Driving down day after tomorrow

[isisisme]

DH and I will be driving down to DLR from NorCal Wednesday morning. I had sworn off driving down after the last time when DH never wanted to help with the driving and I had a horrible knot in the middle of my back. But, we opted to make the drive since airfare is currently so high.
And now, we are thinking this might be the thing for us if we can share the driving (I hate driving and DH has never driven more than an hour out of town before). of course, we will see after we make the drive there and back. I know we will have to pay for parking (we are staying at the Tropicana), but not anymore really than we have to pay to park at the airport.

So I have a question for anyone that has made the drive from NorCal to DLR: how often do you stop? DH wants to stop every 2 hours. I want to stop once for gas and get there.

(It will just be the two of us, no kids if that makes a difference)

 

[PinkBudgie]

I hate driving down there too. Well, I hate driving on 5 because it's just so straight and never stops. I need street lights to stop and look around and give my eyes and legs a break. Fortunately, DH drives most of the way down and I take a shift somewhere in the middle of 5 for about an hour. We come from RP so it's 8 hours for us.

We stop when we need a bathroom break or to switch drivers. These are quick stops. Our first rest area is the one right after we connect on to 5. We don't have a set time we stop. We stop for gas around Buttonwillow. We look for the "Taste of India" sign and that's how we know we are getting close to our gas station. Our last stop is the last rest area before arriving in "Socal". (To me, I'm not in Southern CA until I get over the Grapevine. ) That is where we eat lunch but last summer that rest area was closed and we had to just keep going until we got to Candy Cane Inn and had lunch in our room. I hope it's open now, because that was a long stretch.

Hope that made sense.

 

[minniecarousel]

It's just under 6 hours for us and we usually make one stop, but sometimes 2. (maybe Buttonwillow, then the Grapevine). Our older son and daughter-in-law will be in our backseat this time, so we will stop at least two times. I like to get out and stretch. With a hybrid, we don't usually need gas on the way down - we just fillup for the drive home.

We figure the time spent is petty close to flying down: we have to get to the airport (Oakland is about 30 mins away) then you have to park, or you've paid for a Towncar to take you. You're supposed to be there at least an hour ahead of time, then you have to collect your luggage when you land, find the Shuttle service. Then you finally get to check into your hotel!

We'll drive!

 

[Girimama33]

We typically stop once or twice depending on potty needs. Buttonwillow, Los Banos, Gorman...

 

[cinabc]

I will be joining on the road on Wednesday. I have kids, so we'll stop a few times. We take 152 to get to I-5, so we stop at Casa de Fruita for snacks and a bathroom break. Next stop is Harris Ranch or Kettleman City. Last stop is Lebec before the Grapevine.

When I was in college, I didn't stop except for gas. The drive is much quicker. The stops can add 2 hours to the drive.

 

[Belle Ella]

I made the drive solo from the Bay Area A LOT before I moved down here a couple of years ago. With just me I literally would only stop once in Lost Hills for gas a quick bathroom break. The more stops, the longer it takes to get there which just kills me.

 

[Butterfly123]

We usually stop twice...once for a quick bathroom stop, and once for a quick fastfood lunch and gas. It adds about 45 minutes total to our trip...we keep the stops short. It helps that my kids are teens now.

 

[mitchwebb]

I'll be joining the Wednesday trip down. San Ramon to Candy Cane 6-7 hours. Hopefully the slow down around Buttonwillow is through. I also heard on another board that the rest stop at the bottom of the Grapevine is closed, yep just went and checked and it is still closed. That is usally out last stop before pass and getting in to LA area.

