Trevor & Lesley's Travel Tips: SoCal

It's been quite a while since the last installment of our Travel Tips segment, but we're back in action. Lesley had a work trip back in March so being the devoted husband I am, I tagged along as we headed to the land of celebrities, sun, and silicone. That's right..........Southern California. We had a great time visiting Jason & Megan, Brett, Darla, and the Moorheads and enjoyed a weekend away from the snow. We learned a few things along the way and are passing our tips along to you, our faithful, loving readers...... If you have any tips of your own, pass them along in the comments section.

#1. Get free stuff by calling your friends/family
You can get free stuff, or discounted stuff, in southern California with a little bit of planning. Many times there are promotions for southern California residents where you can get half price into Magic Mountain, discounts with a pop can at other parks, or other deals. You just need to plan ahead. Call your friend or relative in SoCal before you go and ask them if they know of anything. The hip people in LA-LA-land always seem to have some hook up. On our trip we scored free admission to Universal Studios, free tickets to a Clippers game, and could have gone to Dancing With the Stars if Lesley's work schedule had allowed (I was heartbroken). Just plan ahead and see if anyone knows of anything.......you might be surprised. And thanks to all those who hooked us up.

#2. Priceline.com's Name Your Price
This is a real dream. I discovered this on our honeymoon and we used it again in SoCal. Basically, at priceline.com you can say how much you want to pay for a rental car. You can't pick the rental company, or the make and model of the car, but you do specify what size car you'd like (compact, mid-size, SUV, convertible, luxury, mini-van, etc.). You just make your bid and see if one of the companies accepts it. Don't be afraid to bid a steeper discount than the site suggests. We paid $14 a day for a car that normally rents for over $30 and got a Mustang convertible for a similar discount on our honeymoon. I felt kind of like a tool driving this little sports car around the souther California freeways, but still, a deal's a deal. I recommend using this whenever you need to rent a car.

#3. Knott's Berry Farm
This place is by far the most underrated amusement park in souther California, and consequently, it's the best bang for your buck. They have great rides, good funnel cake, and the lines are SHORT. We didn't wait longer than 10 minutes for any single ride. If you go after 4 p.m. it's only $25 to get in. That's half the normal cost and half the cost of the other parks. We got their around 4:30, did all the rides at least once, watched some Indian firedance thing, and still left around 8:30. If you've never been to Disneyland before, you gotta go there. But if you've already been and want a good amusement park without the long lines and steep prices, Knott's is your place. Here's a video of Lesley enjoying life on the Supreme Scream.

Well that's pretty much it for our suggestions this time around. We welcome any comments with other helpful tips. We hope you've enjoyed them and will find them useful next time you head down to the City of Angels.



Below are a few more photos of our time in LA-LA-land.

Universal Studios

Knott's Berry Farm

Clippers Game ................................................. Jason, Megan, Les, Me

We had to sit behind the nappy hair or Curtis Terry, from UNLV. I saw him out in the concourse before the game started and almost said something rude to him but decided against it. He ended up sitting right in front of us. I should have punched him in the head. Freaking UNLV.