trinacriabob

gin (that's coming from someone who detests alcohol)

I've stayed there, too. They gave me the corner room with the round window looking out at Century City. My cousin from Europe was visiting, so she stayed in the loft and I stayed downstairs. What a great base for exploring L.A. Needless to say, she thought it was a great city!

Greg Brady hair

Croc, those parts are indeed banal. The very end of Imperial Hwy is a beach, though one wouldn't want to use that beach and would go left (south) to the South Bay Beach towns. I think TYD is looking at $ (American, Canadian or otherwise) and is looking for a base. I don't ever spend money in LA to stay at a Santa Monica or Redondo Beach zip code, though it would be nice. There are some good hotels along the Sepulveda strip where you wouldn't feel any of those bad El Segundo things. It is a business area with mid-rises, though vapid nonetheless. There is the Doubletree at which I would stay any time, but I think the prices are higher than they have been...it is literally across a plaza from Mattel Headquarters. There is an Embassy Suites at the corner of Imperial and Sepulveda, from which you could watch planes land/take-off. Manhattan Beach Blvd. is but 3-5 minutes south of this area along Sepulveda at which there is a nice shopping center with Barnes and Nobles, nice clothing stores, some decent restaurants and Versailles Cuban food further south on Sepulveda. TYD, whatever you do, don't judge LA by either Torrance or El Segundo. These are merely bases from which to explore and put a few extra dollars in your pocket, while staying in clean and safe® surroundings.

Kind of a bland business park area, and there will be nobody around at night.

mine

fed

Right. Don't even think about Carson. That whole area will depress you. Torrance is a good base. Try to stay on, or west of, Hawthorne Blvd. and definitely SOUTH of 190th. You don't want to be in Lawndale. Another option is El Segundo. There are a lot of good hotels south of LAX. I have stayed at the Doubletree several times. Another one is the Hilton Garden Inn. There are some good rates to be had, with AAA/CAA or on line, but not much to do. However, it is SUPER close to the beaches. Please do NOT stay in Inglewood, no matter how tempting the prices are. Do NOT stay along Century Blvd. anywhere east of the 405. It gets nasty real quick. Ask away if you have more questions.

dip

stop

dfelt, I was just up there over Easter, but only up to Tacoma. Don't forget, though, that there is almost always cloud cover over Seattle. I was once driving to Canada with a friend who remarked that the cloud cover over Puget Sound is denser and lower than it is in Porltland. That seems to be correct. As for Seattle, I too like the suburbs (East Side) over the city...everything is newer and there are way more trees. Don't you have relatives / roots in California? Fess up!

True...when my relatives came in from Europe and Alitalia was arriving late enough for the lights of LA to be on, they couldn't believe how the lights of the metro area went on and on and on... By comparison, Atlanta, which is supposed to have sprawl, feels compact. You come in over a heavily treed area from the southwestern suburbs, see the skyline to the left (north of the airport) and you land fairly quickly.

trestle shifter (Riv or Toro or one of those...weren't those cool?)

artificial dfelt, you posted TTWWIICCEE

I just thought of a new Central Pennsylvanian comfort food dish: Mashed potatoes and hare

Boston

But will he leave his mansion overlooking Lake Washington is the question... To answer the OP, GM must figure out what it takes to get those who think it's highly uncool to drive domestic iron (like too many people I know through work or socially) to consider an American car.

If you live to tell about it, I guess...

cleavage (those who have it tend to show it)

Lasagna ....just came back from having that at an excellent restaurant...

I'm laughing my ass off right now. That is absolutely correct. I don't know where the bus starts and what major thoroughfare it follows out to the ocean (Venice Blvd. or another parallel boulevard), but for years and years, there has been Metro (prev. RTD before the subway opened) regularly scheduled bus service that followed Pacific Coast Highway way past Malibu to the places you've described. I know, since I've gone to at least Zuma while growing up there with my friends on one of the city buses.

Absolutely, I didn't add that in because, if traffic conditions are bad along 101/405, that can keep someone from completing the loop I described. Taking Topanga Canyon or Malibu Canyon back up to the 101 and then down to the 405 to return to the city proper really helps explain Los Angeles's canyon/valley/coastal basin "set-up," which is quite unique.

immigrant

One way or another, a 3-day tourist to LA needs to get some sand in between their toes. Malibu is the most "rural," so it has a good feel. People more representative of what LA "used to be" are more likely to be found in Manhattan and Hermosa, Redondo had a decent pier and Torrance's beach south of there offers a nice view of "the sweep" of the bay, Santa Monica actually has a crappy beach and parking is expensive...and wait...for some Bohemian (as Berkeley or Santa Cruz as it gets in SoCal) vibes, Venice Beach may be ok...but not after the sun goes down. So many (stupid) people bash LA. I showed LA to my cousin from Europe in 3 days the "right way" and she was impressed....a city that just can't be explained! A palm-lined waterfront and snow-capped mountains behind the downtown skyline. What's there to bash?

Day two could look like this: - go to the Getty Museum - drive along Sunset into the Palisades taking a detour here and there to check out some nice homes - drive up to Malibu to see the ocean, the old Malibu Pier, get the view from Pepperdine, eat at Gladstone's or other place (try Leo Carrillo State Beach, it feels 200 miles away from LA, or even Zuma Beach can be ok) - drive down to the South Bay and check out beach strand in Manhattan, Hermosa and Redondo and get a quick glance at the Marina del Rey en route - drive up to the northward outlook of Palos Verdes to see the curve of Santa Monica Bay which is worth a few photos - return to Santa Monica and spend an evening in Iran/Armenia/Israel/Mexico/surfer land/movie star wannabe land and get a good dinner while peoplewatching It's all good.