BC to Disneyland along Oregon coast

[QuirkySue]

Thanks for the tips! I'll definately let my husband take the wheel through those areas. At least when we're finally in Anaheim we can park and walk across to Disneyland and get a break from LA driving for a few days. Universal is definately on the to-do list as is the walk of stars, still not sure about knotts.

Our girls are 12 and 15 now so not little kids that will whine and squirm the whole way there which makes longer days more possible. 12 yr old wants to do the scenic route and make the holiday seem like it's lasting forever, 15 yr old just wants Mickey. Of course they can't agree!

I think we will drive as long and hard as we can the first day. Take two hotel night stays on the way down, with one being somewhere along the coast there, and try to make it into LA after 7pm the third day. Too fast to take in any attractions but there will be a nice view on the way down and time to stop for photos and meals that don't come from a drivethru window.

Maybe I can talk hubby into taking another road trip next year to see parts of the Oregon coast and the Redwoods :D

[Mark Sedenquist]

Traffic is traffic. Having spent several years living in Seattle and living in the LA area, I'll vote for Seattle having worst traffic per route,

I agree -- Seattle is tougher the LA. Other spots to avoid -- anywhere on the east bay of San Francisco during commuting hours, Denver and Boston are heavy contenders, as well, for the slow-going awards.

Mark

[PNW Judy]

I did say in my post that one needs to be through Seattle by 2pm in order to avoid getting stuck in traffic. Before 10am and after 2pm, it's a nightmare.

However, since LA has so many more freeways, I think it's easier to get confused, turned around, and lost. I'm an excellent map-reader and the only time I've ever gotten us seriously lost was trying to get around LA.

QuirkySue, I suggest printing out maps from your hotel to the various places you want to see in LA. I haven't been there since about '97, pre my internet days, so I didn't have a handy tool like that available. I'm sure that will help a lot.

[QuirkySue]

The last two or three times I've been through Seattle I've managed to miss the worst traffic - I'll definately try to keep it that way for this next trip!

Ending up on the wrong exit or turnaround or having multiple lanes merging into my lane is exactly why I hate the big city areas! Stop and Go gridlock is frustrating but at least I have plenty of time to read the signs and figure out where I'm heading. lol.

...and yes, I'll definately be printing out maps and directions! Definately a good idea there. I'll bring a laptop so if we need to stop in at a cafe with access I can download more too. I'm not a great mapreader but if I know ahead of time when/where I'm supposed to change direction I can make sure I'm in the right lane for it.

If I am organized enough before then I'll make a binder with maps of any area where we're not just on the I-5 so we don't waste too much time lost trying to find our way around. Thanks a bunch for the route suggestions to avoid the worst of it!

[W. Larrison]

I agree -- Seattle is tougher the LA. Other spots to avoid -- anywhere on the east bay of San Francisco during commuting hours, Denver and Boston are heavy contenders, as well, for the slow-going awards.

The worst traffic I've ever been in was in Rome.. DC's bad, Paris is nasty, Boston a nightmare at rush hour... But Rome was simply amazing. The wild part was the tiny little smart cars getting upon the sidewalks and zipping along with 2 wheels on the curb to dodge around slower traffic. Fortunately we had a good driver, who would zip down streets I would never even think of driving through and dodging in and out of crooked narrow alleyways to get us to our meetings on times. I also learned to not sit in the front passenger seat as I kept thumping my right foot down as I kept reaching for a non-existant brake, over and over.. Had to stop that.. didn't want to break the zen of our driver "being one with the city and the traffic..."

My two runners up are:

Moscow. There aren't enough streets for the influx of cars. Nothing like watching someone pull into the oncoming lane to pull up past a traffic jam, and trying to frantically get back into the correct side of the road as a tidal wave of traffic bore down on him. And the longest lines through a drive through McDonalds I have *EVER* seen...

India. There traffic laws are summarized as "who ever is biggest and drives most agressively has the right of way..." Stop signs are a suggestion, and blowing through a traffic circle in a minivan while weaving through traffic and simultaneously dodging a mule pulling a cement cart, and an on-going 10 ton lorry is just part of the daily drive... Don't watch the road, look out the window and talk pleasantly to your companions in the vehicle. It's much better for your nerves.....

[QuirkySue]

I kept thumping my right foot down as I kept reaching for a non-existant brake, over and over..

