Yellow Collaborates

We recently did a SoCal road trip from Phoenix and let me share my experiences with you, hopefully to your benefit; if you are crunched on time and need to cover the must haves.This takes 6 days with all haves or 4 days covering most of the attractions.

I might be judging wrong in some areas, but if you have any questions feel free to shoot them across. I also suggest that you go around in the summer time when the days are longer.

Lesson1: Carry a GPS unit with you. They come real cheap these days or use the one that comes from the car rental. I prefer/suggest your own as that would be a touchscreen unit than the bulky cumbersome to enter unit of Hertz. You can also carry the GPS unit with you while roaming around.

GPS is a big time saver and on a roadtrip where you are crunched for time, this is a boon. I used a Garmin C330 Street Pilot and it faithfully brought me on time to each location. When I miss a turn, it corrects quickly whereas your cheap GPS..aka Googlemaps printout will leave you stranded . Alternately you can rent the GPS as we did, but I consider it dumb as cost of two 7 day drips can help you own one!

Lesson 2: Carry a tripod even if you are in a group. Not everyone can take good photos as good as you or have the photographic eye. So set your camera, compose your shot and click with the timer. Atleast, I did not have to go behind folks requesting for a picture. Some folks are real gems. They even offer to take your picture voluntarily. Also night shots require a real steady hand (Most of us wont have it unless a gulp or two goes down or you have a heavy camera)

Start with San Diego. If you are driving down; arrive the night before to get some good rest before the mayhem begins.

Day1: Arrive early at the San Diego Zoo. Hop onto the bus, have a quick glance. Then move over to the reptiles and onto the SeaLion show. Make sure you note the timings and plan your fillers accordingly. Hop onto the Skyfari, get down at the farthest point and watch the animals including polar bears, hippos and do not lose sight of the next animal show.

You should be out by 3, if you stick to a tight plan and use takeouts for munching. If you would like to, stroll around in Balboa park or visit the museums nearby. Or if you are fascinated by Ships and water, rush off to Mission Bay to the Maritime museum. (This is open till 8). This is right next to the cruise ship berth. You can see the Start of India, HMS Surprise (used in Master and Commader) and also board a Russian submarine. For 3$ extra they even give you a spin on the bay in a boat and I suggest you purchase the ticket with that option.

The bay at night is a good photo op and if you are a camera enthusiast you can get some good pics.

Day2: Hit Seaworld, watch the dolphins,sharks, skyride over the bay, watch Shamu. If you are there to take pics stay out of the soak zone and climb to higher dryland. This takes around 1 full day. Keep a watch on the sunset timings and if you can break off an hour earlier, rush off to Coronado Island. You can see the historic Coronado Hotel as well as watch the sunset. Take a chair along if you would like some solitude or you can rush to a dinner cruise. Parking might be a bit tad on Coronado, so dont count on parking really close to Coronado hotel.

If you are on a total San Diego experience you could spend a day more and bike around or Kayak the La Jolla caves and also board the Aircraft carrier but this article is dedicated to the traveller who must see everything in a jiffy.

Day 3: Rush to Universal, LA. This takes one full day and can be well into 6P when you come out. Make sure you get all your pictures and city walk is not an absolute must if you need to the rest of the must haves. You can drive around Beverly Hills and walk around Rodeo Drive for the evening. I guess I saw some maps in a store that show you which stars stay where! Okei, your legs are aching and you are dead tired. Get to hotel and a hot tub. Sip some wine, eat and rest or get to your vampire avatar.

Day 4: Disneyland – ONLY if you have not seen this elsewhere or are not planning on an Orlando trip. It takes a full day and in the end you wait for the fireworks (depends on your luck with the weather conditions; but worth the wait if it happens) and to see the light parade.

Alternate:

Start the day with Hollywood forever cemetery. You get a fantastic view of the Hollywood sign except that it is marred by the electric cables or you can go to Highlands Mall. In my itinerary it comes last (nightfall and the sign is not illuminated). You might not want to leave LA without an original photo of the most photographed celebrity of LA!

You can then move to the La Brea Tar Pits, watch the tar and bubbling lake. The Page Museum has fossils on exhibit.

Hit Marina Del Ray to get some beautiful pics of a nice marina! You have plenty of pay and park right next to the Marina at about 3$ an entry.

Next is Santa Monica beach. I am pretty much a beach lover and ended spending more time than intended over there. We reached around 1.30 and wound up with the Sunset. Sunset on the SM pier is a must see. The pier extends 1200 feet into the pacific! Learn your camera manual controls and use the tripod to have some memorable photos of the sunset.

Upon sunset you can dust off the sand and move onto Hollywood Ave. Kodak Theater, Graumans Chinese Theater, Walk of Fame, Wax Museum, Ripleys etc…You need to check the timings (daytime only) if you want a tour of the theaters. Otherwise everything else is pretty much open. Make sure you carry $1 bills to tip the street artists. You can get pictures with Batman, Spiderman, Zorro etc as well as see some street musicians.

You can choose to hit the hotel again or drive down if you are in a 4-6 hrs vicinity. Make sure there is an additional driver to take over when you sing “ I’m tired and I wanna go to bed”. If you like thriller rides, rest a night and go to Six Flags before turning back.