Take a trip from Pomona, California, to Los Angeles without driving; the results will be memorable.
By Peggy Jordan, Associate Editor
February 2015
So many good things to see and do await in the city of Los Angeles, California. But the roads are notoriously crowded, the city is huge, and, obviously, one should not drive a motorhome into town.
The good news: Pomona, California, where FMCA members will stay on the grounds of Fairplex while attending the association’s 91st Family Reunion & Motorhome Showcase March 26-29, is just an hour from Los Angeles by mass transit. Once you reach Union Station in Los Angeles, getting around is as easy as finding another train or bus. And Hop-On, Hop-Off tour buses are available to make any excursion a breeze.
Save parking fees, driving hassles, and more, and see Los Angeles with no fuss!
The Sights
Considering that Pomona is only 30 miles away from all that Los Angeles offers, well, it’s difficult to justify not spending at least a day exploring a little bit of America’s second-largest city.
Here are just a few of the countless attractions . . . .
- The Space Shuttle Endeavour, now at the California Science Center.
- Original art by Van Gogh, Monet, Rembrandt, and others at the Getty Center (which has free admission), plus art at several other major galleries, such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
- Narrated tours of the city on double-decker buses, which you can get off and back on at your leisure.
- Live tapings of TV sitcoms, game shows, talk shows, and more.
- The Hollywood Walk of Fame, TCT (formerly Grauman’s) Chinese Theatre, and the Dolby Theatre (where the Oscars are presented), plus the famous “Hollywood” sign.
- People-watching at the Venice Beach Boardwalk and the Santa Monica Pier.
- Shops on Rodeo Drive.
Getting There
From Pomona, the first leg of the journey is simple. Board a train or a bus, and get off at Los Angeles’ Union Station.
The ride via either form of transport takes approximately one hour. However, the bus may be affected by traffic and the train by the sheer number of riders, especially early on a weekday morning.
Metrolink train fare from Pomona is $9 one way and $18 round trip. A weekend day pass is $10. For details and train schedules, visit www.metrolinktrains.com or call (800) 371-5465. The Pomona train depot is located at the corner of First and Main streets.
The bus, called the Silver Streak (run by Foothill Transit), stops in Pomona at the Transcenter, located at 100 W. Commercial St. (at Main Street). Fares are lower for the bus than for the train, and the bus also goes to Union Station in L.A. Check both train and bus schedules and decide what’s best for you. For the Silver Streak fares and schedule, visit www.foothilltransit.org or call (800) 743-3463.
Getting Around
Once you arrive at Union Station, you’ll be able to utilize the city’s Metro lines to begin your sight-seeing. A Metro information booth at the station is staffed Monday through Friday. Still, it’s best to be ready with your own plan and schedule, too.
An easy choice, if you prefer someone else to decide your route, is to take the Metro Red Line to the famous intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue. There, StarLine’s sight-seeing Hop-On, Hop-Off bus tours start from TCL Chinese Theatre every 20 to 40 minutes. These open-air double-decker buses offer a narrated two-hour loop to view the sights in this star-studded part of town, with the Red Route making stops at Farmers Market, La Brea Tar Pits, and more. The double-decker bus’s Blue Route travels to Universal Studios Hollywood, Hollywood itself, and so forth. In all, Hop-On offers six color-designated routes in Los Angeles. All of them let you disembark to spend more time at places that you fancy, and travel to the most popular sites in town.
You can choose a 24-hour, 48-hour, or 72-hour StarLine tour ticket and explore the city at your own pace, without the worries of schedules. Call (800) 959-3131 or visit www.starlinetours.com for more information.
Intrepid travelers who would rather let the Metro trains and buses take them around will find that many of the new train routes are designated by color. The aforementioned Red Line goes to some of the most popular tourist spots in Los Angeles, including Universal Studios Hollywood, TCT Chinese Theatre, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and Dolby Theatre. On weekends, a shuttle from one Red Line stop runs to the Griffith Observatory.
