Forum

Trip to So Cal
 

so we just got invited to a wedding next month, (short notice for me) in S. Cali

I have not been there for 10 years, but always meaning to go back, so am going to make a 2 week trip of it.

last time I stayed in the hills and everything was organised for me, this time it is down to me, I am thinking of doing San diego for one week and one week in santa monica or laguna or santa barbara, malibu but cannot decide....I need the calmest water...

these will be where I mainly stay and use as a base, as I dont want to drive around too much and I have a youngster...

will be wanting to go in to LA and beverley hills etc just for a day, last time I went we just drove in and parked, is that still ok to do, cos I know things change....

Lucky you! I wish I was heading to California this time of the year..

Weather is just starting to get warmer. May still be snow on the Sierra Nevadas.

San Diego has the Fleet to amuse you :thumb:

Not sure you would need a week there. Maybe a suburb closer to LAX.

There's other beautiful places like San Juan Capistrano and any of the other 'old' Missionary towns.
Santa Monica was a bit of a dive last time I visited. There are heaps of places to stay.
Where is the wedding?

Like aspkin, I wish I was a'going too. Love CA in May.
( or any other month)

=} :thumb:

the wedding is in san diego, there is the zoo there to visit, what is the fleet? unsure about the beaches there as never been but I agree a week may be too long, I have to have at least 4 days there as there are various meet-ups in the days prior to the wedding...

I want to then go and relax on a long wide non-crowded beach, with nice restaurants..no dives! maybe malibu....

beach? SO CA? stay out of the water..... wouldn't want to get poked with glass or needles.

dirty water on that coast :-(

San Diego is home to the Pacific Fleet.... town is full of sailors. Old stomping grounds =} =}

Certainly not ideal for longer stays. Move on after the wedding.

Have you ever swum in the waters of the West Coast? Not the best. Worse than Brighton Pier :eek:

San Diego is one of the most beautiful cities in the US.

Being an ocean lover I too wont stray much into the Cali waters.

Then again I am a short drive from 3 of the top beaches in the USA here in Florida and we swim and body surf all day long and never an issue so far.

But Cali it unique in itself and has lots of things to see and do.

As GB said for sure head out to see the Navy areas, awesome display if they are in port etc.

San Diego was real nice. You don't have to worry about rain there which is perfect for a vacation. If you are a baseball fan you could always catch a baseball game while there. We stayed at the hard rock which was real nice

Lots of places to see in San Diego. San Diego Zoo, Sea World, Pacific Fleet (referred by GB), about 1/2 hour away from Legoland (depending on how old your youngster is.
Disneyland is about an hour away.

Depending on you time of day and which day, it would take you about 2 hours to get Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Hollywood area at best. With traffic up to 4 hours.

Depending on what you really want to do, I can throw some tips your way since I am out here.

San Fransisco and San Diego are my two favorite places :D

San Fran city is the best but the weather in san diego is totally better =) And the piers are way less populated.

the sharks sure seem to be taking a liking to tourists these days. :croc:

shark attack 50/50 surfer or flailing tourist.

If you go to San Diego, go to Sea World, were headed there in a few weeks.

Mostly on the ocean side which I am not a big fan of.

Best beaches are on the gulf side by far.

S cali.. its So cal or Cali..

Weather is great right now. Nice and warm if you like that

:cheer:

but the whole point of the beach is playing in the waves!!! :clap:

thanks, I will just do Bev Hills probably, I have been invited to a restaurant meet up there and then take in some shopping...knowing where to park would be handy for good access...?

other thing is the zoo, will be doing that. Not bothered about disneyland/seaworld and legoland, have done them already, just not in Cal.

Sea World and The Zoo in San Diego are special.

Mini-me would love there

What part of Beverley Hills is the restaurant?

:cheer:

Definitely go to Tijuana, and eat at In and Out Burger!

Exactly.

We have waves on a gulf side but not as large as the ocean side.

But, the ocean side beaches are not even close to being as nice as the gulf.

You cannot have everything but it is much nice to have clean beaches, white sand and still get to body surf.

Beverly Hills has alot of public metered parking on street and public lots. If you are hanging out in Beverly Hills, you are also 20 minutes away from Hollywood, and there is also Universal Studios and Universal City which is a nice place to visit.
Goings towards the beach about 10 minutes away from Beverly Hills is Century City, which is also a shopping mall.

