mikeatrpi Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 OK Californians, you've got a New Yorker coming your way at the end of April. "Move ovah! Aahhhhhh, forget about it!" I desperately need advice. Here's the deal. This is my honeymoon. We have a rough plan to fly to San Francisco, drive south 2-3 hours a day and stop in Monterey, Paso Robles, Los Angeles / Long Beach to San Diego. We've got about 10 days for this. She wants to see the famous hollywood stuff and do a celebrity tour, bonus points if we happen to spot any stars. I want to see cars and coffee in Irvine if possible. We are trying to have a rough itinerary with a reasonable amount of driving on US-1 wherever possible, but not be overwhelmed with too much to do. So - what would you recommend we do? I see the rental car companies charge 2-3x for a convertible, and absolutely kill you for returning at a different location... so we're thinking about making a circle on the voyage even if we splurge for the convertible. What should we see that is inland? Thank you guys!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 OK Californians, you've got a New Yorker coming your way at the end of April. "Move ovah! Aahhhhhh, forget about it!" I desperately need advice. Here's the deal. This is my honeymoon. We have a rough plan to fly to San Francisco, drive south 2-3 hours a day and stop in Monterey, Paso Robles, Los Angeles / Long Beach to San Diego. We've got about 10 days for this. She wants to see the famous hollywood stuff and do a celebrity tour, bonus points if we happen to spot any stars. I want to see cars and coffee in Irvine if possible. We are trying to have a rough itinerary with a reasonable amount of driving on US-1 wherever possible, but not be overwhelmed with too much to do. So - what would you recommend we do? I see the rental car companies charge 2-3x for a convertible, and absolutely kill you for returning at a different location... so we're thinking about making a circle on the voyage even if we splurge for the convertible. What should we see that is inland? Thank you guys!! Mike Skip the convertible. While its nice you'll probably only enjoy it 10% of the trip. The nice views are out the side windows, not up through the roof. Besides, being from NY, you'll probably get a nasty sunburn on Day 2 of the drive. It will sometimes be foggy and pretty chilly in the mornings. Watchout for the cazy hippies just north of Santa Cruz on Hwy 1. Don't pick up any hitchhikers. Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) 1 is cool through Monterey and Big Sur (lots of RV traffic on the weekends). There are a couple nice resturaunts in the Big Sur area that have balconies overlooking the ocean. You'll pay for the views but the food is good. Check ahead to make sure there are no road closures on Hwy 1. We've got a lot of rain here this winter and rock/mud slides tend to take out/close Hwy 1. San Simeon has Hearst Castle, Cambira/Harmony are arts colonies where you'll find some cool stuff for stupid prices, Morrow Bay is a sleepy fishing/tourist town, and SLO is a college town. Lompoc is an Air force town (Vandenburg is right there) and a tour through Vandenburg might be cool if you like rockets. If you jump inland and run down (or up) Hwy 101 there are some other neat spots. Be sure to take a side trip to Laguna Seca Raceway if you're in Moneterey. At Paso Robles if you head east on 46 to Chalome you'll see where James Dean was killed in his Porsche 550. There's also a small cafe there called Jack Ranch Cafe that has pretty good food. Very small, very local. If you're into wine, the whole Paso Robles, Santa Inez area has some of the best Rhone wine varieties on the planet. You can easily blow your whole vacation budget with one stop in Los Olivos. Solvang is a Danish themed town that your wife will enjoy. The Pea Soup Anderson's in Buelton is a good place to stop for lunch if you like touristy places and pea soup. Santa Barbara is a must stop and you can spend a whole day walking around and looking at stuff. Celebrities are often eating and walking around State St and some of the other downtown shopping districts. We've stayed at the Inn of the Spanish Garden. Nice, cozy, and romantic and just a bl;ock or two from shopping, restaurants, etc. A Jeep tour (Cloud Climbers Jeep Tours) of the winerys and back roads is fun. Here's a note I posted on my Facebook page. Its more for people who want to drive fast on windy roads. The Basic Southbound Route - Bay Area to SoCal----------------------------------------------------------- 101 South to Paso Robles and 46 East. 46 East to Shandon Exit (McMillian Canyon Rd.) South/East. McMillian Canyon Rd. East turns into 41 (Center St.). 41 (Center St.) East through Shandon to Toby Way East. Toby Way East to San Juan Road South. San Juan Road South to Shell Creek Road South. Shell Creek Road South to 58 East. 58 East to 33 (West Side Hwy) South. 