Sunday Driving in LA.....Best way to spend a day with a MUSTANG CONVERTIBLE
Mar 9th, 2011, 06:05 AM
#41
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 651
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Shanek, if it is a clear day and you find yourself running out of time stopping at all the drop dead gorgeous spots in Palos Verdes and decide you want a little mountain driving then opt for the following. Just past Trump's on PV Dr. South turn on PV Dr. East following the switchbacks up the hill viewing the coast and eventually panoramic views of the harbor. Continue on to PV Dr. North and take a left. At Chrenshaw turn left and go to the end which is the top of the peninsula with views of the coastline coves you explored earlier. Once done there head back on Chrenshaw to Crest Rd and go left to Hawthorne and take a right. At Granvia Altamira go left and then pick up Via Del Monte. The views on a clear day of the LA basin on this road winding down the hill are spectacular. At the bottem of the hill when you see a large fountain on your right go left and you will be in the Spanish Plaza at the entrance of PV. Have fun!
Mar 9th, 2011, 06:05 AM
#42
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 584
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
***Good grief, you are missing the point, completely. It is not a competition of whose suggestions "win". The point that I was trying to make is that overly broad generalizations do not help the OP, IMO.***
I'm missing the point? I'm not the one putting up a snap shot photo of some areas that people who live in California AVOID. Did you need to prove something or are you emotionally attached to the area or perhaps your eyes and senses are completely different than mine.
Even Fodor's mentions gang activity in San Pedro! Yet you think someone should come across the Pacific and spend their PRECIOUS vacation time there? Shanek asked for a Sunday drive, NOT a few miles of paradise in Rancho Palos Verdes.
I feel sorry for those poor sardines though.
RIGHT FROM THE MOUTH OF FODOR'S...and they are kind.
Long Beach, San Pedro, and Palos Verdes
The coastline south of Venice mellows into a string of low-key beach communities. Those around the bulge of the Palos Verdes Peninsula—including Redondo Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, and Rancho Palos Verdes—are collectively called the South Bay. Pacific Coast Highway dips inland, skimming above San Pedro and continuing to Long Beach at the tail end of Los Angeles County.
The hilly Palos Verdes Peninsula, an expensive, gentrified residential area, is edged with rocky cliffs and tide pools. Point Vicente, in Rancho Palos Verdes, is a good place for whale-watching during the gray whale migrations from January through March. The communities are zoned for horses, so you'll often see riders along the streets (they have the right of way). San Pedro, L.A.'s working harbor, is an old seaport community full of small 1920s-era white clapboards. Greek and Yugoslav markets and restaurants abound here, underlining the town's strong Mediterranean flavor. San Pedro and neighboring Wilmington are connected to Downtown Los Angeles by a narrow, 16-mi-long stretch of land, less than ½ mi wide in most places, annexed in the late 19th century to preserve Los Angeles's transportation and shipping interests. Unfortunately, gang activity sometimes flares up in San Pedro, especially around Cabrillo Beach, so avoid walking around here at night.
Long Beach, long stuck in limbo between Los Angeles and Orange County in the minds of visitors, is steadily rebuilding its place in the Southern California scheme. Founded as a seaside resort in the 19th century, the city boomed in the early 20th century as oil discoveries drew in Midwesterners and Dust Bowlers. Bust followed boom and the city took on a somewhat raw, industrial, neglected feel. But a long-term redevelopment plan begun in the 1970s has finally come to fruition, turning the city back to its resort roots.
I'm missing the point? I'm not the one putting up a snap shot photo of some areas that people who live in California AVOID. Did you need to prove something or are you emotionally attached to the area or perhaps your eyes and senses are completely different than mine.
Even Fodor's mentions gang activity in San Pedro! Yet you think someone should come across the Pacific and spend their PRECIOUS vacation time there? Shanek asked for a Sunday drive, NOT a few miles of paradise in Rancho Palos Verdes.
I feel sorry for those poor sardines though.
RIGHT FROM THE MOUTH OF FODOR'S...and they are kind.
Long Beach, San Pedro, and Palos Verdes
The coastline south of Venice mellows into a string of low-key beach communities. Those around the bulge of the Palos Verdes Peninsula—including Redondo Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, and Rancho Palos Verdes—are collectively called the South Bay. Pacific Coast Highway dips inland, skimming above San Pedro and continuing to Long Beach at the tail end of Los Angeles County.
