It's actually warmer in the winter
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Originally Posted by Larrison
Even in the summer's its unusual for the water to get over 70 -- so be prepared if you get dunked.
The currents in the winter are warmer than in the summer. The normal shoreline temperature of California surf rarely breaks 65 degrees. Refreshing but.... brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Mark
Zig-Zags rarely make that much sense
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Originally Posted by spicesea1
Have extra days in our itinerary to play with. Wondering, if it would make sense to head out from SF to Yosemite and then swing back into Napa then head down the [coast?
Um, no. It makes more sense to do Napa/Sonoma/Wine Country and then go to Yosemite or vice a versa, but zig-zagging back and forth from the coast is illogical.
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Is one day enough for Yosemite? Or is there something else equally as noteworthy/entertaining that is closer to our original itinerary?
Yosemite is worth seeing and if you only have one day -- (as long as you spend the night there) it will be OK. It is too far for day trip from SF.
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Need a bit more advice. Have the first half of trip planned, and the very end. 3 days in SF, 2 in Napa, then down the coast to Big Sur, Monterey, etc. The things we would like to do include a horseback ride through the redwoods at Molera State Park and the aquarium in Monterey, and Hearst Castle.
So... Yosemite is now out of the plan?
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So probably plan on spending at least a night in that area, maybe even 2. After that all we have planned is going to the Grand Canyon for a day,
I might be confused here -- but are you suggesting that you will drive from Hearst Castle to the Grand Canyon in one day and immediately leave for Las Vegas? That would be a fast trip!
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dropping off the car in Vegas the day before we fly out. Which leaves us 2-3 days to play with. We are considering driving down to San Diego, but...I have read other posts containing warnings about "several hours" to get around L.A. traffic.
Yes, traffic can be a "bear" in LA. I go there 2-3 times a month, it is OK -- but you have to be ready for slow-downs.
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So, (trying to be as specific I can here) is it worth it with 2-3 days to spare to drive from the Monterey/Carmel area down to San Diego and then over to the Grand Canyon, factoring in all the travel time (and stress)? I hope I am making sense, I so appreciate you taking time to read and respond to my posts.
Yes, no and maybe. It is all worth seeing. If it were me, I would spend those 1-2 extra days kicking back in Las Vegas -- there is plenty to do here. But everywhere is "worth it" -- I never know how to answer such a query.
Mark
South Coast or the Tuscany?
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Originally Posted by spicesea1
Vegas will be fun, but that weekend I can't seem to find much that is decent and close or on the strip for less than $200/night. So far we are averaging about $130 and I'd like to stay that way (close) so we have more $ for stuff we can do.
The rooms at the South Coast are some of the nicest in town and while prices do fluctuate here -- I think the going rate is still $65 per night.
If you were to make LV a base, you could go to the "birthplace of the earth" and a few other places....
Mark
Record warm waters off California this past week
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Originally Posted by Editor
The currents in the winter are warmer than in the summer. The normal shoreline temperature of California surf rarely breaks 65 degrees. Refreshing but.... brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Mark
I do have to comment on this... I was just out snorkling at San Clemente Island (about a 3-4 hours boat ride out) this weekend and the water was a balmy 75 degrees. Amazingly warm... record temperatures. And a very nice snorkling trip -- like snorkling in an aquarium.
Did you take your own temperature?
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Originally Posted by Larrison
I do have to comment on this... I was just out snorkling at San Clemente Island (about a 3-4 hours boat ride out) this weekend and the water was a balmy 75 degrees. Amazingly warm... record temperatures. And a very nice snorkling trip -- like snorkling in an aquarium.
Aw come on -- really???? That must have been really something!
Mark
Route/stop between Cambria, CA and Peach Springs, AZ
Hello, and thanks for all the great info everyone has provided. Have been reading forums for a few weeks in prepartion for a whirlwind western tour beginning in San Francisco, and ultimately ending in Las Vegas. Everything fairly well planned out except for one thing. We are planning on touring Hearst Castle midway through our trip. This will probably take place early in the morning on the day we plan to make the drive to Arizona. Our destination is the Hualapai Reservation in Peach Springs, AZ. We are trying to figure out how much driving we want to fit in. It would be too far to go all the way, so trying to figure out where to stop. We might also follow US 1 down further to Santa Barbara and cut over there, wherever might be quickest. Considered stopping for the night in Barstow (last resort) or Kingman, AZ. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.
