Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler for the california folks...

hey,

long story short - I have two tickets anywhere Airtran flies in the continental US. I have to use them by the end of October. I think I have it narrowed to two possible options:

1) fly to LA - drive to San Diego, see friends, go to Mexico, general screwing off for two weeks.

2) fly to San Fran - spend a few days and head north to camp/screw off in the parks/forests.

I've spent two weeks driving the Oregon/Washington Coast from Portland to Victoria - in an RV, camping. We also hit the Cascades and St. Helen's.

I love to hike and camp but I also like to stay a night or two in a good city (LOVED Portland) and see live music - I try for the local hang-outs, no tourist crapfests. I've never been to California...maybe this helps?? I love the deserts, I love the mountains...if it's unadulterated, I love it. I went to Vegas for work a few years ago (NAB) and extended the trip just to see the desert - I could take or leave Vegas...

Anyone have any suggestions? I'll be spending 2 weeks and my roommate will be with me. We're up for anything. We'd love to go to Austin and Big Bend, but with free tickets I thought that LA or San Fran would be a better choice - as far as I could get from Atlanta for free (if they flew to Anchorage, I'd be in Anchorage).

thanks for any thoughts/ideas you can share.

^billy
sufferer of wanderlust

*if* you go to san fran drive up to santa rosa and pay a visit to "audio video showroom" they got some really nice stuff in there and are super nice about demoing it for you and everything. the guy that was there when i went was anyway. Told him i wasnt gonna buy anything and he spent an hour showing us around and demoing their best stuff. Ooohh.. what a day!

For a two week trip you could:
...go to Frisco, rent a car (convertible preferably) and head south down PCH - Highway 1. The scenery between Monterey and Lompoc is phenomenal. There's a little group of rental cottages along the way perched on a cliff in the middle of nowhere. I've always wanted to check those out. They have a tremendous view of the ocean facing south. From Lompoc (Jalama Beach) you could head inland to Yosemite/Sequoia. Don't discount the awe of the big trees. Bring your camera. Might even have time to hit Tahoe before you go back to Frisco.

North San Diego is nice, but the rest of soCal sucks the high hard one (I should know, I've lived here for 33 years).

Avoid Mexico unless you like to see 3rd world squalor.

Really, the above statement applies for most of soCal, as well.

OR

...go from Frisco straight to Yosemite/Sequoia, on to Tahoe, through the wine country and stumble back to your plane.

billy-

if you have never been to big bend, then you might outta think about going there. if not this trip, then sometime for sure. the only thing that stinks is that the closest you could fly into would be odessa or el paso, but you would still have to rent a car and drive a good 5-6 hours to get there.. that whole area down there is just like a 'lost land'.. i have camped down there on 4 different occasions, and it is awesome. i suggest spring or fall though.. summer is just sweltering hot..

PM me if you want some details.. i can fill you in good.. try and find some info on the internet about 'santa elena canyon'.. its where the river splits texas/mexico, and you can float it. 1,500 ft canyon walls on both sides, truly amazing. when you get in there deep, its like another planet!! i kid you not!!

bigjohn

hmmm, asking californian's opinions on north vs south is kind of like asking a bunch of HSU and SVS fans which sub you should buy. anyway, I live just north of SF so that has my vote. In addition to that wonderful city, as mentioned, you could go south through Monterey/Big Sur, or east to Sierras/Tahoe, or southeast to Yosemite, or north on HWY 1 through Marin, Sonoma, Mendocino, and Humboldt - if you liked the Oregon/WA coast you'd like that. Lots of hiking and campgrounds in all of these areas. you can plan ahead online, but the camps do get pretty full during the summer.

I would highly recommend the Highway 1 thing. That's what we did on our honeymoon-drove up the coast from SF and went to B&Bs. Wonderful...

It was during those big storms in November 2003. The ocean was beautiful, the driving was a little trippy.

