Help us pick a West Coast vacation!

[katerkat]

My neighbors and I just realized that, literally, all the guys are deploying within two weeks of each other in August/September. We're talking at least seven of them. So we wives are kicking around ideas on how to blow their deployment $$.

My immediate vote was, of course, an Alaska repositioning cruise, since we're in a prime location within five hours of Seattle. (We could ditch the cars at the Seattle airport, pay for transfers to Vancouver, and only pay for the flight home.) Unfortunately, no one else wants to pay upwards of $3,500 for two people, even for a 14-day cruise.

So my second choice, of course, was Southern California. A nice big beach house, maybe near San Diego, since we get into Sea World for free as military dependents. And, well, is Disneyland nearby? I had no idea! (But going in September for the third year in a row, means I still haven't seen the Haunted Mansion!! But if we go in early September, I could do the half-marathon.) But plane fare will run around $200 per person, and we'd need rental cars, plus a big enough house will probably be around $3000-4000 for the week, plus food.

We could drive to Seattle, but most of us have done the Seattle thing several times.

I think the Oregon coast might be too chilly by September.

Any other suggestions, especially cheap ones? Things to keep in mind: one person would be six months pregnant, one might be pregnant, one will have a three month old, and there will be at least four 2-3 year olds. And one might be turning 21 if we schedule it right.

 

[meandtheguys2]

Laguna Beach, and Dana Point are lovely areas. Smack in between DL, SW and a beach.

I've seen codos in San Diego on Skyauction, and I bet that the govt. travel website would have some also.http://www.getravelop.com/html/ge_index2.asp

 

[DanceDanceGirl]

My neighbors and I just realized that, literally, all the guys are deploying within two weeks of each other in August/September. We're talking at least seven of them. So we wives are kicking around ideas on how to blow their deployment $$.

My immediate vote was, of course, an Alaska repositioning cruise, since we're in a prime location within five hours of Seattle. (We could ditch the cars at the Seattle airport, pay for transfers to Vancouver, and only pay for the flight home.) Unfortunately, no one else wants to pay upwards of $3,500 for two people, even for a 14-day cruise.

So my second choice, of course, was Southern California. A nice big beach house, maybe near San Diego, since we get into Sea World for free as military dependents. And, well, is Disneyland nearby? I had no idea! (But going in September for the third year in a row, means I still haven't seen the Haunted Mansion!! But if we go in early September, I could do the half-marathon.) But plane fare will run around $200 per person, and we'd need rental cars, plus a big enough house will probably be around $3000-4000 for the week, plus food.

We could drive to Seattle, but most of us have done the Seattle thing several times.

I think the Oregon coast might be too chilly by September.

Any other suggestions, especially cheap ones? Things to keep in mind: one person would be six months pregnant, one might be pregnant, one will have a three month old, and there will be at least four 2-3 year olds. And one might be turning 21 if we schedule it right.

Trust me Southern Cali rocks! You could go to Disneyland, go to Malibu, visit San Diego, Hit Beverly Hills, and maybe drive around Sunset Blvd. I live in Malibu and love it!

 

[DawnCt1]

I am a TYPE A sightseer. One of our best vacations was flying into San Francisco, spending three nights at the Marriott, explored the city, a boat trip to Alcatraz (Loved it!). On the day we left SFO we had breakfast in Sausilito, drove to Muir Woods and hiked through the big trees, drove on to Napa, toured Mondavi Winery, drove to Lake Tahoe, spent three days there enjoying the lake, hiking Mt. Rose, etc. Drove to the East Gate of Yosemite passing Mono Lake (weird), visited Body, a real ghost town in a state of arrested decay, stayed outside of Yosemite for two nights, left through the Maraposa Grove of Tall trees and did the tour, (awesome), drove down through Fresno, spent the night in Cambria at the Pelican Inn, could have stayed longer, drove north to San Simeon, did tour 1 at the Hearst Castle, drove through the Big Sur, stayed in Monterey, went to the aquarium, went the car auction and didn't buy anything, drove back to SFO through Santa Cruz, rode the roller coaster that was in the movie The Lost Boys with Keifer Sutherland and flew home that night.

 

[DawnCt1]

Trust me Southern Cali rocks! You could go to Disneyland, go to Malibu, visit San Diego, Hit Beverly Hills, and maybe drive around Sunset Blvd. I live in Malibu and love it!