The hilly Palos Verdes Peninsula, an expensive, gentrified residential area, is edged with rocky cliffs and tide pools. Point Vicente, in Rancho Palos Verdes, is a good place for whale-watching during the gray whale migrations from January through March. The communities are zoned for horses, so you'll often see riders along the streets (they have the right of way). San Pedro, L.A.'s working harbor, is an old seaport community full of small 1920s-era white clapboards. Greek and Yugoslav markets and restaurants abound here, underlining the town's strong Mediterranean flavor. San Pedro and neighboring Wilmington are connected to Downtown Los Angeles by a narrow, 16-mi-long stretch of land, less than ½ mi wide in most places, annexed in the late 19th century to preserve Los Angeles's transportation and shipping interests. Unfortunately, gang activity sometimes flares up in San Pedro, especially around Cabrillo Beach, so avoid walking around here at night.
Long Beach, long stuck in limbo between Los Angeles and Orange County in the minds of visitors, is steadily rebuilding its place in the Southern California scheme. Founded as a seaside resort in the 19th century, the city boomed in the early 20th century as oil discoveries drew in Midwesterners and Dust Bowlers. Bust followed boom and the city took on a somewhat raw, industrial, neglected feel. But a long-term redevelopment plan begun in the 1970s has finally come to fruition, turning the city back to its resort roots.
Mar 9th, 2011, 07:15 AM
#43
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 3,496
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
SOCALOC-Well actually if you read the Fodors excerpt you posted, it says that Long Beach is returning to it's resort roots. As far as gang activity, we're not telling the OP to walk around Cabrillo Beach at night. We're suggesting a quick stop at the Korean Bell to see the view. We've all conceded that the OC drive is nice but you seem determined to cut down the South Bay and Long Beach. It does seem like you are trying to "win" while the rest of us just want to give them some options for their Sunday drive. It's kind of sad that a discussion on the beauty of the So. Cal coast has turned into "my area is better than yours".
Mar 9th, 2011, 08:02 AM
#44
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 584
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Actually Paula if you read from the very beginning I said I like heading NORTH TOWARDS MALIBU from LA for a Sunday drive since it is UNDEVELOPED, which IMO is SCENERY.
I am not cutting down an area; I am giving the bigger picture. And I KNEW you would come back with "resort" and "night" gang activity. The defensive responses are astounding.
How ridiculous "my area is better than yours."
Look forward to your next post since you always seem to have to have the last word regarding any topic.
Time to get back to work.
Have a great day!
I am not cutting down an area; I am giving the bigger picture. And I KNEW you would come back with "resort" and "night" gang activity. The defensive responses are astounding.
How ridiculous "my area is better than yours."
Look forward to your next post since you always seem to have to have the last word regarding any topic.
Time to get back to work.
Have a great day!
Mar 9th, 2011, 09:22 AM
#45
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 3,496
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
If you know me on this forum, I don't fight with anyone so I am a little astounded where you got the idea that I always have the last word. In fact, since I am on the road alot I'm usually not even on Fodor's that much. Just happened the last couple of days that I was working in my office. Anyway no last words from me. I have agreed that the OC drive is beautiful and I also said that going north would be my first choice but the OP wanted to try something different. Don't know how much nicer I can be or how much more I can agree with you. I just hate to see an area cut down. And I'm not the one who posted the pictures.
I am really open to anything, just knew how much my family enjoyed the drive from Long Beach to Redondo with stops in PV. BTW, it's not my area since I live in San Diego county. But I do have family who lives there.
Now I'm heading off to Bakersfield which I think we can all agree is not scenic.
I am really open to anything, just knew how much my family enjoyed the drive from Long Beach to Redondo with stops in PV. BTW, it's not my area since I live in San Diego county. But I do have family who lives there.
Now I'm heading off to Bakersfield which I think we can all agree is not scenic.
