Petmos

Hi from Perth W.Australia, Need advice for Jan-Feb-Mar, have to get away from 110'f temps. I have limited mobility wife is fit. Maybe start San Diego and do a month or couple of weeks here or there, Mexico appeals. With the hire car head north. Empty nesters so no Disney or lego, Maybe rent a condo here or there and use as a base to 'do' the surrounding area.
HELP Pete

cferrb

First off, know that it could be chilly or it could be warm. Here in Los Angeles we have had almost 90 degrees and about 65 degrees this week.

How limited is your mobility? Are you able to maneuver along hiking trails if they are relatively flat and even? If so, I would think that you would want to possibly visit the Grand Canyon and/or Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. A drive through Monument Valley would be also be worthwhile. You can get information about all of these at nps.gov, the U.S. National Park website. There is easily a couple of leisurely weeks in driving through the Southwest, with perhaps a stop in Santa Fe, New Mexico and a visit to Taos.

Another worthwhile national park would be Death Valley, although if you have explored Western Australia it might not be as amazing to you. Again, look at the national park website.

Not sure I would go to Mexico, especially the areas along the border. There has been major violence connected to a drug war and innocents have been killed along the way.

How far north do you want to get? Definitely I would say to rent an apartment or house in the San Francisco Bay Area to explore San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland etc. Look up Stu Dudley. He has a wealth of information about the SF Bay Area.

If you like museums, there are plenty here in LA with a variety of art from ancient Greek and Roman at the Getty Villa in Malibu to modern at the Museum of Contemporary Art downtown. We love the Norton Simon and the Huntington Library and Gardens in the Pasadena area, and the Getty Center is always good for a leisurely day. The Getty Villa requires reservations for parking, the others are easily accessible. The La Brea Tar Pits are well worth seeing, along with the Page Museum, because they really are different.

I love the Seattle area, but it will definitely be cold there (and perhaps rainy). Lots to see and do though.

Do plan to take your time driving from LA up to San Francisco. There is plenty to see along the way: Santa Barbara, Hearst Castle, Big Sur, Monterey and Carmel. I believe that there are tours of Hearst Castle that are more friendly to those with limited mobility. You can find out on the web.

The missions from San Diego all the way up to Sonoma are fun to visit and give you and interesting perspective on how California came to be. Between SD and LA you can stop at San Juan Capistrano, here in the LA area you can visit San Gabriel and San Fernando, and there are others all the way up to Sonoma in the wine country.

Three months to just wander around CA and the southwest sounds like a dream. Have fun planning!

Shanti

Three months. What a lovely amount of time. You'd get better weather, however, if you changed your visit to February to April.

It's rainy and chilly in much of northern California during January, February, and March - although some years are dry, it will still be chilly early in the year, so I'd concentrate more on visiting in the south. I would definitely start off in southern California in January and also visit southern Arizona. You might get a very nice wildflower display in February in Arizona. Tucson will be nice that time of year.

The Grand Canyon and Yosemite will be cold but beautiful. And I definitely want to second cferrb's opinion about visiting Mexico near California. Not only is there a lot of crime, it's probably the least attractive section of Mexico. If you want to visit Mexico that time of year, fly there and go someplace nice like the Yucatan which will have lovely weather that time of year.

Hope this helps. Have a great trip.

Gardyloo

One thing to note about the Southwest is that much of the "red rock" country (national parks in Arizona, Utah, New Mexico etc.) are at very high altitude, so in the winter they can be snowy and cold. That might suit you coming from WA, but be advised that driving and touring can be more challenging.

You might think about splitting up your stay into a couple of different regions. Internal flights within the US are pretty reasonable, and with three months you might consider flying to the southeastern US (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, for example) or maybe to someplace like San Antonio, Texas, where the weather will be warmer but not hot.

Another thought, if you're interested in Mexico and have that much time, would be to look into a cruise from LA or San Diego to Florida via the Panama Canal (or vice-versa.) Most of them take 10-14 days and could be used as an easy "repositioning" activity in the middle of your stay.

The cruises are very affordable considering they're all-inclusive, and they're ideal for folks with varying levels of mobility - something for everyone. Most of them stop at a few places on the Pacific coast of Mexico, then after transiting the canal, call at one or two Caribbean locations before arriving in Florida (or, as I say, start in Florida and end in California.) Get a balcony cabin and you can partake in the shipboard activities or not, depending on your mood. Incredibly relaxing, a surprisingly affordable waterfront room in a luxury hotel, and the scenery comes to you.

happytrailstoyou

January-March doesn't guarantee good weather on the West Coast, especially from San Francisco and north.

You might get more of the weather you want in Arizona or Mexico.

If we knew your interests, we could advice better about where you might want to rent a condo for an extended period.

michele_d

Hi Petmos,
I live in California. I must warn you (or beg you ) not to venture in Mexico. It is quite dangerous and there are shootings daily. The tourist areas used to be safe but not anymore. Our friends were pistol whipped and robbed at gunpoint in their resort in a tourist location. This is becoming much more commonplace as we hear about the shootings daily on the news. You probably don't get news from Mexico in Australia so you wouldn't know about it. Please reconsider.
Take care,
Michele

ElendilPickle

Do you mean Mexico (the country), or New Mexico (the state)? As others have mentioned, the areas of Mexico that border the US are experiencing a lot of drug-related violence right now.

If you mean New Mexico, it will definitely not be 110 degrees here in the winter!

What are your interests?

Lee Ann

november_moon

Three months is a fabulous amount of time. Of course as others have said, it will be winter here, but with so much time you will have good and bad weather. In California we can have the most fabulous winter weather - sunny skies with puffy white clouds, green hill sides, temperatures in the 60s, things start really blooming in February. We can also have lots of rain - the storm pattern is usually a few days of intermitent rain, a few days of clear weather, some more rain, maybe a week or two of dry weather, then several storm systems come on shore back to back. This pattern can last from October to April. But, with so much time, you will have the flexibility to work with the weather. At the higher elevations we get lots of snow in the winter, so if snowy mountains are something you are interested in, there are plenty of choices.

Petmos

Thanks so much to everyone, we have done the Panama cruise [ 15 nights and 15lbs weight ]. So Mexico is out?, We do like the idea of an apartment then use it to branch to have 'mini' tours. I have MS so heat is the enemy but we will have a car and i'm still able to amble around and i "park' in a coffee shop or bar and bore a local witless whilst the wife does her thing shopping or whatever women do. What about San diego then San Fran, Texas also, and what approx price are we to expect per month in these areas. Pete

Gardyloo

Okay so scratch the cruise. Only 15 lbs? Amateurs.

California and Texas - Hill Country, Austin and San Antonio might be great. Maybe add New Orleans and the Bayou country too.

You could start in San Diego and the desert, then head east to Texas (fly or drive.) Then I'd recommend ending up (March?) in the Bay Area, with a side trip to the Sierra foothills and the Gold Rush country, which can be wonderful in early Spring.

In all likelihood Texas will be cheaper than California on a per-day basis, depending on your accommodation choices. In my experience (mainly Queensland, NSW and Victoria) use Australian prices for a mental comparison and you'll probably end up a little cheaper (maybe A$20 a day) in California and cheaper yet (maybe $A30-40) a day in places like Texas, more if you find long-term accommodations. Car hire is cheaper, fuel is cheaper, lodging similar (but more variety and range) and restaurant food is a little cheaper in the US. (However treat San Francisco as you would Sydney.) Internal flights are also less expensive as a rule, but inquire of your airline regarding through pricing from Oz to say, Austin/San Antonio/Dallas with a stop in LA; you might not be hit with much of a surcharge on your TPAC fare.