Indio, Cali to where ever

[imported_Amy]

I will be heading out to Indio, CA on May 1st and 2nd for a music festival called Coachella. After the festival, I want to drive up the Pacific Coast. I will have from Monday May 3 to Friday May 7 when I will need to catch my flight back home from LA.

I think the only place I have really decided I want to see so far is Big Sur.

How far north do you think I can make it in that time? Can I make it to Seattle?

What other places would you suggest I see. I like the out doors. I will have a tent since I will be camping at the festival, so I can do that.

I would like to keep this trip at a low cost as much as possible, but I have room in my budget for a few extras.

Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks in advance.

Amy

Depends on what you want to see. If all you want to do is drive by Big Sur, you can make it up to Seattle, but as soon as you get there you'll have to turn around and head back down without stopping much. It's roughly a 2500 mile trip for 5 days, that's 500 miles a day, so 8-10 hours of driving each day. And if you plan on taking PCH up to Big Sur from Indio, that's a whole day drive (maybe more) just by itself. I wouldn't recommend it unless you really like sitting in your car.

Instead, I'd suggest you leave Monday, start heading up to Big Sur via the 101 or 1 or any other combinations of freeways to get up there. Take your time and stop wherever you feel like it, get to Big Sur and look around. Then head up to San Francisco for a couple of days. If you like it up there, you can stay until friday, then make a mad dash to LA along the I-5 (6 hour drive). There's a lot to see along the way, and the Bay Area is great if you like the outdoors. Might be cold up there at this time of year, but there are a lot of places to camp along the way.

[imported_Amy]

I think you might be right. I should just save Seattle for a whole other trip.

I think I'll just stick with Cali. I've never been anywhere except LA so San Fran would be good.

I have a relative in Santa Cruz I would like to see. Maybe I'll stop there and say hello.

Is there anything that you would think is a MUST seeon the way up to San Fran.

I like pretty much everything outdoors and music and finding cool non commercial stores to do some shopping.

Hmm...Must see? I guess it depends on what you want to see. There's Big Sur, I guess you already know about that. Near Big Sure is McKay? waterfall, in Julia Pfieffer State park. I think it's one of only two waterfalls in the country that spill directly out onto a beach. Last time I went, you couldn't get down there, but I dunno if that's changed. Up in Santa Cruz, I only remember the Boardwalk (kinda interesting in a historical sense, a little run down) and The Mystery Spot (touristy, but interesting). There's also Felton, they have train rides on some old Locomotives. There's a lot to do. I'll just list some off the top of my head

Hearst Castle in San Simeon (A really, really, really big mansion)

Monterey Bay Aquarium, cannery row, carmel by the sea (what some people might call "quaint", but expensive)

Muir Woods (a definite must if you like hiking and the outdoors)

Maverick (a world famous surfing spot, some of the largest waves in the world)

Haight/Ashbury (the birthplace of hippies)

Berkeley, telegraph ave (the home of non-commercial shopping, or at least it used to be. Still has cool record stores. similar to Haight/ashbury)

Golden Gate Bridge

Palace of Fine Arts (One of my favorites, gotta see a picture of it at least)

There's a lot more, I just can't get my thoughts straight. Do a quick search on the web and you can see if any of those places interests you.

[imported_Amy]

&gt; Hmm...Must see? I guess it depends on what you <BR>
&gt; want to see. There's Big Sur, I guess you <BR>
&gt; already know about that. Near Big Sure is McKay? <BR>
&gt; waterfall, in Julia Pfieffer State park. I think <BR>
&gt; it's one of only two waterfalls in the country <BR>
&gt; that spill directly out onto a beach. Last time <BR>
&gt; I went, you couldn't get down there, but I dunno <BR>
&gt; if that's changed. Up in Santa Cruz, I only <BR>
&gt; remember the Boardwalk (kinda interesting in a <BR>
&gt; historical sense, a little run down) and The <BR>
&gt; Mystery Spot (touristy, but interesting). <BR>
&gt; There's also Felton, they have train rides on <BR>
&gt; some old Locomotives. There's a lot to do. I'll <BR>
&gt; just list some off the top of my head<BR>
&gt; <BR>
&gt; Hearst <BR>
&gt; Castle in San Simeon (A really, really, really <BR>
&gt; big mansion)<BR>
&gt; <BR>
&gt; Monterey Bay Aquarium, cannery <BR>
&gt; row, carmel by the sea (what some people might <BR>
&gt; call "quaint", but expensive)<BR>
&gt; <BR>
&gt; Muir Woods (a <BR>
&gt; definite must if you like hiking and the <BR>
&gt; outdoors)<BR>
&gt; <BR>
&gt; Maverick (a world famous surfing <BR>
&gt; spot, some of the largest waves in the <BR>
&gt; world)<BR>
&gt; <BR>
&gt; Haight/Ashbury (the birthplace of <BR>
&gt; hippies)<BR>
&gt; <BR>
&gt; Berkeley, telegraph ave (the home of <BR>
&gt; non-commercial shopping, or at least it used to <BR>
&gt; be. Still has cool record stores. similar to <BR>
&gt; Haight/ashbury)<BR>
&gt; <BR>
&gt; Golden Gate Bridge<BR>
&gt; <BR>
&gt; Palace <BR>
&gt; of Fine Arts (One of my favorites, gotta see a <BR>
&gt; picture of it at least)<BR>
&gt; <BR>
&gt; There's a lot more, I <BR>
&gt; just can't get my thoughts straight. Do a quick <BR>
&gt; search on the web and you can see if any of those <BR>
&gt; places interests you. <BR>
<BR>
Thanks. Those all sound like great places. I am sure I will look into a lot of them. Especially the water fall and Muir Woods.