Let me know which areas you are going to visit and I can throw pointers your way.

Also if you are into it.

A lot of Indian Casinos in the outlying San Diego area.

You really need to head to santa catalina island. I just came back from there on thursday. Sent a week there, went camping, hiking, deep ocean fishing, scuba, snorkeling. I sent less than $400 for the entire week. My friend and I did some camping so it was cheap. Its really touristy but I went for the hiking and swimming. Everyone there rides around on gold carts, pretty cool.

Stay away from Mexico, they have their own problems with a drug war and cartels. Right near the US-Mexican border is nothing but a tourist trap. Its why tourist numbers are down over 50% from a few years ago. Its a death trap and entering back into the US is no fun either, a good day you will wait 1.5 hours, bad day, close to 3 hours.

**santa catalina island is off the coast of san diego-about 12-15 miles, takes a ferry to get there.

everytime I go to the gulf side it looks like a lake.

its not a good day if I don't have sand in my ears, and a few cuts :amen:

LOL-----

Wow.

3 of the top beaches in the USA are on the gulf side.

We body surf and do what we want.

And yes I get a few bumps and bruises along the way.

You have to know when the tide is rolling etc.

I dont like the ocean side because of the dirty water, poor sand and the pit of Florida called Daytona Beach.

Im in cali got a rental in san diego but live near tahoe. We still got like 4 feet of snow here in tahoe area. But down at our rental in san diego, weather is nice and warm. Over 90. I can give you ideas of where to go and see if you would like. Either way enjoy your trip and be safe

@Dunersdunes

Tahoe is great to visit, to live , to ski, to gamble.

In fact, California is tops almost anywhere .

:cheer:

Oompa, don't forget to stop by and say Hello!

yea i've never visited that beach for a reason.

i mainly just stick to the state park ones off A1A, park in the lot walk across the hwy over the dunes and BEACH... and the best part, a beach with no crowds!

sand.. yea some are nice white sand.. the feet burning kind, but most of the ones i head ot have the crushed shell sand, like walking on broken glass or something haahah. its only up near the dunes though back toward the water its normal.

Ahah you're heading to my home turf. San Diego Zoo is a must for the younger ones, I prefer it over Sea World. If you're looking for nice weather San Diego has the best in California.

If you're looking to go out every day while you're here, these are my favorite spots:

Balboa Park, plenty of cool stuff to see, places to eat, street performers and knick knacks to buy

Mission Beach, the quintessential SoCal beach, if you go to any beach on your visit Mission Beach is the place to go. Belmont Park is right there on the boardwalk too if you're in the mood for a carnival.

Gaslamp District in downtown this might be more for night-life and the younger crowd, but they have some good shopping and a bunch of sidewalk cafes.

It's not winter anymore, but Julian is one of my personal favorite places as a San Diego native. In springtime it's still beautiful there, plenty of stuff to do too. Candy and pie shops are freakin awesome.

La Jolla Cove is very nice too, it's a small beach, but probably one of the most picturesque. I haven't been there in awhile, but as a kid catching crabs and walking along the beach was a bunch of fun.

If you go to any casino in San Diego, Barona is by far the best in my opinion Viejas would be a far off second.

Do I even have to mention it? Santa Monica pier is the place to go in Santa Monica.

While in San Diego definitely try the California burrito, rolled tacos and carne asada fries from El Cotixan.

Fashion Valley, Mission Valley and North County malls are my favorite shopping places.

The South Bay beaches are probably the cleanest beaches to go. South bay is places like Torrance and Redondo beach.

Yes, Greenbean Cali is great. I go to the sand dunes like 4 days a month riding quads. I Love being single. Just me and my 3 year old son. I moved here from Pennsylvania like 8 years ago and love it. No matter where ur from or live people are people and should all be treated the same way i believe. Regardless of what state, country , color, or creed etc. Except tree huggers !!!!! I can't stand them. Lmao lol lol

Once again sorry about how long my replys are. I will work on making them shorter. :)

Frankly, what's not to love about Cali?

Magic land for almost anyone who goes there.

The restraints are merely time and money.

Re-read the thread. We all love So Cal but what about north of LAX?

Good times anywhere.

:cheer:

I'm not a tree hugger, I'm just a Prius driver.

O ****. Lol lol

Awesome info!!

From a former mod of a "travel" forum this is great stuff.

Where were you when I need this info? :yar:


Oomp-- Stay safe and have fun.