NY Forum Trip to Los Angeles: Year Two!

[CSI_in_training]

^^Now, the first route sounds beautiful. like my drive home to BC through the mountians. Even in the middle of summer there's snow atop the rockies. That's a beautiful sight, even if I dislike winter.
Elsie, Thank you. It's a little bit of a scary thought to consider having now hair for so long, but I feel really good doing it.

 

[CSINYRULZ]

I totally agree with Mrs. G, and strongly suggest the drive down PCH from San Fran-L.A. its gorgeous, its something everyone should do at least once, and I also agree, the "other way" is a total pain in the rear-end to drive, stupid big rigs, people who wont drive the speed limit, 2 lane highway for like 3/4 of the drive...my vote: PCH!

 

[Elsie]

Elsie - As a native Californian who lives near San Francisco and often makes the drive to LA, let me give you a piece of advice. DEFINITELY go the Pacific Coast Highway route. It will take you FOREVER. Winding road, rarely any more than two lanes in each direction, sometimes slow traffic. Plan on it taking about 9+ hours.

Yep that's what I've heard. Winding road, takes forever but is beautiful. :lol: We're planning to do the journey over two days so we can stop a few places on the way and take our time.

I also agree, the "other way" is a total pain in the rear-end to drive, stupid big rigs, people who wont drive the speed limit, 2 lane highway for like 3/4 of the drive...my vote: PCH!

:lol: We'll definitely use the PCH. I shall come to you two for all of my Californian travel questions. :lol: Don't worry, I don't think I actually have any questions to annoy you with just yet.

 

[CSINYRULZ]

^^ Its better to make the trip over a few days anyway, theres some great little restaurants and shops along the PCH, I think some of the restaurants, or rather "holes in the wall" have been featured on Food Networks, 'Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives' and ive eaten at a few of them, and they werent half bad.

Thats what we're here for, all the californian advice you can get outta us... lol. But seriously, take the PCH, plus, the time of year you'll be driving it makes it THAT much better - warm, sunny days - exactly what cali is all about.

 

[CSI_in_training]

If I'm ever tempted to take a road trip, I will consider everything you just said. It sounds beautiful, and if I was driving instead of flying, that sounds like the way I would go.

 

[Top41]

I went to Santa Barbara this weekend and drove up the 101 to get there--it really is such a beautiful trip! The ocean is amazing, as are the hills. It's so pretty!

 

[Orison]

Santa Barbara is one of the places I'd love to see... I hope you take a lot of pics, Elsie!

 

[CSI_in_training]

^^And then share with those of us who've never seen this apparent beauty!

 

[NOLAGRRL]

Elsie - As a native Californian who lives near San Francisco and often makes the drive to LA, let me give you a piece of advice. DEFINITELY go the Pacific Coast Highway route. It will take you FOREVER. Winding road, rarely any more than two lanes in each direction, sometimes slow traffic. Plan on it taking about 9+ hours. The alternative is the route I take, which runs straight down the center of California. It takes about 6 hours and is the most ass ugly, God forsaken truck stop-riddled shit hole of a drive. Take my route and you'll never want to visit us in California again. But Pacific Coast Highway is really what California is all about and the view is incredible.

I can't wait to do this!!! The DH and I went to a wedding in FL and his groomsman gift was a trip to EPCOT where we rode on "Soarin'" and the entire time we just got more and more hyped about the trip this summer. :thumbsup: Even if he does think I am a little nuts about the whole meeting people from online in LA thing, at least he is willing to give it a go. Now for all you native folk, how long should one make this trip if starting in SF and heading down to LA?

 

[Top41]

^I would say at least a week, if not more if you've got the time. A week (and I'm including both weekends) would allow you 4 days in SF, a day to drive down and then 4 days in LA. You could always take the driving down slower and stop in Santa Barbara or some other middle ground place for a day/night. But I'd recommend at least a week. SF is fun, as is LA of course.

