To plan your travels to the rest of the world, come to Los Angeles February 14-15, 2009 for the Southland's biggest travel resource expo. The LA Times Travel and Adventure Show is moving from Long Beach to the LA Convention Center this year for an even bigger show. Representatives of cities, countries, resorts and tour companies around the world will vie for your future travel dollars with enticing brochures and colorful presentations. The event includes speakers on a variety of travel related subjects including presentations by Rick Steves, Arthur and Pauline Frommer, and Phil Keoghan of the Amazing Race and author of "No Opportunity Wasted". , among others. There are also adventure demonstrations like a scuba tank and climbing wall, cultural entertainment and door prizes. You can even apply for or renew your passport at the event if you bring all your documents (see website for details).
When: February 14-15, 2009, 10 am - 5 pm
Where: Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, California 90015
Cost: $10 Adults, free for children under 12, tickets available online, cash only at the box office, $2 discount online.
Parking: $12 at the Convention Center
Metro: Blue Line to Pico Station
Info: http://www.latimes.com/extras/travelshow/

LA's annual showcase the city's fine dining establishments, dineLA Restaurant Week kicks off January 25, 2009. It's actually two weeks, Sundays through Fridays from January 25 to 30 and February 1 to 6, excluding busy Saturday nights. Restaurants around LA County will be offering a specially priced 3-course menus to give more people a chance to sample their cuisine.

Restaurants are divided into three categories. Deluxe Dining restaurants will offer their three courses at the fixed price of $16 for lunch or $26 for dinner excluding drinks, tax and tip. Premier Dining restaurants will be $22 for lunch and $34 for dinner. Fine dining Restaurants will be $28 for lunch and $44 for dinner. There are top restaurants participating from Long Beach to the West Side to the Valley and Downtown.

If you can fit it into your schedule, the lunchtime offerings tend to be the best deal. For dinner, it depends on the restaurant and your selections whether going with the prix fixe or ordering off the menu will be a better deal. You can often check the restaurant's menu on their web site before you go to compare.

Visit the dineLA web site to view participating restaurants by region.

Reservations are recommended. Some restaurants can be booked directly through the website (links to Opentable.com).

Weather like this is one of the reasons I love living in Los Angeles. Even if it's not the norm, you know there's always the possibility of random warm weather when the winds come across the Santa Ana Mountains.

If you're visiting Los Angeles at the moment, you might get the impression we always have good beach weather in winter. You'd be mistaken. The average high for January is 69 degrees. For folks from colder climes that may sound toasty. But what no one usually tells you is that it only reaches 69 for a few minutes and is usually accompanied by a goosebump-raising breeze. So the rest of this week, while the mercury is hovering in the upper 70's and 80's at the coast, head down to the beach - even if the water is still too cold for comfort.

For help choosing which beach to go to check out About's California for Visitor's Guide, Betsy Malloy's list of LA's Best Beaches.

The Santa Ana winds causing the heat wave also increase the fire danger, so if you're here or planning to be in the area this week, check out my Guide to Wildfire Prevention and Safety in LA.

If you suffer from allergies or just don't like the heat, you'll find some good indoor options on my Top 10 Ways to Beat the Heat.

Photo © 2005 Kayte Deioma, courtesy of www.KayteDeioma.com

Where the Rose Parade is serious business, Pasadena's Doo Dah Parade is the height of silliness. It's only a five-block procession, but it makes up in zaniness, what it lacks in distance. Grand Marshal for this year's parade is Mr. Retro Americana himself, Charles Phoenix.

There is an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast before the parade.

When: January 18, 2009, some time between 11:30 and 12 noon, Pancake breakfast 8:30 to 11:30 am
Where: Parade runs from Raymond and Holly in Old town Pasadena, south on Raymond, East on Colorado three blocks to Pasadena Ave., Breakfast is at Raymond and Holly
Cost: Free to watch, fee to participate
Metro: Gold Line to Memorial Park Station (beginning of parade), or Del Mar Station (walk 2 blocks north to Colorado)
Info: www.pasadenadoodahparade.info

Photos courtesy of the Doo Dah Parade