Mar 11th, 2011, 01:28 PM
#46
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 128
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
OMG, what happened to this thread? Any how did it end up turning into a debate about whether to visit Long Beach? IMHO, I would not send a tourist (particularly one who lives in beautiful Australia) to Long Beach. We have a long, gorgeous coast with too many wonderful places to see. I agree with all suggestions that include a day trip south of LA to Manhattan Beach, PV and/or Newport Beach OR north through Malibu to Santa Barbara. If you're going north, I would try to get a trip in to the Getty Center (off Sepulveda) or the Getty Villa (on Pacific Coast Highway).
Mar 20th, 2011, 07:21 PM
#48
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 1,009
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thank you all for the fantastic advice that I received, once again.
The topic certainly stirred up some passion, and I hope that all the differences of opinion can be seen as just that, and we can all remain friends.
Anyway, for those of you that may be interested in knowing what we decided to do, here is a brief recap of the time spent with our Mustang.....
SUNDAY....13th March.
My plans of getting up early and spending the whole day driving with the top down was shattered by Delta Airlines. Our original flight from Vegas, that had us due to touchdown at LAX shortly after 5PM on Saturday evening was cancelled. Preference on the subsequent 6pm departure was given to passengers with connections to make and the only option that we were eventually given, after a fairly lengthy wait and some heated discussions, was on the 8pm flight. This plane was late leaving the gate, by another 30 minutes and spent a further 45 minutes on the tarmac, waiting on a clearance.
The end result was that we got into LAX after 10pm and it was well after 11 before we arrived at the Holiday Inn Express at Marina Del Ray. After stepping out for a quick bite at IN and OUT Burger, our plan of an early night after 5 days of burning the candle in Vegas, was in tatters.
We got up at 8am and decided that we really needed a good long walk along the beach before driving anywhere, to help flush all the Casino Buffett food and Yard Glass Margharitas out of our system. We were still pounding the pavement at what I thought was 9.30am, until I discovered that California had just rolled over onto Daylight Savings time, putting us a further hour behind schedule.
I made the decision, at this point, to abandon any attempt of procuring Jay Leno tickets for Monday afternoon (we were on the stand-by list) and instead split our big Sunday drive into 2 days.
As we had 7pm dinner reservations at the Crystal Cove Cafe near Newport Beach, it made sense to travel south and explore the OC beaches.
We managed to get onto the 405 at just after 11pm and even though there was a section of Road Works where we were slowed to crawling pace there was plenty of opportunity to wind up the big V6 engine. I love that LA freeway traffic seems to dictate it's own speed limits in accordance with conditions. We, in Australia, have become so conditioned by soul distroying fixed speed camera's and exhobirant fines for exceeding limits by as little as 3kph, that it is no longer fun to drive on our motorways, regardless of traffic conditions.
With the coolish late morning wind blowing through our hair and the more that adequate Ford heating system keeping our body temps stable, we exited the freeway and headed west at the Seal Beach turn off.
We eventually found our way to a small parking bay near Huntington Beach and a small fist full of quarters bought us an hour or so to explore this stunning area on foot.
On this area of the Beach,resonsible dog owners are allowed to excercise their precious pooches and plentiful supplies of little bio-degradable bags are made available by the local council.It all seems to work out well, with all the canine occupants of the beach, behaving themselves in a socially acceptable manner.
Further along, towards the boardwalk, there was a plentiful array of kites, in all shapes, shades and colors, being flown rather skillfully. It seemed there was some type of ariel competition being held with acrobatic movements being set to music. It was fabulous to watch and had time permitted, we would have had lunch there, but we needed to move on and sample more of what this coastal stertch had to offer.
We decided that Laguna Beach would be our next stop and we re-entered the PCH for a short half hour trip further south. This proved to be an excellent decision and we really enjoyed wandering through all the galleries and quaint shops that lined both sides of the road. We even ventured into an "open house" to get a guage of real estate values. We were the only "prospective buyers" in attendance so we had the full attention of the agent who was more than happy to show us around. It was so tranquil inside, for a place on such a busy highway and offered ocean views from several of it's rooms. The 2.3 million price tag seemed like good value for such a beautiful property in such a prime location.
Next we headed slightly inland for a drive to the "top of the world", a little surburban enclave perched up on a hill, as it's name suggests. The views from here were breathtaking, particularly from the little elementary school that is perched up at one of its highest points. The kids would have loved to see this.
