I'm well out of date so others will be more helpful for sure. But on our honeymoon...almost 46 yrs ago!... we stayed on the Queen Mary which is docked in Long Beach.

If I get back to the LA area, I definitely want to go to the Getty. And I never did get to see the Hollywood sign...

Like Annie, our Queen Mary experience was many years ago, but I still think about it. We didn't stay on board, but we toured it for a few hours and I was just mesmerized. I'm not particularly nautical, and don't truly understand the fascination with touring aircraft carriers, etc. But this harkens back to a true golden age of luxury cruising, and the beauty salon, the dining area, etc. just transported me back to that time the way a good novel does. You can also see the boiler room and other things like that, which may interest your DH.

My son lives in Ventura and as i recall there isnt a lot of sight seeing there. Of course there are lovely beaches. You could take a trip out to the Channel Islands. There is a lovely old mission . The headquarters for Patagonia is there and they have a gorgeous store. I enjoyed the town of Ojai for fun shopping. Santa Barbara is not far.

How long will you be there? LA to Joshua Tree is a couple of hours one-way without any traffic snafus. If you haven't already made flight arrangements you could choose to depart from Palm Springs.

Assuming Coast Highway is open, I would say that Santa Barbara would be a more pleasant trip as it’s not far from Ventura than the trek out to Joshua Tree which I think would take 3 - 4 hours to drive one way.

Pacific Grey Whales are migrating during that time, so I would probably want to take a whale watching tour out of Ventura harbor.

I love Ventura. I thought it was a darling town to walk around and explore the fun little stores. As I recall, there was a nice beach about a block from our Ventura hotel. We've been there a couple times, also a bit ago, alas. We took a boat trip to look at The Channel Islands from Ventura which was way cool.

We also have stayed and eaten at the most gorgeous 'right on the beach and off the highway' inn and restaurant about halfway between Ventura and Santa Barbara. I just looked quickly - will try to find it, if it's still there.

Santa Barbara has gorgeous beaches and gawk worthy houses. It's well set up for more conventional touristy excursions, trolley tours, fab restaurants and stores, the Old Mission, etc.

We've taken the train to Santa Barbara down the coast and have flown into LA and driven up, but we're not really city tourists. Driving in LA is as awful as they say.

Have you ever been to Hearst Castle? https://hearstcastle.org/

I haven't been to the Hearst Castle, or the Queen Mary. DH has been to LA maybe 30 years ago, but otherwise anything will be new. There are a few places in LA I would consider. We generally prefer nature/outdoor type trips, but DH likes to be busy so we usually pack a lot in. All these tips look like something we would both enjoy, I just need to narrow it down and start looking at logistics. We really don't have a timeline yet or any travel plans other than his two day class. So we can visit before or after that. Just exploring our options right now.

Thanks for the ventura tips too - I will be on my own for two days, so I will be exploring the area. Good to know about the whales too!

If you go to Hearst, make reservations well in advance and be sure to take at least two of the tours. It's an amazing experience.

There's no shortage of wonderful places to see in L.A.. You might want to explore Google Maps for things of interest in the area.

If you like museums, the Getty is on top of a mountain with fantastic views of the surroundings. I believe it's also free. The museum and gardens there are works of art without even going inside to see the exhibits.

Well, if you're going to Hearst Castle, you need to stay at the Madonna Inn. No place like it on earth! https://www.madonnainn.com/ Get a load of those guest rooms! Beyond kitsch!

If you are in LA, the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum is kind of crazy, not too time-consuming and not too far from other sites. And you can stop at the Farmer's Market next to the Grove for lunch. It's not a conventional farmer's market, it's hard to describe. It's more like a jumble of small food stores, food counters, and small restaurants in a slightly dilapidated setting.

If you go to Santa Barbara, you can drive 33 miles further to Solvang, which is a very picturesque Danish town, and the drive is extremely scenic on State Hwy 154. Solvang and Santa Barbara both have wineries with wine tasting options.

If you really like wine, you could drive a bit further to Paso Robles and/or Atascadero and maybe spend a night there. Paso Robles has over 200 wineries and excellent restaurants - it reminds me of what Sonoma used to be like in the 1970s, which is my other favorite area for wine tasting.

Another nice small town to visit from Ventura is Ojai, which is a scenic drive 24 miles north of Ventura.

Joshua Tree, while nice to visit, is about 200 miles from Ventura, and it is not a particularly scenic drive, compared to other options, although March is a great time to visit there, as well as Palm Springs.

When you drive from LAX to Ventura, I recommend taking the Marina Freeway to Hwy 1 and take that instead of the 101 freeway. This way you will have a scenic drive along the beach.

I hope you will have good weather for your trip.

I lived in Southern California for many years, in Orange County and Venice. I’m not a huge fan of LA, but there is fun and great food to be had. Driving is …a pain, but a necessity. The Getty Museum is really wonderful (do not miss), and the Getty Villa Museum is worth a visit as well. I believe each of these museums are free, but you need a timed entry. If you’re in downtown LA, I recommend Grand Central Market- lots of good eats. In Venice, shop on Abbot Kinney. If you want to go to the beach, I highly recommend driving south to Laguna Beach, my very favorite place in Southern California - the beaches there are spectacularly beautiful! My favorite is Wood’s Cove, but there are so many lovely beaches starting near the south end of town and down through South Laguna. It is a wonderful beach town for walking and shopping, too, very charming. Personally, as a traveler, I would choose Laguna Beach over Santa Barbara, but Santa Barbara is certainly much closer to Ventura. Hearst Castle is pretty far north, a little under three hours from Ventura. I’ve never been to Joshua Tree or Ojai, but I’d love to explore those places!

