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California what is it really like?

Danishfurniturelover

Danishfurniturelover

the prettiest spice girl
Been watching the cycling tour online on NBC with the excellent Phill liggot and Paul Sherwan. Some of the scenery round that way is s tunning, never thought of visiting before but that tour has shown it is seriously beautiful.

If we visited is the enough for a child to do? you know activity like canoeing and abseiling and also stuff for adults as well. Is it all gangs and crime, some of the towns the tour passed through looked lovely but would a tourist mistakenly drive into the wrong area like those two blokes walked into the wrong area in Orlando a few years ago in Florida.

The place looks lovely and we are ready for another holiday to America but this time as a family. Cheers in advance for any advice.
 
Mate,

I am about to step out but I will give you a detailed reply in a couple of days. In short…YES!!!!! Northern California is absolutely belting…I will send you a long PM in the next day or so mate…

As for gangs, etc, you'd have to work pretty hard to end up in the wrong places.

Steff
 
thfcsteff said:
Mate,

I am about to step out but I will give you a detailed reply in a couple of days. In short…YES!!!!! Northern California is absolutely belting…I will send you a long PM in the next day or so mate…

As for gangs, etc, you'd have to work pretty hard to end up in the wrong places.

Steff
Click to expand...

Nice one old son.
 
thfcsteff said:
Mate,

I am about to step out but I will give you a detailed reply in a couple of days. In short…YES!!!!! Northern California is absolutely belting…I will send you a long PM in the next day or so mate…

As for gangs, etc, you'd have to work pretty hard to end up in the wrong places.

Steff
Click to expand...

why pm steff? i would enjoy a good read on california.. post it up
 
OK mate, why a PM indeed? Here goes…


Chich…


If visiting, you can do California in three ways IMO...

1) Just Southern California

2) Just Northern

3) The North/south via highway 1 and Big Sur



I would recommend you make it a 14 day trip and plan on 3, with stops in


LA
Big Sur/Pfeifer State Park
SF

Hire a car with arrangements to pick up in LA at LAX (Airport) and drop off in SF. Not sure how you feel about insurance, etc, but I always prefer to covered with their CDW and liability. Yes, it adds probably 300 quid, but if you're not used to driving on 'the other side' of the road, plus American driving generally, it might be worth it for peace of mind.


From what I can gather mate, you prefer the outdoors and are not too much into glitzy bull****. LA has it all. I would suggest that you thus stay in an area on the coast, such as Santa Monica, Venice, Marina Del Rey…Santa Monica is pretty clean and has a fun pier for kids and everyone really, Venice is skater/surfer/trustafarian hippy central but I really like it…Marina Del Rey's just a bit further down. All of these will leave you approx 30-45 mins from Hollywood. You will want to visit Hollywood, and I can tell you, it's become like a theme park itself thus buckle in and just get on with it. There is a great park called Runyon Canyon (three different grades of walk) which will give you a brilliant view of the whole of LA when you get to the top (and the Hollywood sign). This is a must-do. Bring camera. It's superb. If you want more details on what to do in the Hollywood area I can do that…

I'd then take a leisurely drive up 101 to the 1 near Santa Barbara and slowly drive up this fantastic coastal road. See if you can spend a night either in Carmel or even Big Sur itself. Tremendous. There is a restaurant called the Nepenthe which has a spectacular view off the cliffs, it's superb (bit over-priced but that's the deal for the view)…then onto the Bay Area. Mate…I don't even know where to start! From riding across the GGBridge, the Marin Headlands, Lake Tahoe which is only three hours away, a properly world-class city which feels like a proper city and not some souless **** of skyscrapers, the very cycling-friendly attitude, the ferry rides across the bay…mate, I don't know where to start.

As you drive up 1 towards SF, between Santa Cruz and the city is some outstanding countryside and beach, Pescadero is particularly great, and Marin is excellent. In fact, parts of the area on 1 when you're over the GG Bridge could feel like the Highlands of Scotland.

