wobbly wings

Hi

I have a 10hrs layover (from 10am to 8pm) at LAX and will try to beat the jet lag and do something interesting before my flight back to LHR.

I thought I might eat some beach and have some mexican food (great sticky the other one) but I was also hoping to buy some discounted cloths (Levi's and the like) and electronics, in particular I am after a camcorder.

I'll probably hire a car and bring my GPS so can probably go pretty far.
Any other suggestions welcome!

Craig6z

For electronics you need to visit the geek paradise - "Frys". There is an easy to find location just a few miles south of the airport.

Regular daily prices at Frys are generally decent. Items featured on sale are often well below market.

mbstone

The what-to-do-on my LAX layover has been done to death here.

Rent a car on Priceline Name Your Own Price service for maybe $20.

Fry's Electronics is at the intersection of Sepulveda Blvd/Rosecrans Ave, about 3 miles south of LAX. Continue east on Rosecrans to restaurants.

mlshanks

"Eat some beach" Eeeeewwwwww... Gritty.

Mexican food sounds lots tastier.

I'll second idea of Fry's Electronics...althought the Manhattan Beach location is small and the customer service is very poor. But the selection is pretty fair, the prices are good like at most Fry's stores. If you know exactly what you want...and need no help, it can be fine. If you want a sales staff who can walk you through features, options, different brands and models... Go elesewhere.

Discounted clothes is tougher... The nearest outlet mall (Citidel Outlet Mall) is almost 25 miles away, and would be a rush to reach, shop, and get out of South Los Angeles where it is before 3:30p.m. and the beginning of LA's infamous rush hour traffic. It can be done. But you can probably forget about quality time at the beach.

I'd add a thought... How about bringing back some bargain CA wines?
You can pick up a bottle for stowing in checked luggage for less than £15.
Trader Joe's is a California discount semi-gourmet foods, wine, and spirits chain with several locations near LAX...including locations at 1800 Rosecrans Ave & 1821 Manhattan Beach Blvd....both in Manhattan Beach. Plus they have yummie snacks for the plane. (...consider how popular you could be with your fellow passengers/stewardesses with dark chocolate dipped almond cookies to share...)(...or your loved ones when you arrive home...)

wobbly wings

Thanks for all the suggestions - much appreciated and very useful! ^

And sorry for the rushed post - it'd been a long day...

SkiAdcock

If you want good Mexican, head west on Rosecrans from Fry's & go to the corner of Rosecrans/Highland. There's a parking garage on the corner. Park there & cross the street to the original "El Tarasco". Good Mexican food. This location is more like a diner than a restaurant - mosy up to the counter & grab one of the 10 seats. Then afterwards you can walk a block west to the ocean. If you've got time you can drive south on Highland to downtown Manhattan Beach, and walk out onto the pier or check out the shops, restaurants, bars. Cheers.

Airwalk007

to jump on this thread: Are there other outlet malls available near Los Angeles? (heading to Las Vegas mabye?) ... since i'll be on a trip to Las Vegas this October ... and grabbing something for a good price is everytime welcome ;-)

Craig6z

About halfway to Vegas there is a decent sized outlet mall area, five minutes south of Barstow.

Also right at the Nevada/California border (Primm) there is a smallish indoor outlet mall, next to a casino. It has some unique stores not seen at the typical mall. For example it has one of only six Tommy Bahamas outlets in the U.S.

mlshanks

Several.

The two best options on the way to Vegas are probably:

Ontario Mills Mall: Which is a huge shopping complex at the intersection of I-10 and I-15.

AND

Barstow Tanger Outlets which is just off I-15 on the South edge of town.

The former has rather more stores, restauruants, entertainment areas, etc.....the latter still has a lot, but is more focused on factory outlets.

Airwalk007

@mlshanks/Craig6z

Thx for sharing this information ^ ... hopefully i'll have some time to do some shopping :-)

Now i only need a good source for an iPhone 3G without a contract and my wishlist is finished ...

wingless

Since you are from LHR any electronic place would probably be a discount to you so....I agree you should check out Fry's Electronics it is on Sepulveda in Manhattan Beach just about 2 miles south of LAX.


3600 N Sepulveda Blvd
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
(310) 364-3797
Check out the prices here www.frys.com

On your way to Fry's try La Sirena in the Plaza El Segundo...we eat here weekly, it is on the far end of the plaza. It's kind of gourmet Mexican but really really good and just one block from Fry's.

700 S Sepulveda Blvd
El Segundo, CA 90245
(310) 640-6170
www.lasirenagrill.com

Right next to Fry's is Manhattan Village and they have an Apple store where you can pay full price for an iPhone with no contract and you can hack it (I have a friend, another FTer, that lives in France and he said it was easy to hack his phone to work without AT&T service). Manhattan Village has clothing stores too and they often have sales going on.

1200 Rosecrans Ave., Suite 201
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Phone: (310) 426-6313
www.shopmanhattanvillage.com
BTW Manhattan Village is on the corner of Rosecrans and Sepulveda.

Apple Store info http://www.shopmanhattanvillage.com/...TOKEN=42889677

You can take a taxi for less than $10 to La Sirena then walk a block to Fry's, then walk across the parking lot to Manhattan Village. Just don't tell the taxi driver where you are going until you are in the cab because they will not be happy with such a short fare. The mall should be able to call a taxi for you to take you back to LAX or you can pick up a bus on Sepulveda back to LAX.

Bus info www.metro.net

Use www.maps.google.com to see how close these places are.

wobbly wings

Thanks again for all this. It did help on the previous trip. I'll be coming back in a while and (in addition to another visit to frys!) I was planning to visit some discounted clothing stores. I am looking for Levi's jeans, CK shirts, the usual. Anything not too far from LAX would be good. The malls cited here on the way to Vegas are a little too far though.

Edited to say, just asking in case there is anything to add to Citidel Outlet Mall mentioned above.

FlyinHawaiian

Just north of LAX is a Nordstrom's Rack, which is an outlet for the Nordstrom's department store.

http://www.hhpromenade.com/directions/

kenish

Just in case Fry's doesn't have what you need, try Best Buy. They are the largest electronics retailer in the US and there is a location next to the 405 Freeway near the Fry's. Their customer service is much better than Fry's, though their prices tend to be a bit higher. However, they are aware of Fry's inventory and prices and the price is often the same. If it isn't, BB will usually price match Fry's without too much hassle.

wobbly wings

Many thanks. Will check both of these out!