I live in Central California, and I have heard great things about Big Sur. It is supposed to be the ultimate camping destination near the water. Most of the areas from San Luis Obispo to Monterey are woodsy, yet on the beach. It is kind of like the best of both worlds. Monterey and Carmel are incredibly beuatiful. Cambria, which is about 30 minutes north of me on PCH has an unreal look to its beaches. They have a black sand beach there that is very beautiful. San Luis Obispo is pretty damn fun, also. There is also really good wine country in Paso Robles. It is second only to Napa.

Fly to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan... from there a quick car ride to Prince Albert, SK... and from there... well, by that point you will have run the car into the tree... yes, the Saskatchewan tree... there's one.

Bren R.

I was born and raised in Southern California and went to college in Northern California....both are great places.

I say fly into one area, and to the Highway 1 thing to the other.

You too, huh? I grew up in the South Bay (the LA one...) and went to school in the Bay Area...

Highway 1 is just a great route. Not so good if you want to go fast, but it is beautiful.

Billy, you should seriously consider Bren's itinerary from Moose Jaw. After all, you've already done the Oregon coast, so what do you need Big Sur for? You'll be able to say that you explored the wonders of Saskatchewan(and saw the tree).

But, as second choice, if you haven't gone south along the Oregon coast, the area around Port Orford is gorgeous.

yup...also a South Bay LA kid....Rolling Hills High School class of '82.

Right...if you do Highway 1...do not plan on doing it fast. Take your time and enjoy the coast. There are some "tourist" stops along the way if you desire....such as Hearst Castle and Pismo Beach.

This is for you and BigWill -- it ain't San Fran or Frisco (ewwww!). Call it SF, or of you really want to be taken as a local, "The City"

As far as travel advice, I agree with JohnK that the Oregon Coast is as good as, if not better than Big Sur. Skip it. If I were you, I'd start in San Francisco. If you like wine, definitely do wine country. Avoid Napa -- you have to pay for most tastings there. Do the Russian River tasting circuit. That road will take you to the coast. From there you can drive north or south -- your choice. Stop anywhere and everywhere you please.

Everyone -

Thank you for your most gracious advice. I believe you've all helped me make a decision - back to my original plan of going to SF. I definitely have to see the big trees and I have some weird fascination with driving HWY1 - I only drive fast when there's nothing worth looking at around me.

I'll let you guys know when we make/set our dates (hopefully it'll be late august early september - I'd do it sooner but the roomie needs fund building time)

I'm gonna print this great info, break out the atlas and figure something out - thanks again for the brain-dump, this is the kind of insight one can't find through google.

BTW - if anyone is ever in Atlanta (or GA in general) let me know and I'll point to you around (I've lived here for 31 years and through my habit of destinationless driving and my job, I've been to nearly every city on a map of Georgia)

Thanks again,
^billy

Thanks for the tip on "Frisco", Peter. The last thing I want is to be mistaken for a Frisco local!!! LMAO!!!

most texans feel the same way about people from dallas.. YUCK!!

houston runs a close second.

the rest of us are cool.

bigjohn

Is it like King of the Hill down there BigJohn?

Just kidding. If I could snap my fingers and move to Texas I probably would.

actually huffer, that show is VERY close to real life, small town texas lifestyle. now obviously, they take the characters to the extreme, but alot of it is dead on. their jobs, the way they talk, the way they think, the things they do, the places they go, the situations they get in, the way their houses are decorated. all that stuff is pretty dead on.

i really love that show.. its a humorous look at, well, my life.

and i tell you what i think is very funny about that show.. OK, texans are very proud to be texans, and we LOVE our state.. everything about it, including the shape.. it is a VERY texan thing to have texas shaped objects in your home, or on your property. and if you watch that show, you will see that the animators have included that aspect of texas living.. peg has a texas shaped clock in the kitchen, bobby has a texas shaped mouse pad for the computer, an the neighbor has a texas shaped bush in the front yard.. if you watch the show enough, you will see alot of that kinda stuff.. that is TRUE texas, you see that here everyday.

sorry so long.. i just love talkin bout texas.

bigjohn

Just wanted to share a few things with you. First, today is a gorgeous day in the Bay Area, so I snapped a couple pics from my office window (highly zoomed):




The last thing is a must-see website: californiacoastline.org

It has one picture for almost EVERY MILE of California Coastline. You can click on a point on the map near the bottom and go north or south from there. Some of the pictures are breathtaking!

