On Such a Winter's Day

November 7, 2011 10:33 AM

I need a day trip from Los Angeles this upcoming (rainy) weekend.

Even in Southern California, it’s got to rain sometimes. Unfortunately, weather predictions for the next ten days are suggesting that one of those times will be this weekend, which is when I was planning on taking a special lady to the San Diego Zoo. Since the zoo is unlikely to be any sort of fun on a rainy day, I need to come up with an alternative day trip.

My criteria are fairly straightforward: I need to find a place that is weatherproof, drivable from Los Angeles, open on weekends, good for couples and somewhere in the neighborhood of $100. If it gets us out of Los Angeles County, that would be great, but it isn’t absolutely mandatory.

Hivemind, you’re a smart bunch of folks; let’s see if we can outsmart this storm.

posted by Parasite Unseen to travel & transportation (11 answers total)

Is the three hour drive to Joshua Tree too long for you? If not, I highly recommend going with a nice picnic lunch and slowly driving through the park, stopping periodically to get out and wander around. It's incredibly beautiful this time of year. Pretty car-intensive trip, though.
posted by Specklet at 10:42 AM on November 7, 2011

Stay flexible. At this point, there's a good chance the forecast will change between now and then. If it does indeed rain in San Diego, check the weather in Palm Springs (where rain is less likely but still possible). The Living Desert would be a nice alternative to the SD Zoo.
posted by buggzzee23 at 10:43 AM on November 7, 2011

The aquarium in Long Beach? I haven't been myself, but it's supposed to be really good, and it's kind of a zoo-adjacent activity, given, you know, all the animals. The new Dinosaur Hall at the Natural History Museum is likewise supposed to be awesome.

But I agree that the storm might not amount to much, so you might not totally need a plan B yet.
posted by Countess Sandwich at 10:46 AM on November 7, 2011 [1 favorite]

If you're art-interested at all there's the "Light and Space" show at the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art. It has two buildings--one in La Jolla, one in San Deigo proper--so it would be a day's outing to visit both, with maybe lunch at a nice restaurant in between?
posted by yoink at 10:48 AM on November 7, 2011

The various museums in Balboa Park in San Diego, right next to the Zoo, are pretty awesome. I'd just go down to the Zoo and see how the weather is. If it's raining too much, just walk over and hit the museums.
posted by The World Famous at 10:55 AM on November 7, 2011 [2 favorites]

How about a wine tasting tour in Solvang?
posted by carsonb at 11:22 AM on November 7, 2011 [1 favorite]

Oh, that particular tour is about double your price range, sorry. I think there are free options and you can go to however many on your own around the village too. You don't necessarily need a tour guide.
posted by carsonb at 11:28 AM on November 7, 2011

The Getty Villa in Malibu?

I'll second the suggestion of the Balboa Park museums.
posted by thomas j wise at 11:52 AM on November 7, 2011

On the wine front, you could go tasting in Temecula or Julian (though it was snowing pretty good in Julian this weekend apparently, and perhaps that is not to your taste). But I agree that you should just come on down and decide at the last minute, hitting the museums instead of the zoo is a wash. (Given that all it's likely to do is drizzle annoyingly, I'd say the zoo might be nice and empty for you with a cozy umbrella, but I don't know if the animal-watching would suck because of the rain.)
posted by Lyn Never at 11:53 AM on November 7, 2011

Well my idea doesn't really get you out of LA County but how about going for tea at the Huntington Library and Gardens? You could have a pot of tea and some sanwiches, walk through the library and museum, and if it's not too rainy, bring an umbrella and stroll through the gardens?

Other idea which feels like a getaway but is right in LA is a Korean spa called the Wi Spa. You could spend all 24 hours there but after I'd go grab some Korean food. My kind of day!
posted by biscuits at 2:30 PM on November 7, 2011

The drive to San Diego is worth it just to get some fish tacos.

There and back would probably kill, like, a good five hours that you could fill with intimate conversation. And the tacos would be delicious.

If that's not doing it for you, the stuff currently up at the Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla looks pretty interesting, and it's apparently a lovely place to be.
posted by davidjmcgee at 7:47 PM on November 7, 2011