Vacation Travel Plans, Suggestions, Advice

jipster · June 2010

Actually we thought about taking a trip to California. Closest we've been to Santa Cruz is Seaside Oregon. We were visiting my aunt who lives in Walla Walla. A beautiful area, and yeah, the cold water a bit bone numbing.

We got another email from our hotel yesterday, saying they don't have any oil on their beaches and to come on down. I suppose they hadn't received the latest news on the oils arrival time. I don't see how this won't bankrupt BP, all of the lost revenue from hotels, fishermen, putt putt courses, go cart tracks, amusement parks, fruit stands. Florida will take a heavy economic hit.

euphonium · June 2010

"I don't see how this won't bankrupt BP, all of the lost revenue from hotels, fishermen, putt putt courses, go cart tracks, amusement parks, fruit stands. Florida will take a heavy economic hit.

There is, through reinsurance treaties, adequate funds to be available for legitimate claims.

Mr_Shiftright · June 2010

Well the nice thing about California is that as you travel around, you get widely varied environments---anything from warm water beaches in San Diego to excellent mountain skiing/hiking/camping in the Sierra wilderness, desert landscapes, big city living, to farmland, vineyards, dairy and horse country, giant redwood forests. I think California's unique aspect, aside from the diverse landscapes, would be how the natural world and urban world live so closely side by side. You could, if your luck was bad, get eaten by a mountain lion while in view of the San Francisco skyline. (not recommended if you come here though).

tlong · June 2010

Well the nice thing about California is that as you travel around, you get widely varied environments---anything from warm water beaches in San Diego to excellent mountain skiing/hiking/camping in the Sierra wilderness, desert landscapes, big city living, to farmland, vineyards, dairy and horse country, giant redwood forests. I think California's unique aspect, aside from the diverse landscapes, would be how the natural world and urban world live so closely side by side. You could, if your luck was bad, get eaten by a mountain lion while in view of the San Francisco skyline. (not recommended if you come here though).

As a native Californian I agree with most of what you say. I tell people who have sticker shock on the property that they are paying for the weather and the ability to have a large variety of activities within driving range.

But I would disagree that even San Diego has any warm water beaches. Water rarely gets over 70 degrees, even in late summer. So it looks nice but is still pretty cold. Not nearly as warm as the eastern seaboard.

Some of my favorite California locations are Yosemite National Park (almost a reverently beautiful place), Muir Woods, and Joshua Tree National Park.

Mr_Shiftright · June 2010

Well true. I guess I mean that in San Diego you can jump in the water and not require a paramedic.

Of course, in the "old days" people wore bathing suits in LA that you couldn't roll up and hide in a shirt pocket! :P

stever · June 2010

Bummer Jipster. Are you changing your vacation around?

I was in Anchorage when the Exxon Valdez hit and then took a long road trip shortly after. Every Fezo in New Jersey (where Captain Hazelwood is from) would see our Alaska plates and wave like crazy. Their way of saying sorry I guess - we sure appreciated the gestures.

Remediation is a bit of a joke. I went back north in 2005 and went sea kayaking out east of Seward AK. Most of the beaches up there are shale-like and you'd think they'd be easy to clean. And they look clean. I dug down a few inches and found oily stuff. Lots of species still haven't recovered to pre-spill numbers.

I bet the only way to clean the sand is to bulldoze it, cart it off and landfill or burn it. Forget trying to clean the mangrove swamps and wetlands.

boomchek · June 2010

Lst year my wife and I drove from Vancouver BC Canada down to San Francisco. We drove along the coast highway in Oregon and California. One of the most beautiful drives I've taken.

I only wish I had a sportier handling vehicle than our Jeep Patriot.

I'd recommend this drive to any car buffs. It's really worth doing it!

fezo · June 2010

I did a lot of that drive many years ago. Absolutely beautiful.

Head south from San Francisco and you wouldn't hate that one little bit either - at least until you were closing in on LA.

michaellno · June 2010

...at least until you were closing in on LA.

+1 on that comment, fezo. Anything south of Santa Barbara and you'll be in perpetual gridlock until you get to the Mexican border.

Drove from my hometown just north of LA to Eureka on vacation once ... 12+ hours to do the whole drive (of course, I did get lost in SF for a bit). Nice scenery north of SF.

berri · June 2010

Next time don't stop at SF. Hwy 101 converts to Hwy 1 in SF, continue south through Monterey, Carmel and Big Sur, then go down to at least the Hearst castle (around san Simeon I believe) - I think that is the most spectacular of the whole trip down. Hwy 101 is gorgeous in Oregon, but the next time you are in the Portland area, check out the Columbia River Gorge east of town. Even though it is a river instead of an ocean, there are some beautiful views and scenery there.

boomchek · June 2010

Thanks it's good to know! I've been to LA and south of LA many times, except I always took I5 to go down.

