san francisco to San Diego in June?

Hello, we are a family of 5 with 3 kids ages 11, 8 and 3. We have never
been to the west coast and would love to plan a trip there this June for 2
weeks. Ideally we'd like to fly into San Fran and fly out of L.A. My
children really want to go to legoland and that is all they want to see.
Disneyland would not be a top choice for me, we've had enough of disneyworld
in Florida. I want to see the beautiful pacific coast and maybe some LA or
Hollywood spots. Any suggestions on things to do for this coastal trip,
towns to stop in or scenic drives and also major travel hangups I might face
in June? Thank you very much for your time in advance.

In article ,
"Christine" wrote:

Hello, we are a family of 5 with 3 kids ages 11, 8 and 3. We have never
been to the west coast and would love to plan a trip there this June for 2
weeks. Ideally we'd like to fly into San Fran and fly out of L.A. My
children really want to go to legoland and that is all they want to see.
Disneyland would not be a top choice for me, we've had enough of disneyworld
in Florida. I want to see the beautiful pacific coast and maybe some LA or
Hollywood spots. Any suggestions on things to do for this coastal trip,
towns to stop in or scenic drives and also major travel hangups I might face
in June? Thank you very much for your time in advance.

Just enjoying the beautiful views is a lot of fun, I think. Suggestions
depend on your interests. You said what your kids are interested in
doing, but not what you and your wife would like to do on this trip.
Google for "Pacific Coast Highway" and you'll find tons of information.

Christine, you might want to search through older posts in this
newsgroup as the San Francisco area has been discussed many times, and
LA to a lesser extent.

San Francisco is one of the best vacation cities in the U.S., so allow
for several days there. It has a great public transit system so you
won't need a rental car until you're ready to leave the city. Some of
the most popular attractions a

Golden Gate Bridge
Alcatraz
Lombard Street
Chinatown (touristy but fun)
Union Square
Fisherman's Wharf & Pier 39 -- touristy but your kids will enjoy the
sea lions that sun themselves nearby
Cable car rides
Coit Tower
Exploratorium (children's museum)
Palace of the Fine Arts (a park next to the Exploratorium)
Lots more things but I'll stop there.

When you're ready to leave town, you might want to make a day trip to
the north to visit Napa Valley, and you also might want to visit Muir
Woods (giant redwoods).

When you head south, there's Pigeon Point lighthouse (about 50 miles
south of SF). Further south is the city of Monterey which is popular
with tourists, and they've got the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium
(mbayaq.org/). Then I'd highly recommend that you take the "17-mile
drive", a scenic road that goes south around the coast of Monterey
Pennensula with numerous overlooks with dramatic ocean views. The
south end of that road is the city of Carmel-by-the-Sea, which is
touristy but has charming shops, a nice public beach, a Spanish
mission, etc.

Just south of Carmel is Point Lobos state park, which has walking
trails with wonderful ocean views. Continue south and you've got the
Big Sur area with wonderful ocean views, and much further south is
Hearst Castle.

I'm not as familiar with the LA area so I'll leave that to others to
discuss.

James

wrote in message
...
Christine, you might want to search through older posts in this
newsgroup as the San Francisco area has been discussed many times, and
LA to a lesser extent.

San Francisco is one of the best vacation cities in the U.S., so allow
for several days there. It has a great public transit system so you
won't need a rental car until you're ready to leave the city. Some of
the most popular attractions a

Golden Gate Bridge
Alcatraz
Lombard Street
Chinatown (touristy but fun)
Union Square
Fisherman's Wharf & Pier 39 -- touristy but your kids will enjoy the
sea lions that sun themselves nearby
Cable car rides
Coit Tower
Exploratorium (children's museum)
Palace of the Fine Arts (a park next to the Exploratorium)
Lots more things but I'll stop there.

When you're ready to leave town, you might want to make a day trip to
the north to visit Napa Valley, and you also might want to visit Muir
Woods (giant redwoods).

When you head south, there's Pigeon Point lighthouse (about 50 miles
south of SF). Further south is the city of Monterey which is popular
with tourists, and they've got the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium
(mbayaq.org/). Then I'd highly recommend that you take the "17-mile
drive", a scenic road that goes south around the coast of Monterey
Pennensula with numerous overlooks with dramatic ocean views. The
south end of that road is the city of Carmel-by-the-Sea, which is
touristy but has charming shops, a nice public beach, a Spanish
mission, etc.

Just south of Carmel is Point Lobos state park, which has walking
trails with wonderful ocean views. Continue south and you've got the
Big Sur area with wonderful ocean views, and much further south is
Hearst Castle.

I'm not as familiar with the LA area so I'll leave that to others to
discuss.

