California and Nevada Road Trip 2009

[Sarah84]

Sounds like a fantastic trip, look forward to reading more

[Lola]

Wow - this sounds very like the trip we did a few weeks ago. In fact it's all the places we did and the same number of nights and hotels. It's hard work but a stunning trip. Be prepared for highs and lows of temperaturs and get yourself a Sat Nav. I would love to do it again

[richard252]

Originally Posted by Lola

Wow - this sounds very like the trip we did a few weeks ago. In fact it's all the places we did and the same number of nights and hotels. It's hard work but a stunning trip. Be prepared for highs and lows of temperaturs and get yourself a Sat Nav. I would love to do it again

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We have got 2 sat navs... so we should`nt get lost

[richard252]

Monday 21 September.
After dropping the car off at the long stay parking, its off to T3 to do the bag drop at the Virgin Atlantic check-in desk.
On the way to the departure lounge, we will make a stop at Krispy Kreme donuts for some breakfast!
Hopefully our flight will be on time and we should land at LA at around 2:25pm, then clear immigration and pick up our Ford Explorer from Budget (booked via usrentacar) at around 4pm and begin our journey out of LA.
We decided to head towards Death Valley for the start of this road trip, but we did`nt want to stay in LA for the night and leave ourselves a long drive the next day, so we driving 90 miles out of LA on the I-15 (the road that links LA and Vegas) and staying the night at a Holiday Inn Express at Hesperia.


Holiday Inn Express, Hesperia

Tuesday 22 September.
Today we will be driving 233 miles from Hesperia to Furnace Creek in Death Valley. Daytime temperatures in Death Valley average at 105F at the end of September so we will make a stop at the local Walmart first and get some supplies (mainly water) for the drive through the Mojave desert.
After the drive through the desert and stopping off at Badwater (lowest point in the western hemisphere at -282 feet below sea level) we will be staying the night at The Furnace Creek Ranch.
In the evening we will eat at one of the restaurants at the ranch, and then make use of the outdoor pool which is heated by warm springs and keeps a constant temperature of 82F.


Death Valley

Wednesday 23 September.
The day will probably start with another swim in the outdoor pool and a bit of early morning sunbathing before it gets too hot and then check out of The Ranch and continue our drive through the desert.
We will head north from Furnace Creek and drive to Bishop which is a 163 mile drive, stopping on the way at Stovepipe Wells Village in Death Valley, and then Mount Whitney which is America`s highest mountain south of Alaska at just under 14,500 feet, before arriving in Bishop and staying the night at The Holiday Inn Express.


The road through Death Valley

More to follow...

[Guest]

After all the planning YOU and I have done, I am really looking forward to this trip

[tracyh]

I will read this in the morning Richard, too late now but looking forward to reading your plans.

[richard252]

Thursday 24 September.
Early start today with a long drive of about 230 miles and a day at Yosemite Park planned.
After having the complimentary breakfast at the hotel, we will head north on the 395 and start our drive up into the Sierra Nevada mountains.
When we reach a town called Lee Vining, we will then take the very scenic Highway 120 which is also known as the Tioga Pass Road which will take us over the the top of the mountains and into Yosemite Park.


Highway 120 - Tioga Road Pass

We will then head for Yosemite Village where we will go on the Valley floor tour (2 hours) and then do some exploring of the area on our own, which will include taking our car and driving to Glacier Point.
After we have finished looking around Yosemite, we will then head out of the Park on Highway 120 towards San Francisco and stop for the night at The Best Western Rama Inn at Oakdale.


Yosemite Park


Friday 25 September.
We only have a short drive of 98 miles into San Francisco today. We will probably have a bit of a later start today after the long drive and day out at Yosemite Park yesterday. Our route will take us through Oakland and then we will cross over the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge into San Francisco and onto our hotel The Columbus Motor Inn on Columbus Ave for a 3 night stay.Just before we get to our hotel, we will drive down Lombard Street as it is only 2 blocks behind our hotel.
There are hundreds of hotels to pick from in San Francisco. The reasons for picking this hotel were the good reviews, its close to Pier 39 and Ghirardelli Sq, the Powell/Mason cable car line is 2 blocks away and it has FREE parking which is rare in San Fran.
During the afternoon we will head downtown and to Union Square on a cable car and make our way to The Cheesecake Factory at Macys for an evening meal before returning to the hotel on the cable car.



Columbus Motor Inn

Saturday 26 September.
Today we are doing a 5 hour city tour with San Francisco Shuttle Tours. We will have an early breakfast somewhere along the Embarcadero as we have to be at the Ferry building for the 9am tour.
After the tour in the afternoon, we plan to have a walk around Pier 39 and Ghirardelli Square.
Hopefully after visiting Chinatown on the city tour, we will have a few recommendations of good chinese restaurants to go to, so in the evening we will use the cable car to get to Chinatown.



Cable Car with Alcatraz Island in the distance

Sunday 27 September.
Its a tour of Alcatraz today. We have booked the first tour of the day at 9am.We may try Pats Cafe (review recommended) for breakfast which is across the road from our hotel, then its off to pier 33 to catch our cruise across to Alcatraz island.
Not too sure what we will do in the afternoon, we may take the car over the Golden Gate bridge and go to Muir woods and see the giant redwoods, or we may go and do something that gets recommended to us.
In the evening we will take the cable car and either get off at Chinatown or downtown and go to a restaurant.


Alcatraz

More to follow...

[tracyh]

Sounding really good so far Richard, I can see that you've put a lot of thought and time into the planning. We haven't pre-booked many trips and tours, we have booked Alcatraz and we know what else we want to do but haven't booked yet. We may book the SF city tour.

I think you'll be glad of the big car and the extra space, we booked an suv for the same reason. We plan to buy a polystyrene type cool box and leave in the trunk or back of the car and keep refilling with ice yo keep drinks cool. Looking forward to the next installment.

[DisneyMadAng]

What a fantastic trip you have planned. Am looking forward to reading you trip report.

[richard252]

Originally Posted by DisneyMadAng

What a fantastic trip you have planned. Am looking forward to reading you trip report.

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Really looking forward to Yosemite Park after reading your fantastic trip report and seeing the pictures.

____________

Richard.