California Beaches

[90503]

Originally Posted by jmaynard

OK, I'm gonna pis off a lot of people in Ca here, but here is my advise.

DONT LEAVE ANYTHING IN YOUR CAR!! The beaches are theft havens in Ca. I lost a couple grand in electronics and personal items and the local sherrif informed me that they get 20-30 calls a day for people visiting the beaches being broekn into. In my case they somehow got into my rental car without any effort. Came back to a locked car and an empty trunk. Only reason I knew at the beach is because the car alarm chirped 5 times when i opened the door. Looked in the trunk and everything was gone. Never seen it since.

Personaly I am not very found of Ca. beaches now.

No worries...thats always good advice. Tourists can be a target for a determined crook. Always good to take precautions. Don't know what beach you were at, but it could happen anywhere. I've gone to local beaches all my life, and so has my kid...never had a problem.

[TaylorRyanSS]

My favorite is Laguna Beach... but the parking sucks, the waves aren't too big there though.

[Synerbee]

Originally Posted by jmaynard

OK, I'm gonna pis off a lot of people in Ca here, but here is my advise.

DONT LEAVE ANYTHING IN YOUR CAR!! The beaches are theft havens in Ca. I lost a couple grand in electronics and personal items and the local sherrif informed me that they get 20-30 calls a day for people visiting the beaches being broekn into. In my case they somehow got into my rental car without any effort. Came back to a locked car and an empty trunk. Only reason I knew at the beach is because the car alarm chirped 5 times when i opened the door. Looked in the trunk and everything was gone. Never seen it since.

Personaly I am not very found of Ca. beaches now.

No offense taken. It is normal for this behavior from idiots around here

Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk

[RSloth]

If you going for the waves? Doheny is where my family goes to surf.
if your going to chill; Newport, Laguna, Venice, La Jolla..
Carlsbad is fun to for kids, it has some good waves to play in.
a cool place for kids is Jalama beach with the tide pools, but thats to far up the coast.

[ravensjeff]

Plenty of great advice here. Thanks to everyone, it is greatly appreciated. Traffic on Mon-Fri made me decide to get to one of the beaches on Sunday. I'll start in San Diego then since it is the farthest away (By a little bit) from Palm Springs (Actually its in Indio-right next to Palm Springs). Now that I have some great beach information, I can plan the 1st week out.

Here is what I have lined up already:


California Vacation Plan (June 9-23, 2012). Pre-print boarding passes and pay any luggage fee the night before leaving.
DAY 1 (Saturday: June 9th)
1) United Airlines Flight 467: Departs BWI @ 6:55am  Nonstop to LAX arrives at 9:22 am. PAID
2) Pick up Chrysler 300 Luxury car from Fox Rent-a-Car  Reserved-Not paid for yet-pay at counter-Note pickup time
3) Staying at: Worldmark Indio (#8737) 42-151 Worldmark Way, Indio CA 92003 760-342-1040 Check-In = 4 pm PAID

DAY 2 (Sunday: June 10th)

DAY 3 (Monday: June 11th)

DAY 4 (Tuesday: June 12th)

DAY 5 (Wednesday: June 13th)

DAY 6 (Thursday: June 14th)

DAY 7 (Friday: June 15th)

DAY 8 (Saturday: June 16th)
3) Check out of Worldmark-Indio CA by Noon.
4) Travel to Grand Canyon, AZ (6 hrs- 390 miles). Stay at: Red Feather Lodge 300 State Route 64 Grand Canyon AZ 86023 1-866-561-2425 Check In = 4 pm PAID

DAY 9 (Sunday: June 17th)
4) Check Out of Red Feather Lodge by noon.
5) Papillion Grand Canyon (South Rim) Helicopter Tour- 3563 Hummingbird Drive Grand Canyon National Park Airport Tusayan, AZ 86023 PAID for flight, but not front seat upgrade ($100 extra- $50 each at check in).
6) Travel to Death Valley, Ca (7 ¼ hrs- 440 miles). Stay at: Stovepipe Wells Village CA Highway 190 DV, CA 92328 760-786-2387 PAID Check in = 4 pm

DAY 10 (Monday: June 18th)
6) Check out of Stovepipe Wells Village by 11am.
7) Travel to Miramonte, Ca (Sequoia Nat Park) (8 ¾ hr- 343 miles). Stay at: John Muir Lodge at Grant Grove Village 86728 California 180 Miramonte-Ca 93641 559-335-5500 PAID Check in = 4 pm (Open til Midnight)

DAY 11 (Tuesday: June 19th)
7) Check out of John Muir Lodge by 11am.
8) Travel to San Francisco-Ca (4 3/4 hrs- 260 miles via Golden Gate Bridge). Stay at: Days Inn (SF at the Beach) 2600 Sloat Blvd (Sloat & 44th) SF-Ca 94116 1-415-665-9000 PAID???-No BOA Statement Yet Check in = 2pm

DAY 12 (Wednesday: June 20th)
9) Alcatraz Tour at 3:55pm boards at 325 pm AT Pier 33 Check for possible Handicap parking here first PAID
DAY 13 (Thursday: June 21)
8) Check out of Days Inn by 11am.
10) Travel to San Simeon-Ca (4 ½ hrs- 210 miles). Stay at: San Simeon Lodge 9520 Castillo Drive San Simeon-Ca 93452 1-805-927-2374 PAID Check in = 3pm