33 (West Side Hwy) South through Taft to 166 (Maricopa Hwy) East 166 (Maricopa Hwy) Easy to Interstate 5 South. Notes: -------- 46 East often backs up on the weekends but the backup usually occurs near Shandon. * Shandon is a small farm town and you'll be on farm roads from here until you get to the 58. If you miss Toby Way just keep on Center St. and you'll see San Juan Road on your right in about 1/2 mile. San Juan Road can be rough in spots and is basically 1 1/2 lanes wide. Shell Creek Road can also be rough in spots (blew a tire in a pothole once at 70 mph - car got all woogy until I got it slowed down) until you get past the cattle grate and then the road is smooth. Just before the 58 you enter a wildlife/wildflower refuge. 58 goes through rolling hills and then drops down onto the Carrizo Plain. The road is dead straight until you get to two 90 degree turns at Carrisa Plains and the Carissa Plains school (25 mph - watch for cops). 58 from there until the left up into the hills at 7 mile road has a number of whoop-de-doos that will get your car airborne at speeds over 75 mph. Erik tore the bumper cover off his rental Camaro after coming down on the nose. At 7 Mile Road 58 goes left and climbs the hills bordering the Santa Maria Valley. At the top the road goes right and get very windy with lots of decreasing radius turns. Its downhill through the valley and the oil fields until 58 meets the 33 at Derby Acres. The intersection is a big "Y" around a hill. Stay to the right. 33 South is basically straight and runs through large oil fields all the way to Taft. Keep on 33 through Taft and stay to the right as you get through town. 33 "T"s into 166 in Maricopa. Head East (left). ** 166 is dead straight through orchards all the way to the 5. ------- * If you continue to Chalome on 46 you can see the James Dean memorial and a little further where the 46 and 41 split you can see where hes was killed. Jack Ranch Cafe in Chalome has pretty good food. ** If you've got a lot more time (2 extra hours), stay on 33 by turning right and head over the mountains the back way. Be sure to stay on 33 (it makes a hard left when it and the 166 separate just before Cuyama). 33 will take you all the way through the Los Padres National Forrest into Ojai. Very windy road and it might be closed due to snow in the winter. In Ojai make a left on 150 which will take you to Santa Paula. In Santa Paula make another left on 126 which will take you to the 5 in Newhall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxjoeyxxeb Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Don't go inland. There is nothing, besides of course Lake Tahoe and Yosemite. Paso Robles is a good place to go for wine, so is SLO. Monterey peninsula and the 17-mile drive is great. Go to Alcatraz while in SF. Walk up and down State St Sanata Barbara and get some lunch and shop. Drive down the 1 from about San Jose to Morro Bay, its amazing. Also, when you get to Westlake area near LA, take the Malibu Canyon road from 101 to the 1. It's a great curvy mountain road to beautiful PCH where you can continue south on that and see real nice homes and stuff. Theres a really nice bakery behind a gas station right near where that Malibu canyon road comes out to the PCH, forget the name now, but I can figure it out later. Cars and coffee is amazing, here's a little video I made when I went 5 yrs ago. Sorry for being so jumbled, my email is cloutierjoe@gmail.com if you want more description. Oh, and go Red Sox! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randy 77zt Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 we have been having the wettest winter in years but the weather should be ok by the end of april.it is very green here-very nice.best bet is stay on hwy 1.the central valley(where i live) looks kind of flat like texas.and if you have any plant allergies you will go nuts.skip the convertable-the pacific ocean is cold because the ocean current brings water south from alaska.the water is cold on the beach-you usually see surfers in rubber suits.thats my opinion-goood luck on your trip.i was looking at a villa in tahiti in the net the other day to exchange for a week in a timeshare that i own in cabo.i dont like to share my hot tub. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 (edited)  We did 11 days in Yosemite, Tahoe, and Sequoia before our son was born.  It was the BEST vacation ever.  If you can get away from the coastline for a while, and you like amazing natural wonders, get a room down in Yosemite Valley for a night! It leaves a lasting impression. ...Although end of April is like mid-Winter up there! Edited March 10, 2010 by cygnusx1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 I personally would spend time in the Napa Valley (Yountville, Calistoga, Glen Ellen, Saint Helena, Rutherford, yadda yadda...) The Hwy 29 (?) run, especially if you enjoy the finer things in life, especially romantic scenery and cozy locations, good food etc. Visit V. Sattui winery, Andretti winery, Coppola winery (if still there), and others. Check out the web for that. Monterey is cool, but Carmel is BETTER in my humble opinion. If the weather is decent, make it down to the beach at the end of the main row of shops & restaurants where the sand is white. I love that place. Great food everywhere. *Sigh* Yosemite and everything that Cygnus suggested is good too. Heck, just skip So. Cal altogether!!! Santa Barbara and San Diego might be more to your liking unless the LA thing really gets your motor running. I spent a quiet time on my honeymoon with my wife and we avoided crowds and busy places, but that is just our style and may not be yours. Do your homework and plan accordingly, but don't hurry too much. You'll miss the more important things... Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 Not sure why you guys say not to go inland, but inland California is one of the best spots on earth IMHO... you could spend weeks in Yosemite and never see the same thing twice, glacier point, tuolumne meadows, olmsted point... all must stops. Death Valley, Lake Tahoe... great stops. I don't recommend a convertible in death valley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi303 Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 Not a californian, so can't comment on the scenery, but as for transport... You mention rental car, for 10 days, how much per day is the rental? Here in NZ we get a lot of backpackers come in, do the tour of the country and fly out again, on a 10 day trip at $79 - $150 per day for a modest, fairly recent vintage, compact hatchback or sedan, buying a cheap reliable daily driver type car in the 7 to 10 year old range, old enough to be depreciated down to cheap, yet not so old to be an unreliable clunker or expensive classic, then selling that at the destination for pretty much the same as what you bought it for is a good saving over rental fees. It's a friendly bunch on here, I'm sure you could find a north cali local willing to find and test drive and do a mechanical check of a prospective car in north cali, and another in south cali willing to park up the car at there place for prospective buyers to look at after you fly home to NY again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeatrpi Posted March 10, 2010 Author Share Posted March 10, 2010 This is fantastic! Thank you all for the tips! John you're right. If you see two newly-weds who look like Casper the ghost prancing around the beach - well, that just might be us! I'll update you all as we continue to plan our route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 Why do people say 'don't go inland'? Because if you are from California, you understand "Inland" means Modesto, Sacramento, Tulare, Madera, Riverside, uh... did I leave anything out Inland California Guys? The only thing you get by going 'Inland' is I5-The Californiabahn. Great for making it from Sacto to LA in 4 hours, but I'd prefer the coast road myself. Yosemite? Tahoe? That's MOUNTIANS guys, US395, not 'Inland'... Inland is where all the smog blows during the sea-breeze. Then it sits there because of the mountians. Except in Riverside...eventually it makes it's way to Phoenix... Inland is a great jumping OFF place... Modesto and Madera get you into great places in the mountians...but they are literally on the places listed on the 'misery index' of places to live (no offense, guys, but they ARE!). I mean, the wonderful smell of airdropped crop pesticides in the morning (or the acrid smell of burning grapevine stubble)... it's the smell....of Madera! If you like flat, hot, and agricultural, then go Inland. If you want scenery, follow the mountians or the coast. At least south of Sacramento to the southern border! Inland Calfornia: There's a REASON everybody goes 80+ on I5! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 +1 on Yosemite. Went there 5-6 years ago and really enjoyed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 Why do people say 'don't go inland'? Because if you are from California, you understand "Inland" means Modesto, Sacramento, Tulare, Madera, Riverside, uh... did I leave anything out Inland California Guys? The only thing you get by going 'Inland' is I5-The Californiabahn. Great for making it from Sacto to LA in 4 hours, but I'd prefer the coast road myself. Yosemite? Tahoe? That's MOUNTIANS guys, US395, not 'Inland'... Inland is where all the smog blows during the sea-breeze. Then it sits there because of the mountians. Except in Riverside...eventually it makes it's way to Phoenix... Inland is a great jumping OFF place... Modesto and Madera get you into great places in the mountians...but they are literally on the places listed on the 'misery index' of places to live (no offense, guys, but they ARE!). I mean, the wonderful smell of airdropped crop pesticides in the morning (or the acrid smell of burning grapevine stubble)... it's the smell....of Madera! If you like flat, hot, and agricultural, then go Inland. If you want scenery, follow the mountians or the coast. At least south of Sacramento to the southern border! Inland Calfornia: There's a REASON everybody goes 80+ on I5! HA HA! This is true...true to those of us that lived in at least two of the three areas of CA you mentioned. I have lived in Lake Tahoe (mountains), Davis (inland), and all over the SF Bay area (coast). I liked "inland" the least of all the places... Apologies to Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsun723 Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 Oh Riverside County....if you DO go Inland watch out for all the lifted trucks because believe it or not, they drive just as fast if not faster than us Z guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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