OK. Back to San Diego. Here's an overall guide that I like.

http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/s...city-guide.htm

I recommend the Old Town Trolley for newcomers. It makes a big loop around the city, hitting the major tourist spots. And it's hop off-hop on, as many times as you want. Check it out here.

http://www.trolleytours.com/san-diego/

My wife wants the computer. Be back later.

<<<PS is just hot in June, stifling in July and Aug>>>

Yup, it "cools down" in August, from an average high of 108 &deg;F to an average high of just 107 &deg;F LOL

sf7307

We always found June doable in PS as it cools down at night unlike August where it stays triple digits all night(at least it feels that way). Get the Casita in La Quinta with a private pool, play PS Country Club at dawn sit in the pool till 3 and play PGA West twilight... then take your family out for extravagant dinner at night...very doable in June. In August, you do that once and you will take the tram to the top of the mountain and sleep the entire next day.

Good memories....that must be why I like to cruise these boards

This is in response to easytraveler's question, "BTW, what's in the San Fernando Valley?" Here's some general info about "The Valley".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Fernando_Valley

Of particular interest to tourists:
Universal Studios
Warner Brother's Studios
Autry Museum of Western History
LA Zoo
Skirball Cultural Center
Oldest remaining Bob's Big Boy (car hop service on weekends. Bring your hot rod)

I will not be quibbling about whether some of these are in The Valley or not.

I forgot the San Fernando Mission.

Even with adding the SF Mission, Im afraid Bobs Big Boy is still the best attraction. People should be shocked to know that Bobs lost the burger wars while giving you a salad, Burger and fries for the same price as a Big Mac value meal between 11-4pm

Some June average temperature comparisons, from http://www.weatherbase.com/

Palm Springs high 102, low 64

Phoenix high 103, low 72

Baghdad, Iraq high 105, low74

June in Palm Desert can go either way, and is definitely more bearable than August. It should cool off enough at night that it's comfortable during the day, until about noon, then after lunch you need to nap in the A.C or sit in the shade by the pool. But lots of us do like the desert in June. August is another matter.

It takes about 2 hours each way travel time to reach Long Beach or Orange County. You can add up to another hour to reach Santa Monica on the far western edge of the area. Leaving early morning doesn't save you much time because you run into the commuters...yes there are people who commute all the way from the Coachella Valley and Riverside into LA basin!

Definitely do one of your travel days on the Sunday. Thursday/Friday evenings are really bad heading back toward Palm Springs so I would stay in the Coachella Valley those days.

The Autry and the Zoo really are part of Griffith Park and that fits more with a Hollywood itinerary. Burbank/Studio City are not far and make sense to do with Hollywood.

Skirball is considered part of Bel/Air Brentwood since it's on the south side of Mulholland Drive, it's not far from the Getty. If you want to do a day on the westside (Beverly Hills/Santa Monica/Farmers Market it makes sense to include the Getty with those).

If you're going to the beach in San Diego I'd probably skip going to Santa Monica and Orange County entirely. Unless you just need to cool off. Huntington Beach/Newport Beach are probably the closest in terms of time. Newport might be a bit more interesting.

as far as travel guides, im reading frommers san diego, and have ordered fodors los angeles 2010 (which is coming in the mail soon)

thanks for info about san pedro. looks like ill scratch it off my list. I went their before in 1989, all i can remember from that trip was some naval relics situated in a park-like area. The head of a ship, and some cannon. I have no idea.

My last trip to Los Angeles/Long Beach was in 1992, so Im expecting many changes by the millions. I thoroughly enjoyed Long Beach last time I was there as my last trip there focused much of my time in that area as I used to know someone who resided off of Cherry and 7th.

mlgb, it looks like we wont have time for beaches in san diego since our only day there will be on 6/19, the day were flying in and going to zoo & whaley house. so we will go to beaches in either los angeles or orange counties.

FrankS, thanks for the info on BigBoy..thats a great chain that has sadly diminished so much over the years. will need to check them out.

We decided to spend two days of our trip in the Palm Springs area, and are clueless about what to see and do in that area. I see that not far from it lies Salton Sea, but when I went to access picture of it online, was dismayed to see that it looks rather unpleasant and not worth the time. True??

dbdurand, thanks for info on the SD trolley, that sounds like a winner in my book.

FrankS,..so you think its a good strategy for me to get a hotel room in Irvine adjacent to the 405? Ok, Ill look into that option.

easytraveler, so youre saying theres nothing to see or do at all in San Fernando Valley? What exactly is it comprised of then? nothing for tourism at all?

annael, ive heard many great things about Laguna, so its def on my list of beaches.