There were a multitude of mountain bike riders enjoying some of the tracks that come down from this peak. I would have liked to join them even though we saw several signs that warned of the presence of Mountain Loins and Rattle Snakes on these trails.
After an hour or so absorbing the view, we set off again, further southbound and drove down to Dana Point and explored the neighborhoods around the affluent and majestic harbor. This was as far south as we could venture before turning around and heading back to Newport for dinner.
Our choice of restaurant, the Crystal Cove Cafe, proved to be the perfect way to round off our day. The food was enjoyable, the service pleasant but what really sets this place apart is the location, right on a magnificent beach, overlooking the idyllic sunset.
The drive back, at about 10pm was a swift and enjoyable trip that took around an hour, even though Kerry convinced me that it would be beneficial to our health to put the top up on the Mustang.
The topic certainly stirred up some passion, and I hope that all the differences of opinion can be seen as just that, and we can all remain friends.
Anyway, for those of you that may be interested in knowing what we decided to do, here is a brief recap of the time spent with our Mustang.....
SUNDAY....13th March.
My plans of getting up early and spending the whole day driving with the top down was shattered by Delta Airlines. Our original flight from Vegas, that had us due to touchdown at LAX shortly after 5PM on Saturday evening was cancelled. Preference on the subsequent 6pm departure was given to passengers with connections to make and the only option that we were eventually given, after a fairly lengthy wait and some heated discussions, was on the 8pm flight. This plane was late leaving the gate, by another 30 minutes and spent a further 45 minutes on the tarmac, waiting on a clearance.
The end result was that we got into LAX after 10pm and it was well after 11 before we arrived at the Holiday Inn Express at Marina Del Ray. After stepping out for a quick bite at IN and OUT Burger, our plan of an early night after 5 days of burning the candle in Vegas, was in tatters.
We got up at 8am and decided that we really needed a good long walk along the beach before driving anywhere, to help flush all the Casino Buffett food and Yard Glass Margharitas out of our system. We were still pounding the pavement at what I thought was 9.30am, until I discovered that California had just rolled over onto Daylight Savings time, putting us a further hour behind schedule.
I made the decision, at this point, to abandon any attempt of procuring Jay Leno tickets for Monday afternoon (we were on the stand-by list) and instead split our big Sunday drive into 2 days.
As we had 7pm dinner reservations at the Crystal Cove Cafe near Newport Beach, it made sense to travel south and explore the OC beaches.
We managed to get onto the 405 at just after 11pm and even though there was a section of Road Works where we were slowed to crawling pace there was plenty of opportunity to wind up the big V6 engine. I love that LA freeway traffic seems to dictate it's own speed limits in accordance with conditions. We, in Australia, have become so conditioned by soul distroying fixed speed camera's and exhobirant fines for exceeding limits by as little as 3kph, that it is no longer fun to drive on our motorways, regardless of traffic conditions.
With the coolish late morning wind blowing through our hair and the more that adequate Ford heating system keeping our body temps stable, we exited the freeway and headed west at the Seal Beach turn off.
We eventually found our way to a small parking bay near Huntington Beach and a small fist full of quarters bought us an hour or so to explore this stunning area on foot.
On this area of the Beach,resonsible dog owners are allowed to excercise their precious pooches and plentiful supplies of little bio-degradable bags are made available by the local council.It all seems to work out well, with all the canine occupants of the beach, behaving themselves in a socially acceptable manner.
Further along, towards the boardwalk, there was a plentiful array of kites, in all shapes, shades and colors, being flown rather skillfully. It seemed there was some type of ariel competition being held with acrobatic movements being set to music. It was fabulous to watch and had time permitted, we would have had lunch there, but we needed to move on and sample more of what this coastal stertch had to offer.
We decided that Laguna Beach would be our next stop and we re-entered the PCH for a short half hour trip further south. This proved to be an excellent decision and we really enjoyed wandering through all the galleries and quaint shops that lined both sides of the road. We even ventured into an "open house" to get a guage of real estate values. We were the only "prospective buyers" in attendance so we had the full attention of the agent who was more than happy to show us around. It was so tranquil inside, for a place on such a busy highway and offered ocean views from several of it's rooms. The 2.3 million price tag seemed like good value for such a beautiful property in such a prime location.