This should be a good start to get you interested, please ask further questions as you wish mate, I'll be happy to offer what I can…in short; plan the trip and do it!
 
Cheers for the advice steff. Look at this video from about 1 minute 56 seconds http://www.nbcsports.com/cycling/cavendish-gearing-tour-de-france?

Looks gorgeous a place called Thousand Oaks, I love water and trees. Yeah I guess we would have to Hollywood and all that crap.

What I am thinking is fly to L.A. as you said and slowly make our way up and make our way up to san fran. We all love nature but I think we would need some "fun" stops on the way to keep the lad entertained. You know things like water parks or adventure parks. Went to one last year in Hampshire where we went on a Zip wire, made me feel sick but he loved it.

So maybe 3 days in L.A. then drive up to san fran but stoping at different places on the way then a couple of days looking around at the tourist stuff like alcatraz. Guess now I just got to find the fun stuff to do on route, maybe a couple of museums to keep the wife happy.

I know I could google it but I am lazy and am going to ask instead, the place where the woman dies at the end of Vertigo is that real? also can you really drive a car through those big trees, always wanted to do that.

You should get a new job as a travel agent haha.

Thanks.
 
You might want to also consider Yosemite.

If you are looking for museums, the Simon Norton Museum in LA is one of the most impressive art collections going (much better than the Getty). It's small but the quality is amazing. There is also the La Brea tar pits museum which is unique. It's a collection of mammals that were trapped in the tar pits and preserved. It's next to the main art museum and not far from Beverley Hills or Hollywood so easy to fit in with other stuff.

On the drive up the coast, one of the standards is the aquarium at Monterey. If you like wine, a trip into the Napa Valley is another possibility.
 
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Matey!

Answers, etc in bold below…
[

QUOTE=japenesegardenlover;558316]Cheers for the advice steff. Look at this video from about 1 minute 56 seconds http://www.nbcsports.com/cycling/cavendish-gearing-tour-de-france?

Looks gorgeous a place called Thousand Oaks, I love water and trees.


That is the average tip of a pretty outstanding iceberg. In Southern Cali, you'd be wanting to check out Malibu and north of there about 30 mies or so, get into some of the canyons…water and trees is definitely a Northern California speciality too, again, especially ogg highway 1 in Marin (over Golden Gate Bridge from SF) where within 20 miles you find redwood forests and 'wild' beaches. Water's obviously significantly colder there, and some of those cross-current tides make for dangerous swimming (plus the sharks which sometimes roll those waters - yes, Great Whites up off that shore!)…will check out the link shortly!




Yeah I guess we would have to Hollywood and all that crap.

What I am thinking is fly to L.A. as you said and slowly make our way up and make our way up to san fran. We all love nature but I think we would need some "fun" stops on the way to keep the lad entertained. You know things like water parks or adventure parks. Went to one last year in Hampshire where we went on a Zip wire, made me feel sick but he loved it.



Theme parks, etc, are not a problem. Six Flags in Valencia, CA (as you head out and up north) is massive and full of that gubbins, Santa Cruz has a brilliant fun fair on the pier, there's another 6 Flags up in Nor Cal, obviously in LA there's D*****land and Universal Studios (which i haven't been to but want to get to of all of them!) so yeah, it's all there. On the drive up, Santa Cruz will have enough of that to keep him happy. There's also the Monterey Bay Aquarium which is a class place...




So maybe 3 days in L.A. then drive up to san fran but stoping at different places on the way then a couple of days looking around at the tourist stuff like alcatraz. Guess now I just got to find the fun stuff to do on route, maybe a couple of museums to keep the wife happy.


