Ask HN: Los Angeles to San Fran, where to visit? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Los Angeles to San Fran, where to visit?

13 pointshella19 comments

I'm driving up from LA to San Fran. (1st time I'm visiting NorCal.)

Where should I stop on the way?

Stick to the cost as much as possible, but check with CHP (California Highway Patrol) if Hwy 1 is open between Morro Bay and Monterey. That stretch of Hwy 1 is a dangerous, but gorgeous, drive. Occasionally it gets closed due to rock/mud slides in the winter.

Pismo Beach (go for a drive on the sand).

Avila Beach (Figure out why it's called "Harms Bay")

Morro Bay

Big Sur

Monterey/Carmel

Santa Cruz

Half Moon Bay

Hearst Castle. It's stunning, and a great story. (Also, I want an afternoon alone on the driveway up the hill to the castle on my motorcycle...)

I second Hearst Castle. Goes well when paired with Citizen Kane.

Also, Monterey is cool. Can also be paired with Cannery Row by Steinbeck.

I've done this (as a tourist) several times and The Madonna Inn at San Luis Obispo stands out as the most amazing place I've stayed at along that stretch (though even a brief visit is recommended). Their steak restaurant hit me with one of my best steaks too. I love it enough that I took 6 other people all the way from England to go visit it <g>

Santa Cruz was also awesome. Hearst Castle was OK. Big Sur was beautiful. We didn't like Monterey though the aquarium was pretty good. And my wife and I fell in love with San Luis Obispo as a city - it seems to have a perfect blend of size and youth without being hyperactive or "big".

The Madonna Inn is an expensive and absurdly gaudy tourist trap. It is laughably and entertainingly over-the-top if you're into that sort of thing, but just taking one of their tours should suffice for giggles. I've lived in Morro Bay and San Louis Obispo (SLO) and used to commute past the Madonna Inn every day on my way to Avila Beach. I've never known any locals who actually recommend staying at the Madonna Inn. Some tourists might consider it mildly amusing, but it's really not very interesting. --In short, the Madonna Inn is certainly not for everyone, and there are plenty of far more beautiful places to stay around there.

If you really want overly expensive, and gaudily but entertainingly over-the-top, then you should go to Vegas.

Thanks for correcting my opinions. Now you can move on to contradicting the other genuine and well-meant suggestions left here.

Your response to me is a personal attack.

As for contradicting the opinions of others, you made disparaging comments against Hearst Castle and Monterey, both of which were highly recommended by others here.

I did not "correct" or "contradict" all of your opinions, instead, I pointed out a potential problem many people will have with one single opinion you have.

Since there is a good chance some people will feel ripped off by staying at the Madonna Inn, having both positive and negative opinions voiced about the place really does make sense. Providing people with more information about a destination so they can make more informed decisions based on their own preferences is entirely beneficial.

Some people love the tourist nature of Vegas, but others hate Vegas for its tourist nature. To each their own. If you take a step back from being offended, you'd realize my statements about the Madonna Inn are actually more valuable, supportive, and even "positive" than your statements to anyone who likes the entertainingly over-the-top. If you're into that sort of thing, then by all means, have at it. But if you have different preferences, then at least now you know what you're getting yourself into.

All great suggestions here. Here's a few more:

- Monterey Bay Aquarium, in Monterey

- It's a good time of year to see elephant seals. There are two good places to go that I'm aware of. One is just a bit north of Hearst Castle. See http://www.elephantseal.org/. The other is Ano Nuevo State Park, http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=523

- If you like wine, there are plenty of good wineries to visit in the Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Paso Robles areas, among others.

If you are going up through the central valley, instead of the coast, and if you are interested in airplanes, you might consider hitting the Castle Air Museum. It has an SR-71, a MIG-17, a B-36, and a bunch of other interesting planes (including an allegedly haunted B-29).

Are you a Hacker? Stop by the Hacker Dojo. It's especially cool if there is a good class/event going on when you're here.

http://wiki.hackerdojo.com/w/page/25437/FrontPage

Obviously, In-n-Out in Kettleman City off the 5. Its what I look forward to most on my drives.

Near Big Sur (http://goo.gl/maps/gN91), eat/drink at Nepenthe while enjoying the view: http://www.nepenthebigsur.com

If you want to experience a weird town, while filling up on pastries, visit Solvang. Los Olivos is next door, which is where the movie Sideways was filmed (and I was born), and has some fantastic wine tasting (try Longoria).

I recommend looking through http://www.roadsideamerica.com/. I've found a few neat spots for my trips.

Point Sur Lighthouse is cool, http://www.pointsur.org/

hella,

How much time will you have for the trip?

What time of year?

Solo or with Family/Friends?

Any particular interests?

Sorry for all the questions, but the number of beautiful and interesting things worth seeing between LA and SF is rather substantial.

Definitely Big Sur. Eat at the Big Sur bakery.

Big Sur, Monterey/Carmel, Cambria (go to Hearst Castle!!), Santa Cruz.

I'd skip Santa Barbara, Pismo, and SLO they're fairly boring and not that much to do other than go out to eat.

Carmel for sure. I agree on skipping the same cities.

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