California Hints and Tips

Hi Guys,

I am travelling to California in July for a sporting event in LA in july, and then driving up to San Francisco via the coast, then via yosemite afterwards to LV, and was after some tips and tricks.

Dan keeps mentioning a BBQ place on the drive between LA and SF I am really keen to check out, does anyone remember what it was called?

We have booked in to see a Baseball game in SF, and I am super disappointed we won't be in town for a Hoodslam event, but does anyone have anything I absolutely have to see? Drews already recommended Alcatraz, and we're going to hire bikes across the Bridge, but other than that we'll have a few days in SF, and travelling up the pacific coast to fill.

Any tips for Yosemite? We're there for 2 days.

I think it was Doctor Hogly Woggly in Van Nuys. Hearst Castle is a pretty cool place on the central coast.

Hearst Castle is a great spot.

A few other suggestions:

• Go whale watching in Monterey Bay. You might see humpback whales, blue whales, killer whales, and dolphins.
• Ride some ATVs on the sand dunes at Pismo Beach.
• If you're in the area July 16-17, there's California Extreme.
• USS Pampanito.
• Mass Effect at Great America.

Don't get stuck taking Highway 1 all the way up the coast. You'll get stuck in traffic by some beautiful coastline with tourists who all thought to do the same thing. Take heed of the traffic and if things get bad do things the Alex Navarro way and go up 101.

Yosemite gets really clogged in the summer so pray you get lucky and the hike to Glacier Point isn't too crowded. By that same logic the hike up Halfdome is a no go.

There's the tour of Native American sites at Yosemite Village and for the life of me I can't remember a thing about it since the last time I did it I was five but that's there. You'll probably end up at the Village anyway and if there's anything specific going on in the park they would know there.

Don't leave food in your car or bears will break in and get to it. Seriously, clear out all the food in your car, the bears will smell the stray french fries from In N Out that got lost under the seats.There are bear boxes to put your stuff in if you don't want to put it in your room.

Walking anywhere is nice but if you're not up for it the buses go everywhere. And I'm going to hedge my bets here and say your staying at Yosemite Lodge instead of the Awahnee. The restaurant at the Lodge is good but the cafeteria is bad.

The drought and El Nino are actually making it so there are actually a lot of odd species from farther south this year. Ooh, and there's the Monterey Bay Aquarium. That place is always great. And then there's the twin spiels for Monterey that it's where Steinbeck was his Steinbeck-iest outside of Salinas (don't go to Salinas) and that it was the capital when California was still part of Mexico. There are appropriate historical sites for both things.

Thanks for great advice guys, I was looking forward to trying some of American BBQ in the US, I love the places we have here in Australia, unfortunately looks like we'll be driving past Dr Hoggly Wogglies early morning leaving LA, on the way to San Luis Obispo, so I won't be able to get it for dinner. If you guys could recommend any BBQ places around Potero Hill in SF or LawnDale in LA, That'd be awesome!

Hearst Caste and the USS Pampanito is already on my list, just added the glacier point hike and the Native Sites at Yosemite there, I was wondering what the good hikes were going to be, so thanks for the tips

Yeah we were a bit late in booking accom in the park itself, but got accom just near Yosemite Lodge- You mention buses, Is that the best way to get down into the park? Or is driving an option? Hows parking??

The buses just go within the park. Are you staying outside the park? Is it Tenaya? You have to drive into the park but you should be able to find parking.

Edit: It's not Cedar Lodge, is it? First and last time I stayed there my family and I got locked out of the room and the janitor who got us back in turned out to be Cary Stayner.

I've been living in the Bay area for 3 years..... it sucks, just avoid it.

I like Alameda. You can check out the Pinball museum and arcade there.

Depending on your level of physical fitness, the Upper Yosemite Falls hike is pretty good. Gets you to the top of the falls and you can see the whole valley. This time of year, the crowds are going to be pretty bad just about everywhere in the park, but the hike is probably 7.5-8 miles round trip with the front-half being mostly up, which means the worst of the crowds tend to give up lower on the slopes.

Start early though. Once the sun hits the switchbacks, it'll start to bake so you don't want to be doing it in the middle of the day.

If he's just passing through, it isn't too bad. There's stuff there that's cool enough to suffer walking amongst the hipsters for a little bit.

It doesn't sound like you'll have much time here but some tips for Los Angeles. You can really avoid most/all of the normal tourist stuff because all of that is crap and a bad representation of the city. If anything, don't try to "see the city." Pretend you live here and just want to have a good night. Grab lunch in Koreatown, go see a comedy show/roller derby and stop by a taco truck on a way back. That sort of thing.