Tell me what sort of stuff she's into museum-wise and I can guide you mate. SF has world class museums IMO, and you'd spend two days going to Golden Gate park between the De Young Art museum and the Academy of Sciences (which is excellent)…whenever you decide to book a trip out, be sure to book Alcatraz THEN as the fecker's always sold out weeks in advance (it's worth going to) and I can advise you on a couple of smart ferry rides which will allow you to see the bay from the water. There's also plenty of places to rent bikes; you sound like a serious rider, so I'd absolutely advise you carve out a morning, rent a bike and cycle through Crissy Field, over the GG Bridge and into Sausalito (hilly - like Florence- but good). Once there you can either ride back or take the ferry back to SF/have a beer on-board and ride along waterfront. So many options mate...





I know I could google it but I am lazy and am going to ask instead, the place where the woman dies at the end of Vertigo is that real? also can you really drive a car through those big trees, always wanted to do that.



Yes mate. Here's a link (when I first moved here I lived in a flat at 16th & Dolores)…


http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Vertigo-s-San-Francisco-locations-3277933.php

You can also see the schoolhouse from The Birds…that's in Bodega Bay (off highway 1 north of the GG Bridge - good vibe when you see it)…and yes, you can drive a car through a redwood but that's far north, here's the info

http://redwoods.info/showrecord.asp?id=2464


You should get a new job as a travel agent haha.

Haha, all good mate…I moved here as a young man to further my career and live my life based on time and location not money. It's been great. Not ever going to be rich but what a quality of life! Bring the dog on superb hikes/beach walks, etc, raised kids here, it's been great to me and I could never have had the ability to do this back home I don't think - I still get back a few times a year (which is how I still get to some games home and away) but whenever someone like your good self shows an interest in exploring the West Coast, I'm happy to help mate!

Thanks.[/QUOTE]

Of course Chich, keep the questions coming as you need to...
 
jts1882 said:
You might want to also consider Yosemite.

If you are looking for museums, the Simon Norton Museum in LA is one of the most impressive art collections going (much better than the Getty). It's small but the quality is amazing. There is also the La Brea tar pits museum which is unique. It's a collection of mammals that were trapped in the tar pits and preserved. It's next to the main art museum and not far from Beverley Hills or Hollywood so easy to fit in with other stuff.

On the drive up the coast, one of the standards is the aquarium at Monterey. If you like wine, a trip into the Napa Valley is another possibility.
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Great advice.

I absolutely forgot the wine valley because I'm not drinking much at all these days, but great shout as it is world class in regards of what it is…as for Yosemite, bang on…in fact, that opens up a whole other idea, which would THEN be to circle BACK down to LA via Yosemite and route 99 (you would go bast Mono Lake - fantastic and weird) plus Death Valley which is the business. But that's another week on the trip!!!! I would say avoid Vegas, it's a toilet…

Mate, so many places, especially when you get near the California/Nevada border (Warner Mountains, etc) which you eventually hit if you head to Black Rock desert (Burning Man)… and then there's Utah (ignore mormons!) which has the incredible Bryce Canyon among other places…

Then there's the southern deserts between California and Arizona...

Stop me now…!!!!
 
Wow steff that is amazing, we are in Latvia for 4 weeks this summer but we definitely have the taste for a sunny holiday and some where different. L.A looks good the wife likes the look of it after seeing it on NBC and of course a young boy wants to go hang out with the stars. Next summer could well be a possibility. We had never really thought about California for a holiday before watching the Tour.

So much good advice there and it looks like we could put enough "treats" in there to keep him happy, he loves water parks and I guess we would have to do the movie studio tours.

The wife likes classic art museums, I go to them with her but like a kid get bored after an hour. We do like wine her more then me so I guess Napa valley would be a must. It has certainly wet our appetite. Always thought of L.A. as just Hollywood and then gangland but the scenery on the Tour was stunning, our son's eyes nearly popped out his head when we said we were thinking of a holiday out there. Would be cruel not to now haha.

