janisj

>>>> Drive north to Lone Pine and stay a night
>> Drive to Mammoth Lakes and stay a night

StuDudley

I qualified "boring" a bit:

>>Actually, after about a 45 min drive starting from about Lone Pine - the Sierras from that side got a little boring/repetative. Compared to Yosemite Valley and Tahoe - it didn't really "measure up". We enjoyed the western Sierra foothills (Gold Country) a lot more.

petemadz

My primary reason to add SD instead of LV/GC was for my daughter. She is more keen on visiting Universal, Disney, Seaworld/Zoo etc than the natural wonders in GC or other places. But I still want them to experience the Sierras and the Big Sur area.

I completely understand with what Stu felt as a 12 years old and I want to minimize a similar situation for my daughter. Long drives to LV and GC would have only made it worse for her. For the same reason I am also not keen on the drive on I-5 between LA and SF. Hence I included 395, assuming 120 will be open by second half of May.

The issue with including SD is the drive north from SD to YNP. I need to break this into two nights so that I can preserve my current hotel booking in YNP and also probably stay somewhere nearby in the previous night so that I will get more time in YNP. I am not familiar with Lone Pine, Mammoth lakes or Bishop and not sure if anything really interesting is there in that area during that time of year.

petemadz

Btw, we have 3 feet of snow outside my door right now, so not very keen with that either

StuDudley

>>keen on visiting Universal, Disney, Seaworld/Zoo etc

jamie99

I thought "Sideways" was filmed in the Santa Ynez Valley north of Santa Barbara, Hitching Post II is for sure located in Buellton, in that area. But if Pete is taking 395 sounds like he may be missing the coastal drive on Highway 1. Hope you have a wonderful vacation Pete.

lynni

Yes, jamie99 is correct. Hitching Post is in Casmalia and Hitching Post 11 is in Buellton...neither are in Paso Robles. You will miss them both unless you are traveling on the 101/1 north of Santa Barbara. ( I wouldn't bypass the Santa Ynez Valley wineries, restaurants and scenery for Paso Robles either... but that seems to be off the table anyway since the OP isn't going to be in the area.

mlgb

I think the OP will be going between Pismo Beach and LA on the way home, so he could go then.

I also don't chose Paso Robles over Santa Ynez. I think the back roads are much prettier closer to the coast (Hwy 1 and/or 246 as detours from the 101 Freeway)

alwaysafrica

Thanks guys for clarifying my suggestion - as I say, our trip was many years ago and I'd forgotten exactly where we were. : ) We definitely ate at the Hitching Post II in Buellton, and yes, we drove through Santa Barbra and on through the Santa Ynez Valley (we considered this the "Paso Robles" part of our trip as we ended up in Paso Robles). This entire section of our trip was just lovely and I think that OP should maybe give it some thought...

Jenn

petemadz

That was a long discussion with the experts here and I did learn some valuable suggestions over the last few months which helped me to tweak my itinerary significantly and reduce overall driving needs. Here is my revised itinerary. Currently it stands heavily in favor of my daughter, than me!

4 nights in LA (Burbank) - hope to cover Universal, parks/beaches, Disney
2 nights in SD - Sea World and Zoo/Safari
2 nights in Bishop - Mammoth mountains, anything else ?
2 nights in YNP - local sightseeing and possibly Glacier Point
2 nights in SF - Golden Gate/Presidio, FW/Piers/Alcatraz
1 night in Monterey - Aquarium
>>> Drive through Big Sur >>>
1 night in Pismo - beach and SB/SY area on the way back to LA
1 night in LAX area

Total distance now stands at 1500 miles. Hope this looks more sensible now

janisj

>>2 nights in Bishop - Mammoth mountains, anything else ?
2 nights in YNP - local sightseeing and possibly Glacier Point>2 nights in SF - Golden Gate/Presidio, FW/Piers/Alcatraz
1 night in Monterey - Aquarium

StuDudley

>>She is more keen on visiting Universal, Disney, Seaworld/Zoo etc than the natural wonders in GC or other places

mlgb

I wouldn't necesssarily spend 2 nights in Bishop or Mammoth (they're about an hour apart). I suggested it as a stop over on the way to Yosemite, up north on the scenic east side of 395 and over Tioga Pass. I would think the OP doesn't want to go up and back the same way.

But if you and your daughter like outdoor activities then it would be worth the two nights, so you'll have a rest day sandwiched between two longish drives. The Mammoth Lakes Visitor website for ideas. www.visitmammoth.com

In addition to the activities I mentioned earlier (Alabama Hills and Manzanar), Keough Hot Springs was always a fun stop for us as kids, and they're still open.

http://www.keoughshotsprings.com/

ElendilPickle

I wouldn't stay in Burbank if you want to visit Universal Studios, beaches, and Disneyland, and assuming you want to spend a full day at Disneyland, you should probably spend that night in Anaheim.

Our kids did fine on road trips - have her pack things to do in the car, like books, games, Ad-Libs, etc.

Lee Ann

mlgb

Burbank is fine for Universal. And Magic Mountain. And Hollywood. But a PITA for Disney.

Actually if you are going to San Diego and Pismo I would not also do beach time in Los Angeles.

Good idea to stay in Anaheim when doing Disney, though. Perhaps split the Southern California stay into two nights Burbank, two nights Anaheim and two nights San Diego.

jamie99

Yep, third vote for 2 nights in Anaheim, since you have both Disneyland and California Adventure. Might also want to look into Knott's Berry Farm which is close, in nearby Buena Park, a lot less expensive and a lot of fun. Walter Knott and Walt Disney were friends a long time ago.

sanderskn

I would just spend the whole two weeks in California. Do LA, drive up the coast, SF, wine country, Yosemite. Much more and you'll regret it.

lynni

Consider dropping the nights in San Diego so that you aren't backtracking.

I would also consider dropping the nights in Mammoth or Bishop, adding time in San Franciso, Santa Cruz and then taking your time on the drive on Highway 1. I'm not sure you'll have enough daylight hours for the most scenic portions of California! You will also be exhausted getting back for your flight and will not have "rested" at all on your trip.

I love driving but to see this beautiful state from your car is just not the best way to experience California.

mlgb

Really?

LA to SD 2-3 hours (which could be split over two days)
SD to Bishop 6 hours
Bishop to Yosemite 3 1/2 hours drive time
Yosemite to SF 4-5 hours
SF to Monterey 2.5-3 hrs
Monterey to Pismo 5-6 hours
Pismo to LAX 3/5-4 hours

Less than 20 hours of driving spread over two weeks doesn't sound awful to me. Have none of you ever been on road trips?
And most of these drives are incredibly scenic. In fact you might want to look into renting a convertible. You'll probably only regret having it in San Francisco.

mlgb

Or even 30 hours...I forgot to carry the one.