James

If you like wine, there are wineries down around Morro Bay. Venice Beach
will be hit with the kids. They will have seen it in movies. Take a day
trip or an overnight trip to Catalina Island out of Long Beach. Solvang is
a Danish Community not to far off of Hwy 1 and lots of good food and Dutch
architecture. Take a whale watching trip out of Marina Del Rey or a fishing
trip. May not be many whales in June, but should be dolphins. Visit UCLA
and let the kids get an idea of what a university is. While there go to Dee
Dee Reese near the campus for an ice cream sandwich. Home made cookies and
only a $1.50

On Wed, 16 Jan 2008 22:09:53 -0500, Shawn Hirn
wrote:

In article ,
"Christine" wrote:

Hello, we are a family of 5 with 3 kids ages 11, 8 and 3. We have never
been to the west coast and would love to plan a trip there this June for 2
weeks. Ideally we'd like to fly into San Fran and fly out of L.A. My
children really want to go to legoland and that is all they want to see.
Disneyland would not be a top choice for me, we've had enough of disneyworld
in Florida. I want to see the beautiful pacific coast and maybe some LA or
Hollywood spots. Any suggestions on things to do for this coastal trip,
towns to stop in or scenic drives and also major travel hangups I might face
in June? Thank you very much for your time in advance.

Just enjoying the beautiful views is a lot of fun, I think. Suggestions
depend on your interests. You said what your kids are interested in
doing, but not what you and your wife would like to do on this trip.
Google for "Pacific Coast Highway" and you'll find tons of information.

That may not be as helpful as you think, since driving south
Pacific Coast Highway doesn't begin until you get down past Santa
Barbara.

--
************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

On Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:54:43 -0500, "Christine"
wrote:

Hello, we are a family of 5 with 3 kids ages 11, 8 and 3. We have never
been to the west coast and would love to plan a trip there this June for 2
weeks. Ideally we'd like to fly into San Fran and fly out of L.A. My
children really want to go to legoland and that is all they want to see.
Disneyland would not be a top choice for me, we've had enough of disneyworld
in Florida. I want to see the beautiful pacific coast and maybe some LA or
Hollywood spots. Any suggestions on things to do for this coastal trip,
towns to stop in or scenic drives and also major travel hangups I might face
in June? Thank you very much for your time in advance.

The kids will probably enjoy the Boardwalk at Santa Cruz, an
amusement park on the beach there. Also walk out on the adjacent
Municipal Pier, which has several rewtaurants and a bunch of lazy
sea lions just waiting for you to drop some fish to them.

They'll like the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, a bit pricey
but quite worth it.

There is a Dennis the Menace playground in a city park in
Monterey that seems to be fun for kids (actually, I kind of like
it myself).

Be careful driving donw the coast highway; June is a time of
potentially heavy fogs along the coast.

--
************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

On Wed, 16 Jan 2008 22:00:03 -0800, "CalifBill"
wrote:

... Solvang is
a Danish Community not to far off of Hwy 1 and lots of good food and Dutch
architecture.

Solvang is off US-101 and a fair distance away from Hwy 1. It can
be done from Hwy 1, but I don't personally think it's worth the
sidetrip. And it has Danish, not Dutch, architecture.



--
************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

"Hatunen" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:54:43 -0500, "Christine"
wrote:

Hello, we are a family of 5 with 3 kids ages 11, 8 and 3. We have never
been to the west coast and would love to plan a trip there this June for 2
weeks. Ideally we'd like to fly into San Fran and fly out of L.A. My
children really want to go to legoland and that is all they want to see.
Disneyland would not be a top choice for me, we've had enough of
disneyworld
in Florida. I want to see the beautiful pacific coast and maybe some LA
or
Hollywood spots. Any suggestions on things to do for this coastal trip,
towns to stop in or scenic drives and also major travel hangups I might
face
in June? Thank you very much for your time in advance.

The kids will probably enjoy the Boardwalk at Santa Cruz, an
amusement park on the beach there. Also walk out on the adjacent
Municipal Pier, which has several rewtaurants and a bunch of lazy
sea lions just waiting for you to drop some fish to them.

They'll like the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, a bit pricey
but quite worth it.

There is a Dennis the Menace playground in a city park in
Monterey that seems to be fun for kids (actually, I kind of like
it myself).

Be careful driving donw the coast highway; June is a time of
potentially heavy fogs along the coast.

--
One thing to think about it make sure none of your kids get travel sick! Ive
had friends do the PCH only to have most of the trip spoilt by thier kids
been travel sick. Its not the straightest of roads!

Thank you for the awesome tips, I think seeing the golden gate bridge and a
trip to muir woods would be great. Then definitely wanted to see the
monterey and carmel areas and big sur views maybe with some hiking. I also
thought a stop in San Simeon would be in our agenda.

