What to do in Cali

[OriginalWheelman]

I know it's not an easy question, but if the wife and I were to say, spend 8 days in California this summer, what should I do?

Things we're into:
Cars, History, Museums, Nature, Boating, Tech stuff

Things we're not into:
Clubs, Crowded places, overly "Artsy" stuff

For example, we would be more likely to go see the Griffith Observatory than an art museum, but more likely to go to an art museum than a club.

Things I have considered:
Griffith Observatory - Love space
Napa Valley Wine Train - train ride through the valley with lunch / dinner and a wine tasting / winery tour
Renting a convertible - er, duh
going to Long Beach -
Sightseeing in San Fran

I know NICO will have better ideas.

[Dattebayo]

It's a big state, so I'm thinking you might need to include the area you're staying in, too.

[Bubba1]

It's a big state, so I'm thinking you might need to include the area you're staying in, too.

This^

[Jesda]

HIGHWAY 1

DO IT

[OriginalWheelman]

Nothing is definite yet, I want to go where the stuff is I want to see. The basic plan is 4 days in San Fran, 4 in LA, but that was essentially throwing darts at the map.

HIGHWAY 1

DO IT

This is what I was thinking. Idk about doing it in a rental car. I'd end up renting an auto V6 Mustang vert. I'd rather do it in something cooler, but idk where to go about renting such cars or what it takes to rent one. I'm 31, no tickets in 10 years, but I have 1 at fault, non chargeable accident 3 years ago.

*The one thing I am certain I am doing is going to Long Beach. I have friends I want to stop and see.

[MuranoDriver]

There is a ton of stuff to see and do between San Fran and Long Beach. You could probably fly into LAX, stay in Long Beach for a day or 2. Rent a car and take a road trip to San Fran and more. You can either take the coast all the way there, all the way back, or mixed. Then see oposite places on the way back to Long Beach to stay again for a day or 2 before you leave.

There are 2 Getty Museums - The big one is in LA, right off the 405 about 15 minutes North of LAX and there is a smaller one near the beach on the 1 aka PCH (Pacific Coast Highway).

Lots, lots, lots more to do...

[Bubba1]

I
Things we're into:
Cars, History, Museums, Nature, Boating, Tech stuff

Things we're not into:
Clubs, Crowded places, overly "Artsy" stuff

Things I have considered:
Griffith Observatory - Love space
Napa Valley Wine Train - train ride through the valley with lunch / dinner and a wine tasting / winery tour
Renting a convertible - er, duh
going to Long Beach -
Sightseeing in San Fran

I know NICO will have better ideas.

A few ideas that follow your criteria

San Fran area:

cars: you're not that far from Laguna Sega, driving the 17 mile drive, check when the Monterrey historics are.
wine country" plenty of choices. Train ride is one option, you can also visit a specific winery of something you drink regularly.
nature: Muir woods is nearby (redwoods and sequoias)
sightseeing in SF (mandatory)
history: too much to list, but alcatraz, lombard street, riding a cable car, fisherman's wharf are must do's.

Long Beach is a nice staging point for southern CA. Personally I could spend a week in San diego.

history: the Queen Mary in Long Beach is a nice place for cocktails.
cars/museum: Peterson Automotive Museum (impressive)
boating: Catalina Island.
nature: Aquatrium of the Pacific (in long beach) San Diego Zoo (one of the better ones in the country), many nice beaches
stay away from : Tijuana, unless you want to see squalor.
romantic: sunset champagne balloon ride in DelMar. An added bonus, if the winds are right you could whizz on Janet jackson's estate from high altitude.

[OriginalWheelman]

Highway 1 looks awesome, and I'm thinking I could spend 2 days driving down it, taking my time, stopping to take pics, etc. Most likely I would fly into San Fran, leave after 3 days, spend 2 days driving to Long Beach, and spend 3 days there.

We're going for our honeymoon. After 7 years, 6 living together, we're finally officially getting married. So, as much as I want to see my friends, we want some alone time immediately after the wedding.

[numbnuts240]

pollute. a lot.

[Jesda]

You can enjoy Highway 1 in anything. Go slow, take your time, and get ready for an aesthetic overload.

You'll remember it for the rest of your life.

[Dattebayo]

So this is a honeymoon trip? Sounds awesome.

[Bubba1]

So this is a honeymoon trip? Sounds awesome.

Honeymoon? Romantic? historic? on the beach? 3 words: Hotel Del Coronado. Amazing place.

Coronado is a unique little island beside San Diego, accessible by bridge, not that far from Long Beach. Stayed there with my wife on our 10th anniversary.

http://www.hoteldel.com/

[OriginalWheelman]

I spent the last hour or so on Google Earth and I'm sold on Highway 1. I like a lot of Bubba's suggestions. The hot air balloon and the aquarium particularly.

As for the rental cars, I can't find anything except a hard top Mustang from Hertz. I just don't want to do a 11 hour drive down what looks like some of the nicest roads I'll see in my life, in an automatic. The V6 'stang would be OK, but Nxer doesn't like them, and it's an auto. They have a C6 'vette, but those have never been my style either.

[Dattebayo]

Rental places don't have manual cars broham. I mean, unless you find a one-off joint or a high-end place.

[OriginalWheelman]

Yeah I know. It just sucks is all. I found some places to rent manuals but It's like $3,500 for an M3 vert, and that is one of the cheapest cars they have. You don't want to know what the Gallardo costs to rent.

