Go West!

[CrispyA]

I've read lots of trip reports and find them really interesting and helpful for planning, so I've decided to do one of my own. This forum has been a great source of information and I hope that some of you find something useful here too!

I think I've got the gist of how to do this . . .

The Cast

Elizabeth - Da Boss - that's me. I'm the planner and organiser, grand booker-of-things and cheerleader - in short, I am the Clark Griswold of this family, although I haven't (to date) ever waved a gun at a theme park attendant!

Paul - Daddy Cool - that's the husband. He does secondary planning, drives the car and organises the outdoorsy stuff.

Hannah - Sarcastic Teen - eldest child. Planning on shopping and sunbathing and shows.

Evan - Small Boy - youngest child. Enthusiastic about almost all things.

The Trip

We are going on a 4 state West Coast Road Trip. Woohoo! When Paul and I got married, we went to San Francisco on our honeymoon and drove down to LA, across to Vegas and back up to the wine country through central California. We had a fabulous trip and have talked about it a lot with the kids and they wanted to visit California for themselves. So we've planned a trip that retraces some of our footsteps, adds the bits we missed and misses out the parts we don't have time for (Northern California) and didn't like (Los Angeles). It's a lot to fit into the time but there's so much to see and do there!

Plus we like to be busy . . .

The Plan

We fly from Manchester to Phoenix, stopping at Heathrow & JFK on the way. Bizarrely it was cheaper to start at Manchester than Heathrow but who can explain flight pricing?

We stay over at Sky Harbor Airport and then head out.

Day 1 - Phoenix to Grand Canyon (via Sedona if time is on our side)

Day 2 - Grand Canyon to Lake Powell

Day 3 - Lake Powell to Springdale, Bryce Canyon on the way

Day 4 - Zion Canyon

Day 5 - Springdale to Las Vegas (Cirque du Soleil Zarkana in the evening)

Day 6 - Las Vegas

Day 7 - Las Vegas to Death Valley

Day 8 - Death Valley to Lee Vining

Day 9 - Lee Vining to Yosemite Valley (staying over in a tent that has cost more than nearly all of the hotels!)

Day 10 - Yosemite Valley to Angels Camp

Day 11 - Angels Camp

Day 12 - Angels Camp to San Francisco (via the Coliseum to see the Oakland A's play the Minnesota Twins)

Day 13 - San Francisco (night tour of Alcatraz)

Day 14 - San Francisco to Carmel (via Monterey Bay Aquarium)

Day 15 - Carmel to San Luis Obispo

Day 16 - San Luis Obispo to San Diego

Day 17 - 21 - San Diego (including USS Midway, San Diego Zoo and hopefully a whale watching trip)

So it's a fairly hectic itinerary! We've booked all the accommodation - for a family of four travelling in peak holiday time, it seemed sensible. We've also booked lots of tickets for other attractions, eg Alcatraz and Vegas, so a lot of things are paid for in advance. We've tried to alternate long drives with some shorter drives so the driver doesn't get burnt out, although he loves driving in the USA.

We had a brilliant time in Florida in 2012 and really want to go back, but there is so much more of the USA to see and the National Parks are so amazing - it's hard to fit it all in!

[MichelleS]

Sounds like an amazing holiday

[katiebaz]

Sounds a brilliant trip, have an amazing time and can't wait to see your trip report

[lovedisney89]

Sounds like a great trip!

[CrispyA]

Thanks everyone. It's been planned and booked for so long now, I've been trying not to think too much about it so I don't get obsessed. However, we go soon and I'm getting ever so slightly giddy!

[Squidge6]

Sounds like a great trip! Looking forward to reading more!

[Guest]

Sounds fab! When do you go?

[CrispyA]

Very soon!

[abiknox]

Sounds fab, I look forward to the trippy.