May Gray/June Gloom
 

I'm planning a family trip (my husband and two daughters ages 8 and turning 13 on the trip) May 28-June 5. Our plan is to fly in to LA- spend 3 days there, two days in Disney and then drive down the coast to San Diego and spend a few days there. A friend who lives in San Diego just told me about May Gray/June Gloom and I would love to hear your opinions about it? It is the best time for us to travel but we live in Florida so it's is a long way and a lot of money and while I know we can't control the weather, I don't want to knowingly come at a time of year where we may not be able to enjoy the beauty of Southern California. I don't really care if it's cooler and cloudy on days we spend in LA or at Disney. We wanted to do Santa Monica and Venice Beach but I am fine planning those for the afternoon (if it burns off?) We had planned to drive down the coast from Anaheim to San Diego on my daughter's Birthday, stopping along the way to have a beachside brunch, to see whales, sea lions, etc. and I am thinking this may not be best to do on a cloudy/foggy/overcast day. I'd love your thoughts on if we should just take the trip now or maybe hold off until October?
Thank you for your input and time.

It's hard to predict. Some years the June gloom can be bad, others not so much. It also has a way of burning off by late afternoon, and often it's quite limited to the immediate coast; by the time you get inland a few miles it's a much more limited thing, often dispersing by noon or the early afternoon. I certainly wouldn't let it diminish your time in southern California. One thing to note, however, is that the Pacific is quite cold, so if the plan for Santa Monica and Venice was to hang out on the beach, it might not be as comfortable as you'd like.

By October the weather will be sunnier (and depending on when in October) still quite warm; the downside is that it's fire season in the hills, which might (God forbid) come with its own set of issues. Days will be a little shorter of course.

You might just play it by ear. If the weather is cool and cloudy, you could buzz inland to Palm Springs en route between Disney and San Diego. It will be warm to hot there, but there are fabulous things to do - Joshua Tree National Park, ride the gondola up to the top of Mt. San Jacinto... Or spend more time in LA and Hollywood - see the old pueblo district in downtown LA, go to some iconic movie theaters in Hollywood, etc. There's no way you'd be bored in either time frame.

Thank you so much. Coming from Florida, we don't really want to hang out on the beach, just see the other coast, catch a sunset, etc.