We did Southern Cal. one year too. Great vacation. 3 nights in Anaheim with 2 days in Disneyland. Spent a day at Universal Studios, drove to San Diego via Escondido and the Wild Animal Park, 3 nights on Coronado Island at "The Del", 3 nights at the Marriott Resort and Marina, went to Balboa Park, Sea World, San Diego Zoo, Old Town and drove back to Anaheim, spent the day at Down Town Disney and flew home that night.

 

[minniecarousel]

Well - Dawn's vacation sounds like a blast, but with that many people to coordinate (plus little ones) I think I'd rent a house in SoCal. There is so much to see and do & the coast in September is beautiful. And you might get a better deal on a house when it's not the heavy summer season. Disneyland is a definite "must-do" and would be accessable, even if you stay in San Diego. I haven't been, but I hear that Legoland is fun for the little ones and SeaWorld is another "must-do".

 

[mamacatnv]

While S. Calif is great - how about N. California (San Francisco Bay area)That is a perfect time of year and "off season" for many vacation rentals.

You have 3 airports to choose from: SFO, San Jose & Oakland - Southwest throws out frequent Dings from the Portland and Seattle airports to San Jose and Oakland.

You could rent a house along the coast somewhere and have access to SFO, Santa Cruz, the Redwoods and even Monterey.

Given the ages of the kids there is the SFO Zoo, Marine World across the bay in Vallejo, the Exploratorium, California Academy of Sciences and the Aquariums in Pier 39 and Monterey. The Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk is a great time along with the Childrens Museum in San Jose.

There is also plenty of great beaches and parks for relaxing as well as unique dining and shopping readily available.

We frequently visit my Brother in San Jose and all of these places are an easy day trip from there, we do several on every visit.

Happy planning

 

[mamacatnv]

I am a TYPE A sightseer. One of our best vacations was flying into San Francisco, spending three nights at the Marriott, explored the city, a boat trip to Alcatraz (Loved it!). On the day we left SFO we had breakfast in Sausilito, drove to Muir Woods and hiked through the big trees, drove on to Napa, toured Mondavi Winery, drove to Lake Tahoe, spent three days there enjoying the lake, hiking Mt. Rose, etc. Drove to the East Gate of Yosemite passing Mono Lake (weird), visited Body, a real ghost town in a state of arrested decay, stayed outside of Yosemite for two nights, left through the Maraposa Grove of Tall trees and did the tour, (awesome), drove down through Fresno, spent the night in Cambria at the Pelican Inn, could have stayed longer, drove north to San Simeon, did tour 1 at the Hearst Castle, drove through the Big Sur, stayed in Monterey, went to the aquarium, went the car auction and didn't buy anything, drove back to SFO through Santa Cruz, rode the roller coaster that was in the movie The Lost Boys with Keifer Sutherland and flew home that night.

Dang, did you sleep? That sounds awesome and I look at Mt. Rose every day. How long was this trip????

 

[Freyja]

Trust me Southern Cali rocks! You could go to Disneyland, go to Malibu, visit San Diego, Hit Beverly Hills, and maybe drive around Sunset Blvd. I live in Malibu and love it!

I second that. We went to SoCal last year and loved it. Went to LA (Disneyland, Hollywood and Beverly Hills), San Diego and drove up to Las Vegas and spent 3 nights there. Great vacation!

 

[DawnCt1]

Dang, did you sleep? That sounds awesome and I look at Mt. Rose every day. How long was this trip????

9 days! I had the whole thing planned out right down to the advanced purchases of the Alcatraz Tour and the Heart Castle. I gave everyone a print out! So we could get everyone up on time and into the mini van (there were 6 of us) I even set the clock ahead when we stayed in El Portal! It was a
"if its Wednesday it must be Cambria" kind of trip. Everyone loved it and still talks about it and the oldest was 18 then. I would do that whole trip again! We put 1600 miles on the rental car.

 

[suzannen]

We've done both the southern California coast trip and the northern and they are both great. Last time we did 3 days at Disneyland, then 6 days in Laguna (day trips to SeaWorld and San Diego Zoo) and then 3 days in Beverly Hills (Universal, Rodeo Drive, Hollywood...) and we had a blast. It's really beautiful and relaxing and there truly is something for everyone.

