Driving: Oregon to California~ HELP!

[remfam5]

We are taking a good 'ol fashioned road trip and need a little advice.

We have 9 1/2 days for travel.
Departing Portland, OR and hopefully going as far as DISNEYLAND!!!
Family of 4: kids are 12 & 15.
We live here in Oregon, so we have done most of the "Oregon" things to do: dune rides, jet boats, etc... Looking more for tips on California and where stop.

1- What should we NOT miss on the way?

2- Will we have enough time to enjoy a couple days at Disneyland?

3- Or, should we just stop at San Francisco and call it good with all there is to do and see up to that point?

4- good places to eat along the way?

5- good reasonably priced places to stay? with indoor pools or stuff to keep us entertained in the evenings.

6- would love to also see the Redwoods- where??

ANY advice/tips are welcome!!

Thanks

 

[remfam5]

anyone????

 

[usnuzuloose]

How far south do want to go? Red woods are closer to you than coming this way. Is your drive going and coming the total of 9 days? You could go to DL first and then do your stopping for stuff on your way back.

 

[DisOrBust]

Redwoods National Park is on the way down from Oregon.

How many days are you spending in Disnyland?

Take Hwy one! There is great restaurant I'll have to remember the name or lookit up and an awesome "Seal" refuge.

Boys or girls? What about Hearst Castle?

 

[remfam5]

How far south do want to go? Red woods are closer to you than coming this way. Is your drive going and coming the total of 9 days? You could go to DL first and then do your stopping for stuff on your way back.

Well, as far south as Disneyland! I am just thinking that with only 9 days total- we would be pushing it to really enjoy a good 3 days at Disneyland.
Driving 6-7 hours a day makes it 6 days total of "driving days" to spend 3 crowded days at Disney......kinda thinking it's not worth it.????

I think just going as far as San Fran area will be plenty of driving for us.
It will be very sad to skip Disney though!!

So.... where should we stop? any suggestions?

 

[disneyfaninaz]

If you're going as far as San Francisco, you might want to consider going down as far as Monterey. It is beautiful coast and the aquarium is great for kids.

 

[farmgirljen]

We did that trip. We live in Corvallis, and left at 5am..drove to sacramento, easy drive with a stop for lunch) spent the night in Sac, and then were on the road by 7am the next morning..Arrived at our hotel across the street from Disneyland before noon, and had lunch....then hit he parks for a bit before coming back and checking into our room.Stayed 5 nights at DL, then drove home.Visited the redwoods, etc. on the way home...

 

[abayaflowers]

You have to take the boys to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, CA. I live 20 minutes from it.

You can also take them to visit the Apple Store in Cupertino or the Facebook HQ in Palo.

There's also some great places in SF where you can rent bikes on the Wharf and take them across to Angel Island not Alcatraz though. Alcatraz is a great place.

The redwoods forest is where I live in the Santa Cruz mountains. A great place to visit is in Marin County or the Santa Cruz mountains.

 

[hockeybabe]

Haven't been to CA yet, but are trip planning, and we are doing some kayaking in Morro Bay, and horseback riding on the beach near Pismo (caladventures.com/jjriding.html)

Have fun planning!

 

[CamoMama]

If you're taking the 5 all the way down, stop in Williams and have lunch at Granzella's. It's a family restaurant/inn with great food and atmosphere. Be sure to check out the bear in the glass case, he survived the fire they had a few years ago, thankfully. It's a little far south from you to stop for the night and stay at their inn, but the restaurant/deli is a must. I stop there every time I go near Sacramento if I have the time. A few years ago I was heading to Paso Robles for duty with the National Guard and there was a column of smoke just off the 5. There had been a faulty exhaust fan over the pizza oven and the restaurant burned to the ground. While they were closed for the rebuild the family continued to pay their employees to keep them from financial distress. For that reason alone I would continue to patronize their establishment (what other business would do that?) and encourage others as well, but the food is also amazing.

http://www.granzellas.com/about/

 

[danacath]

Our family is doing this trip in reverse, from Monterey up to Seattle, sticking close to the coast as much as possible. We'll have DD's (13 and 16) along. Keep those ideas coming!

 

[cyclenut]

We went the other way several years back with young kids only we went the other direction. We left real late at night after I got off work and packed the car. The kids and I slept while my wife drove through the night. This was the best time to travel. I got a few hours of sleep and then took over the driving. We drove through the next morning and pulled into Bend Oregon before noon the next day.