 

[Top41]

Well, MrsG and I had a wild weekend in L.A. and we've mostly planned the trip out. Oh, and we got some interesting DVDs which we sampled on Saturday night. :lol: I will let MrsG fill you in more on that. :lol:

I'll go ahead and post the tentative schedule--at this point, some things may change, but these are the basics:

Thursday, July 31st: Pizza and Porn night! We'll welcome everyone to Los Angeles with a relaxed evening of pizza...and porn. :lol: For the guys and the squeamish/those not interested, we'll have a card game going in another room/area when the entertainment for the evening is on TV. :lol:

Friday, August 1st: Universal Studios Tour and Theme Park, 10am. Dinner, Prizzi's Piazza, 7pm
Drinks, TBD (possibly Vinoteca Wine Bar)

Saturday, August 2nd: Venice or Malibu Beach, 11am
Dinner, Geisha House, 7:30pm
Drinks/Music, Hotel Cafe, 10pm

Sunday, August 3rd: Lunch, Big Wangs, 12pm
Griffith Park Observatory, 2pm
Dinner, LaLas, 5:30pm

It's a little less packed than last year's schedule--no 8am hike or shopping that takes us from West Hollywood to Beverly Hills all in an afternoon and nothing starts too early. And of course, everything is optional--you can pick and choose what you want to do.

However...to give us an idea of what people are up for and what people aren't really all that interested in, if you guys could post here and let us know if there's anything you love or hate on the schedule. If no one is interested in going to Universal Studios for example, that's something we can take off the list. And if there's something you absolutely think you want to do while you're here, feel free to suggest it. We want this trip to be a lot of fun for everyone. We've tried to vary it a bit because so many of you who came last year are coming again this year (YAY!!! ), so please give us some feedback!

 

[Faylinn]

I'm not helpful because I don't care what we do--I just want to hang out with y'all.

Thursday, July 31st: Pizza and Porn night!

Starting things out with a bang, mama likey. :devil:

I need to get a new ID before this summer. Mine hasn't expired, but it still says "Under 21" on it. :lol: (Granted, I don't think I'll be drinking, but you never know.) It also has an old address on it.

How many of y'all are like "ok, the schedule is up, I need to get started on my diet now"? It can't just be me.

 

[Top41]

^ *HUGS Fay*

Never hurts to get a current ID. The places we picked are way low key--a lot of people seemed pretty "meh" about the clubs last year, so the places we picked for hanging out after dinner are pretty laid back. Hotel Cafe is awesome--it's a chill live music place where a lot of indie artists go to play. And I'm going to go to Vinoteca in a few weeks so we'll know for sure then, but it's in Los Feliz, which is a really fun part of L.A.

And yeah, we figured pizza and porn night would be a good way to start out so that people could chat and get to know each other in a relaxed atmosphere. And for those who can't come in until Friday, you won't miss any of the big activities.

 

[Elsie]

Well, MrsG and I had a wild weekend in L.A. and we've mostly planned the trip out. Oh, and we got some interesting DVDs which we sampled on Saturday night. :lol: I will let MrsG fill you in more on that. :lol:

Aww, sounds like you had a great time. :lol: And you shopped for DVD's together? That's what friends are for...

Sunday, August 3rd: Lunch, Big Wangs, 12pm

Yay! MrElsie's favourite place in LA. He is easily pleased.

The itinerary looks great to me.

I need to get a new ID before this summer. Mine hasn't expired, but it still says "Under 21" on it. :lol: (Granted, I don't think I'll be drinking, but you never know.) It also has an old address on it.

I was disappointed not to get asked for ID at all last summer. It's sad that no one thinks I might just possibly be under 21. :lol:

How many of y'all are like "ok, the schedule is up, I need to get started on my diet now"? It can't just be me.

I started my diet last week. It's not going well.

 

[Top41]

Aww, sounds like you had a great time. :lol: And you shopped for DVD's together? That's what friends are for...

We did! MrsG and I are now the proud owners of The Big C's and Bad Boys on Duty, respectively. :lol: Sadly, the title that was recommended to us, Good Cops Gone Bad wasn't in stock.

Yay! MrElsie's favourite place in LA. He is easily pleased.

Sweet! We almost forgot Big Wangs but then we remembered how much everyone liked it. Plus, the Hill connection! So it's a must-visit.

I was disappointed not to get asked for ID at all last summer. It's sad that no one thinks I might just possibly be under 21. :lol:

I actually think that might be an LA thing. I go out to dinner a lot with friends of varying ages, and we rarely get carded. After all, this is where Lindsay Lohan and the Olsen twins did a lot of their underage partying. :lol: