstacles.

Medieval times by Knott's Berry farm is always a good time. Balboa island is underrated. You can Whale watch over there pretty cheap and the ferry ride is cool. However, I have been out three times and only seen Dolphins and sea lions. They give you free vouchers if you don't see anything.

Catalina is fun if you stay the night at a bed a breakfast and plan to go snorkeling, aside from that the place IMO is boring.

If you were single I would say Southern Cali is the best to Tinder date on. The new Lifetime gym in Laguna Niguel is crawling the spawn of the rich that love to flirt on Tinder.....

When in doubt ride down PCH through the beach cities. That will take a day in itself.

ORRRRR, if you are a risk taker shoot down to San Diego and walk across the Boarder to TJ. I used to go all the time in High School. Haven't been there in years but, I always used to hit the Pharmacias and buy homemade fireworks.

You'll have a blast either way!

 

[rippedyearround]

If you like art, the Getty Museum is right in that area...plus it is FREE.
Drive the PCH is also super fun. You'll see lots of celebrity homes.
3rd street Promenade is always full of activity.

You'll want to have a car tho...uber and taxis will end up costing way too much if you want to do a lot!!!

 

[ThinkTank]

Rent a car (preferably a convertible) and drive down the PCH to Old Town San Diego. It is a great town for couples. Nice restaurants and hotels. You can then spend a day in Sea World San Diego and even a day in Tijuana.

 

[Gaintrain]

old town San Diego be good idea! ^

 

[Knight9]

Rent a car (preferably a convertible) and drive down the PCH to Old Town San Diego. It is a great town for couples. Nice restaurants and hotels. You can then spend a day in Sea World San Diego and even a day in Tijuana.

old town San Diego be good idea! ^

That's at least a 2 hr drive....likely much longer on PCH. What part of San Diego is "old town San Diego? It's still south of La Jolla right? I've spent several days in Pacific Beach and Gas Lamp...love San Diego but it doesn't seem to be on the menu this time due to time/distance.

 

[Skins]

Knight,


Get a convertible rental car and drive up Highway one along the coast towards Santa Barbara. If you're trying to experience California through the cities you'll miss everything. California's greatest asset is the amazing visuals and majesty of the land and mountains.

Amazing visuals.

Keep this in mind as well: if you driving up Highway one after a large rain the day before you need to take precaution. As you curve in and out of the cliffs you may come across large boulders blocking the road. Or mudslides.
As you get near Oxnard you will probably smell onions in the air from all the onion farms in that area. Surprisingly it's a refreshing sent. Other places you will smell citrus fruit strong in the air. It just depends on what farms are around you.

I'm from California. When I think about my home state, it's not the cities. It's the land I miss, the mountains, deserts, enormous views.

If you're from the East Coast and you've never been out there, it's like being on Mars. Completely foreign to the eyes.

I remember as a child being on Huntington Beach. I could not see Catalina Island until the sun sets in the west behind the island, and it's silhouette comes into view.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Knight9]

Knight,


Get a convertible rental car and drive up Highway one along the coast towards Santa Barbara. If you're trying to experience California through the cities you'll miss everything. California's greatest asset is the amazing visuals and majesty of the land and mountains.

Amazing visuals.

Keep this in mind as well: if you driving up Highway one after a large rain the day before you need to take precaution. As you curve in and out of the cliffs you may come across large boulders blocking the road. Or mudslides.
As you get near Oxnard you will probably smell onions in the air from all the onion farms in that area. Surprisingly it's a refreshing sent. Other places you will smell citrus fruit strong in the air. It just depends on what farms are around you.

I'm from California. When I think about my home state, it's not the cities. It's the land I miss, the mountains, deserts, enormous views.

If you're from the East Coast and you've never been out there, it's like being on Mars. Completely foreign to the eyes.

I remember as a child being on Huntington Beach. I could not see Catalina Island until the sun sets in the west behind the island, and it's silhouette comes into view.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Awesome post. Thank you. How long a drive is it from Malibu/Thousand Oaks to Santa Barbara up the 1? I Imagine the speed limit on PCH is 35 or so? Do I need to make it all the way to Santa Barbara or do the majestic views stop short of actually getting there?

 

[alfresco]

Visit the Getty Villa.

17985 Pacific Coast Highway
Pacific Palisades

Visit the Getty Villa | The Getty

 

[Skins]

Awesome post. Thank you. How long a drive is it from Malibu/Thousand Oaks to Santa Barbara up the 1? I Imagine the speed limit on PCH is 35 or so? Do I need to make it all the way to Santa Barbara or do the majestic views stop short of actually getting there?

Forget about timing yourself on this route. It's completely irrelevant if this is your first drive.I guarantee you or your girlfriend will stop every 3 miles along the route just to say "wow" and take photos. Most likely, you will find a cliff hundreds of feet over the ocean with a pull off for the car. You're going to stop to just admire both the beauty and the danger of the area.

Just experience it. You'll find it too difficult to time yourself from point a to point B

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Knight9]

Forget about timing yourself on this route. It's completely irrelevant if this is your first drive.I guarantee you or your girlfriend will stop every 3 miles along the route just to say "wow" and take photos. Most likely, you will find a cliff hundreds of feet over the ocean with a pull off for the car. You're going to stop to just admire both the beauty and the danger of the area.

Just experience it. You'll find it too difficult to time yourself from point a to point B

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

OK but I am there for a wedding so it might help to know if this is gonna take 3 hrs or 8 hrs. Do you suggest driving all the way up to Santa Barbara or just in that direction? What is the speed limit on PCH? Better to go mid day or mid afternoon so you catch dusk on the tail end of the trip?

 

[lil amy]

I've been living in LA for about 4 years and the simplest way to go all around LA and see and learn things about the city of Los Angeles is to go on one of those 6 hour tours that Starline/TMZ has. Just check out Starline Tours website and you can see all the different tours they offer. The tour begins right in the middle of the very touristy Hollywood Boulevard near the Chinese Theatre. One of the tours takes you through Hollywood, West Hollywood, up through the hollywood hills, the Sunset strip through Beverly Hills and out to Santa Monica and back through West LA and 3rd st, all the way back to downtown LA and even more. Plus they will stop and explain the history and significane of many of the amazing things that the city of Los Angeles has to offer. I've been to over 40 countries and most major cities in Europe and the USA, and LA is by far my favorite city in the world I've ever been to an now love living in. My rent for my apartment might as much as 2 mortgages....but it's worth it! I hope you have a great time and you love it out here as much as my family and I do

 

[Skins]

OK but I am there for a wedding so it might help to know if this is gonna take 3 hrs or 8 hrs. Do you suggest driving all the way up to Santa Barbara or just in that direction? What is the speed limit on PCH? Better to go mid day or mid afternoon so you catch dusk on the tail end of the trip?

True... I would plan for a day trip if you have a few days to yourself. From Santa Montica to Santa Barbara it's only about 90 miles. This can be covered in about 3 hours at a steady 33 mph.

Keep in mind: there are road closures often on the 1. If there is a road closure in the Malibu area (as there is now) you can go west on the 101 to Oxnard, then start your trip north from there. I've done it in a tractor-trailer.

The visuals are practically nonstop. Sometimes you'll see mountains just growing up out of the water. Or pieces of the continent scattered in the ocean far below.

I would preferred you drove starting in the morning. Although the sunset view is amazing, once the sun sets under the ocean, view was gone.


For most people this is a life experience never toforget.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Skins]

I guess I would plan for about eight hours that day. You'll spend at least four driving and stopping along the way. You can always take a quick route back on the freeway ...under three hours to LA from the Santa Barbara area.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk