Help , ideas of things to do or see, holiday to California

[Brian Deakin]

I live in the United Kingdom and will be visiting the USA. on holiday in July 2012


My holiday plan is as follows

One night Los Angeles airport,one night Pismo beech,one night Monterrey, three nights San Francisco,two nights Yosemite,one night Sequoia,three nights Las Vegas ,one night Grand Canyon,one night Lake Havasu,three nights San Diego then return home to United Kingdom

Can anyone please advise or make suggestions of things to do,places to see and places to eat

My family group consists of My wife ,son age 13 and daughter age 16 plus myself

regards Brian

[Todd Burch]

Gonna go see London Bridge, eh?

[Jim Koepke]

one night Monterrey, three nights San Francisco

Cannery row and the Monterey Bay Aquarium are great spots if you have the time. The Aquarium can take the better part of the day. Cannery row is a lot of shops with interesting wares.

I used to work in San Francisco, moved away about 3 years ago. Tads Steakhouse on, Powell Street, is a good inexpensive steak. We used to say Tads was an acronym for Tough And Dry Steaks. They are actually pretty good. Up Powell St. and left (west) on Geary is Lefty O'Doul's place. I have had many a meal there. They have a bar, but I have never had a drink there. Lefty O'Doul was a baseball player and manager for San Francisco's minor league baseball team. Lots of baseball memorabilia there. The legs on the bar stools are made from baseball bats. There are a lot of fancier places in S.F. but I never went for the high priced places. You might also buy a ticket and ride the Cable Car up Powell to the Hyde Street Pier. Lot of interesting things in that area including Ghiradelli Square and Fisherman's Wharf. If you are into walking get a City map and walk from Powell Street through China Town to the Bay.

Macy's basement used to have a very high end eatery in the basement with not so high prices. I think there is also a Ben & Jerry's ice cream counter in the basement. I would be surprised if it isn't still there. They also have fancier eats upstairs.

Here are some links:

http://www.leftyodouls.biz/

http://www.tadssteaks-sf.com/

too many hits to list, search > macy's san francisco dining <

jtk

[Doug Herzberg]

Los Angeles - Huntington Library in San Marino (near Pasadena) has one of the finest gardens in the United States, excellent collection of succulents, one of the top Japanese Gardens in the US, the best Chinese Garden I've ever seen (not that many). Also a fine collection of furniture a woodworker will enjoy. You can take tea in the garden - call ahead for reservations, probably not what you're used to, but a very nice buffet style food service - plan to spend a full day. The Getty museum has a good collection for the western US, also a nice urban garden display - nearly a full day. Walt Disney Concert Hall - tours available some days, another urban garden - a few hours. Universal Studios, Disneyland and Warner Bors.,in that order if you're into that, especially for the kids with you - full day each. The LA County museum has a fair collection - half day. Sam Maloof's home (tell them you're a woodworker and they'll let you see the shop) 1/2 day.

San Francisco - Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, Golden Gate Bridge, bug zoo, Lombardy Street (1 block), Alcatraz, Sausalito.

Las Vegas - Cirque du Soleil, Celine Dion if she's still there, Hoover Dam.

San Diego - Sunday Brunch at the Del Coronado ($75 per and worth it if you can eat that much, kids may be less and a discount if you stay at the hotel) go south afterward for a nice walk on the beach. San Diego is the best place to spend some time at the beaches. Another Side of San Diego Segway tours - kids and adults will love this. Balboa Park, Point Loma, La Jolla (try supper at sunset at Georges on the Cove on the upstairs balcony - reservations necessary and you need to get there early to get a good table and plan to fight for a parking space, then walk).

You should be able to check these all out on the internet with Google or something like that to see if they may appeal to you. I've had luck with Tripadvisor.com and it's lists of things to do in, where to eat, etc. Hope that doesn't violate a rule. Have fun!

[David Helm]

North or South rim of the canyon? Makes a difference. July is a bit hot for hiking in the canyon, and water will be scarce, but if you get the chance at least go down the Bright Angel trail as far as the Tonto platform. Carry gallons of water with you. I have spent many Aprils hiking the "abandoned trails". Problem with those is they are not day hikes and you have to get permits by January 1. They are very popular.

[Van Huskey]

Yosemite is one of my favorite places on earth even though that will be the height of tourist season, YUCK! If you want to stay in the valley get your reservations NOW or better yet months ago.


I really like the Monterey area, along with those things mentioned the 17 mile drive is very cool. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17-Mile_Drive

[Todd Burch]

Van's post reminded me of a place I want to stay in Carmel (just next door to Monterey). It's called Mission Ranch.

http://www.missionranchcarmel.com/

Clint Eastwood owns it. He's been known to frequent the bar and play piano. Just look for his old pickup truck in the parking lot.

Todd

[Tim Morton]

sounds like an amazing vacation...if it were me i would just go and experience it...no plans...no alarms...just wake up in the morning and decide what you feel like doing.

[Brian Brown]

I wish I was you. Sounds like you have a very full agenda. That is an enormous circle! Not much time in your schedule to see Sequoia. It is 180 miles from Yosemite to Sequoia (4 hours), and Depending on your route, driving time from Sequoia to Vegas is 8 hours (750 miles) in the best conditions. I myself enjoy the beauty of Death Valley but 110-115 degrees in July is just not for me. Besides, it is a little out of your way. I agree that in Monterey, Cannery row and the Monterey Bay Aquarium are must sees. 17 Mile Drive just didn't do it for me. In San Francisco, there is a very nice Japanese tea garden. Enjoy your holiday, you picked a beautiful location.

[charlie knighton]

one night Grand Canyon

petroglyphs

[Curt Fuller]

Try to hit Balboa Park while in San Diego.

[Steve Griffin]

I always like lots of outdoor exercise on trips--makes all the eating more fun, and the sleeping go better.

San Fran: Wonderful walking town. Last time I was there we drove to a special restaurant, but couldn't find parking. So we drove back to the house we stayed at and walked....

Also, get out of town and go over the golden gate bridge. Rent bikes in the wine country for a day.

Vegas: Also great walking--we can put in miles here during a night on the town. Cirque du soleil is not to be missed. Consider getting out of town and hiking in red rocks. Red Rocks isn't as spectacular as the grand canyon, but it's beautiful desert country which is a big contrast to where you live. IT will be hot, but consider it part of the experience.

Have fun--you might need to take some time off when you get home to recover from this whirlwind trip!

[Ben Hatcher]

Presuming you're driving from one to another, try to get a satelite radio or an aux in for an iPod in your rental if they offer it. That's a lot of time on the road and many of those areas will have very little broadcast radio and likely even less that you'd want to listen to for hours on end.

[James Baker SD]

If you are into science or astronomy, Mt. Palomar with the 200" Hale telescope (for many years the largest in the world) is sort of between Lake Havasu and San Diego. There is a visitor's gallery open during the day so you can see the telescope through a glass window. Nice easy drive up there, not a hairpin winding road like the drive up to Lick Observatory (best taken in a 2-seater sports car) which is 60 miles south of San Francisco and still has James Lick's body under the base of the 36" refractor (yes it too for many years the largest in the world).

San Diego Zoo is pretty famous as is Sea World.

Nice lumber yard in Carlsbad which is a few miles north of San Diego.

[Joe Angrisani]

San Diego: Just north in La Jolla, don't miss lunch or dinner at Osteria Romantica. FANTASTIC Italian/Mediterranean food.