Things to Do in Glendale

Trips and training form the centerpiece of PCH Scuba's services for area hydronauts. Programs range from beginner-level certification to search-and-recovery training, and adventures journey both close to home and as far ranging as Fiji. The Open Water Diver course makes for a fun and accessible first foray beneath the waves, incorporating a deep-delving adventure to Catalina Island, which is named after the third queen of Spain: Queen Island. The staff leads explorations of San Diego's collection of wrecks and adventures on chartered dive boats. Whatever sort of wave-blanketed voyage the aquatic adventurer desires, PCH's community of Master Scuba Diver–certified teachers and dive leaders are eager to chaperone.

Adventure Helicopter Tours parades sightseers about the skies above Los Angeles for aerial appreciation of the city's many landmarks. The outfit hosts 12 separate tours around southern California, including those that fly over the homes of celebrities, providing ample opportunities to pass judgment on their backyard barbecuing skills. Other options include a romantic sunset excursion, and a route that flies past the Hollywood sign. Every passenger on an Adventure Helicopter Tours excursion enjoys window seating and a two-way MP3 stereo headset for easy communication with fellow sightseers.

Since they were kids, siblings Regina and Fabiano Carpinelli have lived and breathed comics. In 2011, the Carpinellis' passion came to a head as more than 35,000 fellow comic fans attended their inaugural Comikaze Expo. The success of the event attracted the attention of the legendary comic man himself: Stan Lee, creator of Spider-Man, who has since partnered with the duo to create Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo the Comic Con of L.A., a celebration of all things comic, gaming, sci-fi, and fantasy. The official comic book convention of Stan Lee punctuates its two-day celebration with celebrity guests, fan-focused panels, costume contests, and gaming competitions. Art shows feature the work of industry greats and unknown artists side by side, allowing attendees to discover snippets of new stories or hunt pagefuls of their favorite rare character combinations, such as when Batman teamed up with Kristi Yamaguchi in Figure-Skating Fury.

Local charities use a portion of the proceeds to enrich the lives of those in need, demonstrating one of the many ways stories can change the real world for the better without resorting to wearing Darth Vader costumes to the office.

While cruising with their starry-eyed passengers through Hollywood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and the Sunset Strip, the humorous guides for TMZ Hollywood Tour – Secrets and Celebrity Hot Spots impart juicy, never-before-heard gossip and periodically leap off the open-air bus to film passenger-spotted celebrities. Tour-goers can step aboard TMZ's comfortable, custom-designed, star-searching stagecoach and get ready to train peepers on the haunts and hangouts of famous personalities during the two-hour excursion.

Guides from the TMZ TV program punctuate celebrity-seeking safaris with exclusive videos that inspire laughs and gasps from the ride's television screens, sharing hot Hollywood secrets and behind-the-scenes stories yet to be revealed on the show or the TMZ website. Along the way, tour takers can also sing songs, play games to win prizes and get firsthand glimpses of the shops, restaurants, and clubs where partying stars meet to mingle.

Winter-sports enthusiasts have coasted the slopes of Mt. Waterman since 1939, and today the venerated mountain sports more than 30 runs for skiers and snowboarders of all experience levels, including a sizeable number of advanced areas. Located just 45 minutes from downtown Los Angeles, the resort's three chair lifts transport visitors to runs across the 325-acre grounds, including well groomed slopes for beginners and yeti-infested wilderness for seasoned pros. Non-skiers are welcome to take advantage of the views from the lifts or lounge at the warming hut. The hut soothes exhausted skiers with a cozy fireplace and a restaurant, which serves up hot burgers, sandwiches, and poached snowmen.