 

[mmcguire]

You said you'd done Seattle -- have you been to Victoria BC? There's a high speed clipper from Elliot Bay in Seattle to the Inner Harbour in Victoria. It takes about 3 hours, and costs about $125/person round trip. Victoria is GORGEOUS in late summer -- we were there last August. There are beautiful rocky beaches, stunning gardens, castles, great museums, and the charm of Great Britain. It was like nothing we'd ever seen.

I never knew this before, but Victoria is in a weird tropical microclimate since it is surrounded by mountains. It almost never gets below freezing there, even though it's in Canada. They had palm trees and tropical plants that we can't even grow here in NC!

The food there is also to die for -- lots of authentic Asian cuisine. We didn't have a bad meal. As for the ages of your party, we took DD4 and DS13 and they had a blast.

Whatever you decide to do, I hope you have a great trip!!

 

[katerkat]

I am a TYPE A sightseer. One of our best vacations was flying into San Francisco, spending three nights at the Marriott, explored the city, a boat trip to Alcatraz (Loved it!). On the day we left SFO we had breakfast in Sausilito, drove to Muir Woods and hiked through the big trees, drove on to Napa, toured Mondavi Winery, drove to Lake Tahoe, spent three days there enjoying the lake, hiking Mt. Rose, etc. Drove to the East Gate of Yosemite passing Mono Lake (weird), visited Body, a real ghost town in a state of arrested decay, stayed outside of Yosemite for two nights, left through the Maraposa Grove of Tall trees and did the tour, (awesome), drove down through Fresno, spent the night in Cambria at the Pelican Inn, could have stayed longer, drove north to San Simeon, did tour 1 at the Hearst Castle, drove through the Big Sur, stayed in Monterey, went to the aquarium, went the car auction and didn't buy anything, drove back to SFO through Santa Cruz, rode the roller coaster that was in the movie The Lost Boys with Keifer Sutherland and flew home that night.

Did you miss the part about having four toddlers and an infant? We did portions of your trip last fall with just Russ and he was antsy being in the car that long.

That being said, San Fransisco is a good thought if I can't convince everyone to do Disneyland. For the beaches (laguna, etc) - how do you know which ones are safe? Or in a good area? And Victoria - I wonder if the ferry takes cars? Would save money on airfare and car rentals...

 

[DawnCt1]

Did you miss the part about having four toddlers and an infant? We d414]id p[/B]ortions of your trip last fall with just Russ and he was antsy being in the car that long.

That being said, San Fransisco is a good thought if I can't convince everyone to do Disneyland. For the beaches (laguna, etc) - how do you know which ones are safe? Or in a good area? And Victoria - I wonder if the ferry takes cars? Would save money on airfare and car rentals...

I totally skimmed over the toddler/baby part. The beaches in N. California are freezing! I would do Disneyland and the Zoo. That's enough with babies.

 

[Kahana-ri]

California is the way to go. Anywhere in CA. There have been some great suggestions, both Nor Cal or Southern have great places to vacation. Why not just start north and work your way down the coast?!

 

[suzannen]

For the beaches (laguna, etc) - how do you know which ones are safe? Or in a good area?

I don't know how much you were thinking of spending on a hotel or beach house, but we stayed at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel so the area was both safe and pristine and the views and sunsets are absolutely gorgeous. They also have a Ritz Kids Program, beautiful pool and a wonderful spa for the adults. The website is www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/LagunaNiguel/Default.htm

 

[Tiffer]

Laguna Beach, and Dana Point are lovely areas. Smack in between DL, SW and a beach.

I've seen codos in San Diego on Skyauction, and I bet that the govt. travel website would have some also.http://www.getravelop.com/html/ge_index2.asp

I used to live in the Monarch BEach section of Dana Point. LOVED it. I was a DL AP and it takes about 30 minutes on the 5 Freeway, of course depending on traffic to get to DL in Anaheim.

South of Dana Point on the 5 is San Diego, about 45 minutes to an hour, again, depending on traffic.

I am partial to SoCal. I recommend the Surf and Sand resort in Laguna Beach. It is pricey, but not as bad as the Ritz Carlton in Dana Point or the Montage in LB.