The Metro Gold Line goes to cool points such as Chinatown, the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, the Pacific Asia Museum, and the Pasadena Museum of California Art. The Metro Blue Line takes you to the Queen Mary and the Aquarium of the Pacific, while the Metro Expo Line stops at the Expo Park/USC Station, from which you can walk 0.2 mile (a block) to see that famous Space Shuttle Endeavour at the California Science Center. Or, perhaps you want to get to the Getty Center? Take the Metro Rapid Line (bus 761).
These are a few examples of the many tourist stops Metro makes. For more information, call (323) 466-3876, and for complete schedules and stops, visit the Metro website at www.metro.net. The site even has trip-planning tools for visitors.
“You Oughtta Be In Pictures”
It’s a shame that not everybody gets “discovered” for their great talents. Fame is fickle! Aside from the lucky happenstance of becoming an extra in the next big Hollywood musical, scheduled show tapings are your best way to get on the screen — typically, the “small screen,” TV. But you can at least say you were in the presence of famous folks by becoming part of the audience at a game show or other television show taping.
If you wish to attend a show taping, the best advice is to start a search for your preferred show now, because tickets can be difficult to obtain, and waits may occur. Also, when searching, be aware that audience age minimums usually apply, and that taping of a half-hour show can actually take three or four hours to complete. Such information should be on each website, however.
Following are some sources for program tickets:
- At www.tvtickets.com, you can check several shows’ schedules in advance. This website handles tickets for “America’s Funniest Videos,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “Mike & Molly,” “Hot In Cleveland,” “2 Broke Girls,” and many more.
- At www.on-camera-audiences.com, you will find tickets to see “Let’s Make A Deal,” “The Price Is Right,” “American Idol,” and “Dancing with the Stars,” among other shows.
Tickets for game shows and talk shows are easier to get than for sitcoms. Two game shows may be taped in one day, so you can choose what best fits your schedule. Finally, some show tickets are obtained from individual locations. Tickets to “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” for example, are offered at that show’s website (www.ellentv.com), and the program is taped at Warner Bros. Studios.
Get Behind The Scenes
Special effects, stunt doubles, special lighting, green screens — all these and more are used, if not invented, in Hollywood. Tours of movie and television studios range widely in price and in the sights offered. As with the show tapings, some tours have minimum age restrictions. Check all the details before you arrive
- Universal Studios Hollywood is the biggest “studio tour” in town. This legendary theme park gives visitors an understanding of how special effects are done, plus offers shopping, dining, cinemas, rides, and attractions. A variety of experiences can be purchased, including VIP and front-of-line passes. Visit www.universalstudioshollywood.com or call (800) 864-8377.
Other, less costly views of the machine behind the screen include:
- Paramount Pictures Studio. This is a highly rated tour of the only remaining major studio still operating in Hollywood. Two-hour group tours of the working studio cost $53 per person. A VIP tour that includes special access, a souvenir photo, and a lunch or afternoon snack (depending on when you tour) is $178 per person. Visit www.paramountstudiotour.com or call (323) 956-1777 for details.
- Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City offers a two-hour walking tour for $40; this is where movies such as The Wizard of Oz, Men in Black, and Spiderman originated, plus, it’s home to tapings of popular game shows “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!” Visit www.sonypicturesstudios.com or call (310) 244-8687.
- Warner Bros. Studios offers a two-hour VIP tour of working movie and television studios, including costumes, sound stages, and a memorabilia museum, all for $54. The studios are in Burbank. Visit vipstudiotour.warnerbros.com or call (877) 492-8687 for details.
With all this to do, obviously, a visit to Los Angeles will most likely need to be prioritized, planned, and otherwise organized down to your last available minute. Start now by calling, going online, and doing the research so you can maximize your fun while in Los Angeles.
Just use a bus or train, and let someone else worry about traffic.
Further Info
Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board
Visitor Information Center
6801 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 467-6412
www.discoverlosangeles.com