Our August 2001 trip to California.
August 3
rd FridayArrive in Santa Ana around 11:00 a.m., rent car, and drive to El Toro to see where I lived.
Also visit Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary from 1:30 to 2:30. It would be better to visit in March, and in the morning.
Mission San Juan Capistrano in the afternoon from 3:00 to 4:00.
On down to Oceanside to visit friends and stay the night with them.
Saturday.
Visit Legoland in Carlsbad from 9:00 a.m. (we got there after 10:00 a.m.)
Meet friends at noon in the big Lego store. Stay in the park probably until dinner-time (perhaps 6:00 p.m.). Then drive south into San Diego. We tried to visit a friend, but he wasn't home. It would have been better to have stayed in Legoland until the park closed at 8:00. Legoland was fun, but the lines were long (as we expected, this being an August weekend). We saved money by staying at a motel about 25 miles south of San Diego (on the border).
Sunday.
We went to the San Diego Zoo with my friend in the morning, arriving just a few minutes after nine. We only walked around until 11:20, so this was clearly not enough time, but we had to meet our friends at the border crossing at noon. We arrived at 12:03 (possible because my friend lives near the zoo and this was a Sunday so there was no traffic getting to the border). In Tijuana we saw the flying pole dance at the Cultural Center, and then got a bus down to Ensenada. In Ensenada we stayed at the Days Inn Villafontana ($55 per night)
August 6
th. Monday.Our big adventure on this day was our trek down to a beach several miles south of town. We took local buses and walked a few miles to get there, and then we found the beach was disappointing, but we still had a good time.
August 7
th. Tuesday.We took a bus back up to Tijuana leaving Ensenada around 11:00 a.m. After a little bit of shopping in Tijuana we were across the border and driving up to San Diego by 2:00 p.m. We stopped in Redlands to see the University (we arrived at about 5:00). We stopped in Cabazon to see the dinosaurs and eat at the Wheel Inn, leaving at about sunset. We stopped for the night in the Harmony Motel, the first motel (on the right) as you enter 29 Palms, although in fact the motel is just inside the city border, and still a mile or so away from (above) the developed area. The Harmony Motel was the best deal we had for paid accommodations on this trip, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone else.
August 8
th. Wednesday.Get up early before the heat, and enter Joshua Tree by 8:00 a.m. at latest.
Morning in Joshua Tree National Park until about 11:00 a.m., then we drive five hours up to South Lake (near Bishop).
We actually didn't leave Joshua Tree until noon. We stopped for lunch in Apple Valley, and took another short break in Lone Pine. We got a motel in Big Pine (they only had one room left in the whole town by the time we arrived, around 5:30). We drove up to the Bristlecone Pines from Big Pine, and had about 90 minutes to look around and hike before it began to get dark. The road from Big Pine to the Bristlecone Pines is one of the most winding roads I've ever experienced. I thought the trees and views were worth it.
August 9
th Thursday. We went up to Parchers Resort near South Lake in the morning and took a short hike. We rented some fishing poles and tried to catch some trout in the creek by Parchers, but had no luck. We stopped in the Laws museum for nearly an hour on our way out of Bishop. When we got to the Tioga Pass we found it was closed, so we had to go all the way up to the Sonoma pass, and couldn't get to Yosemite Village until nearly 10:00 p.m. If the Tioga pass had been open we could have stopped for a hike at Tuolumne Meadows and still made it into Yosemite Valley before 7:00 p.m.August 10
th. Friday. Morning to hike around Yosemite Valley. Hiked up to Vernal Falls, which still had a bit of water. Leave Yosemite around 5:30 p.m. and drove though Chinese Camp to Manteca, arriving in Manteca after 7:00, where we had dinner in a Chinese restaurant. We arrived in Albany at a relative's house after 9:00 p.m.August 11
th. Saturday. We went to San Francisco and walked around Chinatown. We came back to Albany for the afternoon and evening.August 12
th Sunday.We spent the day with some relatives in South San Francisco, and then we spent the night at Montara at the lighthouse. The lighthouse grounds are leased to American Youth Hostels, Incorporated. The grounds are open from 7:30-9:30 AM and 5-9:30 PM.
For more information or hostel reservations call (415) 728-7177
August 13
th MondayIn the morning we went back up to South San Francisco for a bite to eat (we were waiting for the tide to get lower). We went tidepooling at a marine preserve in the early afternoon for a couple hours, and then we stopped at Año Nuevo State Reserve to see the elephant seals. There weren't many there, but we did see a few. We got into Santa Cruz and met our relatives there after 6:00 p.m.
August 14
th TuesdayWe went down to Monterey and spent the day at the Aquarium. Around 3:00 we stopped at the Denis the Menace playground for an hour, and then headed back up toward Santa Cruz where we had dinner with our relatives and walked along the beach.
August 15
th Wednesday.We drove down to San Luis Obispo to visit some more of our relatives. We took the inland route instead of highway 1.
August 16
th ThursdayHearst San Simeon state historic monument. The San Luis Obispo Children's Museum, the mission, and some state beaches where we went tidepooling. Instead of spending a second night in San Luis Obispo we drove down to Lompoc in the evening after enjoying the first hour of the San Luis Obispo Farmers' Market.
August 17
th Friday.Morning at the Mission in Lompoc. A short stop in Santa Barbara to see the mission there. Lunch in Los Angeles. We arrived in Exposition Park around 3:30 and visited the Natural History Museum. After the museum closed we enjoyed the rose garden, and then our boys played at a playground. We left downtown just before 6:00, hoping the worst of rush hour would be over. We arrived in Anaheim and checked into our hotel shortly after 7:00.
August 18
th SaturdayAnaheim and Orange County attractions. We had dinner in San Pedro. Seafood at the port.
August 19
th SundayAnother day in Orange County. We went to Laguna Beach this day.
August 20
th MondayOur third day in Orange County.
August 21
st. TuesdayWe flew back from California.