requesting things to do in california & around

[scimps]

As a fair few of RF members are US based and also - just cos many of you have been to california:

Can i please ask for any tips/advice/recommendations for my upcoming trip

Im going to san fran in april next year and spending a few days there - then renting a car to travel for about a month.... ill be with mrs scimps (were both in our 30's) and hoping to see the best of whats about.... cities to include, sandiego, LA, vegas, the usual spots i guess - go to yosemiti - see a redwood or two....

PLease suggest anything you might like reccomend for a visit -
from shows to restaurants etc etc and anything really different: mrs scimps is interested in haunted houses....area 51.....bla bla.... real american style country music : cowboy hats etc.... gold panning would be cool....

wheres the biggest rolex emporium

all ideas appreciated - but bear in mind as many of you are well financed - my trip after flights and car hire is gonna be capped at £5k for the month - so no stays in the bellaggio or places to high end!!

[azguy]

some of the major travel site will get you the best deal for a room in Las Vegas, sometimes an amazing room an be had for under $100. I would see the Beatles show while in Vegas pretty entertaining.

Be like a local in SoCal, take a surfing lesson and play in the water. San Fran is all about food, make sure you hot fisherman's wharf.

Plus, you may as well see the Grand Canyon if you are going to be that close.

[Dr. Robert]

Drive south to north on highway 1
La Jolla to Carmel, the Californian riviera
OC & LA counties are big, do the tourist stuff
After drive to Ventura, Santa Barbara & San Luis Obispo
Inland to Yosemite, then up Central Valley to the best place on earth the San Francisco
Bay Area, wrap it up with Marin county & the wine areas of Sonoma & Napa
Mendocino is nice too.

[FiftyTwoEighty]

Originally Posted by scimps

As a fair few of RF members are US based and also - just cos many of you have been to california:

Can i please ask for any tips/advice/recommendations for my upcoming trip

Im going to san fran in april next year and spending a few days there - then renting a car to travel for about a month.... ill be with mrs scimps (were both in our 30's) and hoping to see the best of whats about.... cities to include, sandiego, LA, vegas, the usual spots i guess - go to yosemiti - see a redwood or two....

PLease suggest anything you might like reccomend for a visit -
from shows to restaurants etc etc and anything really different: mrs scimps is interested in haunted houses....area 51.....bla bla.... real american style country music : cowboy hats etc.... gold panning would be cool....

wheres the biggest rolex emporium

all ideas appreciated - but bear in mind as many of you are well financed - my trip after flights and car hire is gonna be capped at £5k for the month - so no stays in the bellaggio or places to high end!!

There is so much to do in California! We live in SoCal, but have another place in Monterey. Monterey is considered the Northern part of Central California, and the Southern part of Northern California. Take the opportunity to drive down HWY 1 from San Francisco to Morrow Bay -- through Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Big Sur, and San Simeon. In April, the weather will be hit or miss with cloud cover, but that's the beauty of the Costal weather patterns.

When I first started dating my wife, we would pack up our LandCruiser with our camping gear, dogs, and boards and camp/surf our way up the Coast to Monterey. In winter, we would do the same, but backcountry ski our way down the Eastern Sierra from Lake Tahoe to Mammoth Mountain.

If you take a trip to Yosemite, drive through Tioga Pass into the small town of Lee Vining and down HWY 395 to June Lake and Mammoth Mountain. Believe it or not, inside the Mobile gas station in Lee Vining, you will find one of the best, hidden gem, restaurants. If you have time to see a easily accessible ghost town, stop off in Bodie http://www.bodie.com/ just outside of Mono Lake and Lee Vining.

Pro-tip for rental cars: DO NOT get a Mustang convertible! It is THE tell tale sign of a tourist in CA and Hawaii.

A teaser of what to expect on your drive down HWY 1. The drive southbound is better than northbound; you are closer to the cliffs and you don't have cross traffic to get to the parking lots. The majority of the safe viewing points are on the southbound (right) side of the road.

[Tools]

Bay Area..
. Napa
. Sonoma
. Muir Wood
. Presidio
. Alcatraz
. Coast Highway

LA..
. Disneyland
. Queen Mary
. Yosemite
. Beaches

San Diego..
. Zoo
. Wild Animal Park

Vegas..
. Red Rock Conservation Area
. Death Valley
. Valley of Fire
. Hoover Dam
. Whatever show you want to see - they're all good
. Grand Canyon is only 300 miles away, the North Rim even closer


.. There is no Area 51

[scimps]

Cheers eveyone

Highway 1 is a must.

And tools:

Tho I did find a road called extraterrestrial highway near the supposed Area 51


I see your located in Mojave desert - is that where I. Can see some canyons made by wind in mountains??

Originally Posted by Tools

Bay Area..
. Napa
. Sonoma
. Muir Wood
. Presidio
. Alcatraz
. Coast Highway

LA..
. Disneyland
. Queen Mary
. Yosemite
. Beaches

San Diego..
. Zoo
. Wild Animal Park

Vegas..
. Red Rock Conservation Area
. Death Valley
. Valley of Fire
. Hoover Dam
. Whatever show you want to see - they're all good
. Grand Canyon is only 300 miles away, the North Rim even closer


.. There is no Area 51

[Tools]

Originally Posted by scimps

Cheers eveyone

Highway 1 is a must.