That's hilarious- I've done that too.

I've seen clips of driving in India and NO WAY would I ever attempt to drive there myself. I think I'd probably shut my eyes in the passenger seat and hope I didn't meet my maker too lol.

How is traffic in Seattle, Portland, and LA on the weekends? We are still open on what days we leave and return.

[QuirkySue]

How does this look for the way down:

-Leave *early* from Abbotsford BC
-Drive hard first day to Redding (11 hrs driving time with two drivers)
I expect to arrive quite late with bio/gas stops, and very tired.

Morning of day 2 see either sundial bridge and/or shasta Dam at the vista point(no tours, just quick stops) The hotel I might choose is fairly close to both. If we aren't completely wiped we might be able to do one of these stops before we reach the hotel. Night photos would probably be beautiful at either.

Late morning of Day 2
Redding to Monterey (5 hrs+stops)

-Monterey to San Simeon with some quick photo stops (3 hrs + stops)

Stay in San Simeon Night 2

See Point Piedras Blancas elephant seal rookery in the am. I realize in September there won't be many seals there, but there should be some according to the website.

San Luis Obispo to LA and then Anaheim (4 hrs)

Arrive hopefully before or after rush hour to get settled into hotel for Night 3.

Thoughts?!?

[W. Larrison]

That's not an unreasonable schedule..

The first day is going to be the longest drive, but I-5 is fast and a good road. If you're heading across from Abbotsford, I hope you're doing the Medirian crossing or near Sumas when they open. My epxerience has been Blaine can be nasty -- but I recall having to sit at Sumas a while waiting for the border to open one early morning.

A couple of other random comments --

Just do a bit of internet surfing around and come up with sort of mental priority list of what to see. For example, given say 4 hours in Monterey area, what would youl like to see or visit? Cannery Row? The Aquarium? Walk out on the pier for dinner? Carmel and the 17 mile drive? etc.

If you're coming down Coast 1, be aware that the elephant seal colony is about 10 miles north of San Simeon. You might want to try to catch this on the way down, ratther than backtracking. You ought to be able to do the drive down Big Sur, the elephant Seal Colony and the Hearst Castle tour in one day -- without killing yourself running between sights.

It's about 4 hours without traffic Anaheim to SLO. With traffic, things can take longer. Just have this in mind... If you have some time to kill near Anaheim, you might consider having a secondary stop to fill in a couple of hours before the hotels start taking people in for the evening (2 O'clock check in or the like). This might include (as wild suggestions.. Long Beach drive through tour -- Queen Mary, Aquarium of the Pacific, etc.), or down along the coast in the "OC", including Huntington Beach (Surf City), and Newport Beach.

[QuirkySue]

If you're heading across from Abbotsford, I hope you're doing the Medirian crossing or near Sumas when they open.

Yes, we'll be crossing at Sumas. It's the only crossing we've ever used and have never had too much delay. Heading south anyways.

Just do a bit of internet surfing around and come up with sort of mental priority list of what to see. For example, given say 4 hours in Monterey area, what would youl like to see or visit? Cannery Row? The Aquarium? Walk out on the pier for dinner? Carmel and the 17 mile drive? etc.

On our second day , we first have to drive from Redding to Monterey which shows as being a 5 hr drive right there. Conservatively leaving at 9am from Redding (sleepyhead start?!) we wouldn't reach Monterey until 2pm. Three more hours to San Simeon puts us at 5pm.

I don't think we'll have a lot of time to dawdle since I will probably want to pull over frequently for photos but I'll add some stops to the list incase we're making really good time and can afford to. We could definately see the Elephant Seal Rookery that night before reaching our hotel then like you suggested rather than backtracking. Thanks for the heads up.

It does open up the next morning to see the Hearst Castle :D which I didn't think we'd be able to do, and maybe something else between there and LA and still make it to LA for check in. With two long days, on that third day I want to get settled, maybe have a nice sitdown dinner, a swim, and head to bed early so we can be rested for our first day at Disneyland.

[QuirkySue]

Counting our drive from Redding in the morning, do you think we'd be able to see both the Cannery Row and do the 17 mile scenic drive (and maybe stop for quick lunch at either) and still make it to the seal rookery before dark?

I'm busy looking on google maps and trying to plan a route and print directions but it seems to put me somewhere in the middle of somewhere instead of how it would probably be to really drive it.