DAY 14 (Friday: June 22)
10) Check out of San Simeon Lodge by 11am.
11) Travel to Beverly Hills Ca (4 ¾ hrs- 245 miles). Stay at: Beverly Hills Hilton 9876 Wilshire Blvd Beverly Hills Ca 90210 1-310-274-7777 PAID Check in = 3pm


DAY 15 (Saturday: June 23)
11) Check out of Beverly Hills Hilton by 11am
12) Travel to LAX (21 minutes- 12 miles)
2) Return Rental car to Fox Rent-a-Car
1) United Airlines Flight 66: Departs LAX @ 1:51pm  Nonstop to BWI arrives at 9:46 pm. PAID

[GunnyG]

^^^ Reads like a military OP Order! LoL, you have this vacation planned to a tee! Have fun.

[90503]

Originally Posted by GunnyG

^^^ Reads like a military OP Order! LoL, you have this vacation planned to a tee! Have fun.

OP...lol...You and your family should review the "Vacation" movie with Chevy Chase...might get some insight into how it will really go down...lol

j/k...

[Hoddi]

Since you'll be in San Simeon, you'll be near a cool little town called Cambria.
It's about a 30 min drive.
Make sure you eat at Robin's.
http://www.robinsrestaurant.com/
I recommend the chicken tacos.

Huntington Beach is probably your best bet.

I've only been to Venice once and will never go back! Enough said

Have a great trip!

[Scalded Dog]

Very cool trip! I especially applaud the Death Valley jaunt... I am a big fan, try to go there once a year at least. Stovepipe Wells is decent, don't expect five stars, but it's Death Valley! Simply amazing that in that really remote place, you can relax in an air conditioned room, swim, or eat at a restaurant! Can't watch TV or talk on your non- satellite cell phone, though...

If you decide to hit Venice Beach: Be advised! The beach itself is fine, but, depending on your personal feelings regarding that famous hippie herb, you may or may not enjoy it. In CA, marijuana is semi- pseudo- sorta legal... they sell it on the Venice boardwalk... if you have a "prescription/ MMJ card." As you walk along the shops, there will be: A dispensary (that's what the marijuana stores are called), a doctor's office (where, for $40, ANYBODY can get a "prescription"), a burger joint (in case anybody gets the munchies, for whatever reason), a dispensary, a head shop, a doctor's office, a dispensary, a surf shop, a doctor's office, a dispensary, a taco stand, a dispensary, a doctor's office, a dispensary... you get the idea. There are also an abundance of street hawkers, who WILL beg you, your wife, and your kid (really... been there with my kids) to come in, get a doctor to issue your MMJ card, and start buying now!

If you go in the evening, especially, you'll see a lot of people enjoying the pleasures to be found there, many passed out, dancing to unheard music, or just sleeping... anywhere.

Not saying not to go... just gotta let you know what to expect.

Again, the salt water and the sand are the same as elsewhere... easy to get to.

I highly recommend the Santa Monica Pier. Good beaches on either side of the pier, swimming, sunbathing, whatever... and the pier itself has restaurants, amusement park rides, street performers/ artists... and you have a great chance of seeing tv shows or movies being filmed... it's used constantly for shoots.

You will enjoy yourself immensely!

[EWMAN]

Hate to put a wet blanket over your vacation plans, but..........
No way you are going to be able to keep to that itinerary and see anything other than the road in front of the car.. even then you will be lucky. I have been to almost every one of the things you have on your schedule. No Way At All.

I would bet you have everything listed according to MapQuest or some other Mapping service. ? they do NOT take into consideration ........traffic, or other people.

day 9. IF you get to the Helicopter flight on time, you will have approximately 2 1/2 hours invested in the wait to load. flight and unload, get back to the car, and get back to the highway, THEN 7 1/4 hours, (which will be in reality around 8 1/4 which will be will put it around Midnight before you get to Stovepipe village. IF you are lucky you can park in the upper parking lot, if not then you have about a 800 ft walk mostly through a tunnel into the lower floors of the Motel. which will be closed at that time.
reality is NOT your friend in this endeavor

[90503]

I'd have to agree that the travel times are pretty optimistic!...lol...Especially days 11-14...Personally, I would add at least 40-50% more for driving...

Frisco to San Simeon...You're gonna want to make a lot of stops, its beautiful scenery..

San Simeon to Beverly Hills on a Friday, probably the worst of them all...

Saturday, Beverly Hills to airport...1:51 departure,...I'd leave the hotel by 9:00 am...

You'll get a good sense of things if yoiu're using Indio as a base, and come into LA at all during that time...

Your arrival date at LAX, then drive to Indio will be an eye-opener. You'll do fine, just figure on all your driving times taking a lot longer.

[Iwantone2]

I would say Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and Laguna Beach.

[GunnyG]

I had the same thoughts. But, didn't wanna ruin the trip before it even began. The date of departure, like 90503 said, you'll need to check out probably at day break. LAX on Sat is not good. Even if you don't stick to the strict schedule, have some fun...it's a vacation!!!

[ravensjeff]

Originally Posted by GunnyG

^^^ Reads like a military OP Order! LoL, you have this vacation planned to a tee! Have fun.

Can't shake that military background: I was a Fire Control Tech in the Navy back in the early to mid 80's on the Richard Byrd (DDg-23).