Planning a Trip To California. Any Advice?

[Alex.]

Hello all, basically we (being me and my parents) are planning a trip to california in july and i'm looking for advice. We will be flying in and out of LAX.

Are there any places of interest not famous that I wont know about?
Where are the areas to avoid? (listening to 50 cent songs paints a great map in my head) So far I've got Long Beach, Watson and Compton to stay the hell away from.

We want to rent a Mustang 'vert. Is this a wise choice given apparent crime around LA?

We plan to go to san diego, yosemite and even san francisco, as well as other areas over a period of two weeks.


What We want to see is sights, beaches great food etc. and for me. I'd like to take photos of some cars for the DYSAGT thread, so is there anywhere special for that? I've heard Calabasas is a good spot.



Thanks for any advice given.





Yes I am aware I have pretty much no clue about LA and the surrounding area.

 

[Danoff]

Hello all, basically we (being me and my parents) are planning a trip to california in july and i'm looking for advice. We will be flying in and out of LAX.

Lots of traffic around LAX. Just as a heads up.

Are there any places of interest not famous that I wont know about?

There are probably enough famous places to keep you busy. I would recommend the NASA JPL open-house, but you just missed it.

Where are the areas to avoid? (listening to 50 cent songs paints a great map in my head) So far I've got Long Beach, Watson and Compton to stay the hell away from.

No need to avoid Long Beach. Stay away from Compton. Downtown LA isn't really necessary either. USC is in a bad part of town.

We want to rent a Mustang 'vert. Is this a wise choice given apparent crime around LA?

Go for it. Lots of nice cars around LA, it won't stand out.

What We want to see is sights, beaches great food etc. and for me.

I think you'll have a hard time coming up short then. You can trip around here and find a beach or a famous place.

I'd like to take photos of some cars for the DYSAGT thread, so is there anywhere special for that?

Monterey = Laguna Seca

 

[Stevisiov]

I went to California last year, started in San Fran then headed to Other places such as Yosemite, Monteray, LA or Anahiem San Deigo then headed out to Nevada to see Las Vegas and even entered Arizona to see the Grand Canyon. Plennty to see wherever you go.

Don't whatever you do, don't visit morrow bay we used it as a stop when heading down to LA, but it wasn't a particularly great place.

As for beaches certainly around the LA area is Newport beach which is in Orange County I think, it certainly gets the thumbs up from me.

 

[Solid Lifters]

Bring an English to Spanish language dictionary.

Seriously.

Bring thin, breathable clothes, sun block, a good pair of sunglasses and a comfortable pair of walking shoes.

Beaches: Venice Beach is crazy, wild and fun. Santa Monica pier, Hunting Beach pier, Balboa Pier, The Wedge, Corona Del Mar are beautiful beaches, too.

Theme parks galore: Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, Universal Studios Tour and Six Flags Magic Mountain.

Food Galore: In-N-Out, Fatburger, Pink's, Original Tommy's, The Hat, Legends Burgers, Bob's Big Boy (Burbank), etc.

Other Activities: Car Gatherings, Museums, Observatories, China Town, Korea Town, Aquariums, Art Galleries, Zoos, LA and Hollywood Tours, Queen Mary (they sell awesome shakes there), Rodeo Drive (shopping and fancy cars), Beverly Hills, SoCal adventures like skydiving, scuba diving, hang gliding, whale watching, big game fishing, sailing, etc.

You name it, we got it.

 

[Omnis]

Some advice from my trip to Stanford/San Fran: Do not eat anything on Fisherman's Wharf. The restaurants there are all tourist traps. Go to In-N-Out or something and don't pass it up like my family did.

 

[McLaren]

Monterey = Laguna Seca

Danoff pretty much said it all, as I did something similar during my vacation there.

But, if you're looking for lots of nice cars, Laguna will be nice, but try to be in Irvine, California on an early Saturday morning. Then, you can attend Cars & Coffee which is infamous for the cars that show up there.

 

[Solid Lifters]

In July, there are a lot of festivals all over California. One Ma Lifters loves to go to is The Gilroy Garlic Festival. Does your family like garlic?

 

[TopHat]

I'm gonna parrot the In-N-Out love. Very delicious.

 

[UnoMOTO]

When most people think of seasons you might think of spring, summer, autumn and winter.

They do it differently in Cali...there is...

Fire Season
Mudslide Season
Earthquake Season
and
Traffic Season, which oddly enough apparently lasts year round.

Plan for those and you should have a great time.

 

[opendriver]

What about heading up to infineon? Less than an hour from San Fran. (hop on HWY101, then 37) And there is almost always something going on there. As far as I can remember, every Wednesday night they open up the drag strip to the public, and you might be able to take your rental down there

 

[Alex.]

Thanks very much for the awesome advice so far guys. I have checked Laguna Seca and the only event is superbikes I think. Does that mean it's open for track days the other times? I'll try my best to get to a cars and coffee, it looks absolutley fantastic.

I'm pretty confident on what I have to do to have an awesome time, and with only 9 replies

Any more advice is greatly welcomed

 

[Smallhorses]

Bring thin, breathable clothes, sun block, a good pair of sunglasses and a comfortable pair of walking shoes.

Good advice, but make sure you bring a warm sweater for San Francisco if you make it up this way!
July/August time gets hot inland, for certain, but around the Bay here that means the hot air rising draws cold air in from the Ocean, and it's often overcast & foggy and hence quite cool here!

Be careful of visualising all of California like you've seen on Baywatch / Gangsta movies! It's not all beaches & violent gun crime!

