Advice from people on the west coast...

[naxalite0906]

Hey all..

This may be far too late, but I figured it wouldn't hurt if I posted something now as I still have over a day to figure out what to take with me etc.

I leave for a holiday tomoro to the west coast of the USA for two weeks. Obviously I am pretty excited, but one thing I am not 100% convinced on is the weather. We will be spending time driving around and the majority of our time staying over will be San Fran and LA.

I just wanted to know what the weather is like there this time of year? I am guessing still pretty warm, but I wanted to check and make sure. Is there a lot of rain too? We will be going to some outdoor events (music festivals and baseball and nfl games) so does it get cold in the evenings too? I am trying to pack as little as possible, so avoiding taking a warm coat would be a good thing, but I didn't want to end up being cold for two weeks!

Also, if you wanna add suggestions of stuff to do or places to visit/eat in LA and San Fran, then feel free. Again, I know its last minute, but it all helps!

Thanks

 

[shy slave]

Have a great time.

 

[VelvetDarkness]

In LA the temperature should be 15-20C and it will be sunny with some cloud. You'll want a jacket as evenings can get quite chilly.

Santa Monica Beach is a good place to visit and Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon aren't too far away of you fancy a detour. Palm Springs is also pretty and there is a wonderful walk there that takes you to a stunning waterfall. Palm Springs has quite a high proportion of gay people living and visiting there. It's a nice little town. There's a great fish restaurant on Santa Monica Beach but I forget now what it's called.

in LA itself, the film studio tours at Warner Bros and Universal are good fun. Universal also has a theme park if you like that sort of thing. Beverly hills is a bit disappointing as all you get to see is razorwire and security cameras. Also, in the very affluent parts of Beverly Hills, private security people will turn up and quiz you if you so much as stall your car there. There's also Sunset Ranch where you can go horseriding in the Hollywood Hills and if you've got a couple of hours to kill, it's a great way to view the city from above.

I haven't been to San Fran so I can't really help you there but Eddie Izzard tells me that they dislike it when people refer to the city as San Fran or Frisco.

I hope you have a fantastic time Nax.

 

[naxalite0906]

In LA the temperature should be 15-20C and it will be sunny with some cloud. You'll want a jacket as evenings can get quite chilly.

Santa Monica Beach is a good place to visit and Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon aren't too far away of you fancy a detour. Palm Springs is also pretty and there is a wonderful walk there that takes you to a stunning waterfall. Palm Springs has quite a high proportion of gay people living and visiting there. It's a nice little town. There's a great fish restaurant on Santa Monica Beach but I forget now what it's called.

in LA itself, the film studio tours at Warner Bros and Universal are good fun. Universal also has a theme park if you like that sort of thing. Beverly hills is a bit disappointing as all you get to see is razorwire and security cameras. Also, in the very affluent parts of Beverly Hills, private security people will turn up and quiz you if you so much as stall your car there. There's also Sunset Ranch where you can go horseriding in the Hollywood Hills and if you've got a couple of hours to kill, it's a great way to view the city from above.

I haven't been to San Fran so I can't really help you there but Eddie Izzard tells me that they dislike it when people refer to the city as San Fran or Frisco.

I hope you have a fantastic time Nax.

I'll remember the advice about Frisco then... lol.... We are flying into Vegas, but it is literally a whistlestop visit there before going to San Francisco. I wanna see the hoover dam and grand canyon, but we won't have time The grand canyon is like 6 hours from Vegas or something, so it cannot be done in a day. I think we are driving across Death Valley though, so that will be interesting. (I might go see the canyon if I suddenly come into some money so I can afford a chopper ride.)

LA is going to be short too, only a few days I would guess. We are going to six flags though I think. The majority of the holiday will be spent in San Francisco and driving along the coast or through America. We all thought that was the best way of seeing things.

 

[VelvetDarkness]

I'll remember the advice about Frisco then... lol.... We are flying into Vegas, but it is literally a whistlestop visit there before going to San Francisco. I wanna see the hoover dam and grand canyon, but we won't have time The grand canyon is like 6 hours from Vegas or something, so it cannot be done in a day. I think we are driving across Death Valley though, so that will be interesting. (I might go see the canyon if I suddenly come into some money so I can afford a chopper ride.)

LA is going to be short too, only a few days I would guess. We are going to six flags though I think. The majority of the holiday will be spent in San Francisco and driving along the coast or through America. We all thought that was the best way of seeing things.

