Arizona->San Diego->LA April 2013

Hi all. Would really appreciate some advice for our planned family roadtrip which we're trying to put together at the moment. I've found some great pointers on here so far, but as we're taking a bit of an odd route, I thought it'd be worth starting a thread to check we weren't attempting something unreasonable. We're travelling from the UK (my wife and I, plus our 3-year-old) and coming into Phoenix Intl around 3 Apr 2013. We're purposely not sticking to a rigid plan but we do have certain dates and places we need to be in, but everything else is up for debate. We're looking at 2 1/2 weeks total, flying into Phoenix Intl and leaving via LAX. I've been to the US a couple of times for Coachella and done some driving but I'll definitely be a bit rusty on US roads. I want to limit the amount of long drives between the main places we will be spending a few days in, and as we have a small child, I think about 3 hours is the max we can do between stages.

3 Apr Phoenix Intl - hotel
4 Apr drive south towards Bisbee - stopover somewhere
5 Apr arrive Bisbee, AZ
7 Apr leave Bisbee heading west towards San Diego. Need a stopover destination
8 Apr arrive San Diego. Will work on a place to stay.
12 Apr drive north towards Universal City Walk - hotel
12, 13, 14 Apr Universal Studios area
15, 16 - undecided
17, 18, 19 Disneyland Anaheim
20 or 21 Apr - LAX to fly home

The only dates that cant be changed are being in Bisbee 5/6 April and being at Universal City Walk on Sat 13th April. The parts I'm not sure about are the drive from Phoenix to Bisbee, and the longer one from Bisbee to San Diego. I don't mind doing an overnight drive for the latter but would prefer to have somewhere inbetween to stop for a night.

Part of what we're looking for is the drive itself but I need to keep our son occupied too so we're also hoping for some pointers about car rental companies that will do us a minivan or something that includes in-car DVD players for the people in the back. A lot of the company websites say some of their vehicles have them but it's not clear which ones when I've been looking so far. I'll send off some emails but if anyone can recommend a place, that would be great.

Thank you so much if you've made it this far!

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

There is plenty of stuff to see and do between Tucson and Bisbee, and I've written about a few that didn't make that compilation. You could then probably make the drive from Bisbee to San Diego in a single day of driving, but if you want to take it easy, then I would recommend a quick stop in Tucson to see the San Xavier mission and then overnight on the banks of the Colorado River in Yuma. That would make for a very easy second day's drive into San Diego allowing you to arrive well before rush hour there. As for 'entertainment' for your son, I'm not really sure that that's needed, but typically DVD units would be available (not standard) in minivans and SUV type "Family Vehicles". Your best bet is to contact the local rental car location where you'll be picking up the vehicle and talking to them directly, letting them know what you need and making it clear that a vehicle without such a unit will not be acceptable as a substitute for what you have reserved.

AZBuck

Thank you very much AZBuck. The 2 links that you posted were excellent and we'll have a think about which ones to visit. We'll break up the Bisbee to San Diego section and have an overnight in Yuma, so thanks for the tip. One of the things we really want to see is an aircraft boneyard, either on the way down from Phoenix or back up from Bisbee. There's a few mentioned on Wikipedia and my lad is going through a "plane phase" at the moment so it'd be great to go and see some big ones up close. Can you recommend one?

That is almost a no-brainer - the boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson. None of the other ones are open to the public and can only be viewed from afar.

While, as glc notes, the 'Boneyard' meets your son's specific request, it is only part of a larger complex of museums. Actually, you can get the flavor of the Boneyard by simply driving south on Kolb Rd. from Escalante Rd. to Valencia Rd.. The newer arrivals will be lined up in neat rows on your right, while planes that have been largely reduced to pieces will be on your left. But then there's the payoff. When you get to Valencia, turn right to see a few more old planes on the base (on your right) but be watching out on your left for the entrance to the Pima Air and Space Museum where your son can actually wander at his own pace amongst more planes than you can shake a stick at - all the 'Century Series' of jet fighters, a ton of B-52s, a couple of old Air Force Ones, an SR-72 Blackbird, etc., etc., etc. They might also offer a package deal which includes the Boneyard AND their other facility south of town, an actual Titan launch silo. When I went through the silo they chose a young boy to sit at the console and simulate a missile launch.

AZBuck

Thank you both for the pointers. We'll now definitely be visiting Davis-Monthan and getting to see a Blackbird would be a dream come true for the little boy in me. The detailed info is very much appreciated.

Yuma has a LOT of choices for accommodations. Since it's only 3 hours from Yuma to San Diego, you could consider the following:

Yuma Territorial Prison
Plank Road (west of Yuma)
Desert View Tower (In-Ko-Pah, in the mountains)

As for places to stay in San Diego, it will depend on what you want to do while here. If planning to do the typical things -- San Diego Zoo and Safari Park (formerly Wild Animal Park), Sea World, the beach -- then staying in Hotel Circle/Fashion Valley area would be smart. If something else, let me know, and I'll try to help.

