Itinerary for California trip - need suggestions

[RadioFanatic]

You are not boring me at all - in fact, just the opposite!

considering we're from upstate ny - it still may be beach weather for us!

I like the idea of Sanvoy - sounds cute!

 

[mtemm]

You are not boring me at all - in fact, just the opposite!

considering we're from upstate ny - it still may be beach weather for us!

I like the idea of Sanvoy - sounds cute!

good! Actually, we just moved from Saratoga Springs (well, Milton) in november, so when we went to CA this past summer, we came from your neck of the woods. We had had a hot stretch in ny right before we left and figured at least it would be a dry heat in CA...we were wrong, CA was in the midst of a freak cold spell. We were freezing. It was really funny, the locals were fine but those of us from normally cold weather areas were looking for sweaters. lol.

 

[Disneyglobegirl]

Not much to add ..your plans look great! You will love Hearst Castle! We use to live onthe central coast and it is awesome!!

 

[RadioFanatic]

what about Harbor View Inn in SB? It looks nice on the website, is on the water and cheaper than Hotel Santa Barbara.

 

[Planogirl]

A small thing but when you visit Hollywood, you likely won't spend much time on Hollywood Blvd. It's fun to check out the handprints and you might want to pop into the Roosevelt Hotel if you want to see an old Hollywood hotel but most of the area is just tourist trap kind of stuff.

We left after a short tour and drove up to Mullholland Drive. This is one cool stretch of road, very windy with some nice overlooks including a great one of the Hollywood sign. Get a good map and you'll notice that it's pretty easy to get to this road from some of the areas you'll be in.

 

[mtemm]

what about Harbor View Inn in SB? It looks nice on the website, is on the water and cheaper than Hotel Santa Barbara.

I have never stayed there but I think it looks very nice. If I am correct about its location, it is across from the beach that is to the right of stearns wharf (facing the ocean), so obviously very close to it, but also close to the marina/breakwater. we walked by it on our way and I remember commenting that it looked like a nice place to stay. tripadvisor reviews seem to be positive.

It will be a longer walk to restaurants/shopping/courthouse, but you will be right on the beach...keep in mind that most likely the weather will be a bit cool, but still, not quite upstate ny standards. lol. and of course, you can always drive to whereever you want to go (mission, etc).

I'll be interested to know how you like it if you do stay there...we'll probably be back in SB in hoepfully not the too distant future.

eta, I was just looking at their website and it is the one I thought it was....I would stay there in a heartbeat. sounds great!

 

[mtemm]

just heard from my other friend...this is what she said about the restaurants:


am familiar with all of them, and they'll be great whichever she picks. Of the 3 my favorite is Opal, but Bouchon is also great. Nu is where 1129 was (if you recall) and its the prettiest setting, but sometimes they miss with the food.

If you end up staying at the harbor view and the meal package is out, I again recommend pascuccis.

 

[RadioFanatic]

"If you end up staying at the harbor view and the meal package is out, I again recommend pascuccis. "

you are a fountain of info and I promise, if we stay at Harbor View, I will DEFINITELY go to Pascucci's!

The rooms at Harbor Inn were only $169 which I thought was pretty good, so it is on my short list. I'm also now thinking of spending 2 nights in Santa Barbara.

NEW REVISED ITINERARY:

Wednesday, November 15 - fly into LAX in evening

Thursday, November 16 - DL

Friday, November 17 - Los Angeles

9 am - Warner Brothers’ VIP Tour – 2 hours and 15 minutes - $39 pp 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, CA. / (818) 846-1403 or (818) 954-1744

1 pm - Dearly Departed tour – 3 hour tour - $35 pp - departing daily - Wednesday through Sunday - from the front of The Erotic Museum at 6741 Hollywood Boulevard. This location is one block East of Highland Avenue, just a tombstone's throw (two blocks East) from the famous Grauman's Chinese Theater. Keep in mind, this is a PICK UP location only. As this is a one man operation, there is no office. The Dearly Departed Tomb Buggy will be there - 323.466.3696

Saturday, November 18 - Los Angeles

8:30 am – Hollywood Tours – tour of los angeles, stars’ homes, Beverly hills, Chinese theatre, etc.