As I remember, we drove to the Grand Canyon from LA and then stayed in Vegas that night (not that we slept till the following morning. Vegas is almost completely nocturnal.) It's about doable but a hard drive. The roads are so dusty that you can't see anything in your mirrors if you go above 60mph. It was well worth the hard driving but if you're flitting off to Frisco as well you have to prioritise I guess. We stayed mostly in LA for our 10 days.

Here's Eddie's insightful musings on San Francisco

 

[naxalite0906]

As I remember, we drove to the Grand Canyon from LA and then stayed in Vegas that night (not that we slept till the following morning. Vegas is almost completely nocturnal.) It's about doable but a hard drive. The roads are so dusty that you can't see anything in your mirrors if you go above 60mph. It was well worth the hard driving but if you're flitting off to Frisco as well you have to prioritise I guess. We stayed mostly in LA for our 10 days.

Here's Eddie's insightful musings on San Francisco

We are going to vegas briefly, then to san fran.. drive to LA, then back to vegas to fly out... I am not sure a grand canyon trip is doable, as much as I would love to do it. Shame really, but when you go with 3 other people, doing what everyone wants to do is always hard.

 

[shy slave]

Last year we had a fabulous time driving up the coast from Vegas to SF.

The Big Sur was an amazing drive. Scary, fun and a wonderful memory.

Enjoy every second x

 

[naxalite0906]

Oh, we are going to Al-Ca-Traz tho

 

[shy slave]

Oh, we are going to Al-Ca-Traz tho

That is a great trip, amazing place.

 

[00Syd]

You might dig some of the stuff here:

http://www.dumbangelmagazine.com/news.htm

They might talk about other groovy things on their blog, and there might be links to other cool stuff to do in their links section.

I'm friends with these guys and they really know whats happening in LA. They might respond if you email them with questions.

Have an awesome trip!!

 

[naxalite0906]

You might dig some of the stuff here:

http://www.dumbangelmagazine.com/news.htm

They might talk about other groovy things on their blog, and there might be links to other cool stuff to do in their links section.

I'm friends with these guys and they really know whats happening in LA. They might respond if you email them with questions.

Have an awesome trip!!

I'll check it out.. thanks hun

 

[LilyBart]

If you are driving from San Francisco to LA I highly recommend planning a visit to Hearst Castle. http://www.hearstcastle.org/index.cfm

This will also force you to take the leisurely but breathtakingly scenic route as opposed to the quick route to LA, along the Pacific Coast Highway and through Big Sur. Then, you could stop in Monterrey and visit the amazing aquarium.

If you decide to visit Hearst Castle, you need to buy tickets ahead of time and also plan to spend a good part of your day there.

As far as weather, you shouldn't need a heavy coat at this time of year but you should plan on wearing layers. (At least one of them waterproof if you plan on taking the boat to Alcatraz).

Have a great time!

~LB

 

[naxalite0906]

If you are driving from San Francisco to LA I highly recommend planning a visit to Hearst Castle. http://www.hearstcastle.org/index.cfm

This will also force you to take the leisurely but breathtakingly scenic route as opposed to the quick route to LA, along the Pacific Coast Highway and through Big Sur. Then, you could stop in Monterrey and visit the amazing aquarium.



~LB

Just how long does this drive take (without stops..)

 

[LilyBart]

Just how long does this drive take (without stops..)

Without stops (and without traffic), the Pacific Coast Hwy route takes about 8 hours. Its about 6 hours to drive along I-5 which is further inland and not as pretty.

I think you'll find the drive to be worth the extra time. Even if you don't stop at Hearst Castle... Big Sur as well as the ocean views really are amazing.

~LB

 

[LilyBart]

One more thing...if you like Jazz...the Monterey Jazz Festival is next weekend.

http://www.montereyjazzfestival.org/2008/index.php

Monterey is only a 2 hour or so drive from San Francisco. So you could do that as a day trip if you wanted.

~LB

 

[naxalite0906]

One more thing...if you like Jazz...the Monterey Jazz Festival is next weekend.

http://www.montereyjazzfestival.org/2008/index.php

Monterey is only a 2 hour or so drive from San Francisco. So you could do that as a day trip if you wanted.

~LB

Thanks lily... I did see that was on... We are going to the treasure island festival on the saturday and a 49ers game on the sunday, so might be hard to squeeze it in.. Friday is a possibility though, but the napa valley is on the cards too. My friends want to pretend they are in sideways!

 

[iluvyou3638]

i live in SF, right in the city. and right now is the time for layers. it's chilly in the morning and at night, and just right midday. so bring a couple sweaters and maybe even a jacket, and then just some long sleeve shirts and jeans.

 

[naxalite0906]

i live in SF, right in the city. and right now is the time for layers. it's chilly in the morning and at night, and just right midday. so bring a couple sweaters and maybe even a jacket, and then just some long sleeve shirts and jeans.