[S133P3R]

if you are planning a highway 1 trip, watch cal-trans for closure information, theyve been having a ton of rockslides leading to huge sections being closed (ex:http://www.ksby.com/news/highway-1-to-b ... -thursday/... like 20 mile drive to closure with now way around but back tracking and going really really out of the way around it.

if you have a local AAA (or if you are a member,) pickup their magazine "westaways" () which i always find a ton of "need to do that" type stuff in and their calendar section is awesome cause its divided into regions.


oh and stay off my block.

[OriginalWheelman]

Well, It's not certain yet by any means, but I might end up a lot closer than you think. I was thinking of popping in on the car show you posted in the regional forums on Sunday night.

[Ozzie]

Get an In'n'Out double double meal, with animal style fries.

[sbird1]

If you want to see nice cars, just visit Blackhawk (near SF), pick a street corner and watch traffic. You're bound to see many nice cars...

[audtatious]

Downtown San Fran at around 7:30am you can watch the Police move the drunks and bums off the sidewalk manhole covers they are sleeping on.....can have them follow you around shaking a cup with a coin in it too.

[Razi]

Highway 1 (We call it PCH) is really pretty, and I echo what Jesda said, take it slow.

If you're able to, drop by Cars & Coffee in Irvine on Saturday, it starts at around 6 and goes until 8:30.
http://g.co/maps/2xz6q
Lots of interesting cars drop by and PCH is 10 miles away so you can hop on that right after.

Also, nearby PCH is Corona Del Mar beach park, which is pretty to look at when the sun is going down.
http://g.co/maps/zjus5

[S133P3R]

Well, It's not certain yet by any means, but I might end up a lot closer than you think. I was thinking of popping in on the car show you posted in the regional forums on Sunday night.

Theres a long running Wednesday night meet but nothing I know of on Sunday.

If you're able to, drop by Cars & Coffee in Irvine on Saturday, it starts at around 6 and goes until 8:30.
<a class="vglnk" title="Link added by VigLink" rel="nofollow" href="http://g.co/maps/2xz6q">http://g.co/maps/2xz6q</a>
Lots of interesting cars drop by and PCH is 10 miles away so you can hop on that right after.

Also, nearby PCH is Corona Del Mar beach park, which is pretty to look at when the sun is going down.
<a class="vglnk" title="Link added by VigLink" rel="nofollow" href="http://g.co/maps/zjus5">http://g.co/maps/zjus5</a>

I can't beliebe I forgot to highly reccomend cars and coffee, my other weekly... Just let me tell you, I do not think you should miss it. It was linked in my sig but broke somehow, But I'm sure you know how to search. Lol

See ya around!

[Razi]

It's a nice place to drop by if you have the time.
It's not often that people get to see a bunch of exotics in one place.

It's so early though. D:

[Jesda]

You can buy a pastry shaped like a big black d!ck in the Castro.

[OriginalWheelman]

Cars and Coffee was the meet I was talking about. For some reason I thought it was Sunday.

[dasoupdude]

Drive along big sur with a convertible of your choice while blasting Katy Perry?

[horubeets]

Solvang is an interesting spot to visit for a day.
http://www.solvangusa.com/explore-solvang/what-to-do/

[OriginalWheelman]

Ok, after considering all your suggestions, and looking around on our own after they helped us get a little focus, we have laid a basic frame work for the trip.

We're going to fly into San Fran. We'll pick the rental car up there. Gonna spend the afternoon / night in San Fran and in the morning head south on PCH.
We're planning on spending the whole day driving between San Fran and Pismo Beach. That should give us plenty of time to stop and do w/e we want along the way. Santa Monica, Montery, Big Sur, etc, lots to see on the way. Unfortunately, the weekend we will be through there will be a christian rock thing at Laguna Seca, and not a race.
The next day we will drive the Pismo to Long Beach stretch. We're going to see the Aquarium of the Pacific while we are in Long Beach, as it seems more science oriented than a lot of the others. Obviously we'll hit the beach.
We can take the train into LA and to almost anywhere from there, so we'll have lots of options. I'm thinking we'll probably stay at a few hotels in the area so we don't have to come back to Long Beach every day.
I was thinking I would leave the rental car in Long Beach, and take the train into LA, and then to San Diego. I can't decide if I should keep the rental car while we're going around LA, or if we should just leave the rental car in Long Beach and go around the greater LA area by train / public transport. Any insight / recommendations here would be helpful.
We should be in San Diego for the 4th of July. We plan to go to Seaworld and the San Diego Zoo before we fly out. We figure we'll spend 2 or 3 days total in San Diego.

Thoughts?

[Bubba1]

1. If it were me, I'd keep the rental car for use in and around San Diego rather relying on public transportation. The car greatly expands your options. Since you're already returning it to a different airport than where you picked it up, I presume you're already paying a surcharge, so you might as well keep it until you're ready to fly home.

2. Sea World is best on a hot day, when you want to get wet. The primary highlight of Sea World is sitting in the splash zones during the killer whale show and getting thoroughly soaked. If it's below 80, I'd not sure getting soaked is what you'd want to do.
3. The San Diego Zoo is a lotta walking, but it's worth it. it's a biiig place. I recommend taking your time and soaking it in.
4. You might also consider a San Diego harbor boat tour. They last 1-2 hrs, but with much of the US Navy's Pacific Fleet based there, you'll usually see some very interesting military vessels. When we did the tour, we had an amazing view of carrier arriving and a nuclear sub departing..