

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

I'm driving up from LA to San Fran. (1st time I'm visiting NorCal.)<p>Where should I stop on the way?
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jcr
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

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bigiain
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...)

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

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

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petercooper
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".

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jcr
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.

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

~~~
jcr
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.

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jason42
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.

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tzs
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).

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jacoblyles
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>

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

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

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dylanz
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).

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

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

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jcr
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.

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deathflute
Definitely Big Sur. Eat at the Big Sur bakery.

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lotusleaf1987
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.

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