Another thought on the DVD problem: purchase a small portable DVD player that you can keep? If you are planning to rent DVD's for him in the US (at Red Box outlets or similar), then buy one here and keep it at home later to use on Region 0 or 1 DVD's. If planning to bring DVD's from home, you might want to buy the DVD player at home and bring it, too, to ensure the Region compatibility.


Donna

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AZBuck

That would make for a very easy second day's drive into San Diego allowing you to arrive well before rush hour there.

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Hi there, thanks so much for the help so far. Our AZ leg of the trip has filled up nicely. I am starting to look at the other things we'd like to do and was thinking of stopping for a few hours in the Viejas Outlet Shopping Village just before Alpine (after having done Felicity, Desert View and hopefully find at least 1 gravity hill in that area). Well I am shopping and ooms can supervise our son playing in the water fountains. :D How long would we be looking at from Alpine into the area of SD you recommended or the Gaslamp District in normal traffic? And what time would you say traffic in SD starts getting nuts? Really hoping I can get some time there as my research on factory outlets in the LA area is not throwing up much and tends to point out of the LA area.

The only other qn now is that I had wanted to visit the Saguaro National Park briefly to see those amazing cactuses. But I have been recommended the Sonara Desert Museum as a do not miss. If we did a half a day in the desert museum, would the trip to Saguaro be essentially be a repeat? We just don't seem to have allocated Tuscon enough time as was thinking our son would quite like the electric streetcars near the Uni area too (or is this a tourist trap).

It's 35 miles from the Viejas outlets to the Gaslamp District. Even in afternoon rush hour, it shouldn't take you more than an hour because you will be driving against traffic. Take I-8 to CA-125 south to CA-94 west, 94 ends at I-5, just keep going straight and it will become F Street, which will take you downtown.

If you want to go to the Hotel Circle area first, just stay on I-8, get off at the Hotel Circle exit, which is right after the CA-163 exit.

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Originally Posted by mrs ooms

The only other qn now is that I had wanted to visit the Saguaro National Park briefly to see those amazing cactuses. But I have been recommended the Sonara Desert Museum as a do not miss. If we did a half a day in the desert museum, would the trip to Saguaro be essentially be a repeat? We just don't seem to have allocated Tuscon enough time as was thinking our son would quite like the electric streetcars near the Uni area too (or is this a tourist trap).

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The Desert Museum is right on the edge of the National Park (the western unit), so I don't think you'd have to see it as an either or. I'd just make a drive through the National Park a part of your trip to the Museum.

The 4th Street/Campus area of Tucson is a nice place for lunch or shopping, but personally, I wouldn't go out of my way to see the street cars.

There are no hard and fast answers to your questions about traffic and drive times, of course, but some typical numbers would be that the drive from Alpine to a site in central San Diego would take 30-45 minutes in 'typical' traffic depending on your exact destination. San Diego also has pretty typical rush hour time, say 4:00 to 6:00, but I'd suggest you try to avoid driving between 3:00 and 7:00 in the afternoon/evening if you're not familiar with the roads.

As for Saguaro National Park/Desert Museum, I would highly recommend the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Although it can be a bit pricey for an entire family, you will learn more about the desert and its creatures there than you will in the national park. Try to time your visit to coincide with one of their major demonstrations. I particularly recommend the Raptor Display, but even if there is no major demo, there will be docents situated around the park with smaller opportunities to meet some desert critters up close and personal. You pretty much have to drive through the park to get to the museum, so you'll definitely see the cacti. You should also try to get to the museum by taking Speedway Boulevard west out of Tucson over Gates Pass and then follow the signs. The electric streetcars are not currently running as their route is undergoing a major expansion and the tracks are torn up, and will be for some time to come.

AZBuck

Felicity shouldn't take you too long. Neither should Desert View Tower (if that's what you mean) unless you want to. Just a warning ... the last time I was at Viejas, they had the fountains turned off. This may have only been a temporary thing, but you may want to have a Plan B for the son there.

Alpine to Gaslamp about 30-40 minutes depending on the time of day. Like most areas, rush hour is 3 pm to 6 pm. However, if you are going west, you won't run into nearly the traffic that you would when going in the opposite direction. :-)

Two outlet centers that I am somewhat familiar with, in the LA area: One is more in the Riverside County area along I-15, just north of Lake Elsinore. However, it is not a particularly full outlet center -- there are a few unoccupied spaces: Lake Elsinore Outlets. Another one is off of I-5 at Atlantic Blvd N. I believe, and it looks quite large: Citadel Outlets. I've been in the Lake Elsinore Outlet Center, but have never stopped at The Citadel.

Donna