See you all on the road

 

[SomeDude78]

I make the drive every 1-2 weeks. Usually it's 1-2 stops too ... once in the middle at either the 41, 46, or 58 for gas and food. If there's a second stop, it's near Valencia if it's on the way down, and at the truck stop on the 33 near the 5/152 junction if it's on the way back. Kids definitely add some time/stops to the trip

I find the drive to be pretty easy and that it helps to break it into smaller steps. The first step is from the Bay to the 5 ... second step is to the 41 (this is the boring part), then it's a short ~30 minute hop to the 46, then another short ~30 minutes to the 58, slightly longer (~1 hour) to the grapevine, and then just another hour or so after that. Works the same on the way back, and the part between the 41 and the 152 is always the most boring

 

[Astylla]

Hello fellow Nor Californer ! We will be on the road approxximately 5:30/6am on Thursday from the bay area - Dublin, CA. Normally it's about a 6 hour drive and we don't stop often. We usually grab something quick to eat before leaving town and stop about 2.5 hours in or so and refill the gas , then one stop maybe an hour outside of Anaheim as well to top off , stretch and grab a quick snack.

I don't drive currently , so it's all on DH but we have done it several years now just the two of us and it goes by pretty easy. Taking breaks to stretch and walk about are important and depending on the time you leave could depend on how fast you get there - hence why we are leaving so early.

In December we left around noon and hit rush hour traffic in a lightning/thunderstorm that it made it more like 7.5 hours..not exactly fun..lol.

May we all have safe and efficient drives down !

 

[PinkBudgie]

I'll be joining the Wednesday trip down. San Ramon to Candy Cane 6-7 hours. Hopefully the slow down around Buttonwillow is through. I also heard on another board that the rest stop at the bottom of the Grapevine is closed, yep just went and checked and it is still closed. That is usally out last stop before pass and getting in to LA area.

See you all on the road

Oh no! That is probably our most important rest stop! Does anyone else know of a good place to stop soon after that Lebec rest area for a quick bathroom break and maybe grab a bite?

I'm so jelous of everyone else's trip from the north bay taking only 6 hours! It takes us about 2 hours just to make our way down and over to the east bay to get on 5. It is beautiful up here in the wine country but it sure takes forever to get anywhere like airports, DLR, etc.

 

[isisisme]

Thank you everyone.
I used to stop I think at Kettleman, I am not sure of the name now. It was in the middle of no where and mostly a truck stop back when I made the drive often. But that has been years!

I was thinking the same thing as the PP. I hate the drive, but I think that time wise it might not be much different than driving and flying now.
We usually leave our house say at 5:45am if we have a flight about 8ish. It is a 30-45min drive to the airport, then find parking, then get on a shuttle to the airport, and all the security. SMF now has a weird set up, that seems to take longer to get through. Then wait for the plane, board the plane, wait, fly, wait, get off the plane...etc...
So, this will be the test for us to see if it is better to drive than to fly..as long as I am not the one driving.

I am actually disappointed to know the rest stop at the base of the Grapevine is closed. I think DH would want to swap there as for some reason, it and LA make him nervous. I drive in SF when we visit there as well. More years driving in nutty traffic I guess.

I actually prefer to avoid fast food stops. I can have a sensitive stomach for crappy food and don't want to feel crappy with stops far between. :/

 

[Mr Snappy]

Must be nice to be able to drive to DL....it takes 4 airline tickets for my family to get there

But, we treasure it that much more when we do get there

 

[isisisme]

double post. sorry.

 

[ryleeranger]

I'll be on the 5 with you guys this week, too! It usually takes us about 6 hours and we stop twice. If we didn't have young kids, I'd just stop once for gas, but that isn't possible now!

 

[larina]

...how often do you stop? DH wants to stop every 2 hours. I want to stop once for gas and get there.

(It will just be the two of us, no kids if that makes a difference)

We stop as little as possible, which is usually twice, once if we travel in early a.m. or late at night, which is always my preference. That's with kids (now 18, 9 & 4) and my parents.

...Next stop is Harris Ranch...

How can you stand the smell there? It is so disgusting. We roll up all windows, close the vents to outside air, hold our noses and try to high tail it through that area! Kettleman City for us, please!

 

[pixiewings71]

Oh no! That is probably our most important rest stop! Does anyone else know of a good place to stop soon after that Lebec rest area for a quick bathroom break and maybe grab a bite?

I'm so jelous of everyone else's trip from the north bay taking only 6 hours! It takes us about 2 hours just to make our way down and over to the east bay to get on 5. It is beautiful up here in the wine country but it sure takes forever to get anywhere like airports, DLR, etc.

