By Danny King
Here’s a Spring trip tip sheet for folks looking for the biggest family blast for the buck (less than $50 for a family of four):
You’ve seen them in films and TV show ranging from “MacGyver” to “Blazing Saddles” (and, let’s face it, after “MacGyver” and “Blazing Saddles,” what else do you really need?). Now go take the kids and climb them. Located about halfway between the Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys, the nearly 1,000-acre
Vasquez Rocks Natural Area and Nature Center (10700 W. Escondido Canyon Rd., Agua Dulce, 661.268.0840) and its iconic, jagged, diagonally-shaped formations allow for some fantastic hiking and kiddie-rock-climbing excursions for the intrepid ones. A Spring visit allows for fun in the sun before the area heats up in the summer months, while ranger-guided hikes and birds of prey presentations can be had for the right price. That’s right, they’re free.
If the family is up for some high-quality baseball, there are few places with more options than LA. It all starts in Chavez Ravine, where the
Dodgers open the regular season at Dodger Stadium against the San Francisco Giants on March 31, and continue with home stands against the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres in April. Tickets start at $12, and if you want to go old school with a mid-week, mid-day game, the Dodgers and Braves have a 12:10 game on Thursday, April 21.
For some top-notch college ball, a trip to either
UCLA’s Jackie Robinson Stadium,
USC’s Dedeaux Field,
Long Beach State’s Blair Field (home of the Dirtbags),
Loyola Marymount’s Page Stadium,
Pepperdine’s Eddy D. Field Stadium and
Cal State Northridge’s Matador Field is well worth the excursion. With the West Coast home to some of the NCAA’s best baseball teams and players, you may get the chance to catch some future stars in action (the author’s first game at Jackie Robinson Stadium pitted UCLA against Stanford and its then star two-sport outfielder John Elway). And the price is right – most tickets go for less than $10 each, with promotions such as UCLA’s Tuesday night games selling tickets for $2. Check the schools’ websites for schedules.
The South Bay gives folks two fantastic choices for getting in touch with their inner Neptune. Since 1935, the
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium (3720 Stephen M. White Dr., San Pedro, 310.548.7562) in San Pedro has taken a locals-only approach to its exhibits, featuring the world’s largest collection of Southern California marine life. Anchored by the Frank Gehry-designed 21,000-square-foot aquarium, the San Pedro facility also includes an outdoor tide pool touch tank and interpretive exhibits showing how marine life lives in rocky shores, beaches and mudflats, and the open ocean. As an added bonus, whale-watching season runs through April. And for more sea and salt air, the Cabrillo Beach Coastal Park is just steps away. Suggested donation for admission to the Aquarium (closed Mondays) is $5 per adult, $1 per child. Meanwhile, across the Vincent Thomas Bridge, Long Beach’s
Aquarium of the Pacific (100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach, 562.590.3100) houses more than 500 species and contains almost three-dozen exhibits, giving visitors a fish-eye’s view of the Pacific Ocean’s three major regions. The Aquarium is also a participant in LA's
Discover the Arts program, so coupon-carrying adults can get in for $19.95 and kids $10.95 through the end of April (Aquarium of the Pacific is closed April 15-17).
Click here to print the coupon and to view other offers.
If your kid’s a car junkie, the
Petersen Automotive Museum (6060 Wilshire Blvd. at Fairfax, Los Angeles, 323.930.CARS) is heaven, and if not, consider your child converted after one visit. More than 150 rare and classic cars, trucks, motorcycles and other things on wheels cover four floors and more than 300,000 square feet of space. In addition to permanent exhibits featuring cars used in famous TV shows and movies, and alternative-fueled vehicles, this Spring offers exhibits such as “Supercars,” which include high-powered cars like Porsches, Ferraris and Bugattis, and “NHRA: Sixty Years of Thunder,” which traces the history of hot-rodding and drag racing. And if you can get a few families together, the museum offers two-hour afternoon tours Tuesday - Friday for groups of 10 or more. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for I.D.-carrying students and $3 for kids 5-12. And admission’s free for children under 5, so you can start ‘em young. And if the Petersen doesn’t satisfy your car Jones, Sylmar’s
Nethercutt Museum (15151 Bledsoe St., Sylmar, 818.364.6464) is there for you, complete with more than 130 antique, vintage and classic cars. And admission is free (closed Sundays and Mondays).
If a trip to Pasadena’s renowned
Kidspace Children’s Museum (480 N. Arroyo Blvd., Pasadena, 626.449.9144) isn’t considered a rite of Spring, it should be. Combine more than two acres of outdoor exploratory space with a constantly changing exhibit list of arts, crafts and scientific experiments, and you have one busy kid any time of year. And things get better in March and April. March 20 marks the Museum’s Spring Celebration, while there are Spring Break camps for the weeks of April 11 (“Water Works”) and April 18 (“Super Hero Bugs”) for kids ages 6 to 10. Earth Day will be commemorated on Friday, April 22, and Easter Sunday, April 24, will be celebrated with an Egg Hunt. Admission to the Museum, which is near the Rose Bowl, is $10 each for kids and parents.
Looking to mix in a little local history with your fun? Downtown’s
La Plaza de Cultura y Artes (501 N. Main St., Los Angeles, 888.488.8083) and
Olvera Street (E. Cesar Chavez Ave. between Main and Alameda Streets, Los Angeles, 213.625.7074) will give you plenty of opportunity to celebrate Mexican culture with your kids, especially once April rolls around. La Plaza will to open to the public April 16 in two historic, renovated buildings near the site where Los Angeles was founded in 1781 and will feature interactive exhibits, artwork and a 30,000-square-foot public garden (admission price to be determined). And one block to the north is historic Olvera Street, which is a celebration every day of the year, but provides an extra special show on Saturday, April 23 (Sabado de Gloria), with the Blessing of the Animals. At 2 pm that day, a cow decorated with flower leads a procession of animals (and presumably, their owners) that may include dogs, cats, snakes, chickens and peacocks.
The nearly 50-year tradition of the
Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire may be a blink of an eye compared to the 200-plus-year-history of the real deal, but by Southern California standards, it’s nothing to sneeze at. Think of the Faire, which starts its six-week run at the Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area in Irwindale on April 9, as a possible start to a Spring tradition of sorts. That is, if your idea of tradition runs towards things like fire breathers, joust battles, dancing, artisans, costumes and a lot of air-lute playing. And the good news is that discounted tickets can be had at the Pleasure Faire’s Website before April 1 -- $17.50 for adults, $10.50 for kids 5-12 and free for kids under 5 (so a family of four with a little one gets in just under the $50 wire).
Danny King is a freelance reporter whose work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times and Daily Variety. King, who has been a staff reporter for Bloomberg News and the Los Angeles Business Journal, currently writes about subjects ranging from the travel industry to alternative-fueled vehicles. A native Angeleno, King lives with his family in either Los Feliz or Silver Lake – he’s still not sure which.
Photo courtesy of John Kim (imtherealjohnkim), Flickr (Click here to enlarge)
Photo courtesy of Jeff Weaver (biggimote), Flickr (Click here to enlarge)