Next trip down there I'll make it a point to go down the coast from San Fran to LA.

Mr_Shiftright · June 2010

That's a *beautiful* drive but takes a long, long time. So plan an overnight or two. Big Sur will blow the top of your head off.

jipster · June 2010

Are you changing your vacation around?

Right now we're not sure what we're going to do. If there are only a few tar balls floating around, we may give it a go. We've always enjoyed taking the kids to the ocean... bouncing back and forth from the beach to the hotel pools. I thought maybe trying Daytona beach on the Atlantic. I would think their beaches may be safe for another couple of months. If that oil goes down one side of Florida and up the other, as some have said it will, then may be many years before anyone wants to step foot again on those beaches.

I bet the only way to clean the sand is to bulldoze it, cart it off and landfill or burn it

I read an article a few days ago about microbes eating the oil, and how certain chemicals can increase their growth. Don't know... but I would think the warmer waters of the Gulf would help break down the oil quicker than the colder waters, where the Exxon Valdez spill happened.

fezo · June 2010

Big Sur will blow the top of your head off.

Yes. Exactly.

Give me unlimited money and I think that's where I land.

Mr_Shiftright · June 2010

Well it IS in America---it's not that expensive to visit.

stever · June 2010

I heard a similar microbe story on the news today; yeah, lots warmer in the Gulf so they are hoping the oil cleans up easier than the Prince William Sound spill.

The good thing about Florida is that you can drive across it in a couple of hours from some spots. And there's always the Disney stuff I guess. John Pennekamp State Park is a good snorkeling site.

We're trying to bug out for Taos again soon and hit the other 100 weaving shops we missed the last trip.

fezo · June 2010

Oh, visiting isn't a problem. If I actually wanted to live there that's different.

Mr_Shiftright · June 2010

Well if you want a sweeping panoramic view of the ocean, or a cosy cottage on a coastal town, yeah, that costs money, but Big Sur is a very isolated place--pretty wild actually---and not everyone's cup of tea. If Hwy 1 gets closed due to floods, slides or fire, which it does on occasion, people in Big Sur are basically stranded. There is no other way out.

So moving inland a bit, you might find something affordable, by California standards I mean. But you'll be in the boonies, like you were in the Ozarks or something.

There are some fun things in Big Sur, though---*great* camping spots (to die for), the quirky Henry Miller Museum, and of course the Ambrosia Burger at Nepenthe restaurant high on the cliffs. Affordable lodging can be found at Deetjens (http://www.deetjens.com/) but they are funky places---warm weather lodging as you can sometimes peek through the walls. Also, in Monterey, you can stay for pretty cheap at Asilomar, a former YWCA camp---also in a beautiful spot and a short bike ride right to the Monterey Bay Aquarium or Spanish Bay golf club. (I don't think you want to pay the link fees for Pebble Beach :surprise: )

tallman1 · June 2010

hat's a *beautiful* drive but takes a long, long time.

I had a 1980 Datsun 200SX and took it down 101 and 1. I was soooo looking forward to all those turns in something somewhat sporty (especially compared to the car and trailer I was in with my parents as a kid).

It is very fun... until you get stuck behind an RV... which happens quite a bit. If you are a passenger and are prone to getting car sick, best to drive just a portion of it. I discovered that when I was the passenger I couldn't read anything... had to keep my eyes on the road. :sick:

Mr_Shiftright · June 2010

In Hell, everyone has to drive on Hwy 1 behind a big smelly diesel RV--for a million million years, and you're being tailgated by an 18 wheeler. :P

So you better be good.

Kirstie_H · June 2010

I had this nightmare - I'm sure it's the same afterlife vision of which you speak, because the only radio station available was the All-Polka Network.

euphonium · June 2010

And Lawrence Welk is waiting to greet you.

Mr_Shiftright · June 2010

My nightmare had an old VW van in front of me as my nemesis---appropriate given my age.

At least I could LAUGH at Lawrence Welk.

stever · June 2010

My brother and his wife both retired earlier this year and they are regrouping at our house this week. They are at 10,000 miles on their camping road trip in their Odyssey and we're envious. Minnesota, Glacier, Banff and now Boise have been the highlights since they left TN a few weeks ago. Tent camping all the way. :shades:

euphonium · June 2010

10,000 miles between leaving TN & Boise? Where have they been & in what pattern? :surprise:

stever · June 2010

The great "circle" tour. :shades:

euphonium · June 2010

Hope they have Passports to enter the USA. We've needed them just to return from Whistler.

berri · June 2010

I honestly think homeland security hassles ordinary American citizens more than stopping terrorism.

stever · June 2010

Oh yeah, they've already been to Banff and are heading to Victoria/Vancouver in a week or two.

berri · June 2010

Make sure they check out the Butchart Gardens in Victoria.

stever · June 2010

It's amazing what a millionaire can do with an old gravel pit site (or was it a quarry?). Fun spot.

fintail · June 2010

I think it's been that way for a year or so now, and even before, you'd be asked 20 questions without it.

