What most surprised me about my visit to the Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza was how much I loved exploring downtown Los Angeles with my kids. In the past, Los Angeles had a reputation of being a city without a “heart” because the downtown area wasn’t developed enough to attract Angelinos and tourists. Today however, downtown is vibrant. History, architecture, and ethnic neighborhoods mix with modern art and exciting attractions. Here’s my list of the top kid-friendly activities in downtown Los Angeles:

For many of us, summer is about family trips, summer camps, lazy days and lemonade stands. You can have almost all of that at Omni Hotels & Resorts this summer with their Camp Omni package. The lemonade stand may have to wait until you get home but they do serve lemonade!

I just spent a weekend with my family in downtown Los Angeles at the Omni Los Angeles at California Plaza. By Sunday, I was amazed at just how much we had experienced in the city in such a short time.

With temperate weather and year-round activities, Los Angeles is a perfect vacation destination. Families should know that the LA area is sprawling and the best way to approach sightseeing is to divide and conquer. Rent a car, figure out what you want to do, and plan accordingly. Do you want beach, museums, or nature?

The beauty of Los Angeles is that …

Now that I have children, I’m becoming a bit of a Disney freak. Last year my family bought annual passes and visited Disneyland at least once every other month. We live in San Diego, about an hour and a half hour away, so it’s a pretty easy day trip for us. However, it’s more fun and relaxing to sleep in Anaheim so we can spend the whole day at the park.

I have stayed in all three Disneyland-owned hotels.

I always thought that bird watching was well, for the birds. It seemed like you needed the prerequisite binoculars and a lot of patience to wait for the bird to come along – not something that sounds fun …

I am always looking for places to take my kids that will be fun for all of us and not too pricey. While we certainly enjoy hitting the big amusement parks here in Southern California, we can’t do it very often …