Sunday, November 19 - Either DL or go Santa Monica, Malibu and to Santa Barbara and then spend night in Santa Barbara

Monday, November 20

Enjoy Santa Barbara

Tuesday, November 21

Drive to Solvang, eat lunch and enjoy town

Approximately two hour drive to the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo for the night


Wednesday, November 22 - Hearst Castle in am (Tour # 1 - 2 hours)

Drive approximately two hours on Route 1 Big Sur and spend night in Carmel

Thursday, November 23 (Thanksgiving)

Spend day/night in Carmel and visit Monterey (only 7 miles away) possibly go to Aquarium or just day at the beach

Friday, November 24

Drive to San Francisco via 17 mile drive (takes approximately two hours) – get rid of rental car

Tour part of San Fran (have to figure out details)

Saturday, November 25

San Francisco - tour rest (have to figure out details)

Sunday, November 26

San Francisco – Muir Woods, Sausilito and Alcatraz Group Tour

Monday, November 27

Go home

 

[mtemm]

sounds good! One thing I'll warn you about is rush hour friday morning...to get to WB by the 9am tour, make sure to leave plenty of time. My husband is from Boston and thought he knew traffic until he experienced L.A. traffic. I tried to explain it to him, but it wasn't until he saw if first hand that he understood.

Hope you enjoy your trip!

 

[Molly Meow]

When you're driving up Hwy 1 - you HAVE to stop at Julia Pfeiffer Burns state park. It's about 40 miles south of Carmel. You'll want the Overlook Trail. It's a very easy, smooth walk. You'll walk below Hwy 1. When you get to the other side of the Hwy, you'll see this:

Unfortunately, you can't go down there. The pictures don't do it justice - it's definitely worth the stop.

Have a lot of fun on your trip!

So sorry I can't get those pictures smaller - the "Resize" function in PhotoBucket seems to be broken.

More info: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=578

 

[RadioFanatic]

the pix are beautiful - thanks for sharing!

and thanks for the heads up for traffic. unfortunately, the wb tours are only mon-fri - no weekends, so I had to mix up the plans a bit.

 

[damo]

If you are in Santa Monica, it is very interesting to stop in at Fred Segal and stare at the price tags!

Froder's (could be Frommer's) magazine has an article right now about the trip from SF to LA. I saw it on the newstand yesterday.

 

[RadioFanatic]

SOOOOO, I have made several reservations so far

4 nights at Anaheim Desert Inn and Suites - $69/night
2 nights at Harbor View Inn for Santa Barbara - $165/night
2 nights at Normandy Inn in Carmel - $110 first night and $200 second (b/c it's Thanksgiving.

I'm thinking of changing Normandy Inn to the Best Western Bay View Inn - it's a bit cheaper for a fireplace, ocean view room than the standard room rate I got at Normandy. Also, we got a gift certificate for $100 two christmases ago which we could use at the Best Western. I don't know though. Thoughts?

I haven't made the reservation yet at the Madonna Inn b/c they require payment upon making the reservation which I'm just not ready to do at this point. Also, with San Franscisco, I'm planning to use Priceline.

 

[Feralpeg]

You will love the WB tour! It was great. We got to talk to Adam Sandler while walking across the backlot. The guides are really nice and very informative.

 

[RadioFanatic]

You will love the WB tour! It was great. We got to talk to Adam Sandler while walking across the backlot. The guides are really nice and very informative.

I'm so jealous! I would LOVE to meet him!

 

[Feralpeg]

I'm so jealous! I would LOVE to meet him!

Keep your eyes open. His office is on the backlot. He is very friendly. If you see him, just yell "Hello, Adam". He'll talk to you.

 

[bsnyder]

We spent a few nights in Santa Barbara/Montecito last fall and loved it. Especially the shopping on State Street!

If you like Mexican food, try the La Super Rica Taqueria on Milpas Street. It's a dumpy open air kind of place, but the food was awesome - very different from the usual Americanized Mexican fare that most places serve.