With gasoline prices hitting $4 a gallon, it's probably a good year to plan short trips. Or just stay at home.
And if music is your thing, there are some free, inexpensive or moderately priced events within a two-hour drive.
Check out Redlands Bowl Summer Concert Series on Fridays and Saturdays. It's free and -- if traffic is with you -- just 90 minutes away. The concert has a small-town Americana feel to it although the music isn't just symphony pop. It's for the entire family and people stakeout sections of the park around the bowl for picnics before the concert begins.
Each week, there is different musical foray. Symphonies, string groups, Celtic and country bands, operas, dance groups and a performance of the Wizard of Oz.
The series starts June 29 with Lorna Luft -- Judy Garland's daughter will perform American music theater hits including some numbers from "Wicked." The season runs through Aug 22.
If Redlands is a little out of your gasoline budget, the South Bay as a host of concerts and fine art programs.
Get a taste of Torrance's Wild Wednesday concert series before the season starts on June 23. The noon concert series runs through Aug. 20, every other Wednesday, at the Torino Festival Plaza.
Redondo Beach's summer pier concerts begin July 4 with a performance by the Surfing Safari. After the Independence Day Friday concert there will be concerts on Thursdays and Saturdays through Aug. 30.
Manhattan Beach's Polliwog Park Concert series begins June 22. Starting with the Hyperion Outfall Serenaders and Thin Ice -- founded by former Manhattan Beach Mayor Russ Lender -- the summer line-up is a who's who of South Bay favorites. The season runs Sundays through Aug. 31. The schedule site also includes links to performers' Web sites.
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