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Things to do in Los Angeles?

Things To Do In Los Angeles When You're Twelve

  • Family -- including my preteen cousin -- is coming to visit me in Los Angeles and I'm not sure where to bring them. Special personality snowflakes inside. I obviously know about lots of fun things in Los Angeles, but between our diverse interests and the fact that I don't spend really any time with the middle school set these days, I'm at a loss to figure out itinerary options. Dramatis Personae: My dad: foodie and wine geek. Also a huge history buff. Loves bookstores, historical sites, live music, culture. My stepmother: also into great food and wine and up for cultural stuff. Loves quirky vintage style, anything with a boho aesthetic, and is a major animal lover. Not outdoorsy, which precludes hikes. If it were just the two of them coming, I'd be thinking The Getty and maybe some other arts/cultural museums, hit up a bunch of food trucks and taquerias, some live music and/or comedy, bars with great atmosphere that mix killer cocktails, possibly drive up to Solvang and do some wine tasting (both are huge fans of the film Sideways). However, throwing my drastically underage cousin into the mix means that a lot of that stuff is totally off limits, and the rest of it would probably seem really boring. My cousin: I'm pretty sure she's between seventh and eighth grades. Luckily she's also really into food and has wanted to become a pastry chef since she was tiny, so she'll be able to hang for some culinary adventures. I have no idea what her interests are beyond whatever junior high girls are typically into these days. Already on the agenda per their request is a beach outing and dinner at A Frame. I'm thinking we can't let a future pastry chef visit L.A. without trips to Donut Friend and Coolhaus. I'm also thinking Olvera Street would be a hit, and we will be visiting The Last Bookstore. They are probably staying in Hollywood or WeHo. I'm interested in really any recommendations for tween/young teen aged visitors to L.A., but here are some additional questions: - Japanese food recommendations? Weird is totally fine. - Other "Only In L.A." cuisines I'm not thinking of? I've got Mexican covered. - Where do thirteen year old girls like to shop these days? - Great bakeries known for serious pastry as opposed to food trends? - Where do you go if you want good wine and cocktails but have a kid in tow? - Good informal places to catch live music? I recently did Jon Brion at The Largo, which could be cool if the dates work. - What are the great historical sites or history oriented museums in town? Is there an old mission nearby that's worth a special trip? - Aside from Runyon (not going to happen), is there any great dog & people watching spot? We are all dog lovers, especially my stepmother.

  • Answer:

    I LOVED Venice Beach at that age. Parking in Venice and then walking to and from Santa Monica (or vice versa) would make a nice afternoon.

Sara C. at Ask.Metafilter.Com Visit the source

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Proof Bakery in Atwater has amazing pastries IMO. Fluffy flakey buttery goodness. If you're doing this when he's open, Trystero Coffee is just down the street. Would they be into an informal garage espresso bar/microroaster? The other bonus is that just past Trystero is a nice spot to look at the LA River and some arty graffiti under the Hyperion bridge. 13 year old me would have probably been super into the Urban Outfitters downtown on Broadway. People bring their kids to the Friday night Barnsdall wine tastings, but I have no idea how the kids feel about that. There are food trucks as well. It's a lovely place to watch the sunset. If you're in Little Tokyo, I like Cafe Dulce's pastries (more of the green tea donut variety). If no one is vegetarian, the udon at Monzo is hella tasty (hand cut noodles, bonito broth).

mandymanwasregistered

Used to be I loved to stroll on Melrose, when there was Flip and Chick-a-boom and other vintage stuff, so if you know of a good vintage/thrift store, that might be a hit. Mission St. Inez in Solvang was pretty representative, and it didn't warrant more than an hour of hanging around. So if you do Solvang, get your Pea Soup, hit the mission, take a few windmill pics and grab some cookies for the road. Either Disneyland or Magic Mountain would be a hit. If you're into it, perhaps the two of you can go while Aunt and Uncle chill out. Santa Monica pier is also a good option, combine with a windows down drive up US1, to see if you can see whales. Are whale watches going on? That would be popular. There's an aquarium in San Pedro, and an open air Zocalo where you can get ceviche and see folks having big family lunches. Do Mann's Chinese Theater, check out the walk of fame, look at the weirdos. Then drive over to Westwood and stroll around. There may be stuff on THEIR agenda, if it's interesting to you, go on ahead, if not, let them go and do, you stay home and do laundry, or whatever. Have fun!

Ruthless Bunny

Nthing suggestions for Farmers Market, Venice Beach, and Santa Monica Pier/Promenade -- the teen girls I've spent time with over the past few years have enjoyed them all. History-wise, there's a http://route66.theautry.org/ that just opened and looks like great fun. For music, what's on at the Hollywood Bowl when they're here? Get some cheap bench seats, bring a picnic, and have fun. (Avoid the parking nightmare by taking the shuttle from Hollywood & Highland.)

scody

Shopping: I just read something yesterday that there will be Uniqlo pop-ups this summer in advance of the permanent store opening in the fall. Sunset dinner at Yamashiro (the food is fine, not spectacular) is an only in LA thing I recommend everyone do.

Lyn Never

Japanese food recommendations? Weird is totally fine. One place that is a bit out of your way, but that is really fun, really loud, and really amusing, is http://www.yelp.com/biz/shin-sen-gumi-yakitori-gardena down in Gardena. It's really entertaining, the sumibiyaki is great, and it makes for quite a fun dinner. (Fair warning: it's busy though.) If they enjoy Japanese culture, cuisine, shopping, etc., you could precede this with shopping time at some great stores and markets down in Torrance and Gardena. Marukai markets are pretty fun, particularly the one on Western and Artesia. (I am a huge Torrance and Gardena fan, if you can't tell. Personally I think it's the place to go for Japanese and Korean food.) I'll also second the Museum of Jurassic Technology as a great way to kill an hour or two, if your 12-13 year old enjoys the weird. One more cuisine that is pretty much "only in LA" unless you get out to the islands... Hawaiian food. Again, Torrance and Gardena is the place to go for great loco moco, good plate lunches, good portuguese sausage and banana pancakes, macadamia pancakes, fried rice, etc. Bob's Hawaiian is great, as is http://www.yelp.com/biz/gardena-bowl-coffee-shop-gardena, an awesome little Hawaiian joint which is a coffee shop style restaurant inside a bowling alley.

Old Man McKay

We liked Venice Beach, the Los Angeles Zoo, Griffin Observatory, Museum of Jurassic Technology, Santa Monica Pier. There is a Japanese section that has lots of good food, an unusual thing for me was a shave ice place with very different flavors my daughter in law took us to. I can't remember the name, but it was good. The Space Shuttle is great too, kids would enjoy it.

mermayd

For Dad the history buff, maybe a visit to see the Space Shuttle? Pinks for an only in LA lunch?

cecic

How about It's a Wrap for shopping? It has clothes from tv and movie sets. It's on Magnolia in NoHo, which may be a bit of a hike, but I think she might love it for the novelty.

McPuppington the Third

La Brea Tar Pits? Is that even a thing? I know they have good tacos over there.

Ruthless Bunny

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