How often do you visit LA County for leisure? (Long Beach: house, movie theater)

[venicebeachcalifornia]

I don't normally visit LA County for leisure unless I have to and prefer to keep my activities inside OC. The roads are a mess up there. Take the I-5 for example. The part in LA County is so narrow and bumpy. You can easily hit the concrete median barrier on the carpool lane if you are not careful. Once you've gone past the "Welcome to OC" sign, the road instantly widens up and everything feels more "proper" here.

[TimTheEnchanter]

Go up to LA "for leisure" for USC football & water polo games, LA Opera and other events at the Music Center and the occassional basketball game.

Go up 2-3 times a week for work.

[DinsdalePirahna]

I row in Long Beach every day

[EscapeCalifornia]

I'll occasionally go there for Philippe's or dim sum, but otherwise I see LA as an obstacle to getting up the coast.

I know what you mean about the 5. Crossing into LA county is like instantly going back in time 50 years.

[LordOfTheCars]

As the years went on I ventured to LA county less and less. It's not what it once was.


The tourist spots are so overcrowded it's not worth the visit let alone some of the 2 legged animals that inhabit places like "The Walk of Fame."


Many of the old great landmarks are gone.


I shoot in compitition, many of the trap and skeet clubs are gone.


Is the silient movie theater still in business?

[kwong7]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

I'll occasionally go there for Philippe's or dim sum, but otherwise I see LA as an obstacle to getting up the coast.

I know what you mean about the 5. Crossing into LA county is like instantly going back in time 50 years.

Just a few things:
1) Do you refuse to go to Cole's in Downtown?
2) Have you tried dim sum in the San Gabriel Valley, Cerritos, Hacienda Heights, or Irvine (I call them the modern Chinatowns of suburbia)?

Lastly, LA has too much infrastructure and a fiscal budget that cannot afford to fix much. From Buena Park to Santa Fe Springs you lose 2 lanes, the carpool lane, and the soft turf of asphalt.

To the OP:
I was born and raised in OC, but I have a lot of family all around LA. I think there is much more to do there and much better restaurants, but you need to be strategic as to what time you will be on which freeway. I typically avoid the 5 and 10. I always check sigalert.com before I leave the house and even have my passenger check on the iPhone as we drive. As far as the center median goes, I know what you're talking about...I drive a VW Golf TDI with stiff coilovers. Just keep it under 80 with both hands on the steering wheel.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by kwong7

Just a few things:
1) Do you refuse to go to Cole's in Downtown?
2) Have you tried dim sum in the San Gabriel Valley, Cerritos, Hacienda Heights, or Irvine (I call them the modern Chinatowns of suburbia)?

1) Never heard of it

2) Been to a couple in Monterey Park and one in Irvine. Used to go to NBC on Atlantic before they redid the center and made the parking impossible. Haven't been back since. I was actually at Ocean Star last weekend for a family dinner. Parking is horrible as I remember. I preferred NBC to downtown LA, but we usually wind up going to downtown because its a little closer for my wife's family (who meets us there) and my mother-in-law likes to shop there after eating.

[kwong7]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

1) Never heard of it

2) Been to a couple in Monterey Park and one in Irvine. Used to go to NBC on Atlantic before they redid the center and made the parking impossible. Haven't been back since. I was actually at Ocean Star last weekend for a family dinner. Parking is horrible as I remember. I preferred NBC to downtown LA, but we usually wind up going to downtown because its a little closer for my wife's family (who meets us there) and my mother-in-law likes to shop there after eating.

I just ask because folks tend to take a hard stance on which to patron. Both claim to have been the first to invent the french drip sandwich. Cole's is off 6th and Main.

Capital Seafood in Irvine is pretty good, but you get better food and at a better price in Monterey Park/San Gabriel. I grew up going to NBC and ABC. I hear you on the parking situation at Ocean Star, I usually just park on the street and walk...it's as if no one carpools and everyone drives themselves to meet at the restaurant.

[LordOfTheCars]

I miss Hamburger Hamlet.

[Dallas Cowboys Fan]

How often do I visit LA for leisure? Never!

Work? All the time.