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West Coast Help

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by SoSueMe, Apr 14, 2007.

  1. SoSueMe

    SoSueMe Active Member

    If this thread still has life, is it worth the drive from Portland to San Francisco, or should we just fly into SF and drive from there to San Diego? Doing the latter gives us a couple more days in places like SF, LA and SD.

    Thoughts?
     
  2. Left_Coast

    Left_Coast Active Member

    You'll have a great time and the scenery you will see will be non-stop. I'll add the Griffith Observatory in L.A. and highly endorse everything else previously mentioned. The 1/101 drive alone will make the trip, but there is so much to do, you'll be wanting to go back soon.
     
  3. PaperDoll

    PaperDoll Well-Known Member

    The Boy drove from Seattle to Tijuana last summer. I was there 'til San Francisco. I wish I could remember half the things we meant to do... but I haven't even gone through the photos yet! ::)

    I loved Seattle: Pike Place Market, Experience Music Project and Sci-Fi Museum, troll bridge, Space Needle, Elliot Bay Bookstore, the graves of Bruce & Brandon Lee and Jimi Hendrix.

    Check out Mount St. Helens, which is growing and smoking!

    We didn't stop in Portland, which I regret 'cause I've been told it's gorgeous. We made a side trip to the University of Oregon so I could bask in the Nike-sponsored glory of Hayward Field, the mecca of track & field. We missed the Harry & David factory tour though, which is almost at the southern border of Oregon.

    I'm not a drinker, but I really liked the (free!) tour at Korbel. Also the skyride to Sterling winery. I didn't think Rubicon (Francis Ford Coppola's winery) was worth the $$$, but I'm also not a big moviegoer. Also stop by the Charles Schultz Museum on your way out of wine country.

    I know there's a whole separate thread just on San Francisco, but I can recommend a boutique hotel, the Hotel Bijou. It's got a movie theme, and they show films free every night. The neighborhood's not spectacular, but the hotel was clean and (relatively) cheap!

    Enjoy your trip! I'm incredibly jealous!
     
  4. buckweaver

    buckweaver Active Member

    Damn, wish I woulda stayed there instead of where I did back in December.

    I stayed at a quaint Euro hotel in Nob Hill, within walking distance of Union Square. It was called Hotel Mithalia (cq?). Cheap as hell, but the hotel was old and the room was tiny. Wasn't very comfortable, but then again I had a terrible cold that weekend.

    That said ... it's San Fran, so you shouldn't be in your hotel except to sleep.
     
  5. SoSueMe

    SoSueMe Active Member

    A friend of mine raved about the Castle Inn Motel. He stayed there in 2003.

    http://www.castleinnsf.com/
     
  6. fishwrapper

    fishwrapper Active Member

    In San Francisco...It's not even close:
    The Argonaut in Fisherman's Wharf. Built inside the old Cannery.
    Exit the lobby and your view is of Alcatraz.
     
  7. schiezainc

    schiezainc Well-Known Member

    So, random thread bump.

    The fiancee and I (Although by the point she'll be the wife) are planning to drive from Vegas to LA for the second week of our vacation and I was just wondering what you guys over on the left coast would recommend.

    So far, I want to check out Disneyland, drive the PCH and we both want to go do the Walk of Fame but, other than that, we're open to suggestions.

    Anyone make the four-hour drive? Is it a pain in the butt or what?
     
  8. PCLoadLetter

    PCLoadLetter Well-Known Member

    The drive's easy - it's just an ugly straight line in the middle of nowhere.

    PCH is definitely worth it.

    If you've never been there before, Disneyland will be fun. If you are going in the middle of summer the crowds will be huge. Don't go on a Saturday.

    Lower your expectations if you go to the "Walk of Fame." It's really just the sidewalks in a largely shitty part of Hollywood, and since they've given out (well, sold) thousands of them, you won't have heard of most of the names.

    Cruise along Sunset. Drive up around Mulholland. Grab a map and just get lost up in the hills. It's beautiful up in there. Find landmarks like the Playboy Mansion.

    Kill a day just hanging out in a beach city, like Laguna or Newport.

    General thought on LA and environs: I grew up in Orange County, so I love visiting LA. If you've never been there and show up on the freeways looking around, LA looks like the world's biggest shithole, and hitting hardcore tourist spots won't really change that view. The best thing you can do is get the hell off of I-5, the 405, I-10, and all the other major freeways, and try to pinpoint some places you want to see in advance.
     
  9. SoCalDude

    SoCalDude Active Member

    Some observations from a lifelong SoCal, who has driven 1/101 from Orange County to the Golden Gate Bridge:
    -- A friend who played Bandon Dunes said it was the best golf experience he ever had, including Pebble Beach.
    -- In the Central Coast, stay at Moonstone Beach in Cambria, there are 8-10 motels on the water. That gives you easy access to Hearst Castle (I cracked up my wife at the end of the tour, saying, "That's why I went into journalism, so we could have a place like this someday."), the wineries. Great steakhouse in Templeton (where Sandy Koufax used to live) called AJ Spurs. Concur on McClintock's in Shell Beach, near Pismo.
    -- Madonna Inn is a tourist trap for honeymooners. But the bathrooms in the restaurant and the gas station are worth experiencing (as Birdscribe suggested).
    -- You gotta drive PCH through Malibu. Gladstones, at Sunset Blvd. and PCH, is a great restaurant (but trendy crowded), but there's also Dukes, Moonshadows (where Mel Gibson got arrested) and Chart House.
    -- You asked for the best beach to hang out. You have lots of choices. Best answer: Any of them. Malibu and Huntington are the most prominent. But you can't go wrong anywhere from Santa Barbara to San Diego.
    -- Vegas to Disneyland is doable in 4 hours if traffic is light. There is nothing out there in the desert. It's a boring, miserable drive but the rewards on either end make it worthwhile.

    I can come back later with more.
     
  10. Huggy

    Huggy Well-Known Member

    I will second SoCalDude's mention of Cambria. We drove the PCH from SF to Laguna a couple of years ago and this stop was great. Terrific hotels, we stayed at the Best Western, and very close to Hearst Castle which we did the next day.

    As PC notes, Disneyland is packed during the summer. We went during the week and the place was jammed with day campers from the area. We enjoy Knotts Berry Farm, not as expensive and not as crowded.

    One cool detour we took on our way south: we tok a little spin around Pepperdine University in Malibu. My son is a big fan of the show Zoey 101 which was shot there, so we grabbed a map at the gate and drove around, spotting many of the buildings he has seen on the show. Great ball field on campus too. One look around that campus and I wonder how they get anyone to go to class.
     
  11. MileHigh

    MileHigh Moderator Staff Member

    Make sure you don't go from Vegas to L.A. on a Sunday, unless you leave by 9 a.m.

    Above suggestions are spot-on. Malibu is great, as is PCH. It definitely looks big and like a shithole, but know what you want to see and do and do it and get off the freeways.
     
  12. schiezainc

    schiezainc Well-Known Member

    Any particular reason?
     
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