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Venice Beach in Los Angeles California is indeed a very interesting community. Street vendors, performers, and overall a bunch of really whacky people hang out on the Venice Beach boardwalk. If you haven’t been there, you really have to go.
Watch the video to see all of the insanity of Venice.
Tylers is considered by many on yelp to be one of the best burger joints in Palm Springs — everybody says be prepared to wait — we waited almost an hour for a table. Was it worth it? Well… not really. Was the burger good? Yes… but In-N-Out is still better 
Tyler’s Burgers is located at:
149 S Indian Canyon Dr
Palm Springs, CA 92262
Note: They’re only open for lunch and only take cash.
Snow fun in Palm Springs at the top of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. When we visited the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway on January 5, 2009 there were 3 feet of snow up on the mountain. The tramway is a pretty neat way to see snow because you don’t have to do any “mountain” driving — simply drive on the I-10 to Palm Springs — pay $22, board a tram, and 10 minutes later you’re in a winter wonderland of snow.
In Downtown Los Angeles at Hill Street between Third and Fourth Avenue is the Angels Flight Railway, which is nicknamed the shortest railroad in the world. It was built in 1901 to take people from the “old” part of downtown to the “new” part of downtown on top of the hill. The price? 1 cent!
Unfortunately the Angels Flight Railway has been closed since 2001 due to a fatal accident in where the brakes failed.. but the cars have been refurbished with a $3.2 million private grant and are set to re-open soon.. The new price… 25 cents! Inflation is killing us!
Next time you’re in downtown Los Angeles, check out the Angels Flight Railway… it’s pretty neat!
Location:
351 South Hill Street
Los Angeles, CA
Din Tai Fung Dumpling House in Arcadia California is considered the mecca for Xiao Long Bao — or in English, Soup Dumplings. Din Tai Fung is a Taiwanese chain restaurant that has opened a location in Los Angeles in Arcadia in the San Gabriel Valley. A wise man once told me that you can always tell a good restaurant when they have a line going outside the door… well Din Tai Fung is one of those restaurants!
If you’re coming to Din Tai Fung on a Friday or Saturday, be prepared to wait… and wait… and wait. But oh, it’s worth it! Now, Din Tai Fung veterans will arrive before the restaurant opens for lunch and dinner, and be the first people seated. We arrived at 4:55pm (they open for dinner at 5pm) and we were lucky, as we were given the last available table. Anybody who arrived after us had to wait at least 45 minutes for the first table to clear — Bummer to them. So if you are planning to visit Din Tai Fung, arrive a few minutes before 5pm for dinner, or a few minutes before 11am for lunch. Note: they recently opened a “new” location… in the same building as the original, just on the “back” side.. they are both Din Tai Fung, and both serve the same food. I’d suggest to go wherever the wait is shortest.
Din Tai Fung has a number of items on their menu… but stick to the Xiao Long Bao, as that is what they are famous for. Watch the video to see how they make the Xiao Long Bao and to see how to “properly” (or not) eat one of these morsels of delicious goodness.
Din Tai Fung is located at:
1108 South Baldwin Avenue Arcadia,California 91007
Check out their website for more info:
http://www.dintaifungusa.com/