Great places to go in CA?

[fire&ice]

Date: 7/25/2006 7:17:54 PM
Author: lop
The street Flopkins was referring to in Hermosa Beach is Pier Ave, which turns into Manhattan Ave in Manhattan Beach. Definitely think those are two great beaches and towns. Manhattan is the more upscale town of the two, but both are fun and have nice wide sandy beaches with a strand to walk, run or bike along, and lots of authentic beach life as opposed to the shitick at Venice Beach or the tourists at Santa Monica. There are lots of good, local bars and restaurants all along there also up the side streets.

I have to say - while visiting the toney beaches - AS A TOURIST - I enjoyed Santa Monica & the Venice Beach thing best - they leave instant memories.

I think it all depends what Lizz likes to do. I like to play tourist and go to the touristy places. There is a reason they became touristy to begin with. Another touristy thing in SF is to take the boat around to see Alcatraz, etc. The view of the Golden Gate Bridge is worth it - a real architectural marvel.

Also, I''m going to chime in here - I haven''t said this because I do not know about the PCH south of San Fransico - BUT north of SF - I''m sitting here with my hair on ends as I even recall the event - Granted you have visuals of glorious vistas - but the moments of sheer unalterated terror aren''t worth it. That area of our country is like you fall off the continent - literaly. The drops on either side driving on a whindy two lane no shoulder no baricade at break neck keep up pace was absolutely terrifying. Not to mention - a part of the highway just dropped into the ocean - and all that marked it was a cone.

But, up until a certain point - the PCH wasn''t treacherous. I think just after Bodega Bay is got tricky.

 

[KristyDarling]

I once took PCH all the way down from SF to Santa Barbara.....it was SCARY AS HELL. Beautiful yes, but people are going top speed and since it''s only 1-lane, you have to deal with a lot of very, very mean and aggressive tailgaters (no doubt locals who are fed up with the tourists that want to drive at a leisurely pace)....all you can do is pray for a turn-off. The turns are constant, sharp, and treacherous and you CANNOT take your eyes off the road to enjoy the view if you''re the one driving. For much of the highway, there is NO guardrail and a sheer drop-off just a few feet away!!! I am actually a very relaxed driver and don''t get rattled easily, but during that drive I was POSITIVE that we were either gonna die or get into a terrible accident.

The worst part was, I was going OVER the speed limit for most of the drive but I was still being tailgated aggressively. Scary, scary, scary. I will never do that drive ever again. Maybe for like a 1-hour stretch for visiting guests because that''s all you REALLY need before cutting over to the interstate. If it weren''t for all the horrible tailgaters on that highway, I''d recommend the drive but IMO it is a serious safety issue.

 

[movie zombie]

Highway 1 going north of SF is a domesticated animal compared to going south from Carmel. for the timid, try driving back from LA to SF on Highway 1....puts you on the inside lane next to the mountain. there are plenty enough places to pull out and take in the view. again, avoid if the weather is bad, i.e. fog. the time of year you''ll be there should not see any storms which should also be avoided.


movie zombie

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 7/26/2006 11:02:12 AM
Author: movie zombie
Highway 1 going north of SF is a domesticated animal compared to going south from Carmel. for the timid, try driving back from LA to SF on Highway 1....puts you on the inside lane next to the mountain. there are plenty enough places to pull out and take in the view. again, avoid if the weather is bad, i.e. fog. the time of year you''ll be there should not see any storms which should also be avoided.


movie zombie

Wow really? I was reading all the posts about Highway 1 north to SF, thinking it must be pretty crazy - because I thought Carmel to L.A. was pretty easy. I wasn''t sure what the fuss was all about. But I guess some people mind curving roads more than others. I just thought it was a great, fun drive...especially in our convertible. We also drove in fog on the way back down to LA (driving cliffside!)

 

[hoorray]

We''ve done the hwy 1 road from SF to Santa Barbara many times. (we did it n my convertible to drive it home on it''s maiden voyage. We froze with that damp ocean air in November, but it was still a great way to celebrate the car!) Our biggest frustration is the RV''s. I don''t think it''s a tough drive, but it''s not an interstate drive at 75mph, and it''s not the efficient way to get from SF to LA. If you want that I5 is the most efficient, but 101 is a good compromise between the 2. More scenic, but easier hwy driving. Hwy 1 is more fun for the passenger since they can watch the scenery more, but I agree, there are lots of places to pull off and enjoy the view. From Santa Barbara we always jumped on Hwy 101 to get through LA as efficiently as possible. (if there is such a thing...)

I agree F&I that Venice and Santa Monica are memorable. I guess it depends on if you want to people watch and enjoy the experience, or if you want a great, authentic beach and beach life. Being local we always wanted the latter. Either way, Hermosa and Manhattan are great little beach towns...

 

[flopkins]

lop- thanks for filling in the blanks...

it has been a while since I lived in LA and things have gotten a tad fuzzy.

F&I - you are right, it depends what lizz is looking for. Santa Monica is definitley fun but you just have to deal w/the parking and crowds, is all.

And you also remind me of the summer I spent in Santa Barbara - I was at a summer internship w/other students from around the country, and we took the 101 up to SF for July 4th weekend - on the drive up the kids from the midwest could NOT handle the 101 drive (which is MUCH easier than Highway 1) because where they came from, all the roads were straight!!! It scared the sh*t outta them to be driving on these curvy roads w/the dividers right up against the fast lane. It had *never* occured me that this was unique to the area, simply bc of the terrain.