Well…full disclaimer – there is still a lot of the plastic in Los Angeles, but the recent rejuvenation of its downtown, the breathtaking views from its cliffside hikes, and the enduring quirkiness of its surfside communities made me rethink LA as just a plastic jungle – and might make you rethink it too.

To start with, Santa Monica is not to be missed. The pier has retained its unique charm populated with boardwalk performers, acrobats, and beachfront muscle men. An excellent way to pass an afternoon is cruising the boardwalk on a rented bike, taking in the sights – which certainly will not disappoint. To end the day, head down to the tip of the Santa Monica pier to Mariasol Cocina Mexicana for margaritas as the sun goes down.

Laguna Beach is another ‘can’t miss’ spot in the LA area. This Orange County community has kept its beachside and historical charm, nowhere more evident than at The Beach House – Laguna Beach’s converted old Hollywood getaway turned brunch and dinner destination. The Beach House is only metres from the shore, and during high tide the waves lick the restaurant’s balcony, showering unsuspecting diners with sea spray. Throughout Laguna Beach are exceptional hikes, both along the shore and along the cliffs overlooking the waves – and sometimes, amongst the waves, you can even see dolphins.

Another welcome surprise is LA by night – a different and charmed place. Cruising down Sunset Boulevard (especially at sunset) is an enthralling drive as you pass by iconic landmarks like the Chateau Marmont, the Los Angeles Film School and the Whiskey A Go-Go. After that drive, nothing is more fitting than a visit to the Griffith Observatory – right from Rebel Without a Cause. The recently renovated observatory is extraordinary for evening star gazing and for looking upon the Hollywood sign.

My last nighttime suggestion would be to visit the Hollywood hotspots, the Walk of Fame, the Grove, and Grauman’s Chinese Theatre – all within a few blocks of each other. LA is cooler, even breezy, in the evening, and there are significantly fewer tourists at that time, turning what in daylight hours might be a dreadful experience into a magical and thrilling adventure. The Chinese Theatre shines at night illuminating the many stars’ footprints in its foreground.

While the nearby outdoor shopping mall, The Grove, is an exceptional venue in its own right, it is most famous for the adjoining Kodiak Theatre, home of the Oscars. On a evening like this, even the most apathetic LA visitor will be titillated by ascending the Oscar stairs – and trying to fit their shoes into Darth Vader’s foot prints on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

This was my LA trip – a peaceful, exciting, and altogether unexpected vision of LA far from the Plasticland of my worries (…though there are an alarming number of plastic surgery clinics everywhere!)

But before you go, 3 tips:

1. Get focused: LA county is vast and a little overwhelming - Frommer’s Editor Matthew R. Poole’s calls it a “circus-without-a-tent” (2009). Given this (and the excessive traffic) focus your trip on what side(s) of Los Angeles you want to see – the glamorous glitz of Hollywood and Rodeo Drive, the sandy beaches of Orange County, the animated excitement of Disneyland and Universal Studios – but don’t try to do it all on one trip. At the library we have LA guidebooks focusing on the micro and specific (such as Top 10 Los Angeles and The L.A. musical history tour: a guide to the rock and roll landmarks of Los Angeles) and on the macro and overarching (such as Fodor's Los Angeles or Frommer's Los Angeles) to help you get started.
2. Get inspired: through music and movies. Rent LA classics like Rebel Without a Cause or Sunset Boulevard from the library, and before you leave don’t forget the soundtrack to your LA trip! The library has the greatest hits from the Beach Boys to make sure you have the right tunes and the right tone for your LA trip.
3. Get a GPS: it will make your LA trip so much easier. As Frommer’s points out, most car rental agencies offer GPS rental now, or you can get a GPS app for your iphone or ipod touch. Either way it is well worth it.

Amie visited Los Angeles a year or two ago, but her impressions still hold true.

What can you do when you only have time for a weekend getaway? Or you are on a business trip and can only manage an extra day or so to see the sights? The New York Times 36 Hours (2011): 150 Weekends in the USA & Canada is the book for you.

"The New York Times has been offering up dream weekends with practical itineraries in its popular weekly "36 Hours" column since 2002. The many expert contributors, experienced travelers, and accomplished writers all have brought careful research, insider's knowledge, and a sense of fun to hundreds of cities and destinations, always with an eye to getting the most out of a short trip.

In this book, theTimes and TASCHEN bring together updated and new versions of "36 Hours" columns in 150 U.S. and Canadian locations, from the great urban centers on everyone’s travel list to surprising locales with undiscovered character and charm." (Syndetics)

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Our family is reading the Scott Westerfeld Steampunk trilogy: Leviathan, Behemoth and Goliath. It’s a great bedtime story for an older boy. An alternate history of World War I, there are daring adventures and dramatic cliffhangers which careen past like old movie serials. Simon likes looking at the black and white illustrations of steam powered tanks and battle armor. The main characters are Alek, an Austrian prince, and Deryn, a girl disguised as a midshipman in the British Navy. They travel across the world in an airship.