And tools:

Tho I did find a road called extraterrestrial highway near the supposed Area 51

I see your located in Mojave desert - is that where I. Can see some canyons made by wind in mountains??

The Extraterrestrial Highway was named that, with a small bit of fanfare, to draw tourists to a small intersection in the town of Rachel. The hangout there was a mobile home turned into a bar that had it's few minutes of fame for a couple of years in the mid-90's. That road is 100 miles long with nothing but Desert and I wouldn't recommend that anybody plan on wasting their time with a visit.. There is nothing that has ever been seen there and nothing of note ever happened there except a bunch of tourists freezing their toes and spending too much for a beer - which I believe is no longer available..

If you want to see some fantastic windblown canyons google Antelope Canyon near Page/Lake Powell, Arizona.. It is only a few hours drive from Vegas..

You Won't have enough time to do everything and it takes time to go from place to place, so make a list or your priorities.

(I live outside of Las Vegas, which is in the Mojave Desert)

[Tri-Tip]

Originally Posted by FiftyTwoEighty

There is so much to do in California! We live in SoCal, but have another place in Monterey. Monterey is considered the Northern part of Central California, and the Southern part of Northern California. Take the opportunity to drive down HWY 1 from San Francisco to Morrow Bay -- through Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Big Sur, and San Simeon. In April, the weather will be hit or miss with cloud cover, but that's the beauty of the Costal weather patterns.

When I first started dating my wife, we would pack up our LandCruiser with our camping gear, dogs, and boards and camp/surf our way up the Coast to Monterey. In winter, we would do the same, but backcountry ski our way down the Eastern Sierra from Lake Tahoe to Mammoth Mountain.

If you take a trip to Yosemite, drive through Tioga Pass into the small town of Lee Vining and down HWY 395 to June Lake and Mammoth Mountain. Believe it or not, inside the Mobile gas station in Lee Vining, you will find one of the best, hidden gem, restaurants. If you have time to see a easily accessible ghost town, stop off in Bodie http://www.bodie.com/ just outside of Mono Lake and Lee Vining.

Pro-tip for rental cars: DO NOT get a Mustang convertible! It is THE tell tale sign of a tourist in CA and Hawaii.

A teaser of what to expect on your drive down HWY 1. The drive southbound is better than northbound; you are closer to the cliffs and you don't have cross traffic to get to the parking lots. The majority of the safe viewing points are on the southbound (right) side of the road.

I agree with all of the posts, but I didn't realize that the Whoa Nellie Deli at the Mobile station was so well known. http://www.whoanelliedeli.com/ I think I had the Rajin’ Cajun Chicken Jambalaya last time I was there.

[FiftyTwoEighty]

Originally Posted by scimps

Cheers eveyone

Highway 1 is a must.

And tools:

Tho I did find a road called extraterrestrial highway near the supposed Area 51


I see your located in Mojave desert - is that where I. Can see some canyons made by wind in mountains??

If you want to see some of that go here:
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=631

It's is on the way back to civilization from Mammoth Mountain when you take HWY 395 to HWY 14 to Los Angeles.

Originally Posted by Tri-Tip

I agree with all of the posts, but I didn't realize that the Whoa Nellie Deli at the Mobile station was so well known. http://www.whoanelliedeli.com/ I think I had the Rajin’ Cajun Chicken Jambalaya last time I was there.

We are suckers for the Lobster Taquitos as well! We stop in after we've been in the backcountry off Tioga Pass. The hard part are the hours of operations of Whoa Nellie -- it's seasonal.

Scimps,

If you are into beer, stop in at Mammoth Brewing Company in Mammoth Lakes. The just did a major renovation to their tasting room. And you're into wine, there is a great wine shop next to Base Camp Restaurant. Base Camp is also a great "locals" Bar. We've spent too many years there drinking beers and walking home to our place. And for breakfast, hit up The Stove; they have the best pancakes in town.

We are season pass holders up there and spend much of the winter in Mammoth skiing.



Getting unstuck in the Eastern Sierra after a few days in the backcountry skiing...

[Boopie]

There is a lot to do in California...what are you interested in? Mountains, hiking? Beaches? Desert (e.g. Palm Springs)? Restaurants? Architecture? Hollywood and other world-famous "touristy" things? San Francisco? Los Angeles? Monterey/Carmel? San Diego? Palm Springs? Universities...Cal Tech, UCLA, USC, UC Berkeley, Stanford, UCSD?

Last summer my cousins came out from Hungary. My mother's cousin (almost 70) is an architect, and I know buildings in Europe are far older than what is in LA (as much as I love the Spanish Missions, etc.), so he might not be impressed with LA's old buildings. I brought him to the Huntington Library in San Marino...he thoroughly enjoyed the Cactus Garden there (about 100 years old) and he said there was nothing like it back home. He also enjoyed drinking his first Margarita.