Hello, I have been trying to plan a vacation to San Diego, LA, and San Francisco for me, my 12 and 15 year old. We will be leaving in June. San Diego - we are planning on 2 nights - going to the Zoo, Balboa Park, and Old Town. I'm kind of looking for a beach front or bay front room. LA - We are just going to do the touristy things there. The Walk of Fame, Hollywood sign, one of the studios, and just driving around. So 2 nights in LA. San Francisco - 3 nights. I plan on going to Alcatraz, seeing lighthouses, the Wharf, Golden State Park, Lombard St. I have heard that Pacific Heights is a nice area to stay. I'm a single mom, so a safe area is important. Please Help. There are just to many hotels to choose from. Oh on the way from LA to San Franciso should I plan spending the night some where along the way? If so where. Thanks so much in advance.

Melissa

Melissa, I can't answer all your questions, but I have a suggestion for the SF leg of your trip. I assume you'll have a car so a great place for you and your kids might be the Hotel del Sol in the Marina district of SF. It is a very safe part of town, and you'll be in walking distance to many great restaurants, shops, movies, etc. They have free parking and you can get a reasonably priced suite with a bedroom and living room with pull out sofa. You can walk from the hotel down to Crissy Field for a beautiful view of the bay and the bridge.

I don't think you need to spend the night between LA and SF. We live near SF and visit relatives in LA frequently. We just drive straight through on highway 5 and it takes about 7 hours (boring scenery). It doesn't seem as though you have much time to spare, but an alternative it to drive north on highway 101 (beautiful scenery) and stop for the night in Cambria and a visit to Hearst Castle, or stay in Carmel/Monterey and visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Have fun!

Melissa,

I agree that a night in the Monterey/Carmel area would be worthwhile (www.monterey.com) Monterey Bay Aquarium is a must, and 17 Mile Drive has great scenary. In Santa Cruz there is the Beach Boardwalk which is always nice on a warm day in June. Beware that the boardwalk is quite crowded on the weekend. On your way to San Francisco from Monterey via Highway 1 North to 17 North, you will be going through San Jose and Silicon Valley. There are many worthwhile attrations for both you and your children in and around the City (www.sanjose.org) I would recommend the Tech Museum of Innovation and the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum as something to see. The Tech has a great IMAX theater. Many also find the Winchester Mystery House interesting as well, but is somewhat touristy. If your kids like theme parks, Paramount's Great America (the closest thing to Disneyland in Northern California) and Raging Waters are also worth considering.

Have a great trip

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not so sure about the Hotel de Sol it kind of looks a little "out there" to me. Any other hotels?

be nice to know what your budget is for hotels.
a great one in san diego is the catamaran. 1 block to pacific beach and part of the hotel in on the bay. great area with lots of restaurants and 15 minute drive to attractions. (old town is rather boring. i'd plan on having dinner there one night and just explore before or after - casa de bandini is a good restaurant).
there is a best western right on pacific beach, surfer motor lodge (right on the beach but older, nothing special but cheapest one on the beach).
bahia is another one you might try.
on the drive up to san fran, stick to the coast hiway and spend a night in montery. that's a nice distance to drive in one day.

Stayed at the Pacific Terrace Hotel in 10/01 and loved it. It is right on the beach (that feature is hard to find) and has an outdoor heated pool. Convenient to all major attractions.

Here is a link to the Pacific Terrace website...

http://www.pacificterrace.com/

San Jose? I worked at IBM in San Jose as a Summer intern and I have family that lives in San Jose. Do yourself a favor and skip this stop. Nothing there.

I live in Los Angeles area about 25 miles from the beach. I think that your kids will love hanging out at the beach. I work about 5 minutes from Manhattan Beach and I think this is a great place to visit. My wife and 3 kids like to eat breakfast here at either: The Kettle, Good Stuff, or Uncle Bills Pancake House. For more info, see http://www.southbaylife.com/manhattan_beach_restaurants.htm

There are a lot of young people in Manhattan Beach in the Summer when they are out of school. For lunch, try Wahoo's Fish Tacos. All the surfers and teenagers eat here. Good and inexpensive ($5 Fish Burrito with Rice and Beans).

Next door is a great little Italian restaurant called Mama D's. Good write ups in the local newspaper. Lunch is about $8 per person. Great service and food.

All these restaurants and shops are about 2 blocks from the Manhattan Beach pier. Adjacent to the pier are about 30 beach volleyball courts. Crowded on the weekends.

There's a walk path and a bicycle/roller-blade path along the beach. You can walk right in front of one-million dollar homes. You can even peek inside some of them. Most of these homes are what I call "3-STORY ALL HOUSE, NO YARD"

As you can tell, this is my favorite beach in Los Angeles and I don't even live in Manhattan Beach.

In terms of the trip to SF, please be aware that driving on Highway 1 along the coast is considered to be one of the Top-10 drives in the USA. It will also take you about 9 hours to make the trip from LA to SF. It's a curvy one-lane each way road and those RVs can sometimes go pretty slow.

If you decide to take Highway 1, then you really need to make a stop. Cambria seems to be a good place since it's here where Highway 1 starts. My wife and I did this trip about 5 years ago.

