American Roadtrip April 09

"tommy" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I'm planning a road trip starting in San Francisco and heading down
the Californian coast to Pismo Beach and then off to Williams, AZ
towards the Grand Canyon, then to Las Vegas then back to San
Francisco. What sort of weather can i expect on this trip? I'm
trying to plan what I’m going to need to pack. I will be going from
10th April till 20th April 09.

Hope someone can give me an idea.

Regards,
Anthony


I'd cut of Frisco--it's full of sexual deviancy. Best to fly directly to
Vegas and do your ten days from there, looping through Utah and northern
Arizona.

"Lawrence Akutagawa" wrote in message
...

"tommy" wrote in message
...

Hi,

Thanks to everyone who has posted here! I know my plan is somewhat
ambitious - living in a country where the coast is only 2 hours drive
in any direction. the idea of driving for 9 hours and seeing nothing
on the way except desert and mountain ranges is still 'something'. I
do, however, take on board what everyone has said. My itinerary is
this:

I really want to see the Grand Canyon and really to drive through some
magnificent scenery. I look forward to any suggestions on this
itinerary.

Anthony -

It appears that your trip has two segments - the California coast and the
southwest, the latter centered on Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. I
suggest that should another trip to the US be in the offing, that you
concentrate on this trip on the one segment or the other.

You can well spend the 10 days making a loop trip from Las Vegas to Zion
to

I can tell you that I've been to San Francisco a few times (probably a total
of 10 days) and still not seen everything worth seeing. I second the
thought that this would best be broken down into two trips. Fly into Vegas
and do everything that you want in that area on one and then fly to
California and do a second. I like San Diego and I love San Francisco. Los
Angeles has things to see and do but nothing spectacular, in my opinion.
I'm sure that others will say differently but that's their opinion. I've
never driven from San Francisco to the east so I can't say anything about
that but I have driven San Diego (via LA/Riverside) to Laughlin, Las Vegas,
and Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley so I can tell you that's enough to take
a good part of a day. What you've proposed is probably doable but you'll
zip right by a lot of the country worth spending some time on.

--
--
Gary
Visit Lucy & Gary and do the jigsaw puzzle at
www.under-1-roof.com/PuzzlePage.html

"tommy" wrote in message
...

Hi,

Thanks to everyone who has posted here! I know my plan is somewhat
ambitious - living in a country where the coast is only 2 hours drive
in any direction. the idea of driving for 9 hours and seeing nothing
on the way except desert and mountain ranges is still 'something'. I
do, however, take on board what everyone has said. My itinerary is
this:

10/04/2009 Arrive San Francisco afternoon 2pm
11/04/2009 S/F City
12/04/2009 S/F to Pismo Beach (4 - 6 hours)
13/04/2009 Drive to Williams, AZ (9 - 10 hours)
14/04/2009 GCNP
15/04/2009 Drive to Las Vegas (3 - 4 hours)
16/04/2009 Las Vegas
17/04/2009 Leave Las Vegas Tecopa (2 -3 hours)
18/04/2009 Leave for San Francisco
19/04/2009 San/Fran
20/04/2009 leave San Francisco 4:30pm

As the 'big' drive is the Pismo to Williams, AZ stretch, would people
suggest missing this S/F to Pismo Beach and do a S/F to Tecopa or
similar area instead. I know that the Californian coast is great, but
perhaps this could wait until another road trip!

I really want to see the Grand Canyon and really to drive through some
magnificent scenery. I look forward to any suggestions on this
itinerary.

Regards,
Anthony

Unless you are not really interested in seeing anything, but just driving,
your times are way to optimistic. Sure you can drive SF to Pismo in 4
hours, but that is using US 101 and not highway 1. That also means you do
not get to stop in Monterey and Carmel and do some wonderful sightseeing.
The sea otters off Lovers Point in Pacific Grove, the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
A nice lunch in Carmel, a drive on 17 mile drive through Pebble Beach. As
to 17 Mile Drive for free entry, get a local paper and see what open houses
for sale are listed and just say you are going to the open house. You also
miss driving down the coast of Calif through Big Sur. Do not take US-1 if
there is lots of rain, as you can be stranded by mudslides.

Most of the scenery you will see is miles and miles of sand, for as far
as the eye can see. I drove from Las Vegas to San Francisco and back
once. I promised myself I would never do it again. Boring is the
operative word. If I were you, I would fly between San Francisco and Las
Vegas. You will save nearly two days of BORING driving time, which you
can spend doing something interesting in either city.

Well, the desert is interesting to some tastes, and if you haven't
been there before... I think even I-5 has its slowly unfolding charms
(my fellow motorists, and on some stretches the road surface, can be a
different story). California actually has a variety of deserts --
southering and taking in Joshua Tree or the area around Yuma or
whatnot can be interesting, and can position you for angling up
through the scenic twisties toward Wickenburg and thence Camp Verde
toward the Grand Canyon. Then there's another choice: northeast
through the Painted Desert toward Navajo Bridge and Glen Canyon Dam
and then westering through the Utah parklands toward Vegas, or back
along I-40...

(I honestly don't know how many times I've driven between San
Francisco and various points in northern or southern New Mexico.
Rough guess is three dozen round trips by all the sensible routes and
some of the scenery-seeking ones between Interstates 8 and 80. All
I can count with certainty is that I've done these trips in eight
different cars over two decades. And I'm still far from having seen
it all. As others have mentioned, don't try to cram everything in the
Southwest into one vacation.)

Either 58 or 166 up and out of the Pismo Beach area to the San Joaquin
Valley, ultimate destination either Vegas or the Grand Canyon, should
be a bit scenic in a different way, albeit not a way to make good
time. (Of course, going through the LA area as suggested by Google
can run you into mind-boggling city traffic at both predictable and
random times of day...)

A strategy decision is whether your main goal is Nature's Grandeur
(tm), urban activities, or some of everything.

Either way, advice that worked well for other people with similar
questions on this group is to make the trip "modular" so that you can
flex your plans in response to time, weather, or newly discovered
interests and priorities in the region.

Also, don't rent
your car until the 12th. There is no need to have a car in San Francisco
and parking it will be difficult and will likely be expensive.

If ever there were an American city where you could see many of the
tourist sights via public transit and the Shoe Leather Express, that'd
have to be it. 511.org might give you an idea.

"Calif Bill" wrote in message
m...

"tommy" wrote in message
...

Hi,

Thanks to everyone who has posted here! I know my plan is somewhat
ambitious - living in a country where the coast is only 2 hours drive
in any direction. the idea of driving for 9 hours and seeing nothing
on the way except desert and mountain ranges is still 'something'. I
do, however, take on board what everyone has said. My itinerary is
this:

10/04/2009 Arrive San Francisco afternoon 2pm
11/04/2009 S/F City
12/04/2009 S/F to Pismo Beach (4 - 6 hours)
13/04/2009 Drive to Williams, AZ (9 - 10 hours)
14/04/2009 GCNP
15/04/2009 Drive to Las Vegas (3 - 4 hours)
16/04/2009 Las Vegas
17/04/2009 Leave Las Vegas Tecopa (2 -3 hours)
18/04/2009 Leave for San Francisco
19/04/2009 San/Fran
20/04/2009 leave San Francisco 4:30pm

As the 'big' drive is the Pismo to Williams, AZ stretch, would people
suggest missing this S/F to Pismo Beach and do a S/F to Tecopa or
similar area instead. I know that the Californian coast is great, but
perhaps this could wait until another road trip!

I really want to see the Grand Canyon and really to drive through some
magnificent scenery. I look forward to any suggestions on this
itinerary.

Regards,
Anthony

Unless you are not really interested in seeing anything, but just driving,
your times are way to optimistic. Sure you can drive SF to Pismo in 4
hours, but that is using US 101 and not highway 1. That also means you do
not get to stop in Monterey and Carmel and do some wonderful sightseeing.
The sea otters off Lovers Point in Pacific Grove, the Monterey Bay
Aquarium. A nice lunch in Carmel, a drive on 17 mile drive through Pebble
Beach. As to 17 Mile Drive for free entry, get a local paper and see what
open houses for sale are listed and just say you are going to the open
house. You also miss driving down the coast of Calif through Big Sur. Do
not take US-1 if there is lots of rain, as you can be stranded by
mudslides.

If it was me, I WOULD take US-1...it would seem to be a far more scenic
route than any alternative.

"Sharx35" wrote in message
news:mx7gl.8511$Db2.6469@edtnps83...

"Calif Bill" wrote in message
m...

"tommy" wrote in message
...

