Margret,

Day trip to see LA Harbor, Point Fermin and Point Vicente wouldn't be too bad. You could look for a boat trip of some type to see LA Harbor, but I believe you can also distantly view it from land. Point Fermin is in a park so you can get up and around it fairly easily. Not sure if the building is open at all, but it has had considerable work in the not too distant past.

Point Vicente is open one day a month, I believe. The compound also contains some USCG housing so it is not normally open. It is only about 10 miles north of Point Fermin, so it is worth the add on trip even if not open. You can get decent views from the gate and a small park next door. This light is a very pretty light, and has a neat lantern room. The Point Vicente lens is HL's most recent release in the lens series (double bullseye clam shell).

Beyond that it gets into a lot more travel. The trip out to Anacapa Island will give you a nice visit and a smaller version of the Point Vicente tower. However, it is pretty much an all day evolution. At Point Hueneme thee is also an interesting light that is open some weekends. You can walk along the beach to view it.

Go to lighthousefriends.com for help with info and directions. A helpful book to have about the CA lights is the Umbrella Guide to California Lighthouses by Sharlene & Ted Nelson.