Most of the San Fernando Valley is just a sprawling residential area -- but some of the LA tourist "sights" happen to be there. Somebody listed them above in this thread I think, ... yes, dbdurand did.

No I don't recommend the Salton Sea.

I do recommend
Living Desert, a zoo-botanic garden which you will need to visit in the morning since beginning June 1 they will close at 1:30 pm

livingdesert.org

the PS Tram, unless you have a fear of heights

Shopping at hte Cabazon Outlets (they're about half an hour north and somewhat cooler in temperature)

Casinos

Joshua Tree National Park. Someone else suggested this. The viewpoint called Keys View is a don't miss.
www.nps.gov/jotr

They do have jeep rides around the desert but I wouldn't do this in summer.

There's an evening street fair in Palm Springs on Thursdays called "Villagefest" and the Palm Sprins Art Museum is free between 4pm and 8pm that day. There are also some galleries along El Paseo in Palm Desert.

I just can't believe you're seriously going to speng three hours each way driving from Palm Springs to San Diego?

There's not any deal that would be worth that much of a waste of time.

The Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach area is very nice.

Try The Crab Cooker, in Newport Beach, for an experience like you describe with the crab legs. I love their grilled lobster tails, and scallop kabobs. It is a funky, charming place that gets very crowded at mealtimes, so try to go early. There are a couple of free parking places behind the restaurant, but those go fast. http://crabcooker.com/

Also visit Balboa Island while you are in Newport.

(I also think the Palm Springs idea is goofy, but you seem to be set on it. I think you will have bad memories of southern Cal, because you will be stuck in traffic most of the time!)

sheri_lp: "<i>I just can't believe you're seriously going to speng three hours each way driving from Palm Springs to San Diego?</i>"

Apparently not. It looks like she plans on doing all of SD on her arrival day before driving to PS that night. Instead, she'll be driving 3 hours each way to OC beaches . . . .

Well you couldn't pay me to have that week but to each their own.

janisj - oh, well then, that's a MUCH better plan...

San Diego: If you like Thai food, Swadee Thai in Coronado is good. It's kind of hidden so you'll have to look it up. I also like Burger Lounge on Orange Ave. Sunday brunch at the Hotel Del is great too! For shopping in San Diego I like Fashion Valley Mall. There are some outlet stores off the 5 fwy in Carlsbad. If you like baseball try to catch a Padre's game; and then you can explore the Gaslamp before or after the game since it's in the same vicinity. And of course, the San Diego zoo is a popular thing see while in SD.

Los Angeles area: Santa Monica pier is overrated, but popular if you're looking to do the tourist thing. In my opinion it's a bit trashy. If you're in the South Bay area of LA I like downtown Manhattan Beach. Nothing exciting but it's very chill and where I'm from so I'm a bit biased. You can rent bikes/rollerblades and take a ride on the strand to Hermosa Beach pier. The Grove in LA is a fun place to shop and people watch, and they have a farmer's market that has decent food. I would skip San Pedro, but downtown Long Beach has done some renovations so there are some really cute areas. If you're into art, architecture and great views then the Getty Center might be something you want to see.

Orange County: Shopping at South Coast Plaza.

I suggest staying off the freeways in LA and SD between 7:00-10:00 am and 3:00-7:00 pm. I don't know what traffic is like coming to/fro town from the desert so I can't comment on that. Enjoy!

I am surely going to keep my eyes open for this trip report!

Hi Osaka,
I haven't read all the posts, but is there a particular reason you want to go to the Santa Monica Pier, or San Pedro?
I think that would be a big waste of time. Long Beach (San Pedro, is pretty industrial and I'd only go there if you absolutely had to take a boat out to Catalina Island - I would pass up the Queen Mary too).

What is the point of going to the San Fernando Valley? It's a residential area - are you interested in middle class suburban life? It's rather boring.

I would suggest limiting my trip to Los Angeles (Beverly Hills, Hollywood Hills, Downtown LA, the Getty Museum, Disneyland, Pasadena, their are a couple of wonderful California Missions in the greater LA County area too).

In San Diego I would suggest the SD Zoo, Balboa Park, Birch Aquarium, Coronado, La Jolla).

You could spend two nights in LA (then head out to Palm Springs - it's about a 2-3 hour drive). Spend 1 night in Palm Springs, then drive down to San Diego (it's a 3 hour drive) and spend 2-3 nights in SD.