You’re welcome.
Re the Burbank Big Boy. There is a classic car gathering there every Friday 4-10 pm if you are into that sort of thing.
I’m not really a baseball fan, so I will pass on the Dodgers game. The Hat does sound good, though. I might take you up on that. And I will definitely have dinner at that Bob’s Big Boy at some point. Maybe I will do it on Friday to coincide with the car show.
I took a look at part of that area on Google Street view, and unfortunately from the looks of it it’s mostly just bland suburban strip malls now. Norm’s looks like the only remaining well preserved Googie building in that area. I did spot a couple of other midcentury looking buildings, like an octagonal building I am guessing was once a drive-in, but they have had most of their Googie design elements removed.
Yeah, not long after I left for college, they started tearing down all the bowling allies and those mid-century motels and garden apartments weren’t built to last. Another Googie mainstay; full service car washes, were torn down to the pads to accommodate more drought friendly systems. The odd diner here and there seem to be the last survivors.
Not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but you can’t even get a free comic book at Bob’s anymore.
Might wanna bring a White-water Kayak these days.
Most of what I’d have recommended has been mentioned. I’ll add Will Rogers State Park. It’s in the Pacific Palisades off Sunset Blvd and has his ranch house and polo field. Maybe they’ll be playing a game when you’re there…it’s happened for me. Also, there’s a hiking trail behind the house up to Inspiration Point. Good views mostly to the coast and lots of movies and TV shows have filmed/taped from that point.
Will Rogers played polo? That’s such an upper-crust sport for someone with such a folksy reputation.
It was a big deal, and there were games there all the time when Rogers lived there. I know aristocratic types have played there, but they weren’t the majority of the players historically at Rogers’s place.
First of all, skip The Hat and go to Phillipe’s, a historic restaurant near Union Station that claims to have invented the French Dip sandwich. It’s a much cooler experience. The Hat is just a chain, and hit or miss, IMO. You’re also only a short walk to Chinatown and Olivero Street, the latter of which has some of the best Mexican food in the city.
If you happen to be near Westwood, it might sound a little morbid but Westwood Memorial Park is a small cemetery virtually hidden between tall buildings that has the most celebrities per square foot of any of the area’s cemeteries (the wikipedia link has a list of notable graves). It’s a quiet little nook within the bustling city and worthy of a walkthrough.
Phillipe’s is good, too. To be fair, though, WB should also go to Cole’s since they have a competing claim. The Hat is for Pastrami Chili Cheese Fries, with added pickles and tomatoes.
Plus, if he goes to The Hat I’m buying.
If WidaBeast wasn’t coming from the Bay Area, I’d recommend the dim sum at Shanghai Rose on Ventura Blvd. Its the best in LA, but there are probably better in SF.
Well, that is a perk worth considering. 
Immediately after the 2017 eclipse, we texted some college friends in Ohio, halfway between Cleveland and Akron, right in the path of totality (3 min 29 secs) to call dibs on staying with them on April 7-8. We’re flying in from Boston and leaving the morning after.
If we drive about an hour, to Lorain, on the coast of Lake Erie, we can be directly on the center line, adding about 30 seconds of totality. But unless the weather is significantly better there than at our friends’ house, hanging out at their place will be much more convenient.
But unlike 2017, when we were part of a group of 10, including several over 80, this year my wife and I plan to chase the weather if we have to. Back then we went to a very likely spot, and happened to connect with a very nice family who allowed us to observe from their lawn. But it clouded up in the hours before, and although it was still an amazing experience, it was less than ideal.
Now where did I put those eclipse glasses?
If I had to guess, I’d say probably in some wrong thread just like the rest of this post. 
Dammit, I looked in the eclipse thread for this post and couldn’t find it, and wondered what happened to it. Sorry, folks.
Well the weather would probably be better in LA than OH anyhow. Maybe you could watch the eclipse on TV from the beach?
Pedantic nitpick: Olvera Street
ETA: I’ve never eaten a sitdown meal on Olvera Street. Our tradition was always start with taquitos and finish later with churros. But as a kid, I always wanted to eat at La Golondrina. It looked very cool to my little kid eyes.
I always say, the best meal is the one someone else is paying for. 
Actually I’m coming from the Sacramento area, so the dim sum situation where I live probably isn’t as good as the Bay Area. I have been to the renowned Yank Sing in SF before, though.
Funnily, when I told my parents about the trip I’m planning my mom asked if it was possible to drive there in one day, or if it would take two. I think she was aware that people underestimate how big California is, and overcompensated. LA is far away, but it’s not that far (Google maps says ~6.5 hours from my house to the motel).
And on that note, I figure if I get a reasonably early start I should arrive at the motel mid afternoon. So I’m thinking after I arrive and get checked in I might go up to the Griffith Observatory that first evening. What is the parking situation like up there? Some sources say parking at the observatory can be hard to come by, and it’s better to take public transit (or hike up, if you’re fit enough). I figure I’ll get to the observatory early evening, spend a few hours checking out the museum and maybe a planetarium show (all that stuff’s open until 10:00pm, right?), watch the sun set (which that time of year won’t happen until after 8:00), and then try to get some good nighttime photos of the LA basin.
And then how does this sound for the rest of the itinerary?
Day 1: Drive down, Griffith Observatory in the evening as described above. And I guess I’ll have to eat dinner. Maybe I’ll bring a picnic up to the observatory.
Day 2: Petersen Automotive Museum, La Brea Tar Pits.
Day 3: Santa Monica Pier in the morning, then drive up to Malibu stopping at stuff along the way, drive back through the Santa Monica Mountains. Maybe dinner at Casa Vega? I know it’s probably the sort of place where the food is passable, but not exceptional. But what can I say, I’m a sucker for places that have been around so long as to have become landmarks, and I saw it in an episode of Mythic Quest.
Day 4: I’m thinking maybe Warner Bros. studio tour in the morning (Not recommended by anyone here, but I figure I should do one stereotypical touristy thing ). That might be a good day for that lunch at The Hat with @silenus, since it’s just up the freeway from there. Afternoon… ???. Maybe head Downtown and check out the Angel’s Flight Railway, except there’s not really much else Downtown I’m interested in.
Day 5: Museum of Jurassic Technology. Maybe the Getty in the afternoon?
Day 6: ???, Dinner and car show at Bob’s Big Boy.
Day 7: Drive home. Maybe squeeze something else in in the morning, or maybe just sleep in.
The museums at Exposition Park aren’t far. It’s an opportunity to see a space shuttle if you haven’t already. And the magnificent rose garden there will be in bloom.
Yeah, especially if you take the I5, you can get to L.A. easily in a day. Now, when I was making occasional trips to Eureka, I’d sometimes take two days. It’s a loooong drive for one day.
Last few times I’ve been to the Griffith Observatory, the parking situation was awful. Both times we had to find parking on the twisty road up to the summit…with lots of traffic maneuvering around us.
They’re cool kinda neat old fashioned museums. I loved them when I was a kid, but I haven’t been there in years. We always strolled through the rose gardens after Mary’s Hour, too. Much better rose gardens than at the Huntington in my memory.
My daughter moved to SoCal last year. We have driven from near where @WildaBeast lives down there several times and always on CA-99 rather than I-5 and it takes about 5.5 hours to get to Castaic Junction (where you see the rides for Magic Mountain and essentially the start of greater LA). 99 merges into 5 south of Bakersfield before going over the Grapevine, but we find 99 better because there are more towns and services, more miles with 3 lanes instead of 2, and slightly less truck traffic. LA/OC is easily in reach in a day for the Sacto area. San Diego, OTOH would be a haul.