Help - What to See and Photograph in Southern California? (Page 4): Thanks Mooseeyes, SharpShooter and Mogul! Both of you have been very generous and helpful; it is most appreciated...

Festina Lente Loc: Florida & Missouri

Thanks Mooseeyes, SharpShooter and Mogul!

Both of you have been very generous and helpful; it is most appreciated (far better than any travel article or website!)

I will take BOTH of your suggestions, and plan to visit the park for 1.5 days in June with an overnight so we can get there early in the morning. Then we will plan a more extensive trip in October.

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

Festina Lente wrote:

Thanks Mooseeyes, SharpShooter and Mogul!

Both of you have been very generous and helpful; it is most appreciated (far better than any travel article or website!)

I will take BOTH of your suggestions, and plan to visit the park for 1.5 days in June with an overnight so we can get there early in the morning. Then we will plan a more extensive trip in October.

Call for reservations now; they are hard to get.

GlennInEncinitas Loc: Encinitas CA

There are MANY fantastic sights for fun and photography in San Diego County. Four that I would not miss are:

1. La Jolla Cove
2. Cabrillo National Monument
3. Balboa Park
4. Hotel del Coronado

Festina Lente Loc: Florida & Missouri

gbortnick wrote:

There are MANY fantastic sights for fun and photography in San Diego County. Four that I would not miss are:

1. La Jolla Cove
2. Cabrillo National Monument
3. Balboa Park
4. Hotel del Coronado

Thanks!
Clearly we have our work cut out for us, but since this is a vacation, we are going to try to focus on what seems the most interesting and those attractions that may not be overly crowded. I'm not sure we can do that, but it is plan...

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

Festina Lente wrote:

We plan to stay an extra week to 10 days to tour the area before departing LA for home.

We will have a rental car and hope to get away from the city and explore some scenic locations, towns, and drives and find several picturesque places to stay for a night or two.

...... we will head out on Sunday (23rd) and spend the week, with tentative plans to fly back home the following Sunday. But we are flexible.

Festina,
With regards to your general plan, may I suggest an alternative? Instead of driving north to explore Central California and then returning to LA, continue your drive north, see a bit more of our state, then turn in your car and depart from San Francisco. It would give you at least one extra day (you won't have to retrace your steps) and allow you at least a brief visit to the bay area.

Festina Lente Loc: Florida & Missouri

Mogul wrote:

Festina,
With regards to your general plan, may I suggest an alternative? Instead of driving north to explore Central California and then returning to LA, continue your drive north, see a bit more of our state, then turn in your car and depart from San Francisco. It would give you at least one extra day (you won't have to retrace your steps) and allow you at least a brief visit to the bay area.

Good idea!
I looked into that and between one-way fares from the airline (except Southwest) and one way fees for the rental car, it was discouraging.
But it is just money, and time is what I'm short of.
You have prompted me to re-evaluate that frugal thinking. Thanks! :thumbup:

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

Festina Lente wrote:

Good idea!
I looked into that and between one-way fares from the airline (except Southwest) and one way fees for the rental car, it was discouraging.
But it is just money, and time is what I'm short of.
You have prompted me to re-evaluate that frugal thinking. Thanks! :thumbup:

If you go through Sacramento, let me know and I can give you a tour of the California State Railroad Museum. It's not the largest in the country, but it is one of the most popular. We have a couple of pieces that can be found nowhere else in the world. PM me and I will give you my phone number.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Festina Lente wrote:

Good idea!
I looked into that and between one-way fares from the airline (except Southwest) and one way fees for the rental car, it was discouraging.
But it is just money, and time is what I'm short of.
You have prompted me to re-evaluate that frugal thinking. Thanks! :thumbup:

Festina, that Mogul should have a tour company. He is full of all kinds of great ideas. You should take him up on that tour of the train museum.
If you do return back to your starting location, there is no need to double back the way you came. Don't forget that in California we have that little road that was made special to return photographers back to their point of origin. It's called Hiway One. Lots to see and photograph on the coastal road. And like many places in California, it's a destination all of its own. But again, any time, no matter how brief, it's worth seeing.
Festina, no matter where you go, you'll enjoy yourself.
Who knows, like many, California becomes home, and home becomes the vacation.

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

SharpShooter wrote:

Festina, that Mogul should have a tour company. He... (show quote)

Festina, if you can't arrange to fly out of SFO (actually an ordeal worse then LAX), SharpShooter has an excellent idea. You could then see Big Sur, the Hearst Castle, Monterey, Santa Barbara, etc. You might even get a chance for a shot of the California Condor, the ugliest bird in the world, but surpassed in flight only by the Andean Condor.

Festina Lente Loc: Florida & Missouri

Mogul wrote:

If you go through Sacramento, let me know and I can give you a tour of the California State Railroad Museum. It's not the largest in the country, but it is one of the most popular. We have a couple of pieces that can be found nowhere else in the world. PM me and I will give you my phone number.

Thanks! Quite a generous offer Mogul! I'd be very honored.
I'm not certain that we will travel that far north this trip, but Yosemite is beckoning for a trip on its own this fall, and heading to Sacramento would be a great sidebar.
I love trains and we have a fairly decent transportation museum in Missouri, but nothing is operational and photographs all seem to be marred by signs and non-period objects in the backgrounds. Hearing steam and smelling coal burring is exciting.

I'll send you a PM in a few months and see if we can arrange something. I'd really like that.