California

[Zerub]

So, looks like we will finally get to visit out west this year. Going to see the grand canyon, Los Vegas and some of California. Anyone want to give suggestions of things that we for sure would want to see or places we should eat at?

Just taking a bunch of suggestions and then we will take a look at them and decide where all we will be going while there.

Thanks for any info and looking forward to what suggestions people may have.

Scott

[Ronan]

Sounds like an awesome trip.

I haven't been there before, but I hear the hoover dam is worth seeing!

[Zerub]

Sounds like an awesome trip.

I haven't been there before, but I hear the hoover dam is worth seeing!

Yes. We want to see that. We want to see the Redwoods for sure. Just not sure what all there is in California to see, I know there is a lot, but want to get some opinions on things.

Scott

[Ronan]

California is huge...

Monterey Bay Aquarium - I seem to recall this is a really awesome aquarium.
Hollywood - whatever the main street is.
Universal Studios theme park - I remember the Waterworld show here is a pretty spectacular stunt show, regardless of how you feel about the movie. It's particularly awesome if you like fire and explosions. Please note, I haven't been here in years, so I don't know if they've changed it up.

[Hamlet]

If you will be keeping to the south side of California and are hell bent on LA, then take a day to hitch a train to San Diego! Awesome view along the way. Once there, forget Disneyland. Hit the beach first.

[Kanos]

Fun for all ages!
http://www.vacationsmadeeasy.com/articl ... merica.cfm

Sea World is also fun! Beaches are nice and http://www.sdmaritime.org/the-ships/

The ships were a big hit with my seven year old and a couple summers ago you could get a boat ride around the harbor for a couple of bucks.

[Lorewarden]

Fun for all ages!
http://www.vacationsmadeeasy.com/articl ... merica.cfm

Sea World is also fun! Beaches are nice and http://www.sdmaritime.org/the-ships/

The ships were a big hit with my seven year old and a couple summers ago you could get a boat ride around the harbor for a couple of bucks.

In San Diego, The maritime museum is very cool, as is the USS MidwayAircraft carrier museum nearby, Sea World is okay but the San Diego zoo and Balboa park are without peer, also is the Wild animal park, they call it Zoofari park nowbut the locals still call it the Wild animal park where you ride down in trucks into the park and see the animals as if on safari. you can still find harbor cruises though I suspect the ticket price is higher than a few bucks. I would blow off the harbor cruise but if you are here in season a whale watching cruise is terrific.

Beaches of course, La Jolla if you like spectacular views and fine dining.

Monterey aquarium by all means, its stellar, Big Sur for the outdoors, Hearst Castle has several excellent tours.

[Plethora]

San Fran is way cool

[GunnJ]

Edit Edit: Ohh, you are going to the Redwoods too, fun stuff.

Since you're headed to the Redwoods, Yosemite is right on the way, though maybe on the way back is better. Even if you can't stop for hikes, the drive alone gives you some great vistas.

Whatever you do, once you leave Las Vegas, do NOT take the NV state roads that lead from there north to Reno unless you want to double, even triple your drive time. The small towns along there are sick of people from LV treating their main streets as expressways so they love to pull people over for very small infractions. I don't blame them at all, its a good way for the tiny towns to make some payback money for having to put up with LV, but crawling along at 55 gets draining very quickly.

Until you hit hwy 101 and the 1 out of San Francisco, those views are fantastic, right on the ocean, but they are winding, almost corkscrewing in some places, but the seaside is wonderful. Be sure to bring jackets. 20, even 10 miles inland the weather may be sunny and hot, but once you hit the marine layer on the coast it often drops to thin fog overcast, colder and windy.

Once you hit Redwood territory, look for any Black Bear Diners you might find anywhere round the Shasta area. The food is good, (it is a diner after all, so its not exceptional, but it does stick to the ribs,) but its the decore that is fun, bearsbearsbearsbears everywhere.

Eureka is a good town for the sea and seafood, but I prefer Crescent City which is just north of the Redwoods.

Inland is volcano country, Mt Shasta, Mt Lassen, Oh, and if you head that way then you will be travelling through the unoffical State of Jefferson, whose unofficial state flag is a two X's on a gold mining pan resting on a green background, which represents how the state government has double-crossed the north out of their timber and mining and... well, everything else. Buy a t-shirt if you make it to Yreka, but that might be a bit too far north for your trip.

So back to volcanoes. Mt Shasta is amazing to see from a distance, but the drive around Lassen is gorgeous, lots of places to make short day hikes. And though it isn't Yellowstone, there are hydrothermals to check out. How can you pass up taking your son to a place called Fart Gulch?

[Katroine]

I love Venice Beach (Muscle Beach is still there!) and Santa Monica Pier is cool. Ferris Wheel over the ocean! Not sure which part you are aiming for but Big Sur is also simply gorgeous. Legoland? Griffith Observatory in L.A.

We took a drive out through Vegas, to Venice, back around through the Mojave Desert to Grand Canyon and up through Moab two summers back and it was amazing. Is this your first trip to the Grand Canyon?

[Urizen]

For Redwoods near the Bay Area, I like Muir Woods (also near wine country and Point Reyes, and Golden Gate National Recreation area, San Francisco) and Henry Cowell Redwoods (nearby Santa Cruz, the Central California coast, Ano Nuevo Beach). Monterey Bay Aquarium is very nice if you are on the Central California coast. I think they have a new octopus thing there right now. The Coast Highway (Highway 1) is some nice scenery, with lots of little parks and places to stop along the way.

[Latanya]

Depends... when are you visiting California?

[fate-amenable]

San Francisco's a fun city to wander through-- museums, interesting architecture, and great food.

If you're coming from the south, Highway 1's a gorgeous drive and you can often see whales off the coast.

Beautiful hiking just across the bay with lots of day trips that take you past waterfalls, cliff edges, down to the ocean. Sonoma / Napa are a nice day trip if you like wine and nice restaurants; Russian River if you like beer. Can't go wrong:)

Yosemite's great too!

[Zerub]

Going to be our first trip to Cali and we will be there sometime in mid July.

Thanks for all the suggestions.
Scott

[tindertwiggy]

How far north are you planning to go?

[Zerub]

How far north are you planning to go?

Not really sure yet. I would guess San Francisco/Sacramento somewhere. If there is something that we really need to see on beyond though, we may do something different. This is all the planning stages right now.

Scott

[tindertwiggy]

I would choose SF over Sacramento.

[Zerub]

I would choose SF over Sacramento.

We plan on hitting SF for sure. I was just saying how far we plan on going north for now. It could all change depending on what we do and what we have time for or how much we want to drive.

Scott

[Zerub]

Thanks for the replies to this. i just wish I was high enough level to teleport out there and back. would make things much easier.

Scott

[Manuel the White]

Hate Arizona politics but love the country:

Grand Canyon
Petrified forest (and it is)
Mt. Summit (volcano with lava rock - like walking on the moon)
Desert Museum
Old Tuscon (especially if you have youngins)