It is a 16 hour drive if you do it all at once. By driving at night the kids were not bothered much. The trick is, when you leave the house do as much driving as possible on the way TO Disneyland and then take your time on the way back. If you leave at 11pm, you can be in Anaheim by the next afternoon and rest comfortably.

Day 1 - on the road.
Day 2, 3, 4 - DLR
Day 5 - Start your trek North and stop in Solvang on the way. It is about 3-4 hours from Disneyland. You can stay the night there.
Day 6 - Head North. Stop at Hearst Castle (almost 3 hours) and then get back in the car and head to Monterey (another 3 hours). Stay the night there.
Day 7 - Head North to San Francisco. (2 hours north of Monterey), enjoy the day and stay the night there.
Day 8 - Head out of San Fran and pick a place half way between there and Portland. You'll have 10 more hours to cover over two days.
Day 9 - Head out and back to Portland.

Day 8 and 9 are still sketchy for me. There is a lot to do between San Fran and Portland, but not sure how anxious you'll be to get home by then. You could stay an extra day in San Fran and just make the drive from there to Portland. 10 hours is a bit much after all the traveling, but it is doable.

Not sure what vehicle you'll be using as that does make a difference. We had a minivan that was equiped with video and we used a power inverter to run video games. It kept the kids entertained while we were on the road.

 

[chttyangel]

Lived in Northern CA most of my life....Here is my list of a few of my favs;

**For the redwoods; Google "Avenue of the Giants". (there is a drive-thru tree, aerial tram, some neat stores, cafes). The area runs from Eureka down the coast almost to Fort Bragg. I love old homes and also enjoyed Ferndale in this area.

**In Fort Bragg there are nice beaches and tide pools. The skunk train is here if you like that type of thing.

**All the way from Fort Bragg into SF; more nice beaches. Lots of B&B’s. A few restaurants along the way. Beautiful coast line but not allot of attractions.

**San Francisco; Ride a cable car, Pier 39, Fisherman’s Wharf, shopping in Union Square. Alcatraz, the zoo, Exploriturm, Golden Gate Park, Natural Science Museum, Walt Disney Museum…and much, much more. MMMMM……Dinner at House of Prime Rib, my fav.

** Going inland a bit; Napa for wine tasting or some of the best places to eat (checkout Sweetie Pies). There is also a great kitchen store if you’re in to that I can get you the name. My hubs is a Chef and he thinks that it is a must! Also the Jelly Belly factory and bit up the highway or in the other direction the sticker factory or a cheese factory (which is kind of cute; it has a little store to buy lunch and great picnic spot).

** Yosemite and all its wonders.

**Continuing down the coast; Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (another must see attraction) and their Fisherman’s Wharf for some great seafood.

**Monterey; The aquarium, 17 mile drive and Canary Row. I love the Monterey Bay Inn here OR Monterey Beach Resort.

**Hearst Castle, Solvang, Santa Barbara.

 

[remfam5]

Thanks for all the tips everyone!

Here's what we decided:
Day 1: leave Oregon early, drive 6 hrs to Gold Beach, OR
~enjoy the coast and indoor hotel pool for the kids

Day 2: stop at Trees of Mystery
eat at the Lost Coast Brewery
stop at Humboldts State Park
spend the night at the Redwoods River Resort in a little cabin

Day 3: Do more Redwoods sightseeing
eat at the Anderson Valley Brewing Co.
continue drive to San Francisco

Days 4,5,6: Enjoy San Francisco!
Alcatraz
Cable cars
Lombard St.
The Painted Ladies (Full House TV Show)~ DD really wants to see this
Pier 39
Exploratorium
Academy of Science
Chinatown
Fisherman's wharf
Ghirardelli square
Cable Car museum
Golden Gate Fortune Cookie
bike across the Golden Gate Bridge
have lunch in Sausalito
MOMA
Aquarium

Day 7: Six Flags Amusement Park
drive 3/4/5 hours until we are tired and spend the night in ????

Day 8: drive back home


Let me know if I have missed anything along the way or in San Fran- and I will report back with our favs upon return!

 

[farmgirljen]

looks like fun...but you missed disneyland,lol

 

[remfam5]

looks like fun...but you missed disneyland,lol

Please DON'T remind me!!

 

[AquaDame]

We'll be making this same drive over the new year this year - Dec 26-Jan 2 (hoping the weather over the pass won't stop us!). We'll drive 9 hours the first day and stop in Williamsburg then 9 the next, spend a few days in San Diego and then do it again coming back. I think if we were going to make a bunch of stops on the way down/up we'd not get further than San Fran too!