Hot August Nights Don’t Apply Here In L.A.
When my parents from Tennessee decided to come see me in Los Angeles for the first time, my dad had one important question: when is the best time to visit L.A.?
“August,” I proclaimed without hesitation.
My dad, shocked at this response, must have felt like cleaning the wax out of his ears. “August!?”
I knew what he meant; in the South, August is so hot you don’t want to go anywhere except maybe to the pool or under the air conditioning vent. To travel anywhere means you’re going to be hot, sweaty and uncomfortable.
“Yes, believe it or not,” I said. “There’s a lot going on and the weather is the best of the entire year.”
We continued our conversation as the parents began to check their calendars and before hanging up, I provided them with these wise parting words: “oh, and pack a jacket and a sweatshirt.”
This apparently nearly sent my dad into shock. As he and mom were packing he firmly announced that he was NOT going to be packing a sweatshirt and a jacket for a vacation in August.
I think mom must have snuck one into his suitcase because a few days later we were sitting in the Hollywood Bowl and he had on his sweatshirt, a jacket and, had I brought it, would have gladly put on my skiing jacket.
“I nearly froze to death!,” he later exclaimed.
Los Angeles, you see, is a desert and not a tropical climate and it can get cold at night.
Still, August remains the best time to visit L.A. Unlike most of the country, it’s not sweltering the the daytime. Stay by the coast and it’s a very pleasant 75 degrees – 80, tops – with a near-constant light breeze blowing off the Pacific Ocean.
There’s no humidity so even if it’s warm away in, say, Hollywood or at an amusement park, it’s not anything like being a miserable ball of sweat in which you wish you were standing under a cold shower rather than in a long line for a ride.
There are also a lot of events and so many things to do and I kept them on the move so much they nearly collapsed. (Me too!). We went to Hollywood Blvd., Beverly Hills, the Santa Monica Pier, Griffith Park, a Dodgers game, the aforementioned Hollywood Bowl, and I even had a connection to get us tickets to the Tonite Show.
Then I just let them hang at the house I was renting in Manhattan Beach. My dad, who has spent nearly all of his beach days in Florida, got his “toes wet in the Pacific” and was surprised at how cold it was compared to the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.
If you’re wondering yourself when is a good time to visit Los Angeles, I highly recommend it be in August. Just be sure and pack a sweatshirt.
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