I went on a rare work trip, to Los Angeles, and after the first couple days of work managed to have some free time in the evenings to go see stuff.
I've been to LA twice before. My first time was in 2003, when I went to visit my sister (in Orange County) and did some initial sightseeing. As I recall, we went to Watts Towers and the Getty museum, besides just hanging out.
The second time was in 2011, a work trip, and I was able to do some high-speed sightseeing of some more places: the Hollywood Bowl, the Warner Brothers backlot, Mulholland Drive, Santa Monica beach, a downtown art gallery ... I had tried to get to Griffith Observatory but it was under renovation, or maybe just JAMMED with people on a Friday night, I forget which but I failed to get in. I also drove out to Pasadena to try to see JPL, but they are not set up to accept the public. Just once a year they have "Open House Day", and it is my dream to get out to it someday.
This time I had another list of places, and more time than usual to tackle it. Via RelayRides/Turo, I rented a Volkswagen e-Golf, an electric version of the Golf that is available only in the California market. That gave me the mobility to zip around and see things -- although "zip around" is a relative term in Los Angeles.
I saw my sister Julienne rappel down a skyscraper! By pure coincidence she was also in LA at a conference, and she was participating in a charity event where people were descending down the side of a 27-story downtown tower. I can barely look over the edge of a building that's five stories tall -- I can't imagine actually stepping off. But I was able to duck away from work that one morning to watch her do it, and be a welcoming face when she reached the bottom, alive and well.
Art museums and other sights:
The Broad
Los Angeles County Art Museum (LACMA)
La Brea Tar Pits
Griffith Observatory (finally!)
SpaceX factory (drive around, and snuck into the campus a little bit)
Amoeba Records
Junk food:
Mexicali Tacos
Tito's Tacos
Pink's
Tommy's
Places that were recommended that I didn't get to:
Museum of Jurassic Technology
Arcana Books
Huntington Beach library and garden