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This is an LA-centric partial list, with several outside references in Orange County, San Diego County, Ventura County, and Santa Barbara County. Most things in this list I've done, been to, and so on, or know someone who has, with positive results.


Tourist Traps:
Disneyland and California Adventure (OC)
Knott's Berry Farm (OC)
Legoland
Sea World
Universal Studios and Citywalk
Magic Mountain and Hurricane Harbor (before they close for good!)
Raging Waters (San Dimas)
Mountasia (in Santa Clarita)
The Aquarium of the Pacific
Hearst Castle
The Missions (throughout California, as diverse as their respective cities)
Catalina Island (take a glass-bottomed boat or undersea tour)
Hollywood Boulevard (see the stars--on the Walk of Fame--and impersonators)
Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum (also one in Orange County)
Hollywood Wax Museum (there's one in OC too)
Griffith Park Observatory (reopened not long ago)
LA Zoo (in GP)
San Diego Zoo
San Diego Wild Animal Park
Santa Barbara Zoo (rent a bicycle-cart while you're up there)
Santa Anita and Hollywood Park (horse racing)
Pomona Raceway
Hustler Casino
Hollywood Park Casino
Santa Monica Pier
Petersen Automotive Museum

Culture:
Walt Disney Concert Hall--see the LA Phil
Hollywood Bowl
Los Angeles Public Library
Skirball Cultural Center
The Getty Museum
LA County Museum of Art
Museum of Contemporary Art
California Sciencenter (at Exposition Park)
Museum of Natural History (at Expo)
Bowers Museum (OC)
Discovery Science Center (OC)
Gene Autry Museum of the American West (formerly Heritage Museum)
Southwest Museum of the American Indian
Dorothy Chandler Pavillion
The Huntington Museum and Gardens
LA Rose Garden (at Expo)
Japanese Gardens (at the reclamation center in the San Fernando Valley--gorgeous!)
Hawaiian Gardens (OC)

Restaurants:
Spago (arguably LA's most high-profile restaurant)
Lawry's the Prime Rib (this is where the Beef Bowl before the Rose Bowl happens)
Tito's Tacos (cheap assimilated Mexican, but it's a staple)
Sagebrush Cantina (in Calabasas, packed with motorcycles on Sundays)
Pacific Dining Car (in downtown LA, train-themed, pricey, but worth it)
Neptune's Net (on Pacific Coast Highway, just past LA county line up north)
Gladstone's (on PCH, at Citywalk, etc.)
Porto's (Cuban bakery--food and sweets--with locations in Glendale and Burbank)

Communities and Centers:
Westwood (self-contained bustling well-off college town)
Old Town Pasadena
Beverly Hills
Silverlake and Echo Park (great for jogging, but better for their diverse coexistence)
Venice
Irvine Spectrum (huge outdoor mall with a ferris wheel)
Westfield Shoppingtown Topanga (a typical 1990s mall gone upscale, with an indoor two-story merry-go-round and 300+ shops)
Little Tokyo (LA)
Chinatown (in LA and San Francisco)
Solvang (Danish village) and Buellton (home of split pea soup)
San Luis Obispo

Clubs (Popular Music--there are where many bands got their start):
House of Blues (LA and Anaheim)
The Key Club
The El Rey
The Roxy
The Knitting Factory
The Troubador
The Derby
The John Anson Ford Amphitheatre
The Greek Theatre
The Mint
The Henry Fonda Theatre
The Wiltern (my favorite)
The Ventura Theater
The Chain Reaction (OC)
Cobalt Cafe (tiny blink-and-you-miss-it San Fernando Valley stop for local bands on their way; RxBandits, Incubus, and A New Found Glory played here, among others)
B.B. King's Jazz Club (at Citywalk)
Catalina Jazz Club
Cozy's (jazz in the San Fernando Valley)
Canyon Club (everything from Pat Benatar to Boyz II Men to local bands)
Ground Zero (at USC, they've hosted such bands as TSOL and the Offspring in the last few years)