OK! OK! Ya got the big jealousy thing goin' in me.

In the California coast picture, I wonder what the house out on the point cost? Wonder what it's like to be on the back patio in the middle of a storm? Wonder what the earthquake insurance costs, cuz when the big one hits, it's adiós muchachos.

Please bigjohn tell me you have a friend who talks like Boomhower. (is that how you spell it?)

If there is one thing I have noticed is that people from Texas are NOT shy about saying they are from there nor shy about telling you how great it is. Which makes me want to move there all the more!! How many months a year can you golf down there?

Ajax, that house out on the point is not a house. It's a restaurant called "Hs. Lordship's." And the point is part of the Berkeley Marina, where I've taken sailing and kayaking classes. I also proposed to my wife there.

peter- awesome pics man.. looks like a post card.. out my window right now, i see a parking lot, a strip mall, and the stadium where our local HS team plays football.. i think you win for best office view.

ajax- i was thinking the same thing about that house.. i guess it is possible to have the best, and worse location, at the same time. if i lived there, i would be checking the weather reports hourly.

huffer- i got one buddy, bronson, he aint as bad as boomhower, but pretty close. he is from denver city, texas, which is way out in the boonies.. we haze him all the time about him speaking some foreign language. he likes to say he can speak three languages: english, mexican, and hick.. and he dont speak none of them very well.. as a matter of fact, i just helped him build a chicken coop a few weekends ago, and by the end of the day, i started talkin like him.. i figure a small price to pay for free farm fresh eggs all summer.

and we play golf 12 months a year down here. there is no break. the fairways get hard, and the greens get slow from about november to march, but you can still play. it snowed ONE time here this winter, literally for about 2 hours.. then it was gone. the lowest recorded temp we had this winter was 19F(about -6C), and that was in january. it was a rather mild winter. the panhandle got it pretty bad, but we were fine down here.

and yes, texans love texas. it is like a close family member. i miss it when i am away, and feel safe whan i am here. sounds corny, i know, but hey, thats the way it is. i am sure everyone feels connected to where they are from, its just a little stronger here.

dont get me started, i will ramble forever!!

bigjohn

If it's the picture I looked at (sure looks like a house with just one car there) that place is more likely threatened by erosion than quakes. It looks like it is built on that super-lightweight sedimentary dirt-clod stuff.

Frisco sure is a pretty city, too.

Great photos! It brings back memories of out trip to the California coast last summer. We stayed at Half Moon Bay and traveled up and down the coast from Big Sur to north of San Francisco. It was breathtakingly beautiful! We visited Pt. Reyes lighthouse and we aslo spent a day in Carmel by the Sea and we spent a day in Yosemite gawkin' at some BIG ASS trees. It's easy to fall in love with the California coast. My kids want to go back to California this summer and I'm seriously considering it.

Oops! I was talking about my own picture. Yeah, the one from the website is a house.

My apologies. I coulda made it clearer WHICH photo I was talking about. DUH! At least we now know where you proposed to your wife.

bigjohn, don't feel bad about your view, we have no windows in our building. now, similar to the left coast ocean pics, we have the atlantic here. much colder but the dunes on cape cod are spectacular as well. didn't see any lighthouses in the pics, any out thatway?

We have 15, to be exact. Use the Lighthouses menu near the bottom of this page to see them.

peter those of us lucky enough to live near salt water appreciate it more when we travel and are away from it. i must say fish from the left and right coasts have very little in common when it comes to taste. hinda like svs or hsu for a sub.
dan