Yo Stu: I have done as much traveling as anyone - (probably more than most) - and to each their own, ok? Seems a number of ye like to meander more - while I usually like more of a survey type trip - and then really pick and choose where I might want to come back to. I also plan some flexibility in my itinerary - so I can add a day or two along the way if I/we so choose.

It's usually not that hard to slip reservations a day or so - IF you have done a fair amount of pre-planning/checking - and for me - pre-planning is part of the travel adventure.

It also depends on how those with kids might travel - but kids are usually ready to move on before the older folks - and even sans kids - some people like to just plop more (get their bearings, whatever) the older they get.

For 10 nights - (and weave in another night anywhere ye please)- IMO - a couple nights in Yosemite is fine, a couple in SF - although you do hold it dear - two or three traveling down the beautiful California Coast - and then wind up with a couple/three days kicking back in San Diego. Uno Mas - add a day here or there - wherever you like.

Too busy for some - perhaps many - but works for moi.

And Slu - if someone were to do the "central" loop - (skipping Southern Cal) - no Q - Lake Tahoe is very beautiful and while living in SF - we loved skiing there in the winter and also - water skiing/hiking in the summer.

We still love visiting Tahoe - as my sister's cousins live in a beautiful place on the North Shore and they always find something new for us to do.

BTW - hope the OPs say hi to Greg Norman and The Golden Bear and the other members of my usual golfing foursome when I am visiting Jupiter.

A friend of mine spent some time growing up in Palm Beach (there and NYC) - and years ago - his mom would spend the "season" in Palm Beach - coming down from NYC at Thanksgiving - to "hold court" - as she was the "social maven" of the area in the winter. Their house - since sold - was designed/built and lived in by the famous Palm Beach architect - whose name escapes me now. The architect was quite a character to say the least.

Geesh - need to get to Starbucks and get my coffee. It's my WIFE'S cousins who have a great place in North Shore, Tahoe - by Dollar Point. They first owned a "summer cabin" - which they converted to year around living ("winterized") - and finally built a beautiful home there.

tom . . . enough already! Next you will be on about Herb Caen and Joe Dimaggio again.

Jupiter~can you narrow down your interests? You say you're not interested in lounging on beaches......does that mean sunbathing, or would you prefer to exclude beaches altogether?

Do you want city life, like nightclubs, museums, art galleries? or do you prefer outdoor activities, such as hiking, biking, kayaking, bird watching, photography?

Post is 2 years old travelman1

jamie99: apparently travelman was a spammer.

Actually I am not a spammer?? Not sure what I said that was against the rules. I still definitely recommend Santa Barbara County for a killer vacation.

travelman: the thread is still very old. The OP's trip was last June . . .

(My guess is you registered and recommended some business . . . and especially on an old thread, so it looked like advertising - which may still be the case. dunno )

Yes. Initially I thought this post was only a few weeks old. My fault. We just had a great vacation at the end of the year and have been researching and planning for our next which is how I stumbled across this site.

Great - welcome to Fodors. You'll find lots of good advice/info here.

So, I'm trying to figure out an itinerary for 10 days in California next October. Not sure how many days to spend where and what to do n other places besides San Fran and L A. So far we want Alcatraz, fishermans wharf crooked street, street car and Golden Gate Bridge. How many days to do that? In LA, we want to tour the city, observatory, Venice beach, warner brothers studio. Again how many days there. Now what about in between? Where and how much time for the other places. Will be renting a car and would like to drive the coast as everyone says it's amazing. Appreciate all your help.

Welcome to Fodors jfen. Please start a new thread of your own w/ your specific questions. This one is four years old, about someone else's plans, at a different time of year.

Janis has good advice. My generic advice for a road trip (which I just posted elsewhere) is if you are going to be in a car for a lot of hours for a lot of days---rental something really enjoyable and comfortable. It will make all the difference.

We made a 4,000 mile road trip last summer (California-Nevada-Idaho-Wyoming-Montana-Washington-Oregon-California) in a newish used Lexus sedan we had bought in March and it was a completely different experience than we had ever had driving before (even though we usually rented full-sized cars). We are fly/walk/public transportation and taxi people but we never for a minute regretted our decision to see more of the U.S. on our way to the Grand Teton National Park, the Big Sky Country of Montana and Glacier National Park.

A great deal of our pleasure had to do with the car. We changed our plans from flying roundtrip SF-Missoula, Montana.

Have a great trip

If you stay at Cambria, we liked the Best Western Cavalier.

http://www.cavalierresort.com