West Coast Highs and Lows

[Pookle]

Just back after three weeks and thought I'd do a highs and lows post... We did 20 nights, seven different hotels (had to change plans because of Yosemite fires and almost 3,000 miles covering LA, Las Vegas, Death Valley, Lee Vining, San Francisco, Monterey/Carmel and Santa Barbara.

All the hotels we stayed at were lovely and I'd not hesitate in recommending them!

Out of everywhere we went San Francisco was my favourite place. I'd read a lot about the homeless etc but didn't see nearly as many as I thought, in fact I see more here in the local towns

And the other pleasant surprise...LA traffic. Not nearly as bad as I was expecting and not really any worse than driving across Birmingham at rush hour.

Starting with the lows...

The Bellagio caused a nightmare with money, they took our money twice, put a hold on our currency card to the tune of $2,000 and they were useless at sorting it out. They did give us two nights for free in the end because of it and saved us $800.

I didn't love the smell of smoke everywhere when we stayed at The Bellagio. Could always faintly smell it, even up on 21st floor where our room was.

Middle of nowhere, Death Valley, no mobile signal, someone manages to reverse into our hire car. Damage not too bad but what was the chances?

Drove all the way to Tioga Pass and it was closed - we had already changed plans from Yosemite but still needed to get to San Francisco. The next road up was also closed. Had to take a detour!


There were a few mehs...

I wasn't overawed by the Pacific Coast Highway. I think maybe my expectations were too high but I've seen equally good vistas in Cornwall. Glad we did it but it wouldn't be a must-do for me in the future.

People raved about the Universal Studio Tour. I thought it was a bit contrived. Glad we didn't queue for ages, I would have been disappointed!

Santa Monica - too many people. It was okay, but it was crammed and it didn't feel anything special.


Now for the highs..of which there are many

The Neon Museum in Las Vegas - we loved this, the tour guide was entraining and informative and this was a great hour of our time. Would definitely recommend and make sure you book.

We all enjoyed the Warner Bros Studio Tour. I was desperate to see some Gilmore Girls stuff but they were filming on the lot so had to miss out on that, that's how it goes though and I thought it was a great tour regardless.

We had early entry at Universal so got into The Wizarding World of Harry Potter first thing. Not a Harry Potter fan but we all loved Harry Potter and The Forbidden Journey and was by far the best ride of the day.

Highway 4 was our detour instead of Tioga Pass and what a view. Some lovely stop off points too, lakes to picnic at etc. Was a great alternative.

Restaurants we loved - Peggy Sue's Diner on the way to Las Vegas, the Epic Cafe at Lee Vining (loved this place!), Flahertys in Carmel (amazing crab cakes), The Sur in Carmel - great steak and amazing Artic Bon Bon dessert that the kids loved with all the dry ice, Baja Cantina in Carmel - full of locals and Mexican food to die for!

We did one night at the Furnace Creek Ranch - could have been easily put off as they are doing major construction there but loved it. Everyone was so friendly, the food court was a good experience and the pool was awesome. Spring fed, like being in the bath so warm and the darkest and starriest of skies to stare up at while floating around.

We did a day trip to South Rim Grand Canyon from Vegas. Long long day but well worth it. Stopped at Hoover Dam at 8.30am, nobody else there.

Lake Canyon Drive to view the Hollywood Sign was definitely the best spot, good views and photo ops.

Whale watching with Sanctuary Cruises - these guys were great! 100% recommend them. Really informative, helpful, good with the kids, friendly and chatty. Great experience all round.

Rented bikes to go across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito and ferry back. Was a good experience. Great burger at Napa Valley Gourmet Burger Co. Ferry was busy but the company put on extra vessels so that was mega helpful.

I'm sure there was more...feel free to ask any questions!

[disneypars]

Sounds like a fantastic trip. Shame about Yosemite though. Hopefully do something similar next year although September time. Thanks for the post.

[mickey68]

Glad you had a good trip it sounds amazing! Thank you for your info. Your comment about the LA traffic made me smile as I was concerned about this but my daily commute involves crossing from one side of Birmingham to the other which at the moment is a trial with all the road works! Hopefully we will be pleasantly surprised too!

[kingofhonour]

Glad you had a great trip,some good information there,thanks for that as going for three weeks next May.

[florida girl]

Sounds like a fabulous trip. Never done the Neon museum in Las Vegas might add to our list if we get time.

[LozSteelers]

Sounds like a great trip. Not long til mine now!

[400ixl]

Glad you enjoyed Death Valley, one of my favourite parts of the west coast.

Like you, never understood why people think the Universal Studio backlot ride is good as a studio tour. Its really just another ride in the park. I guess if you haven't done a real studio tour it could be seen as really good. Bit like if you haven't been to the South Rim, the West Rim will impress you and you will come away happy.

You will have to go back another year to do the parts you had to change and all the other areas you didn't get to see. San Diego next?

[MissJRabbit]

Good to know LA traffic isn’t too bad! Did you drive at peak times? Sounds like you had a great trip, shame about the fires!

How long did the Warner Bros tour take? I’m really looking forward to this tour!

[Harry]

`I wasn't overawed by the Pacific Coast Highway`.


Blimey...

[MichelleB]

Glad you had a great time.