I was thinking something along those lines too... My major dilemma is my only waterproof has a fleece type layer in it too... Perfect for layers you would think.. but it is too warm to wear it over here to travel in, and it is quite big to pack so I am probably not gonna take it.. Best pray for no rain eh!

 

[FFOTS4Life]

I was thinking something along those lines too... My major dilemma is my only waterproof has a fleece type layer in it too... Perfect for layers you would think.. but it is too warm to wear it over here to travel in, and it is quite big to pack so I am probably not gonna take it.. Best pray for no rain eh!

SoCal is great right now...we are averaging in the eighties (It's cold in the morning...but then again I am a Socal girl so anything below 70 and I bring out the gloves)...all you need are stripped down versions of those layers...

It's always kind of damp in San Fran...at least it always is when I am up there...just take a light windbreaker to throw on over your layers...you should be fine.

Have a great trip!

 

[YourCaptor]

In LA the temperature should be 15-20C and it will be sunny with some cloud. You'll want a jacket as evenings can get quite chilly.

Santa Monica Beach is a good place to visit and Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon aren't too far away of you fancy a detour. Palm Springs is also pretty and there is a wonderful walk there that takes you to a stunning waterfall. Palm Springs has quite a high proportion of gay people living and visiting there. It's a nice little town. There's a great fish restaurant on Santa Monica Beach but I forget now what it's called.

in LA itself, the film studio tours at Warner Bros and Universal are good fun. Universal also has a theme park if you like that sort of thing. Beverly hills is a bit disappointing as all you get to see is razorwire and security cameras. Also, in the very affluent parts of Beverly Hills, private security people will turn up and quiz you if you so much as stall your car there. There's also Sunset Ranch where you can go horseriding in the Hollywood Hills and if you've got a couple of hours to kill, it's a great way to view the city from above.

I haven't been to San Fran so I can't really help you there but Eddie Izzard tells me that they dislike it when people refer to the city as San Fran or Frisco.

I hope you have a fantastic time Nax.

Don’t let her fool you, Los Vegas is way in overnighter, its not next door. Grand canyon is even further.

If you got to get out of LA, go for San Diego, the wild animal park is simply incredible, they also got the zoo, and sea world, and good foods.

Universal studios is fun, but has gotten pricey. The tram ride or whatever they call it is really cool, they take you behind scenes and show you all kinds of movie related stuff.

You got a tone of beaches in LA, but at this time of year they get chilly I think. Not sure, as I don’t go to the beach for the actually beach anymore. Boardwalk, and window shopping/restaurant area is way better then nasty water.

In LA if you are on the west side weather will get chilly at night. During the day it should be around 80-90. On the east side the nights are nice and comfy, but during the day you get 90-100, its also dry, but the smog is nasty, keep your windows up.

I hope you have some big city driving experience. SF is hilly and narrow, LA is a parking lot with people still trying to change lanes. So there you go.

Weather in SF around this time, I think is in the 60’s, and it always gets cold at night, at least when I have been there. Although it will probably still be warm for someone form your region. I wonder if its fog season, I’ll call up and ask.

SF has china town and japan town, LA has korea town and little Saigon. SF has beer, LA wine. SF has the golden gate, LA has long beach, walk of fame, Hollywood. The tattoo and body art expo will be in the LA convention center around the 26th , I want to go see that. The LA museum is cool, it’s a big park including the la brea tar bits, and a dome shaped imax that can be a great experience. You should check out what exhibits are showing though, often they gear it towards kids,

Just north of SF is a redwood park, they have alcatraz, umm coit tower, russian hill has a lot of food places. Pier XX, cant recall the number, but they got a few touristy shops. Lets see,

Beware of October, or late October, the santa anas show up then.

Oh, and if and earthquake hits, get under something sturdy looking. Don’t run or walk, that’s how you get hurt, just duck and cover.

Oh, and SF great bus system, good subway. LA, not so much, you will need a car.

Well, that was long an random...

 

[LilyBart]

One more thing... when in LA, you must go to Venice Beach. In fact, I insist that you visit Venice Beach. Don't argue with me on this. Tons of street performers and sidewalk artists. Somewhat surreal but definitely an experience that is unique.

Oh, and please share your trip with us. I (and I'm sure others) will enjoy reading what you liked (or didn't like.)

~LB

(Oh, YC is right about San Diego....2 hour drive from LA...the zoo is pretty cool. As is all of Balboa Park.)

 

[naxalite0906]

Well I am back.. and in one piece too! I had a great time.