For me I just love being by water but also seeing mountains and yeah a good 60 mile cycle ride is a must for me:)
 
japenesegardenlover said:
Wow steff that is amazing, we are in Latvia for 4 weeks this summer but we definitely have the taste for a sunny holiday and some where different. L.A looks good the wife likes the look of it after seeing it on NBC and of course a young boy wants to go hang out with the stars. Next summer could well be a possibility. We had never really thought about California for a holiday before watching the Tour.

So much good advice there and it looks like we could put enough "treats" in there to keep him happy, he loves water parks and I guess we would have to do the movie studio tours.

The wife likes classic art museums, I go to them with her but like a kid get bored after an hour. We do like wine her more then me so I guess Napa valley would be a must. It has certainly wet our appetite. Always thought of L.A. as just Hollywood and then gangland but the scenery on the Tour was stunning, our son's eyes nearly popped out his head when we said we were thinking of a holiday out there. Would be cruel not to now haha.

For me I just love being by water but also seeing mountains and yeah a good 60 mile cycle ride is a must for me:)
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You know where I am mate, when it's getting time to make your arrangements, a year or whatever, I'm ready to pitch more help/advice…let me put it this way. From everything you just said, this holiday will leave your family very very happy indeed!
 
Haven't been to San Francisco but my missus, who works for Virgin, absolutely loves it out there. Lots of character and a good time vibe.

Los Angeles was incredibly chalky imo, not the greatest of places to be in terms of downtown LA but some lovely places just outside but what you would still consider generally the 'LA' area.
As Steff mentioned, Malibu and Santa Monica are gorgeous and right on the sea. Pasadena which is a lovely surburb outside of LA but more in land is very nice as well.

My bro has done the trip up from LA to SF via San Jose in the car and was massively impressed by it. He spent 6 months out in California in 2009 coaching football for kids in different areas. He quite liked San Diego as well but for the life of me I can't quite remember what he actually said about it in depth, just that he quite liked it.

As someone else has mentioned, Yosemite National Park might be a shout although to go that way it would probably be easier starting from Las Vegas and cutting through to make San Fran, which of course excludes LA so maybe not quite what you are after. I was planning to do that exact trip last year and it is definitely on my to do list. Some of the scenery out there is just breathtaking like the Mirror Lake in Tenaya Canyon, Tenaya Lake next to the Tioga Road that goes right through the park and the Yosemite Falls. Lake Tahoe is slightly further north of the park as well but is supposed to be amazing.

In terms of your kids, not sure how old they are but I think they would appreciate the beauty of the national parks type of scenerey as well as the beach front type stuff over the other side of California. I did the general touristy stuff as well like Universal Studios, LA Zoo and The Griffith Observatory up in the Hollywood Hills and most kids will like those things too.
 
If you haven't been to SF it is cool to check out - but tbh, its gone down hill in the last decade.

The outdoors and open roads of CA are beautiful.
If yyou are outdoorsy, like to eat or shop - you'll love it.

And the spirits are cheeeap.

Great place to visit.

Avoid Fresno and Bakersfield- there is no need for these places.

Sacramento is also a bit 'meh'

Napa and Sonoma are great country
And south lake Tahoe is a must - you have amazing scenary, watersports etc and, as its part in CA and NV, you has casino's too.

Yosemite might be worth a visit too.

For food - check out the man vs food and diners, drive ins and dives websites for some less chain like ideas.

I live near Sacramento these days
 
Oh, you might have seen me in the footage if they showed the Amgen going through El Dorado Hills on the Sac time trial
 
An extra thumbs up for San Diego - it has something about it.
Go there over LA.

The thing with most CA towns though - there isn't a lot 'see'.

They are towns for living in, and as such, make sure you research the things you want to do.

When are you thinking of going? I have friends in Socal I can ask for recommendations.
 
An extra thumbs up for San Diego - it has something about it.
Go there over LA.

The thing with most CA towns though - there isn't a lot 'see'.

They are towns for living in, and as such, make sure you research the things you want to do.

When are you thinking of going? I have friends in Socal I can ask for recommendations.
 
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