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California road trip


steve mac

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Well, it's that time of year agin when I start planning for our annual US road trip, this year no need to take photos to pay for it so no limits on where we have to go. Arrive in Las Vegas in January and fly out seven weeks later. So far have nothing but the car booked and the intention to "see" Cali. Any advice of other than the obvious tourist traps of where to visit especially to see some live music.

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Yes...call me when you get in...:wave:

 

While in Vegas, go see Hoover Dam and Lake Mead (while there is still water in it...:( ) it is a nice drive...and the Dam Tour is interesting when you realize they built it 80 years ago!

New Years on the Strip is a trip...IMHO, second only to Times Square in NYC...sounds like you are going to miss it...too bad.

Go see the Mack King Show at the Improv..well worth it (freebie passes from your concierge/2 drink minimum).

Do the Buffet at the Orleans (crawfish...what could be better than that?)...

and play the penny slots (your money will last longer...:thu: )

If there are any major shows you want to see (Vegas: Elton, Cher, O, etc,), or in LA (House of Blues, Staples, etc.), book them now on-line!

 

baby-dance

 

It will take you about five hours to drive from Vegas to LA (barring construction/traffic on the I15)...bring music with you, the scenery [and available radio] is not particularly exciting; although, you might want to book a night in Death Valley, January is a perfect time for that!

 

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Santa Barbara is a very nice college town right on the beach...Stay at Vess Parkers Hilton property. Hearst Castle just up the way from there is unique...head up north to Monterey and cannery row and great expensive golf...17 mile drive on the ocean is pretty special...Santa Cruz boardwalk in Santa Cruz is a fun rollercoaster amusment park right on the beach...San Francisco is about the best city anywhere and this time of year the weather is awesome...great places to eat and sight see the bridges, Golden Gate park, Ocean Beach, North Beach strip clubs. Keep heading north up to Mendocino...beautiful coastal town. Keep going on the 101 to see Redwood forests and Giant Redwoods. About it for going north, turn towards Lake Tahoe which is one of the most beautiful alpine lakes anywhere...keep heading south along the Sierras to get back down to Death Valley and headed back to Vegas....stop by and pick me up...I'll be the guy with his thumb out.

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Scenery wise, I do suggest you take a couple days and drive up the coast on Pacific Coast Highway...Ventura, Santa Barbara, Pismo, Morro Bay, San Simeon, Big Sur, Carmel...and then up to SF, and maybe the wine country.

But there is also San Diego...San Diego Zoo, Sea World,..and Mexico at your doorstep...Rosarito...Puerto Nuevo...

LA is of course, one giant tourist trap, plus a lot of local 'gems' they don't put in the tour books.

I will happily avail you of my AutoClub books/maps when you get here.

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My family went to California in about 1967 (I was 12). Stayed in San Clemente. We went to the SD zoo, Disneyland, LA, etc. My favourite place was the desert around Palomar. Loved the desert.

 

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Josh I usually pay for my annual trips around America by taking photos (it's my former job) but this is the first time I am doing it off my own bat so it will only be snaps I am afraid. But if you are on facebook feel free to "friend me" to watch my adventures https://www.facebook.com/SteveMacphotographer , which in the past have included getting lost in the Arizona desert and nearly getting arrested at The Alamo.

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I'm within the city limits of Los Angeles...the north end, west San Fernando Valley (home of Valley Girls, and the setting for Tom Petty's 'Free Fallin'). Warner Bros, Disney-ABC, NBC-Universal are all in the Valley. Numerous characters from tv and films are named for the streets here (we even have a corner of Gloria and Gaynor). WE usually have some kind of location production going on near here every week...the Valley is 'Television's America'...you see it all the time in films, too..oh, and of course, the porn capitol of the world is here as well.

L.A. City is huge, and L.A. County is hugerer...:facepalm:...California is a huge state [there are only 3 states covering the entire west coast...and Cal has the most coast], it is long...and fairly wide...and everything is spread out {I know you have been to Texas, so you understand the Southwest concept of wide open spaces}. If California was a nation unto itself, it would be a 'super power' on its own...:cool05:

 

 

Pogo, if you hit the desert around Mt. Palomar, it was likely the Anzo-Borrego, just south of Palm Springs. That is an amazing place, especially at night...one of the best places for star gazing...astronomicallly speaking. The other kind is better done in Bel Air and Beverly Hills...:cool03:

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Pogo, if you hit the desert around Mt. Palomar, it was likely the Anzo-Borrego, just south of Palm Springs. That is an amazing place, especially at night...one of the best places for star gazing...astronomicallly speaking. The other kind is better done in Bel Air and Beverly Hills...:cool03:

 

That's me on the left.

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California is big, diverse state. And it would take you weeks to see it all. Whether your penchant is for oceans, mountains, wineries, forests or deserts, Cali pretty much has the best of all of them.

 

Don't know what your time schedule is like or how you're getting around, but a drive up Highway 1 is highly recommended. San Francisco is on the short list of "must see" cities around the entire world, and the food and music there is great. The wineries in Napa Valley are beautiful AND tasty. I'm a bit biased towards Lake Tahoe since I live here, but it's truly one of the most beautiful places on earth. The Redwood forest is uniquely impressive. Yosemite isn't over-rated at all even with all the tourists.

 

Start in LA and take in Hollywood. Disneyland (if you've bringing kids) and the musical/movie history there. Head up 1 past San Luis Obispo, Carmel, Monterey, Santa Cruz up to SF. Head over to Napa. Detour out to Mendocino and the redwoods if you can. Head over to Tahoe, down through Yosemite, side trip over to Death Valley if that's your sort of thing and you can end up back in Vegas.

 

It'll take you probably at least 2 weeks to do all that successfully, but it will be a trip your family will never forget.

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What about The Gold Rush sites up Route 49? The Humbolt coast? Lassen and Shasta?:deadhorse:

 

You can't see all of the state even in two vacations...or five...:thu:

 

It is the only place I know where you can wake up in the desert, drive to the snow, and then go to the beach to see a sunset over the Pacific all in the same day.

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I'm there for seven weeks, I go most years and here I am seventeen states later. This year is different as usually I have to take commercial photos to pay for the trips but not this time so free to just enjoy myself. Great suggestions here, of course we will hit the tourist sites but me and the missus love getting off the beaten track. Lake Tahoe is definitely on the list.

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If you're in LA you could do the West Hollywood thing. Have a drink at the Formosa Cafe and/or the Rainbow Room. Have a bite to eat at Canter's Deli and see Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Then take a drive through Beverly Hills. Tourist stuff, with a bit of an edge - but make sure you have a designated driver if you're drinking.

 

As ambivalent I am about zoos, the San Diego Zoo is worth a trip if you're not opposed to that kind of thing.

 

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umm..the 'West Hollywood thing' these days refers to gay lifestyle...just so you know...but yeah, I would map him out the whole deal...Farmer's Market, Olvera Street, the Chinese Theater, Chinatown, Sony Studios, Musso and Frank's, may be able to get him some audience tickets ... plus some 'time in 'the 'bu', maybe lunch at Neptune's Net, alot of stuff that isn't 'typical tourist' stuff...

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Well I did say, a bit of an edge :) I have a friend (straight woman) that left there a few years ago, and she did mention a shift, but hey, she was happier there than way out in Pomona, where she lives now.

 

I play a lot of gigs in the West end of Vancouver so I guess it doesn't phase me at all. In fact I was playing a solo gig in a hotel lobby last week, and a queen came by on her way to a charity function in the ballroom. We looked at each other and realized we had done a bunch of fundraisers together - yep, never a dull moment when you're working with a six foot, 180 lb queen with a gold wig, and a gold dress and a razor sharp wit.

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Almost anything is better than Pomona, except maybe Hemet...:barf:

 

That is the basic area that 'Breaking Bad' is set [aka the Idiot Empire]...meth labs and open desert....woo-hoo!

 

Then there is also the Joshua Tree National Monument, the Palm Spring Aerial tramway (not great in January though)...Salton Sea...so big [and polluted] you can sometimes smell it from LA :facepalm:

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Some great insights, will defo contact you DaddyMac nearer the time, as I said, the only thing we will have booked is the flights in and out of Las Vegas and a hotel for a couple of nights to recover from the flights. ( we know Las Vegas fairly well, in fact got married ther) but other than the idea we want to see Cali and on these trip love getting off the beaten track.

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Lake Tahoe will be in full on winter mode and they can get a lot of snow up there! Pay attention to the weather - the highway patrol will not allow cars without chains on their tires to drive up into the mountains during storms.

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Rain? Rain he says? We are in the middle of a major drought...

 

but, Steve, depending how wild you want to get, some areas are better if approached with all wheel drive...but mainly only up in the higher elevations. SoCal, not a big deal, NorCal, something to consider.

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