Vacations Blog

Once a year several spots around the Southland are transformed into scenes from a Canadian hockey film, if you squint really hard and just let someone slam you into the glass.  Otherwise, you’ll simply find yourself skating along on temporary ice skating rinks while the sun beats down on you and palm trees sway in the background.  Also?  Most likely nobody else can ice skate, either, so you don’t have to worry about making a fool out of yourself.  Everyone else is doing it.

The only way I'll ever ice skate.

Most famously and traditionally, Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles plays winter this year until January 18.  The location is home to the Winter Holiday Festival on December 12 and 13.

No need to leave the Valley (San Fernando) if that’s where you’re staying.  This is the first year that Woodland Hills Ice operates at the Westfield Topanga Mall until February 2010.  Special events, birthday parties, and open until midnight on Christmas Day.

Over yonder on the West Side, there’ll be no swimming in the pool at the W Hotel for a while.  That’s because they ingeniously turned it into a skating rink!  The outdoor restaurant/bar will serve up wintry goodies, too.  Frozen until January 24.  In Santa Monica, meet your friends at 5th and Arizona for some ice skating by the ocean until January 31.

If you’re in more southern areas of Southern Cal, there are opportunities to trip the ice fantastic down there, too.  Seaside Ice Rink Redondo Beach boasts a large parking lot and proximity to the fabulous Portofino Hotel.

Photo:  Pershing Square website

Patriotic Party Time

Naja’s Place, a divey little bar on the Redondo Beach Pier south of Los Angeles, CA, is known for its endless selection of beers from around the world.  On July 4th they open at 10am and the band, Land Sharks, starts at 8pm.  Flag t-shirts are on sale now for $10.  The pier is accessible by foot, bicycle, car, or boat.

Back in the BK (before kids) days, my husband and I roadtripped to Baja California every winter.  That was also back in the days before rampant rumors of activity by dangerous drug cartels at the Mexican-American border, but mostly it’s the kids that keep us from continuing the tradition.  One of our favorite things to do was scout for gray whales.  Every winter these beautiful animals migrate along the Pacific Coast en route to the salty lagoons of Baja California where they give birth to their calves.  If you ever have the occasion to visit Guerrero Negro in Mexico, it is the number one thing you must do before you leave – hop on a panga, or small boat, and go out into the waters where some days the waters are so thick with whales that you can actually touch them.

Gray whale in Mexico, courtesy of Wikimedia.

For the toddler-laden landlubber, however, there are other opportunities to view the gray whales on their past Southern California.  The most popular way to do it is to take a whale watching cruise and there are several companies that operate out of the various SoCal harbors.  Don’t be fooled by our lovely sunny weather:  out on the water it can get chilly and wet so bring the proper gear.  And if you’ve never been out on a boat, remember your sea legs.  If you or your children feel seasick, there is no shame in it.  You are out there to have a good time.  If watercraft are not for you, there are places to see the whales from shore, like at Point Dume beach in Malibu.  You have to scan the horizon and look for the telltale signs: spouting water or glistening black skin.  If you see those things you have most likely happened upon a pod.  They will probably be swimming south.

If you are okay with being out on the water, here are some places to go:

Newport Beach Harbor:  Newport Landing Sportfishing runs excursions Monday through Friday and they also have trips to Catalina.

Rainbow Harbor in Long Beach:  a 2.5 hour cruise on a double decker boat, hosted by Cruise Long Beach Harbor.  Tickets are $25 for adults, $18 for children under 12, and free for children under 2.

Marina del Rey Sportfishing runs a grittier tour on a smaller boat, that much better to get closer to the whales without being obnoxious?

Whale Watching in Los Angeles is a great site that aggregates and reviews many of the whale watching tours available in the area.  Now is a great time to look into this kind of activity if you are visiting the area with your family.  A whale sighting feels like a once-in-a-lifetime experience if you are lucky enough to spot one up close.

Whether you see a whale or several or none, you can also see other ocean life, like the dolphins and sea lions below who joined us on a sailing trip from Marina del Rey to Redondo Beach one day.  (Photos by Tim Clark.)

Dolphins say hello!

What are you looking at?