California Trip Summer 2024

Big Sur

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You aren’t going to make great time on that highway. And check road conditions ahead of time. I know it gets closed from time to time for landslides and such.

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Thanks for the tip. I think we will 101 it up to around Morro Bay and then hug the coast from there. From what little bit of research I’ve done it seems like that’s where all the good points of interest start.

there’s really nothing special to see till you get to Ventura/Santa Barbara area. It’s a beach, once you see part of it you don’t need to see it all. Places like Malibu aren’t that scenic from the road

Ventura is very cool, it’s like an episode of the Rockford Files

Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific is good as is the Monterrey Bay Aquarium. They are different enough to make visiting both worthwhile. Teens might enjoy a campus such as UC Santa Barbara...nice ocean views, surfers, etc.

Whatever you plan to do at Yosemite book now. A pass is needed just to drive in.

I've never been, but the Fort Ord Monument just north of Monterrey might be fun for kids... a crumbling Vietnam-era Army base with nature trails.

Salinas has been trying to get a tourist neighborhood going. There's a nice Steinbeck Museum there.

I don't think you can book this far out, Yosemite is a mess these days.

Thanks for heads up. I got a reservation for entry on the recreation.gov site. Glad y’all mentioned that bc we will be in the park on July 2-4 so I’d imagine it’ll be extra busy for the holiday.

Montecito just south of Santa Barbara has some cool hikes. Romero Canyon is right by Oprah's house and Cold Spring closer to Santa Barbara. The mountains meet the ocean there.
San Luis Obispo is a neat city if you want to split the drive into two days so you arent rushed.
The drive from Morro Bay to Monterey is pretty incredible, you'll want to stop a lot.

The 17 mile drive from Carmel through Pebble Beach golf course is beautiful.

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Slinger1317

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Wow. I promise I’m not stalking you but that’s funny bc you went to Greece just a few weeks before me if I remember correctly . So far our plan is to fly Houston to LAX on June 26. It’s a later flight so we will knock off around the Camarillo or Agoura Hills area just outside of LA and then work our way up the coast the following day towards Monterey. So far we plan on stopping at Morro Bay , Hearst Castle(San Simeon), and prob several other lookouts along the way. We are staying at the Holiday Inn Express at Cannery Row for 5 nights . My teen boys are big into golf and are gonna play the Spanish Bay course. Wife, me, and 5 yr old don’t have anything too much planned for the area other than Monterey aquarium and one day trip up to Santa Cruz boardwalk (even though I’m reading more and more that SC is a bit of a shithole ). When we’re done there we are gonna head up towards Yosemite and are staying in Oakhurst, CA . It doesn’t look to be too bad a drive to the south entrance of Yosemite. With the 5yr old in tow I don’t think I’ll get to dive into Yosemite as much as I’d like to but gonna try to see as much as I can. I’m really looking forward to it. I’m burning up all my PTO between june1 and mid July wife and I are going just the two of us to Switzerland in early June . Both trips seem like they’ll be a lot of fun. Slowly workin my way through my bucket list while I still can. Ahwanee looks awesome and I really wanted to stay in the park but with the two trips so close together I was trying to shave a few bucks off here and there.

One thing that often gets overlooked that’s pretty cool is the Reagan Library in Simi Valley. If you’re into that type of stuff
https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/