So far I've got at least 3 days in San Francisco
2 days in monterey area
2 days in san simeon area
1-2 days santa barbara or somewhere else close that sounds good (we like
beaches and hiking but also childrens museums and aquarium type things)
2-3 long beach / LA / hollywood area? suggestions in these areas from
anyone would be great! (interesting tour ideas anyone or sporting events?)
Than on to Carlsbad for 1-2 days for a must see legoland for children and
back to fly out of Los Angeles

I can already tell I will need more time here....but I have to start
somewhere, thank-you

wrote in message
...
Christine, you might want to search through older posts in this
newsgroup as the San Francisco area has been discussed many times, and
LA to a lesser extent.

San Francisco is one of the best vacation cities in the U.S., so allow
for several days there. It has a great public transit system so you
won't need a rental car until you're ready to leave the city. Some of
the most popular attractions a

Golden Gate Bridge
Alcatraz
Lombard Street
Chinatown (touristy but fun)
Union Square
Fisherman's Wharf & Pier 39 -- touristy but your kids will enjoy the
sea lions that sun themselves nearby
Cable car rides
Coit Tower
Exploratorium (children's museum)
Palace of the Fine Arts (a park next to the Exploratorium)
Lots more things but I'll stop there.

When you're ready to leave town, you might want to make a day trip to
the north to visit Napa Valley, and you also might want to visit Muir
Woods (giant redwoods).

When you head south, there's Pigeon Point lighthouse (about 50 miles
south of SF). Further south is the city of Monterey which is popular
with tourists, and they've got the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium
(mbayaq.org/). Then I'd highly recommend that you take the "17-mile
drive", a scenic road that goes south around the coast of Monterey
Pennensula with numerous overlooks with dramatic ocean views. The
south end of that road is the city of Carmel-by-the-Sea, which is
touristy but has charming shops, a nice public beach, a Spanish
mission, etc.

Just south of Carmel is Point Lobos state park, which has walking
trails with wonderful ocean views. Continue south and you've got the
Big Sur area with wonderful ocean views, and much further south is
Hearst Castle.

I'm not as familiar with the LA area so I'll leave that to others to
discuss.

James

"2-3 long beach / LA / hollywood area? suggestions in these areas from
anyone would be great!"

Scrub that and base yourself in Santa Monica

"Christine" wrote in message
...
Thank you for the awesome tips, I think seeing the golden gate bridge and
a trip to muir woods would be great. Then definitely wanted to see the
monterey and carmel areas and big sur views maybe with some hiking. I
also thought a stop in San Simeon would be in our agenda.

So far I've got at least 3 days in San Francisco
2 days in monterey area
2 days in san simeon area
1-2 days santa barbara or somewhere else close that sounds good (we like
beaches and hiking but also childrens museums and aquarium type things)
2-3 long beach / LA / hollywood area? suggestions in these areas from
anyone would be great! (interesting tour ideas anyone or sporting events?)
Than on to Carlsbad for 1-2 days for a must see legoland for children and
back to fly out of Los Angeles

I can already tell I will need more time here....but I have to start
somewhere, thank-you

wrote in message
...
Christine, you might want to search through older posts in this
newsgroup as the San Francisco area has been discussed many times, and
LA to a lesser extent.

San Francisco is one of the best vacation cities in the U.S., so allow
for several days there. It has a great public transit system so you
won't need a rental car until you're ready to leave the city. Some of
the most popular attractions a

Golden Gate Bridge
Alcatraz
Lombard Street
Chinatown (touristy but fun)
Union Square
Fisherman's Wharf & Pier 39 -- touristy but your kids will enjoy the
sea lions that sun themselves nearby
Cable car rides
Coit Tower
Exploratorium (children's museum)
Palace of the Fine Arts (a park next to the Exploratorium)
Lots more things but I'll stop there.

When you're ready to leave town, you might want to make a day trip to
the north to visit Napa Valley, and you also might want to visit Muir
Woods (giant redwoods).

When you head south, there's Pigeon Point lighthouse (about 50 miles
south of SF). Further south is the city of Monterey which is popular
with tourists, and they've got the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium
(mbayaq.org/). Then I'd highly recommend that you take the "17-mile
drive", a scenic road that goes south around the coast of Monterey
Pennensula with numerous overlooks with dramatic ocean views. The
south end of that road is the city of Carmel-by-the-Sea, which is
touristy but has charming shops, a nice public beach, a Spanish
mission, etc.

Just south of Carmel is Point Lobos state park, which has walking
trails with wonderful ocean views. Continue south and you've got the
Big Sur area with wonderful ocean views, and much further south is
Hearst Castle.

I'm not as familiar with the LA area so I'll leave that to others to
discuss.

James