We stopped in Gorman I think, at the bottom of the Grapevine, there was a Chevron there where we got gas and they had a Subway inside, we grabbed a sandwich and some snacks and were on the way again.

We stop as little as possible, which is usually twice, once if we travel in early a.m. or late at night, which is always my preference. That's with kids (now 18, 9 & 4) and my parents.


How can you stand the smell there? It is so disgusting. We roll up all windows, close the vents to outside air, hold our noses and try to high tail it through that area! Kettleman City for us, please!

It doesn't smell all the time at Harris Ranch.

OP I am 6 hours away, take 12 to 5 to get to DL. DBF and I usually share but honestly he drives a lot more than I do! My upcoming trip is just DD and myself so I'll be doing the majority of the driving. Where we stop depends on when we leave to be honest but here are the places we like.
Santa Nella, we usually stop here for breakfast, there's a Denny's for a decent fast meal, there is also a Starbuck's but we don't drink coffee so we don't really go there.
Lost Hills, this is about the halfway mark for us, we like to stop here for gas and a bathroom break at the Love's, best gas prices (usually) and definitely the nicest bathrooms, there are plenty of fast food places to grab a quick bite, there is also a Denny's.
The last place we like to stop is as you're passing through the Grapevine, like I said above I think it's Gorman but I honestly can't remember, I can't remember the exit name either....there's a big sign for gas and food and we like to stop at the Chevron there and grab Subway to eat in the car. The bathrooms are clean, the staff is nice.
On our next trip (in July) I think DD and I will stop for breakfast in SN, for gas in LH and then we will see how far we get from there. I'm going to have her drive some of the time as she will have her permit but not too much, because it makes me nervous. lol

 

[SomeDude78]

Oh no! That is probably our most important rest stop! Does anyone else know of a good place to stop soon after that Lebec rest area for a quick bathroom break and maybe grab a bite?

I'm so jelous of everyone else's trip from the north bay taking only 6 hours! It takes us about 2 hours just to make our way down and over to the east bay to get on 5. It is beautiful up here in the wine country but it sure takes forever to get anywhere like airports, DLR, etc.

If you can wait a few more minutes, I've always liked the Chevron in Valencia off Magic Mountain Parkway -- just get off and bang a left at the first light. It's obviously on the higher end of "soon after" Lebec, but it's close to the freeway and always nice and clean at that Chevron no matter the time of day or night. Actually that Chevron plus the one off the 41 (the one with a McDonald's inside) are my favorite stops since they're always clean and you can combo gas/food together

Otherwise Laval Road just before the grapevine maybe? I usually don't stop at rest areas ... my personal criteria is based on whether I can take care of gas/food/restroom needs and how clean the facility generally is. After years of experimentation (have made the drive on average 1-2 times a month since 1996!) I've settled on those two as my "go to" places. My backups are any of the truck stops (for example the big "TA" service station with the KFC and Taco Bell inside)

 

[tlovesdis]

We usually stop twice, once in Kettleman City for lunch at Subway and then once for gas and starbucks right before the start of the Grapevine (can't think of the name of the area). We are three adults who travel and our stops are pretty quick!

 

[pixiewings71]

If you can wait a few more minutes, I've always liked the Chevron in Valencia off Magic Mountain Parkway -- just get off and bang a left at the first light. It's obviously on the higher end of "soon after" Lebec, but it's close to the freeway and always nice and clean at that Chevron no matter the time of day or night. Actually that Chevron plus the one off the 41 (the one with a McDonald's inside) are my favorite stops since they're always clean and you can combo gas/food together

Otherwise Laval Road just before the grapevine maybe? I usually don't stop at rest areas ... my personal criteria is based on whether I can take care of gas/food/restroom needs and how clean the facility generally is. After years of experimentation (have made the drive on average 1-2 times a month since 1996!) I've settled on those two as my "go to" places. My backups are any of the truck stops (for example the big "TA" service station with the KFC and Taco Bell inside)

THIS! This is what I was talking about and couldn't remember the name. They have Takis at the Chevron.....LOL