OK guys, please help me out! I need some "what to do tips" for my California trip in october. Here is the plan: It,s me and my wife and our two boys 12 and 14 years old We are flying to LA the 8 of october and we are ending the trip in Las vegas the 27 of october. But what to do and see between? I,m planning to visit Long beach swap meet the 9th, but nothing else is planned yet. Any hot rod event during this time? Any company not to miss? Any places not to miss in california? San Fransico? San Diego? Mexico? My wife loves the beaches, any tips? My boys would love adventure parks, any tips? Anyting outer things? Thanks in advance Ulf, Sweden
Bob's Big Boy in Burbank (Toluca Lake) has an awesome car get together every Friday night. Great place to take the kids, grab some good greasy food and check out the great rides. Some really top-notch stuff shows up there (I saw Leno out there twice in the 10-12 times I went when I lived out there.) I wouldn't plan a trip around being at Bob's on Friday, but if you are in LA anyway, definitely check it out!
Oh, as for the rest of it, there's a ton to do out there. Disneyland is great for the kids, I really enjoyed Magic Mountain (another amusement park N. of LA) Knott's Berry Farm is another big Amusement park in LA, I've never been there though. In San Diego, they have Sea World, Lego Land (an amusement park with smaller rides geared at younger kids. My 9 & 11 year old nephews love it) and a world-class zoo. There's a cool old hotel out on Coronado Island called the del Coronado. It's really beautiful. http://www.hoteldel.com/ They filmed that Marilyn Monroe movie "Some like it hot" there way back when and it looks exactly the same. Great spot to have lunch on the the beach! If you head North, I heard Hearst Castle is pretty cool http://www.hearstcastle.com/ It's 1/2 way between LA and San Fran (5 hrs from either, according to their site) and would be a beautiful drive up the coast. I guess that's about all I can think of. I lived out there for a year, but I was pretty busy working, so I didn't get out much :-/ Have fun! It's a great spot to vacation!
Where in LA are you staying? The Boys will like Magic Mtn more than Disney or Knotts (avoid knotts, just not alot of fun for the money). October might be getting too cold and gloomy for the beach, but I'd hit up San Diego, Mission beach is fun and got to old town and have dinner at Casa de Pico good stuff nice area to walk around and buy little trinkets. If you time it right you can do the Haunted san deigo tour there too. It's hokey but fun ... Don't do Mexico IMO It's a pit unless you go deep into baja... San Fran is about 6 to 8 hours from LA and then about 8 more to get to Las Vegas....Beaches in Orange County are way nicer than LA. Laguna beach is real nice then go up the coast on PCH all the way back to Long beach.... PM me your address and I'll pick up some maps and stuff from AAA (auto club, gives it free for members)....
And keep going till you get to at least Santa Barbara. Then you'll see some nice beaches! No offense to anyone, but: O.C. beaches ARE nicer than the L.A. beaches, but they're still shitholes compared to the beaches north of Ventura. The water's not as warm up here, but there's also not a bunch of litter and broken glass all over the beach. Lots of sea life to observe, Otters, harbor seals, Elephant seals, Dolphins, Whales. There's Deer, mountain lions, Foxes, lots of wildlife. Kayaking in the Bay where I live is a blast. Nothing like having seals and otters 20 feet away from your kayak, as you paddle along. Big Sur has the greatest scenery you'll ever see, it's about 6 or 7 hours north of L.A. The Monterey Aquarium is really nice, and it's only about 40? miles north of Big Sur's north coast. I live about 30 miles south of San Simeon/ Hearst Castle. I could play tour guide for ya if you want to see the Central Coast. PM me if you need any Info about this area. Have fun where ever you go, and be safe. Eric
The Run to the Sun will be in Lake Havasu City, AZ on October 21 and 22. There will be about 1,000 1959 and older cars and trucks on the golf course. There will also be a big cruise night on Thursday night on the main street in town. We are also about 200 miles from the Grand Canyon if natural wonders interest you. Lake Havasu City is the home of the London Bridge and we have a beach too. We are about 150 miles from Las Vegas on the Colorado River and it should still be warm here in October.
If you stop off, take a small detour north from Baker on the way to Las Vegas you can drive through Death Valley and find out how dense air can be at 282 feet BELOW SEA LEVEL (That's 86 meters) while standing in the SALT FLATS of California, known as Badwater Basin. Death Valley is one of the "secret" marvels of California. Don't be put off by the funny names, the water is bad, salt brine, if not completely dry that is, and some settlers who were stranded there a hundred and fifty years ago named it Death Valley, because it gets hot in the summer, like it was 128º last week, but it's nice in October and there's also sand dunes to climb, a volcanic "Ubehebe Crater" to walk around and "Scotty's Castle" to tour, on the road that will take you into Nevada and then back down a ways to Las Vegas.
If you decide on seeing the Grand Canyon, I forgot to mention that you could take the 150 mile stretch of Route 66, which is just north of Lake Havasu City. It goes from Topock, AZ to Seligman, AZ. There is Oatman, an old gold mining town where wild burros roam the streets, and the Grand Canyon Caverns near Seligman, where you can explore the underground world. Williams, AZ is just east of where Route 66 re-joins Interstate 40 at Seligman and is the cut-off point for the Grand Canyon. There is a steam engine train that you can take right into the canyon from Williams.
Hwy 1 is a GREAT road to drive. Up here, it starts in San Luis Obispo, runs thru Morro Bay(my home town!), Cayucos, Harmony(population 12!), Cambria, San Simeon, up thru all of Big Sur, into Carmel, Monterey. I'm totally serious about the "tour guide" thing. I'm stuck at home with a bad back, and would like to get out of the house. Here's a map of this part of the state. http://www.mapquest.com/directions/main.adp?go=1&do=nw&rmm=1&un=m&cl=EN&ct=NA&rsres=1&1a=&1c=San+Luis+Obispo&1s=Ca&1z=&2a=&2c=Big+Sur&2s=Ca&2z= From Monterey, you can get back onto Hwy 101 and head north. It's about 3-1/2 hours to San Fran. If you need any other info, let me know. PM me is best.
The Jalopy Journal