Clubs (Dance):
The Granada (in Alhambra, hot hip-hop and Latin, and they have lessons)
Club DV8 at Level 3 (Hollywood and Highland)
Borderline (Thousand Oaks, good for all ages and varied styles, no need to impress)
Lucky Strike (bowling and nightclub)
The Mayan
Basque
Ivar
Zanzibar
The Standard (in the hotel)
Rumba Room (salsa at Citywalk)
Cabana Club
Element
Mood
Club 705 (Hermosa)
Tiger Heat (GLBTQ)
SkyBar
Monsoon Cafe
Copa Cabana (Long Beach)
Hot Peppers (Temecula)
Mama Juana's (salsa)
JC Fandango (mostly salsa)
Zabumba
Tia Juana's restaurant (no relation to Mama wink )
Memories (Whittier, with both top 40 music and swing)
LindyGroove (at the Pasadena Masonic lodge, family-friendly swing dancing)
Atomic Ballroom (OC, Tuesdays and Fridays, some Saturdays, swing)
Cafe Savoy (near SDSU)
Rusty's Rhythm Club (Marina Del Rey on Wednesday nights, cheap and amazing)

Nature:
Troutdale (fishing in the Santa Monica Mountains)
Santa Monica Mountains (hiking trails and biking trails abound)
Santa Susana Mountains (great for rappeling)
Marina Del Rey (rent a sailboat)
Malibu (Paradise Cove is pristine and pricey, Zuma 7, 9, or 11 are more real and attract a more diverse crowd)
La Brea Tarpits

Sports:
Lucha Libre (at the Mayan)
OC Roller Girls roller derby (in Irvine)
LA Dodgers baseball
LA (Anaheim) Angels baseball
San Diego Padres baseball
Oakland Athletics baseball
San Francisco Giants baseball
Oakland Raiders football
San Diego Chargers football
San Francisco 49ers football
LA Avengers arena football
USC Trojans football (might as well be a pro team in LA wink )
USC Trojans basketball (on the rise)
UCLA football (it was an aberration)
UCLA basketball (perenially a solid program)
LA Clippers basketball
LA Lakers basketball
LA Kings hockey
San Jose Sharks hockey
Anaheim (Mighty) Ducks hockey (they'll always be the Mighty Ducks to me)
LA Galaxy soccer
LA Chivas USA soccer
LA Riptide lacrosse

Theatre:
Wicked
Jersey Boys
Pantages Theatre
Schubert Theatre
Ahmanson Theatre
Santa Monica Playhouse

Comedy and Improv:
ComedySportz (comedy played as a sport--my favorite)
The Groundlings
The Laugh Factory
Hollywood Improv
Improv Olympic West
Key Largo
The Comedy Store
Ultimate Improv
ComedyJuice (Wednesday nights at the Improv, Dane Cook's been known to show up randomly, and Sarah Silverman's a staple)

Venues:
Staples Center
Honda Center
Great Western Forum
Home Depot Center (Carson)
Dodger Stadium
Grand Olympic Arena
Shrine Auditorium
Bovard Auditorium
Galen Center
Pauley Pavilion
LA Coliseum
LA Sports Arena
Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza
Gibson Amphitheater (Citywalk)
Kodak Theatre


I think that's enough for now...and this is just LA and other counties north and south a day's drive...


--ashleyatusc

I even left out a few things, like:

Whale-watching at Channel Islands
UltraZone laser adventure
Medieval Times dinner and tournament

And so on...

--ashleyatusc

See? So much to do in California!

Not to mention bowling, karaoke, movies, and the usual stuff.

--ashleyatusc

I'm a professionally trained singer. I'd own you at that. > smile

I used to go bowling with one of my best friends (the Irvine one when she lived near me) every Tuesday, Wednesday, and sometimes Thursday at the alleys near us the summer after high school through the first semester of my freshman year of college. Sometimes it was $3 to get in, $1 per game, other times $5 admission, $.50 a game. Another friend of mine and I used to go at least weekly during my sophomore year of high school, so I had bought my own bowling shoes. I averaged 120 or so, with a high of 168. I probably suck now.

I have helped on exactly one film, for USC's Ed Wood festival, called Rebel Without a Bra. I'm infinitely proud. And I wore a bra the entire time. Ha! razz

No, I was not on camera. Thankfully. I did a lot of the camera work and staging. wink

Nah, for USC's Ed Wood Film Festival. 24 hours to shoot and edit a film. They give you the title and the rest is a free-for-all! biggrin

Oh yeah, I forgot the Museum of Flying in Santa Monica. And Third Street's obvious. And The Grove. And the Santa Monica Pier. I digress.