Need Destination in Western U.S. for Summer Getaway
 

My 27-year-old daughter and I take a mother/daughter vacation each year in a warm, sunny place. Usually about 5 days. We've been to the Caribbean twice, to Florida twice and to Hawaii once. This year, we'd like to go somewhere in the western half of the U.S. I haven't done any research yet; I'm looking for suggestions at this point. We like to bike (20-to-30-mile trips on relatively flat terrain, paved), hike (as long as there are warm temperatures and we can do so in shorts/tee shirt), eat good seafood (no meat) and occasionally chill out around a pool. No firm date yet, but it will be in either late June, early July or early August. Would Sedona be good? What places would be good in So. California? Thanks in advance. Alice

Me again. I just read some other postings and am thinking Sedona might be good. We are not interested in nightlife. We're early to bed, early to rise. And we don't have to have the biking. But my daughter will want to run for an hour every morning. Also, what about Ojai CA? Alice

Sedona will be hot. San Diego has everything you want. 5days would cover it all.

Hi Alice, it is strange as while I was reading your post I was thinking of Ojai and when I got to your last post you mentioned Ojai! I have family that live in Ojai. In fact I will be there for a week the end of May.

My stepdaughter and SIL are quite active and walk a lot, ride bikes, kayak etc. The weather will be wonderful. Ojai is a beautiful small city..more like what I would consider a town. The seafood in the area is wonderful. Ojai is about 15 minutes east of I-101. Ventura is just south after you turn on Hwy 33 to go to Ojai. Ventura is a beautiful city and the Venture Harbor is wonderful. Very easy to get great seafood. I do not know if you will have a car but if so Santa Barbara is about 25 miles north on I-101 and another city you two would enjoy. Again great seafood. I really think you would enjoy staying in Ojai. Very laidback, surrounded by mountains, wonderful weather, good restaurants etc. flat terrain for walking and biking etc. Best wishes.

I second San Diego, lived there from last summer and had a blast! Long bike trails along the ocean, lots of hiking, Torrey Pines has great hiking along the coast, Sunset Cliffs has good bike/walking trails on the cliffs too. You can go kayaking in La Jolla and see seals and sea lions and all kinds of marine life. Great beaches, weather is so nice by that point, the "june gloom" fog has lifted. Tons and tons of good seafood and places to eat right on the water. La Jolla is gorgeous and would be a great place to stay but on the higher end--well worth it. Everywhere is great though. Good shopping and stuff too!

As far as Sedona, I live in Phoenix now. If you want to stay at a spa it would be enjoyable but costly!! It will be very hot, already in mid 80's here. Sedona is beautiful but I went there for two days and honestly had my share by then, it's a great quick trip but I personally don't know about 5 days. Also, HOT. I didn't see a lot of pool/spa like places while I was there, no nightlife. Ok, that's my 2 cents, let me know if you have questions! P.S. I'm 27 as well....

This is very helpful!! I really like the Ojai and San Diego suggestions. (I think we might run out of things to do in Sedona and might spend too much $$.) I like your mention of the kayaking, the hiking, the mountains, the ocean nearby. Can you two folks -- LoveItaly and darbyvt -- recommend accommodations in those two places? Maybe by looking at the loding options (and prices), that will help us choose between the two places. We don't want a B&B, but rather an inn or hotel of any size. We typically get a suite that has more than just one room, and includes a small fridge and microwave. Of course, I'll do some research, but it's always better to hear from folks like you than only from a guidebook. Thanks again. Alice

Also love San Diego. We stayed on Shelter Island at Best Western (others have commented favorably on Humphreys which is next door). Beautiful grounds and lovely pool. We had a 2 room suite (sliding door between) with full kitchen, deck, 2 queen beds in bedroom, sofa, table, etc. in living room. Overlooking marina and channel to airport (no, it is not noisy for some reason that someone here explained to me) with everything from military ships to small craft sailing.
Walking paths/sidewalks on either side. I would estimate that if one made a round trip of "island" it would be a few miles - so might work for running, as we saw quite a few runners each AM. This is not really an island but a man-made spit of land, so it is narrow and flat.

Those are the positives. The only negative is that it is not really near anything or beach - you have to drive. But since you have to drive to get anywhere in California, we did not mind.

There are also a number of places recommended on this board right on beach in San Diego and La Jolla (which I guess is officially part of SD) - do a San Diego lodging search. We picked where we were because of cost and space.

As far as San Diego lodging, a few that come to mind are the Marriott downtown, there is a bar on the top roof called Altitude that is open air and looks down inside the Padres ballpark. There are lots of nice chain hotels downtown, Hilton, Omni, W...depends on what you want to spend. The downtown "Gaslamp" district has lots of good restaurants and shopping and hotels. My mom stayed in the Hampton Inn downtown which was actually really nice and clean down closer to the harbor. I lived in Mission Valley, or the "Hotel Circle" area. Not as fun an area but central and easy to get most anywhere from there. Lots of shopping around that area. You can get most anywhere in the San Diego area and surrounding (traffic depending) in about 15 minutes.

There are hotels in the Mission/Pacific beach area but most of the beachfront accomodations are vacation homes, would be great but costly I'm sure. There are a few right on the beach but I forget the names. Again, La Jolla has lots of great places, can't remember names but most anything would probably be nice there. It's so gorgeous! You do need a car to get around as there is just so much to see and do. You could even go down to Baja for a night...

from the impression i'm getting from you, i would not recommend that you stay in downtown san diego. sound likes you'd prefer places you could walk without a lot of vehicles and highrises. i'd look into la jolla, del mar or carlsbad.
both ojah and san diego are great ideas.

We stayed at the Ocean Park Inn. It's right on the beach. Rooms were standard, though I think they have some remodeled rooms from looking at their website. The only negative was the parking lot. The spaces are very small. We had a Mustang and it was tight.