Cut over on California 41
A couple of comments.
The first tour of Hearst Castle is at 8:20 am according to the Hearst Castle website www.hearstcastle.com, and takes around 2 hours including the bus trip up and back from the castle.
But don't drive south to Santa Barbara. The fastest route east is to go via California 41 -- head east from Cambria to Paso Robles, and then after taking a short dog leg north, you'll continue straight east across California heading to Lost Hills. At Lost Hills you can continue either on 99 or I-5 south until Bakersfield (you'll need to cut east from I-5 to get to Bakersfield), and then to CA-58 which goes straight east to Barstow.
It's not the most exciting route --- but a pretty good route, and the fastest and most direct. The computer claims its a 5 hour drive (without stops for gas or whatnot) to Barstow from San Simeon.
Seeing LA means getting into the city... and traffic
Hmm... there aren't very many routes, or any really good fast routes to head east once you get south of Paso Robles/ San Luis Obispo. As you head south, there are only a handful of routes which go over the coast range, before you get down to the LA area. And once you're in the LA area you'll be in the midst of BIG CITY traffic. Getting through LA can be a several hour experience at the wrong time of day...
Basically your routes look like
a) East from Santa Maria on California 166 to Cuyama (a small hamlet along the road) and then Maricopa, but traveling near the Carrizo Plain National Monument. The Plain is interesting, if you're into geology and plains wildlife (Tule Elk for example) -- but its a 2 lane paved state highway which winds through the mountains for most of the route. You will cross the San Andreas Fault in one of its more visible sections, but you need to know where to look to really make it out. And you'll be coming out in an old oil area near Taft (there's a oil history museum in Taft which I find interesting).
b) North from Ventura (or east from Carpintera) to Ojai, and then over the Coast range through Wheeler Springs and eventually out at I-5 at Frasier Park (near the top of the Grapevine grade). This is California 33 to Lockwood Valley Road. Ojai is an interesting arts community, and a nice place to stop for lunch, but again, this route is pretty much a 2 lane paved state highway which winds through the mountains.
(You could take CA-33 up to CA-166 at Cuyama, and head east on 166, but that's backtracking quite a ways).
Both of these routes take you through the coastal range of mountains, which sort of get short shrift around California -- not because they aren't significant mountains (peaks of over 4000-5000' in elevation), but because they aren't as large or spectacular as other mountains in the area which go over 10,000'. I've always found them interesting to travel through, since its pretty much the old California with native oaks and grasslands -- but its not very accessible, nor with significant towns.
c) Continue south of Santa Barbara through Ventura and take CA-126 to Santa Clarita, and then continue east and north on CA-14 back up to the Lancaster area, from which you can head east again, outside of the LA city metropolitan area. CA-126 isn't a major highway, and I've not driven all of it, so I suspect much of it is a 2 or 4 lane paved road. Santa Clarita is home of Magic Mountain theme park with many roller coasters. You'll also be passing past the Vasquez Rocks County Park, which has been used for very very many movies and TV shows as a backdrop (Gunsmoke, to Star Trek, to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure). You'll also pass close to Lancaster which is the home of several major aerospace facilities, including the Lockheed Skunk Works and is very near Edwards Air Force Base where many new aerospace vehicles are tested.
d) Continue south of Santa Barbara, through Ventura, and then climb up over the grade into Thousand Oaks and drop down into the San Fernando Valley on the outskirts of LA. From here you'll have to pass through just about the entire width of the LA area before coming back over the mountains on I-15 near San Bernandino -- which is at least a 90 minute drive at full interstate speeds. Add in traffic and it could easly be several hours at rush hour. If I had to suggest a route to do this, and to "see LA", I'd suggest hooking back north to catch the CA-118 freeway (6-8 lanes) at the northern edge of the San Fernando Valley, and then east to the I-210 "Foothill" freeway which contours along the northern edge of the LA basin. That will take you through Pasadena and east through Claremont and hook up at the I-15. That's probably the fastest route, since the 101 freeway through the valley is one of the busiest freeways in the world, and I've never taken it in daylight without running into significant traffic. If you have to go through LA during a work day (M-F) try to pass through in the hours between 9 am and 3 pm.