That's a great start. I'll probably just wing the rest and stop when I see something I like.

Thanks again.

[imported_Amy]

Thanks. Those all sound like great places. I am sure I will look into a lot of them. Especially the water fall and Muir Woods.

I'll probably just wing the rest and stop when I see something I like.

Thanks again.

[imported_ben]

amy,

we've made this drive many times. make sure you see santa barbara. keep going on US 1 ( not 101 ) and see the hearst castle near cambria which is a neat coastal town to spend the night.

stay on 1 and got thru big sur but the road is VERY narrow and poorly mantained so save the time to do so. its worth it

then u will hit big sur and carmel. carmel is overrated. make sure you take the 17 mile drive near monterey. worth it !

have fun !

[imported_Amy]

Thanks Ben for the info. I will certainly keep those on my list. I will be checking out that castle too. Sounds really cool!

:)

[Courtney G]

These are a lot of great suggestions, and I think there are a few more that might interest you:

SAN FRANCISCO:
FYI-- Parking a car in SF can be a real problem. Look into MUNI for travels within the city. The bus costs $1 for 3 hours of riding anywhere on their lines. You can also take BART (the train) to Berkeley-- parking in Berkeley is also a problem. Public transit info: http://www.transitinfo.org/

The Exploratorium is a really cool interactive science museum in SF. Kind of kid oriented, but guaranteed you'll learn at least one thing about something you use or run into everyday. Very fun.

Pier 39 is popular, but the natives will tell you it's very touristy. Alcatraz is always popular-- not sure if it's open in winter (you'll have to make reservations if you want to go anyway). If it is, dress warm! It can get cold on the Bay.

Little Italy (Columbus Ave): fun to go to cafe and people watch.

Chinatown: Really part of the SF experience. You have to at least stop through it. I do NOT recommend driving through that part of town.

Avoid 6th St east of Market. One of the worst parts of town. Avoid the "Tenderloin" too.

If you like non-chain stores, I would like to recommend my favorite independent bookstore to date: Green Apple Books. They are at Clement and 8th Ave (Richmond District-- the area north of GG Park). They have cards that describe books on display handwritten by employees with very reasonable prices. Restaurants in that part of town are also excellent.

Golden Gate Park on a weekend. Only if it's nice out. People rollerblade, bicycle, paddle boat. They close the roads through the park on the weekend so alternate forms of transportation can use them.

Eat well! It's hard to have a bad meal in SF.

OUT OF SF:
Half Moon Bay has some great campsites from what I remember.

Marin County is known for the mountain bike trails-- it's just north of SF across the GG bridge, so if you want to cross that, you're already almost there. Sausalito is quite charming, too.

The UC Berkeley campus isn't far from Telegraph, and really is quite pretty and diverse. I shouldn't clump it in the same paragraph (they're big rivals), but Stanford is supposed to have a beautiful campus, too. It's in Palo Alto.

If you want to go way north in CA, there are the beautiful redwood forests. Some of the largest trees in the world are there (that picture of the car driving through a hole in a tree? Taken there.) Mendocino is cute, too.

On your way up SF, there are also some winerys, but I've heard they're a bit pricey to do a tasting.

That's all I can think of for now. Have fun!

I forgot to mention the SF traffic. If you're not used to driving up there, it would be better to park the car somewhere and use local transporation. Less stress, and will probably save you some money and time that would've been wasted looking for parking.

As far as taking PCH all the way up, I think it might be better to jump back and forth between 101 and 1, the 1 is very twisty and slow, and once you've seen 4 hours of ocean at 20 mph, the view pretty much stays the same. Especially at night when there's nothing to see, I would definitely recommend travelling on a major highway