Steampunk is a literary and artistic movement that reimagines the Victorian world as if steam power were the main form of energy instead of electricity. Several children’s writers have played with the genre, including Arthur Slade with his Hunchback Assignments, meant for readers in grade 6 and up. Another Steampunk novel is Airborn by Kenneth Oppel, the author of the Silverwing bat novels. I read this when it came out and can’t wait to share it. This exciting adventure has orphaned Matt and wealthy Kate searching for strange flying creatures as they travel on an airship.

Simon and I travelled to Seattle for a Steampunk convention. First stop was The Museum of Flight, filled with World War I aircraft. Simon loved being the expert explaining to me how they all worked. This fantastic museum contains a comprehensive collection of historical aircraft, including a Sopwith Camel, a Spitfire, a Harrier Jump Jet and a Concorde. We toured the retired Air Force One plane for President Kennedy, which had a little dog door inside for presidential pups.

Like the Arts and Crafts Movement, Steampunk is partly a reaction to mass production, and homemade items are much respected. Some ladies spend months researching and sewing elaborate Victorian gowns. The men make shiny futuristic weapons. Oftentimes they start with Nerf guns as the base. The guns are “modded” with the addition of hardware parts, and are painted metallic colours. A significant part of the Steam convention is the costume show and tell, where you ooooh and aaaaah over what others have made.

We visited Seattle landmarks that would appeal to a 10 year old boy. We first saw the Frank Gehry Experience Music Project building from the Seattle Space Needle beside it. This undulating building contains exhibits about popular music and science fiction. We enjoyed the innovative technology In the Avatar movie exhibit. Next we went to the Pikes Place Market to check out the wall of gum. It smelled beautiful! After buying some Chukar Cherries, we headed to the Fremont neighbourhood. It’s a great place to walk around with lots of public art, including the Fremont troll sculpture tucked under a bridge. There are lots of places to eat, including an organic chocolate factory which offers tours and samples. Check out Walking Seattle by Clark Humphrey for some ideas.

Just north of Fremont is Archie Macphees. This is the place Simon talked about most when we returned home. It’s a joke shop full of more stupid gags than you imagine existed. Simon was especially impressed with the bacon items: bacon Band-Aids, bacon flavoured tooth floss, rubber bacon action figures, and bacon breath mints. On our last morning we went to a breakfast buffet and he ate a plate full of bacon. As we drove to the airport, he was already asking to come back to Seattle.

Kari

I’ve just returned from my second Las Vegas vacation and it was – as its iconic sign promises – fabulous. My original reason for going was to attend the Toastmasters International convention (the Olympics for people who would rather give speeches than do anything athletic). But in addition to the convention, I shopped, took in shows and a concert, ate at great restaurants, and had nearly every square inch of my body massaged. Ahhh...

If you’re brave enough to stand the heat, here are some of my tips:

1) Don’t book too much ahead of time. Upon arrival, I was given a coupon book that allowed me to purchase show tickets at 30% - 50% off, so I would have been pretty upset, had I paid full price over the internet. Vegas is in a bit of an economic slump these days, so there really isn’t much chance that your show will sell out.

2) Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant at MGM. I had one of my best meals there, and the prices were very reasonable. Try the caprese salad (on par with the ones I’ve eaten in Italy) and any of the pasta dishes. I’m a committed vegetarian, but my travelling companion had wonderful things to say about the kobe beef with asparagus and fried potatoes.

3) “Sold Out” doesn’t mean a thing. Imagine my surprise when my hotel was able to find last minute tickets for the Adele concert! All I had to do, evidently, was ask. Hotels are able to contact all sorts of ticket vendors on your behalf, and they’ll even courier tickets to the box office of wherever you’re staying. Adele performed at the Chelsea Room to only about a few hundred people – and I was lucky enough to be one of them.

4) Vegetarian? Rethink the buffets. If you’re hankering for prime rib or roast beef, a buffet might be worth the price, but if you’re not a carnivore, they’re simply too expensive. You’d have to eat a whole lot of bread, salad and mediocre quesadillas, to make the $20 or $25 price tag worthwhile. Opt for an inexpensive café, instead.

If you’re planning a vacation, be sure to check out the resources at your local library. We’ve got maps, guidebooks, phrasebooks and dictionaries, and more! Happy travels!

To read about Katherine's first visit to Vegas, select the tag 'las vegas'.

Thinking of travelling around Canada this summer? We have just received some books that will help you make the most of your trip.

To find other great guidebooks to Canadian destinations, just enter the destination and guidebook in the Search Box on our homepage.

Other great new travel books are: