Forum Home
PC World Chat
Thread ID: 124055	2012-04-03 05:12:00	I'm back! I think...	bob_doe_nz (92)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1268177	2012-04-03 16:12:00	I would have never put Hollyweird on any travel itinerary . Smoggy, street 'campers', druggies and drunks, dirty buildings, rude people with attitudes and storefronts closed and shuttered from the bad economy . Did you say you went to Joshua Tree/29 Palms too? I think that's what you said - that is a prime place to see one of the most beautiful high semi-arid deserts . Too bad San Diego was a blow-out though . It can be a nice place - but this I feel was the wrong time of the year to be there . I dislike SD about half as much as I hate San Francisco though . Been there - never gonna go there or see it again . Glad to know that The Grand Canyon was spectacular . It IS a mighty hole in the ground . You beat the usual tourist season to the place - so that's sometimes a good thing too . I'm jealous that you got to see the full ensemble for The Blue Men Group too . Sadly - the rest of Vegas isn't something I'd like to see more than once . I like Reno better - up near Lake Tahoe - which is a very much nicer place to go . Anybody planning to go to the US for a tour - I can offer some nice variations of the idea . And pick a better season . Spring in California - the whole West really - is always a crapshoot . It can be raining, muddy, snowing or the unpredictable winds can blow your didgeridoo to New York . I'd start the tour at the end of April since the high deserts aren't blistering hot yet and there are so many wild flowers all over the place thanks to Lady Bird Johnson's government wildflower seeding program while her husband Ronnie was the president . My wife offered an interesting itinerary: Arr:LA: see The Dorothy Chandler ( . wikipedia . org/wiki/Dorothy_Chandler_Pavilion" target="_blank">en . wikipedia . org), downtown, Fredericks' Of Hollywood ( . wikipedia . org/wiki/Frederick%27s_of_Hollywood" target="_blank">en . wikipedia . org), The LA City Hall ( . wikipedia . org/wiki/LA_City_Hall" target="_blank">en . wikipedia . org) (Superman's 'Daily Planet Building'), The La Brea Tar Pits ( . wikipedia . org/wiki/La_Brea_Tar_Pits" target="_blank">en . wikipedia . org) - and get the heck outta there ASAP after one night in a hotel to rest up! Goto: San Diego/Mission Bay ( . wikipedia . org/wiki/Mission_Bay_%28San_Diego%29" target="_blank">en . wikipedia . org)/Balboa Park and Zoo ( . wikipedia . org/wiki/Balboa_Park_%28San_Diego%29" target="_blank">en . wikipedia . org) Goto: Campo ( . wikipedia . org/wiki/Campo,_CA" target="_blank">en . wikipedia . org) (The Pacific Southwest Railway Museum, the Motor Transport Museum and the Gaskill Brother's Stone Store) Goto: Mono Lake ( . wikipedia . org/wiki/Mono_Lake" target="_blank">en . wikipedia . org) un-be-liev-able! 1/2 day Goto: Death Valley, see Scotty's Castle . ( . wikipedia . org/wiki/Scotty%27s_Castle" target="_blank">en . wikipedia . org) 1 day w/camping as a minimum!!! Goto: Bishop California ( . wikipedia . org/wiki/Bishop,_CA" target="_blank">en . wikipedia . org) in The Eastern Sierra Mountains (Mule Days (http://www . muledays . org/) or for trout fishing in the rivers there) . 1-3 days if you fish . Goto: Convict Lake ( . wikipedia . org/wiki/Convict_lake" target="_blank">en . wikipedia . org) (Trout fishing again!) 1 day minimum! Goto: Reno ( . wikipedia . org/wiki/Reno,_Nevada" target="_blank">en . wikipedia . org)/Lake Tahoe ( . wikipedia . org/wiki/Lake_tahoe" target="_blank">en . wikipedia . org) - water ski the lake, see the casinos (better, classier than Vegas!) - camp in South Bay - see The Ponderosa ( . wikipedia . org/wiki/Ponderosa_Ranch" target="_blank">en . wikipedia . org) and see where Pa, Hoss, Lil Joe, Adam, ala: The Cartwights, lived at the northern border of Lake Tahoe . Take 2 days at least here . Goto: The Grand Canyon - ride the mules to the bottom ( . wikipedia . org/wiki/Bright_Angel_Trail" target="_blank">en . wikipedia . org) - take three days - MAYBE take the train to next stop : Goto: Yellowstone National Park ( . wikipedia . org/wiki/Yellowstone_National_Park" target="_blank">en . wikipedia . org) - veg-out and enjoy the ambiance . Take two days here Stay here for at least one full day, 2 is better . Goto: Hamilton Montana (http://hamiltonmontana . com/) and see ME! Free Mexican Beers and a spare bedroom await! Take as long as you like or until the beer runs out . Goto: Seattle, Washington ( . seattle . gov/visiting/" target="_blank">www . seattle . gov) and just look! Very pretty area, although it is full of DINKS (Dual-Income; No Kids) and burnt out hippies, now Yuppies . Spend a full day here after getting here . Goto: Follow Pacific Coast Highway (US-101 ( . wikipedia . org/wiki/U . S . _Route_101" target="_blank">en . wikipedia . org)) south toward LA (sorry - ya gotta go home eventually!) NOTE: Hwy 101 is perhaps one of the most beautiful highways in the US - not counting The Shenandoah National Park in Virginia - the whole Shenandoah Valley really! HWY 101 - also known as El Camino Real (The Royal Road) where its route along the southern and central California coast approximates the old trail which linked the Spanish missions, pueblos, and presidios . It merges at some points with California Highway 1 . . wikipedia . org/wiki/U . S . _Route_101#Route_description" target="_blank">en . wikipedia . org describes it very well, although backwards in this instance since you'd be going south, not north . You'll go through (not in order) The Giant Redwoods ( . wikipedia . org/wiki/Avenue_of_the_Giants" target="_blank">en . wikipedia . org) and Eureka where gold was discovered in California, Pismo Beach ( . wikipedia . org/wiki/Pismo_beach" target="_blank">en . wikipedia . org), The Malibu Arts Colony ( . wikipedia . org/wiki/Malibu,_California" target="_blank">en . wikipedia . org), . maintour . com/socal/solvang . htm" target="_blank">www . maintour . com ( a slight detour), The Golden Gate Bridge, San Jose (see: The Winchester Mystery Mansion ( . wikipedia . org/wiki/Winchester_Mystery_House" target="_blank">en . wikipedia . org)!!!) - The Astoria-Megler Bridge, ( . wikipedia . org/wiki/Astoria-Megler_Bridge" target="_blank">en . wikipedia . org) . maintour . com/socal/slomorro . htm" target="_blank">www . maintour . com (eat the seafood there!) Then back to LA and catch a plane home .	SurferJoe46 (51)
1268178	2012-04-03 21:08:00	My wife is hoping we'll both go to the USA next year, she's having a great time planning out itinerary, I'll pass that all on thanks Joe! :D	Chilling_Silence (9)
1268179	2012-04-03 22:04:00	Yosemite. Did you mention Yosemite? Don't miss it :) In Seattle take the underground tour :)	Zippity (58)
1268180	2012-04-03 23:21:00	Vegas: Go try the buffets, and have a blast (figuratively and literally) with an automatic rifle at one of the gun stores. San Fran: Alcatraz, Fisherman's wharf and try a bucket of crabs at Joe's Crab Shack. OM NOM NOM	bob_doe_nz (92)
1268181	2012-04-03 23:27:00	I think that although Yosemite is good - it's usually very crowded all the time and the campgrounds are mostly closed for lack of funds to keep them open with park personnel now. There was some damage to the rent-able cabins too, and no funds to repair or replace them. Yellowstone is better I feel as far as amenities and provisions for tourists. Plus - you are a lot closer to another great place - The Little Big Horn where General Custer met some unfriendly Indians in a very serious defeat for the US Army. I'd like to see everyone get to Yellowstone, Yosemite and The Grand Canyon - but choices would have to be made.	SurferJoe46 (51)
1268182	2012-04-03 23:39:00	There was some damage to the rent-able cabins too, and no funds to repair or replace them. Any chance you could expand a bit on that? I've booked one for May...	Erayd (23)
1268183	2012-04-03 23:56:00	If you're booked, then they prolly are holding a cabin or tent space reservation for you - but the number of cabins is decreased somewhat - especially near The Falls which was a major campground. The ranger station was totally destroyed, but it MAY be back and operational by now. I had some friends who without a reservation, experienced problems there last season and the park service said they don't have sufficient funds to make it better. They found amenities outside the park - but it was $$$	SurferJoe46 (51)
1268184	2012-04-04 00:20:00	Welcome back bob_doe_nz :D	stu161204 (123)
1268185	2012-04-04 00:52:00	Sorry Bob... didn't know you were away. I've seldom been on the forums myself lately, but pleased to hear you're back in touch. Hope you're keeping well. Cheerz mate!	Greg (193)
1268186	2012-04-04 00:57:00	I'd start the tour at the end of April since the high deserts aren't blistering hot yet and there are so many wild flowers all over the place thanks to Lady Bird Johnson's government wildflower seeding program while her husband Ronnie was the president . Wasn't her husband Lyndon? or is this some american joke i don't get .	Morgenmuffel (187)
1 2 3