Here’s my list of top ten things to do in LA/SoCal:

Disneyland: The Happiest Place on Earth. Half a billion visitors can’t be wrong. (Sometimes it seems all at once)

Universal Studios: A theme park that grew out of a studio tour. Check out eBay. You can find some discounted tickets there. And Universal City Walk is a fun place to hang out in the evening after your day inside the park.

Hollywood: Hollywood Boulevard is ready for its close-up, thanks to years of urban renewal and renovation. Enjoy the Walk of Fame, Entertainment Museum, Mann’s Theatre and more. You can see a lot for free. I have also added the Hollywood & Highland complex to my top ten list… it has lots of shops and restaurants, and the Kodak Theater (home of the Academy Awards). I like the El Capitan theater, because it has been restored to its former glory, unlike the Chinese, which was essentially gutted and turned into a multiplex.

Rodeo Drive, 90210: Packed with exclusive shops, full of gawkers. They all came to enjoy the excess. Free, unless you intend to buy something.

Venice Beach: Los Angeles kitsch and over-the-top culture at its best.
Here you’ll find Muscle Beach, street performers and tacky shops galore.
Fun, VERY interesting, but I avoid it after dark, when it gets a little TOO interesting for my taste. And it’s a short bike ride from:

Santa Monica Beach and Pier: Great beach scene and a classic seaside amusement park, complete with antique carousel that has been in a lot of TV and movies. (The Sting and "Three’s Company" come immediately to mind).
After visiting the pier, you can ride a bike south a couple miles to Venice Beach.

Santa Monica Third Street Promenade – Downtown Santa Monica’s shopping promenade is often the scene of movie star-sightings. Just a short walk from the Santa Monica Pier.

Sunset Boulevard: Perhaps one of the world’s most famous streets, it began as a route between the stars’ posh neighborhoods and the Hollywood studios. It runs from downtown to the ocean, passing through the "Sunset Strip" on its way. It makes for a fun drive. Along the way, you see a lot of different neighborhoods. Hollywood, West Hollywood, Bel Air, and Pacific Palisades. When you get to the ocean, stop at Gladstone’s for Fish.

Queen Mary: Once the largest ship afloat, she’s been docked in Long Beach for longer than she sailed, and her elegance never fails to impress. Free to visit. You can actually stay on board, for a price.

Farmers Market and The Grove – A new shopping complex right next to a Los Angeles landmark, The Grove and Farmers Market coexist. Enjoy a movie or shopping, then take the trolley to the Farmers Market for lunch or dinner.
Farmer’s Market is right next to CBS, so walk across the lot to see if they are taping "The Price is Right". You might even get in.

Griffith Park – Home of the Los Angeles Zoo, Griffith Park Observatory, Travel Town, the Greek Theatre, and Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage.

Getty Museum – The Getty’s architecture is so beautiful that it keeps me fascinated. No matter whether you like their art or architecture better (or maybe you’ll just enjoy the view), the Getty is sure to please. Free.

Attend a TV taping – You can get free tickets at audiencesunlimited.com, or see the booth at Universal City walk. It’s very interesting to see a show being taped. The most popular, by far, is the tonight show. Check the NBC web site for all the details there.

Places to eat:
In-N-Out Burger: Multiple locations, best burger in LA, ask anyone.
Pink’s Hot Dogs: 709 N. La Brea, just north of Melrose. Might see a celebrity.
Tommy’s Chili Burgers: Look for the shack, an LA tradition. Original location at Beverly & Rampart, a couple miles west of downtown.
Canter’s Deli: 419 N. Fairfax, between Beverly & Melrose. Near CBS, might spot a celebrity.
Phillippe’s: 1001 N. Alameda. Great roast beef sandwiches. Near Union Station, Olvera Street. Watch the mustard, it’s hot.

Places to Stay:
In Hollywood, I recommend the Hollywood Celebrity Hotel and the Farmer’s Daughter Hotel.
In Anaheim, I recommend the HoJo Anaheim, and the Candy Cane Inn. If you want to splurge and make this a most memorable trip, stay at Disney’s Grand Californian. You get the full Disney experience. If you don’t need to stay by the park, then stay at the Doubletree on Harbor, or even the one in Orange on Chapman.
In Santa Monica, the Holiday Inn Santa Monica is close to the pier and reasonably priced.

Places to Shop:
South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa
Fashion Island, Newport Beach
Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica
Citadel Outlets, Commerce
Beverly Center, Los Angeles
The Block at Orange, Orange
Ontario Mills, Ontario

Weather in March and April is pretty mild. It is usually warm, with temps in the 70’s and 80’s, with cool evenings. Pack shorts as well as long pants, considering the evenings get cool. Be sure and check the weather report to see if there’s a possibility of rain. It’s rare in late March and April, but not unheard of.

The beach is fun to visit, but the water’s cold here. So if you bring a swimsuit, figure on just using it for show.

good beaches to go to are
hunington beach
santa monica
la jolla
redondo beach
^just a few
the weather will either be completley sunny and warm or gloomy and rainy

My favorite beach is Newport. It’s usually pretty clean, and the shopping is awesome! We usually spend Spring break there, and the weather is relatively nice, but not super warm.

Have fun!!

A lot of people make the mistake of going to Hollywood and trying to see celebrities "in all their glamour". Don’t. Hollywood is really dirty and you will probably NEVER see a celeb there unless there’s an award show. The weather isn’t unbearably hot, it’s warm, and it WILL rain. If you want the most POPULATED beach, go to Santa Monica. If you want one of the cleanest, go to VENICE BEACH. That will probably determine where you’ll stay. The best shopping is in Beverly Hills, on Robertson and Rodeo Dr. oh, and, YOU WILL NOT HAVE A FULL CALIFORNIA EXPERIENCE UNLESS YOU GO TO DISNEYLAND, I swear!!!

Go during the Long Beach Grand Prix weekend.

Eat King Tacos, drink Tecate Beer, and enjoy some freaking awesome race cars on the streets of Long Beach.

Definitely spend some time chillin’ in Hermosa Beach, people watching and strolling the Strand. Grab a bite to eat at Good Stuff (more casual) or Chef Melba’s (nicer)

My brother and I flew into Vegas rented a car and drove to San Diego after spending 1 day in Vegas, then up the 101 (coastal highway) to San Fransisco. This whole trip was done in 7 days. It goes down as the best or one of the best times we have ever had. We got to visit some very neat towns in Cali. Carmel by the Sea, Hurst Mansion, Coronado, SF, the John Mirier(?) forest, think red woods, Haught Ashbery. The left coasters have never scene a cliff they didn’t want to build on.
Our plan was to cross the Rockies and return to Vegas via Reno, but Dec. found the mountain roads closed all ready.

Instead we saw central Cali, which was very beautiful in it’s own right, just at a slower pace. We intend to finish the 101 by flying into SF and going north from there. I will warn you, we drove 6-7 hours every day, stopping anytime we wanted, (the views were awesome as attested to by the 500 pictures we took) but this is a lot of time in tight confines so if you worry about it getting a little catty, you may want to avoid this type of bonding.