A passport is a good idea to have anyway, makes domestic flight security easier too.

euphonium · June 2010

On one of the trips home from Whistler we had all four of our grandgirls in the car and all of us had passports. There were a lot more than 20 questions that included asking each of the girls. It helped that two of the girls had the same last name as ours. Considering the white slavery trade, I wasn't put out at all. Border proceedures are a lot tighter than in the 80's.

fintail · June 2010

I can imagine they are very cautious with kids in the car, and rightfully so. Having passports saved the day there.

I've never had a hassle at the border, maybe because of what I drive or maybe I just look innocent. Rarely more than asking about where I live, where I was, and how long I was there/am going to be there. Never been searched or anything like that.

When I was in school I once made the crossing with a friend, who was a Taiwanese national. This was before 9/11 and the reactionary measures forced by it, and it was a headache even then.

tlong · June 2010

LOL!

Don't let them read your posts at Edmunds!
:P

fintail · June 2010

Oh, if they were going to get me, they would have already done so :shades:

tlong · June 2010

Oh, if they were going to get me, they would have already done so

How do we know they don't already have you? You might be posting under duress! These things don't happen by chance you know!

:P

fintail · June 2010

I'm actually in the witness protection program, and I just can't keep quiet :shades:

tlong · June 2010

I'm actually in the witness protection program, and I just can't keep quiet

Are you really Hillary Clinton in disguise?

:shades:

stever · June 2010

I've never had a hassle at the border

I got lost once in El Paso back in the early 70's trying to find the parking lot for the pedestrian bridge to Juarez. I wound up on the international bridge and when I saw Mexican customs ahead, I did a U-Turn right on the bridge.

US Customs asked me how long I had been in Mexico and I said about a minute. Uh-huh. It took me an hour to get back to the parking lot while they searched through everything. :P

Driving a '69 VW Bus probably didn't help either....

euphonium · June 2010

At the departing ferry dock in Victoria, your 69 VW bus, paint included several Peace signs, was being torn apart by 5 or 6 Customs officers while one of the long haired people sat on the dock like an Indian playing his guitar. They missed their ferry sailing for Port Angeles. Appropriate the ferry company is named, "Black Ball".

fintail · June 2010

I am sure then and now driving a VW bus across either border gets you extra attention, and not in a good way. It didn't happen to be made out of compressed fibers, did it? :shades:

fintail · June 2010

Nah, she's too busy scheming in some kind of commie-socialist-fascist plot to post here

tlong · June 2010

Perhaps I'm Hillary Clinton! :P

euphonium · June 2010

She just "miss spoke".

stever · June 2010

Not me, but I remember one US Canadian border crossing where a car with California plates was getting searched. Turns out the two baggies in the trunk were full of herbal tea - we could smell it in the next lane over. My wife drinks that stuff. :P

And there was the canoe trip in the early 80's where 4 of us drove two cars stuffed with gear with canoes on top through the Beaver Creek customs station in the Yukon. I stopped and exchanged pleasantries with the agent and then headed a mile down the road to the roadhouse for dinner. Ten minutes later our friends showed up and I asked them if they had any trouble with customs. She said no, she just waved and drove on through.

I told her she better go back and check in. Customs hadn't called it in yet, but it was good that she went back. I'd hate to think what would happen if you tried that today.

fintail · June 2010

Bags of herbal tea when crossing the border of a nation known to have a herbal industry. Funny.

They'd probably shoot to kill today...but it would be impossible to breeze right through as public sector efficiency (like crossings staffed way under capacity during major holiday weekends) these days would ensure a line at any time.

fintail · June 2010

That's it! :P

stever · June 2010

So, good friends have a neat, off-grid house in the sage about 20 miles from Taos. They went to Alaska for the summer, so we are housesitting for a few weeks (yep, this is a solar powered post :shades: ).

This is the first trip in forever that we've had to deal with cats. So we crated them up and drove straight here from Boise. Took about 17 hours, including food and gas breaks. Not our usual mode of travel, but we had beautiful weather and the moon was mostly full. The last time we did this trip we took 2 days coming and going.

Passed one single vehicle injury wreck around Salt Lake City, and it was the first time I can ever remember the rubberneckers speeding up as we got close to the wreck to get on their way. Lots of road construction too, but we never had to wait nor had to slow down much below 40mph.

The only scary part was the last half hour after 11 pm going over the last pass in some good timber country - lots of mule deer out so I kept it around 45 and had to firmly break for critters twice.

Should be a fun place to hang out for a few weeks.

jimbres · June 2010

Sounds like a terrific getaway. I wouldn't mind seeing some pictures.

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