From: debi@ucrengr.ucr.edu (deborah parrish)
Newsgroups: alt.california,soc.culture.vietnamese
Subject: Re: Need suggestions on sightseeing between LA and SF
Keywords: LA SF sightseeing
Date: 21 Aug 92 02:33:12 GMT
Followup-To: alt.california
Distribution: usa
Organization: University of California, Riverside

In article <1992Aug12.160836.16702@shell.shell.com> baudin@shell.com (Earl J. Baudin) writes:
-> All,
-> 
-> I am posting this for a friend.  Please post your response as well as send me
-> direct e-mail (baudin@shell.com).  Our news feed is not the best in the 
-> world.
-> 
-> ===========================================================================
-> I will visit California for a week starting next week.  I plan to
-> spend 2-3 days in LA and then drive up to SF along HW 101 and 1 to
-> do some sightseeing.  I would appreciate if someone provide me the
-> following information:
-> 
-> In LA:  Places to go/shop/sightseeing; things to do.
-> HW 101 & 1:  Places to stop for sightseeing.  Also, does anyone
->              know how long it takes to drive this route (I heard
->              it is very beautiful).
-> In SF:  Places to go/shop/sightseeing/eat; things to do; and places
->         to stay (Hotel/motel at reasonable prices in a safe area).
-> 
-> Thanks again!
-> 
-> Thai
-> ===========================================================================
-> 
-> Thanks!!!
-> 
-> Earl Baudin
-> 
-> 
-> 
-> -- 
-> Uucp: ...!{bcm,rice,sun}!shell!baudin   Internet: baudin@shell.com
-> Shell Oil Company, Computer Technology ESW Services
-> 1500 Old Spanish Trail, Rm 6F04, Houston, TX 77054, Voice:(713)795-2677


Well, this response will probably be too late for your friend,
but here goes...     :)  :)

The first thing I would suggest is to get a AAA guide.  It helps
out a lot when looking for hotels/motels and comparing prices.


Last May, my boyfriend and I drove from Riverside (about an hour
from LA in good traffic) to Mountain View (in Silicon Valley) up
Interstate 5, which took us 6 1/2 hours.  On our return trip we
drove up to San Francisco, then drove down highway 1.  The drive
down the 1 took us two days, and yes, portions of the route were
absolutely beautiful.

We spent the morning of our return trip in San Francisco.  We
went to Fisherman's Wharf, where we did a little shopping in
Ghirardelli Square (Ghirardelli's is a MUST for chocolate
lovers).  Several blocks down the wharf, around pier 43 1/2,
you can buy tickets for various boat tours and ferries around
the bay.  We took the Golden Gate Bridge tour, and there's also
a self-guided Alcatraz tour available (where they supply you
with a walkman and tape and you, well, guide yourself).  After
that, we headed down the 1.

At the end of the first day of driving down the 1, we stayed in
San Simeon.  The next morning we took a tour of Hearst Castle;
the tickets were about $12.50 each, and there are four different
tours available (including a garden/landscaping tour and an
architecture tour).

Several of the inns along the 1 require that you pay for two
nights (i.e. Friday and Saturday) if you wish to stay on a
weekend.  (This may be true of a lot of motels and inns, but
this is the first I've heard of this sort of thing.)  Otherwise,
we would have stayed the night somewhere around Big Sur instead
of San Simeon.

In Santa Barbara (where the 1 is merged with the 101), you can
get off the 101 on highway 225 (at Las Positas Rd if you're
southbound, and at Cabrillo Blvd if you're northbound).  The
225 loops towards the coast and back to the 101 for about six
miles, and is a nice diversion if you feel like getting off of
the 101 for a bit.  Sterns Wharf (off of Cabrillo) has several
nice souvenir shops and a couple of restaurants.  You may also
want to check out the UC Santa Barbara campus, which sits on a
cliff right on the beach.

In the Los Angeles area, there's the usual (Disneyland,
Universal Studios, Hollyweird).  If you love big rollercoasters,
go to Magic Mountain off of Interstate 5 in Santa Clarita (but
avoid it on the weekends unless you enjoy standing in extremely
long lines).  For some shopping, you could check out the
Beverly Center (which you might recognize from movies like
"Ruthless People"), which is located on La Cienega Blvd and
Beverly Blvd.  On the same block is the Hard Rock Cafe.

If you're willing to take a two-hour drive south of LA, you
could check out the San Diego Zoo, one of the largest in the
world.  There's also Sea World, La Jolla cove, and sailing in
Mission Bay.

These are just some of MANY things you could do when traveling
between Los Angeles and San Francisco.  Have fun  :)


Deborah Parrish
debi@ucrengr.ucr.edu
Xref: sparky alt.california:1651 rec.travel:12156