I'm so glad you posted this legomom, as we're headed to LA next week. Thanks to Lars sharing info about Modernism Week, we booked Airbnbs in the Palm Springs area so we could take advantage of some of the MW events. We'll be staying at an AirBnb in La Quinta for four nights and then two nights in a very cool desert home while we visit Joshua Tree. Then we head to LA where we'll be visiting my favorite aunt. We'll be in the LA area for 3 nights. We have our itinerary set for PS/Joshua Tree, but nothing planned so far in LA.

I'm also wondering how all the flooding has impacted the areas we'll be in, and if any travel problems will result.

Nature/outdoor, March is the end of the desert flower blooming.

Josha Tree Park reminds me of Western/Cowboy/Indian movies.

Do you enjoy wine? There is large wine producing region along the coast….Sideways.

We've done a lot of the national parks and probably won't make it out this way for awhile, so that's why we had Joshua Tree on our list. We have time and don't mind driving, but do appreciate the backroads suggestions as we'd rather see pretty scenery if possible.

Lars - thank you for the Solvang recommendation. My niece would love that area!

We like wine, but maybe one tasting:) the area is beautiful.

Thank you all for the great suggestions!

For me, travel is more enjoyable when someone else is driving.

Well, true on driving, and that would be DH :) He's happy to do it.

Also - you said March was the end of the desert flower bloom - does that mean we will still be able to see it, or that isn't a good time to see Joshua Tree?

I also recommend Ojai as a side trip from Ventura. There was some flooding of the Ventura River which runs parallel to the highway to Ojai during the recent storm. Clean up happens quickly.

If you’re interested in hiking, Ojai has trails.

PS Parking can be scarce for Abbott Kinney shopping in Venice on the weekends. There are interesting restaurants there as well.

If you do head north to the Central Coast/Hearst Castle, you could check out Morro Bay, the elephant seal hang out at Piedras Blancas just north of Hearst Castle, or this in Paso Robles:Sensorio

Also, with these rains, keep any eye out for information on the poppy bloom situation in the Antelope Valley. That would be better done during the week with hopefully smaller crowds.

The Getty as mentioned, up on the hill off the 405 freeway is worth the traffic strain et al.

However, reservations are required. I seem to remember a snafu about parking that follow up arrangements corrected...so if you go, make sure parking is included in your reservation in case it's not automatic by now.

I could have spent a week at the Getty and still not seen and taken in all that there is to see ...the things I saw. I was breathless most of the time; but that kind of stuff is right up my fav thing alley.

There’s also the Getty Villa on Pacific Coast Highway a mile or so north of Sunset Blvd. The Villa is a reconstruction of a Roman villa, complete with Roman-style gardens, and at one time a getaway for Getty himself when the surrounding area was undeveloped. The Villa houses the antiquities collection. Reservations are required because of parking.

I lived on the Central Coast for five looong years and I wouldn't recommend going too far north up the coast. The drive isn't scenic. It might be for native Californians but it wasn't for me. Solvang is a cute town though. Ableskivers!

Joshua Tree is wonderful, and it gets pretty cold late afternoon/evening.

FWIW, LaBrea, its museum, The Museum of Natural History, LACMA and Petersen Automotive Museum are all in the same area - just blocks apart.

If you end up going to Hearst Castle, I would recommend a stop in Cambria just a few miles south, right off Highway 1. Charming small town, great place to grab a meal and visit shops. Robin’s Restaurant has wonderful clam chowder. Linn’s for dessert.

One of my best friend’s lived in Cambria for almost 30 years, so I have visited often. Also like nearby Cayucos and Morro Bay.

FWIW, LaBrea, its museum, The Museum of Natural History, LACMA and Petersen Automotive Museum are all in the same area - just blocks apart.

And if you're a movie fan, The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is right there as well. It has some terrific exhibits.

re Desert flower season, the season depends on the weather. there have been recent rains, soon the flowers will emerge.

there is a CA website…..visitcalifornia.

Spring weather may be the best time to visit the desert.

Sometimes, (usually) the vehicle traffic is very heavy/congested in the So Cal area.

Sometimes, (usually) the vehicle traffic is very heavy/congested in the So Cal area.

I hereby award you the Understatement of the Year Prize. ;-)

Ventura is pretty far north of, well, everything. Like, I really think you are 5 hours from JTree. If you land in daytime, I would also suggest you drive up the PCH through Malibu. It really is incredible. Just drive faster than you think, lol. My daughter commutes from Santa Monica to Oxnard that way and my god, the way that girl drives.

Anyway, you are even probably an hour from the Getty. I like your idea to stick north and go to Santa Barbara. You are way too far away from Hearst Castle and all that. Unless you intend for this to be a road trip. I can't stress enough that the LA drive time is going to be much more than it ever looks. The good thing about LA is nobody starts moving on the weekends until like 10 or 11, so if you want to get out early its much less crowded.

legomom, DH says it's the Shoals Restaurant and the Cliff House Inn. We ate lunch there on our first drive from LA to Ventura and it was incredible. It's a bit north of Ventura. On our next CA trip, we took the train down to Santa Barbara and rented a car for the trip back to LA. We actually spent a couple nights at the Cliff House because we had enjoyed it so much. I still remember eating outside by the ocean, the food was wonderful, and our room was gorgeous.

Lots has been covered, so here’s my tip.

1. don't just look on the map and calculate drive distance x mph because often its 3x what you think. instead, check an online map with live traffic.

Glad you had a good trip. Your pictures are terrific. Thanks so much for sharing them.

Glad you had such a good time.

Beautiful photos! The Airstream park looks very cool. Sounds like a great trip, thanks for sharing.