Next we headed slightly inland for a drive to the "top of the world", a little surburban enclave perched up on a hill, as it's name suggests. The views from here were breathtaking, particularly from the little elementary school that is perched up at one of its highest points. The kids would have loved to see this.
There were a multitude of mountain bike riders enjoying some of the tracks that come down from this peak. I would have liked to join them even though we saw several signs that warned of the presence of Mountain Loins and Rattle Snakes on these trails.
After an hour or so absorbing the view, we set off again, further southbound and drove down to Dana Point and explored the neighborhoods around the affluent and majestic harbor. This was as far south as we could venture before turning around and heading back to Newport for dinner.
Our choice of restaurant, the Crystal Cove Cafe, proved to be the perfect way to round off our day. The food was enjoyable, the service pleasant but what really sets this place apart is the location, right on a magnificent beach, overlooking the idyllic sunset.
The drive back, at about 10pm was a swift and enjoyable trip that took around an hour, even though Kerry convinced me that it would be beneficial to our health to put the top up on the Mustang.
Mar 22nd, 2011, 10:31 PM
#51
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 1,009
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
MONDAY....14th March
Having decided that the $3,000 spent in the Las Vegas Oulet Malls had failed to quell our need for retail therapy, or done enough to push us over our generous 70lb per person luggage allowance, our first stop today was the 3rd st Promenande in Santa Monica.
When we were here, last July, there was a significant development taking place at the south end of 3rd St and we were surprised to find that this was already fully operational, adding to the bevy of retail establishments in this sector.
We guided the Mustang into a multi story car park that was co-joined to the shiny new mall and was impressed to see that the first 2 hours of parking would be free.
This should give us ample time to find some last minute gifts for the kids and the babysitters, explore all of the new complex and still get well along the PCH heading morth in time for lunch, at a yet to be decided restaraunt.
After making several purchases together, we split up to cover the ground more effeciently and I headed of to buy some PS3 games for the 2 boys whilst Kerry went looking for a memmento for her parents. I came across the "Concierge" desk on the ground floor of the complex and my quick question of where to find an electronics store ended up with a full run down of the best places to see and eat along the Malibu coast, with the assisatnce of visual aids from google.
I was after a place to have lunch that had a view and was more likely to be local hang-out rather than a tourist trap. It didn't need to be upmarket, I wanted something that was unique to the area with plenty of atmosphere. My new friend recommended that the "Neptune's Net" in the Pacific Pallisades area was the type of place that I was decribing, and I decided that would be our destination prior to heading back to the Getty Villa in the mid afternoon. (tbc)
Having decided that the $3,000 spent in the Las Vegas Oulet Malls had failed to quell our need for retail therapy, or done enough to push us over our generous 70lb per person luggage allowance, our first stop today was the 3rd st Promenande in Santa Monica.
When we were here, last July, there was a significant development taking place at the south end of 3rd St and we were surprised to find that this was already fully operational, adding to the bevy of retail establishments in this sector.
We guided the Mustang into a multi story car park that was co-joined to the shiny new mall and was impressed to see that the first 2 hours of parking would be free.
This should give us ample time to find some last minute gifts for the kids and the babysitters, explore all of the new complex and still get well along the PCH heading morth in time for lunch, at a yet to be decided restaraunt.
After making several purchases together, we split up to cover the ground more effeciently and I headed of to buy some PS3 games for the 2 boys whilst Kerry went looking for a memmento for her parents. I came across the "Concierge" desk on the ground floor of the complex and my quick question of where to find an electronics store ended up with a full run down of the best places to see and eat along the Malibu coast, with the assisatnce of visual aids from google.
I was after a place to have lunch that had a view and was more likely to be local hang-out rather than a tourist trap. It didn't need to be upmarket, I wanted something that was unique to the area with plenty of atmosphere. My new friend recommended that the "Neptune's Net" in the Pacific Pallisades area was the type of place that I was decribing, and I decided that would be our destination prior to heading back to the Getty Villa in the mid afternoon. (tbc)
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
MiamiBeachMomma
United States
25
Nov 21st, 2011 04:16 AM
alwaysluv2travel
Road Trips
10
Jun 4th, 2008 06:31 AM
desertbound
United States
4
Mar 15th, 2006 11:36 AM