Spent the night at the Fog Catcher Inn. Ate breakfast and hit the road by 9 am. We didn't stop at the Hearst Castle about 15 miles north of Cambria on Highway 1, but it may be worth the stop.

My family and I went camping in the Big Sur area about 6 months ago. There's a famous restaurant with an awsome view in Big Sur called Nepenthe. It's hard to see the view unless you get a table and eat here. It was crowded when I went on a Saturday afternoon.

Highway 1 will take you into Carmel-by-the-sea. This was originally an artist colony. It's shops, art galleries, and restaurants are upscale. The beach is nice too. The 17-mile drive starts here and it costs about $7 per car. This is considered one of the best drives in the USA, but I think that you won't be impressed after driving 150 miles along the coast with similarly beautiful vistas and bridges.

If you decide not to take Highway 1, then you'll miss one of the most scenic drives in America, but you can make it to SF in about 6 hours. You'll take the boring Interstate 5 going north and then the 580 going west. You'll cross the Bay Bridge (the one that collapsed during the 1994 earthquake) right into downtown San Francisco.

Enjoy your trip.

MJH

I live just outside of San Jose, and go there frequently to catch a theater show and frequent the many good restaurants in the Downtown area. The city (www.sanjose.org) actually has alot to offer, but you just have to look for it. The cultural institutions, including museums as well as the performing arts) rival those of most big cities. At one time San Jose's Downtown area was in poor shape, but now it is an inviting place to spend some time taking in an event at the Compaq Center or a stroll in Guadalupe River Park.

Melissa,

I was in San Diego last Oct. We stayed
at the Dana Inn/Marina on the bay. I
got a pretty good package deal at
www.getawayvacations.com which included
hotel and tickets to Sea World. The room was not huge but it looked out onto
the water and marina and had a bike/walking path right there. The getawayvacations.com website gives several hotel choices and prices depending on how many nights you're staying. Also, if you haven't been
before, I recommend Sea World. I am
planning a trip to SF in March with my
two boys and just posted a similar message about hotels. I made 2 reservations and will cancel the others
when I decide where to stay. But I made
one in Pacific Hts called Pacific Hts.
Inn for $98 for a kitchenette (saves
on meals with kids). I thought that
was reasonable and also hear this is
a very safe area. Within walking distance Wharf and FREE PARKING! You
really have to watch that in SF, they
all charge up to $30 a day for parking
so I'm finding. Good luck....deb

Melissa,

Also have stayed at the Bahia in San
Diego...really nice place! They have
a website where you can check it out.

deb

For the LA portion of your trip you might want to stay in the Roosevelt Hotel which is right in the middle of Hollywood on Hollywood Blvd. across the street from the new Hollywood & Highland center (which will house the Academy Awards this March). The hotel is historic and has recently been beautifully renevated. The location is central to all the touristy things you mention -- and it sounds like you'll get your beachy stuff in San Diego so you wouldn't necessarily need to be near the water in LA. From this location you could even take the new Red Line subway up to Universal Studios and save the $9 or so that they steal from you for parking!

THANKS for all the ideas and suggestions!!! I was wondering how far away Shelter Island is from the zoo? Anyone know anything about the Bay Club Hotel & Marina?

Thanks,
Melissa

MJH:
Are you from California? Since when was there an earthquake in 1994 that collapsed the Oakland Bay Bridge. I am a native Northern Californian, and that's news to me. If you have this fact wrong, how can you comment on San Jose? I live just outside of the city, and have always found many cultural atrractions as well as great restaurants, shopping, and nightlife. If the only part of the city you saw was the IBM area in South San Jose, you really did not get an appreciation for the city.

I don't know what you mean by "out there" about the Hotel Del Sol. It's a bit funky but actually caters to families with children, providing a pool, free parking, toys and games and even kites for them to fly. But, if that doesn't appeal, you might look at the Cow Hollow Motel, Alamo Square Inn, and Bed and Breakfast Inn--all in safe areas and all with appeal for 12 and 15 y.o. girls. The one we always recommend is Pacific Heights Inn just near Union and Van Ness. Very nice neighborhood--my son lives near there. Good browsing/ eating on Union would be great for your girls. And, it's a mystery to me too when the Bay Bridge collapsed!! I think the poster is thinking of the freeways (the one over in Oakland and the one near the Embarcadero) but certainly not the bridge. I wouldn't take the 5 to 580 and then the Bay Bridge anyway. Much easier to take 152 over the Pacheco Pass to 101 and up to the city. But, do know that you can die of boredom driving I 5 from LA to SF! It's hot and smelly and not a drive I would want to make with two kids.And, although I live close to San Jose and recognize that it does have things of interest, I wouldn't recommend it to an out of towner with limited time. Stop along the coast in Cambria, Monterey, Carmel or if driving inland on 101, stop in San Luis Obsispo, a college town with a mission. Especially nice on Thursday when there's a farmers market with Mexican food and music--the kids would love it.

Kam and ccc, the poster is probably thinking about when a top section of the bay bridge fell on the lower section during the earthquake. But wasn't that in the '89 quake?