Hi,

Thanks to everyone who has posted here! I know my plan is somewhat
ambitious - living in a country where the coast is only 2 hours drive
in any direction. the idea of driving for 9 hours and seeing nothing
on the way except desert and mountain ranges is still 'something'. I
do, however, take on board what everyone has said. My itinerary is
this:

10/04/2009 Arrive San Francisco afternoon 2pm
11/04/2009 S/F City
12/04/2009 S/F to Pismo Beach (4 - 6 hours)
13/04/2009 Drive to Williams, AZ (9 - 10 hours)
14/04/2009 GCNP
15/04/2009 Drive to Las Vegas (3 - 4 hours)
16/04/2009 Las Vegas
17/04/2009 Leave Las Vegas Tecopa (2 -3 hours)
18/04/2009 Leave for San Francisco
19/04/2009 San/Fran
20/04/2009 leave San Francisco 4:30pm

As the 'big' drive is the Pismo to Williams, AZ stretch, would people
suggest missing this S/F to Pismo Beach and do a S/F to Tecopa or
similar area instead. I know that the Californian coast is great, but
perhaps this could wait until another road trip!

I really want to see the Grand Canyon and really to drive through some
magnificent scenery. I look forward to any suggestions on this
itinerary.

Regards,
Anthony

Unless you are not really interested in seeing anything, but just
driving, your times are way to optimistic. Sure you can drive SF to
Pismo in 4 hours, but that is using US 101 and not highway 1. That also
means you do not get to stop in Monterey and Carmel and do some wonderful
sightseeing. The sea otters off Lovers Point in Pacific Grove, the
Monterey Bay Aquarium. A nice lunch in Carmel, a drive on 17 mile drive
through Pebble Beach. As to 17 Mile Drive for free entry, get a local
paper and see what open houses for sale are listed and just say you are
going to the open house. You also miss driving down the coast of Calif
through Big Sur. Do not take US-1 if there is lots of rain, as you can
be stranded by mudslides.

If it was me, I WOULD take US-1...it would seem to be a far more scenic
route than any alternative.


Not if there is lots of rain. The hills are extremely unstable and you may
be isolated for a long time till they open the road again. I've traveled it
a lot over the years, and spend a lot of time on 1 from Bodega Bay North and
both places get lots of slides. Big Sur bigger slides. Since I kayak fish
the ocean as well as boat it, you get to see the sights a lot.

Anthony, I agree with the others that you're trying to do too much in
10 days.

And some of your drive times are too short. For example, the drive
from the Grand Canyon's South Rim (the main tourist area) to Vegas
took me more like 6 hours rather than the 3 to 4 you estimate. Don't
forget to factor in stops for food, rest rooms, gasoline, plus
occasional slowdowns for traffic or construction.

Give yourself 2 full days in San Francisco if possible; it's a
wonderful city with much to see. Also, consider a day south of San
Francisco visiting Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea, and driving the 17-
mile-drive (a scenic toll road along the coast with magnificent ocean
views).

Consider flying home from Vegas, rather than having to drive all the
way back to San Francisco.

James

"JamesStep" wrote in message
...
Anthony, I agree with the others that you're trying to do too much in
10 days.

And some of your drive times are too short. For example, the drive
from the Grand Canyon's South Rim (the main tourist area) to Vegas
took me more like 6 hours rather than the 3 to 4 you estimate. Don't
forget to factor in stops for food, rest rooms, gasoline, plus
occasional slowdowns for traffic or construction.

Give yourself 2 full days in San Francisco if possible; it's a
wonderful city with much to see. Also, consider a day south of San
Francisco visiting Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea, and driving the 17-
mile-drive (a scenic toll road along the coast with magnificent ocean
views).

Consider flying home from Vegas, rather than having to drive all the
way back to San Francisco.

James

2nd the 17 mile drive. Get a local real estate sales paper and find an open
house in Pebble Beach and tell them you are going to the open house. Get a
free pass.

2nd the 17 mile drive. *Get a local real
estate sales paper and find an open
house in Pebble Beach and tell them
you are going to the open house. *Get a
free pass.

Out of curiousity I looked up a real estate listing for that area and
it said that prior arrangements must be made in order to get free
entry.

I'm always glad to find a way to save a few bucks, but in my opinion
the $10-per-car (if I remember correctly) entry fee is reasonable
considering that it'll probably be one of the highlights of your trip.

James

"JamesStep" wrote in message
...

2nd the 17 mile drive. Get a local real
estate sales paper and find an open
house in Pebble Beach and tell them
you are going to the open house. Get a
free pass.

Out of curiousity I looked up a real estate listing for that area and
it said that prior arrangements must be made in order to get free
entry.

I'm always glad to find a way to save a few bucks, but in my opinion
the $10-per-car (if I remember correctly) entry fee is reasonable
considering that it'll probably be one of the highlights of your trip.

James


Our friends say they just tell the gate they are going to the open house and
they get in.