However, if you're only here 2 weeks, what you're suggesting as an itinerary maybe stretching things if only 1 of your parents is driving. If they're splitting it to give each other a rest, it's possible, but don't underestimate the size of California. To put things in perspective in English terms (relative CA Cities in brackets):

Imagine arriving in London, (LA)
Driving to Portsmouth (San Diego)
Visiting Nottingham (Yosemite)
Continuing to Carlisle (San Francisco)
Having to drive back to London to fly home! (LA)

It's certainly possible, but you'll spend a lot of the time in the car and to do it quickly you'll have to stick to the long & boring freeways! (It's a little over 500 miles from SF to SD!)
I'd suggest skipping San Diego (no disrespect to SD, but it just means a 200 mile roundtrip South, when could be heading North) and going up the coast towards SF. You'll pass through Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo (and the infamous Morro Bay (No "W" though!) which isn't as bad as Stevisiov. makes out, although I did get crapped on by a bird* there!) before hitting the awesome road along Big Sur (Stop at Deetjens ) and on to Monterey (Pebble Beach, Carmel-By-The-Sea, 17-Mile Drive, etc.) before carrying on to SF.

As far as SF goes, there's also a tonne of things to see, depending on what you're interested in, but the typical tourist traps are: Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz (book early for the Audio Tour in July as it's peak season!), Lombard Street, Chinatown, Muir Woods, Mt. Tamalpais for awesome views (except when foggy!) and of course Napa/Sonoma Valleys for wine tours
Feel free to PM me for more advice on the Bay Area, I'm well versed in hosting guests from UK (The in-laws are coming out in June ) so I'm used to suggesting stuff!

* Being crapped on by a bird is considered good luck in some cultures! However, it's fine when it's a tiny Sparrow that hits you, but a Pelican is a different matter! Imagine a full grown Scottish Terrier with wings, taking a dump at about 100ft above you! Not fun when it lands on you!!! Although having said that, I got lucky, it hit my shoulder and splattered behind me. My colleague who was directly behind me at the time got covered from forehead to toe, and everything in between, in Pelican poo!

 

[Kylehnat]

What We want to see is sights, beaches great food etc. and for me. I'd like to take photos of some cars for the DYSAGT thread, so is there anywhere special for that?

Newport Beach will take care of your car-spotting and nice-beach requirements.

 

[Alex.]

Thanks alot guys

your advice will help no end!

I'll report back when we've decided on a rough plan 👍

 

[Stevisiov]

and going up the coast towards SF. You'll pass through Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo (and the infamous Morro Bay (No "W" though!) which isn't as bad as Stevisiov. makes out, although I did get crapped on by a bird* there!) before hitting the awesome road along Big Sur (Stop at Deetjens ) and on to Monterey (Pebble Beach, Carmel-By-The-Sea, 17-Mile Drive, etc.) before carrying on to SF.

Sorry about the typo, its just Morrow reminded me of Sorrow (rather fittingly ). Although my bad experience of Morro Bay rather largely revolved around the fact that it was engulfed in a rather bizzare shoreline fog which didn't make any attempt to disperse over the 3 days we spent there, it rendered a trip to the beach a bit pointless.

Big Sur was a nice drive though, although it would have been better if i was the one driving it 💡

 

[Only_in_f1]

How about don't come back?

I kid, I kid...

Gibbo, how long you going there for?

 

[ceiling_fan]

Gibbo, how long you going there for?

.​

We plan to go to san diego, yosemite and even san francisco, as well as other areas over a period of two weeks.

 

[Only_in_f1]

👍 I didnt read that, cheers.

 

[nk4e]

Monterey = Laguna Seca

Cali = Infineon Raceway, Irwindale Raceway, and Laguna Seca?Right?

 

[Venari]

Spend more time in SF than LA.

Spend as much time in Yosemite as you can - worth going back for two days. And spend some money there - there's a painting activity class that is worth every cent. You'll sit in the shade with lots of other people and have time to chat and have fun - and explore your artistic self. Good therapy.

If you can and there's something going on, go to Laguna Seca, as mentioned. Monterey is only worth it if something's big going on, from the car nut point of view.

Go here: http://www.blackhawkmuseum.org/

Do a bicycle wine tour of wither the Sonoma or Napa Valleys. You'll spend a whole day on bikes, meet some great people, drink some fab wines and generally have a blast. Ask around for who does the best Madeira. There's a 'winery' (as they call them) that does three ages of Madeira, and you taste them in turn. It's like drinking first nectar, then some mega-extra-holy-deity-special-reserve-like nectar, then some oh-my-this-is-so-good-I-can't-believe-the-other-two-are-even-called-Madeira nectar. I only apologise for not being able to remember the name of the place.

You're probably better off getting a Mustang Coupe. Aircon is a wonderful thing. If it's hot when you go, you'll just fry if you have the top down (and if you've got a 'vert and you've got the top up... what's the point!) There's more space for crud too, and you'll need it. Picnics in the 'winery' gardens are cheaper if you buy a little stuff before you go.

Ooh, do the 49 mile scenic drive if you go to SF.

 

[Alex.]

Offically departing friday night at 5PM, arriving at 9PM the same night

First night I'm just in the hilton at LAX as we get there late, followed by 3 days in Santa Monica *I think*, we are also going to Vegas, Irvine, and San Diego over the course of the holiday, and I'm curently trying to work out what time I can watch the F1

 

[nk4e]

Well, in Vegas. If you do not want to hit the strip there is the national Parks like Mt Redrock or Mt Charleston.