as alot of people know, Jess and me (and my mummy) are going to America next year *woohoo*

Jess's dancing school is getting a troupe together to do a couple of performances in DL.

We'll be over around 4th July next year for a week. A couple of scrollers are discussing a road trip to come to LA whilst we are there

Anyways... someone was saying to me that since we're so close, we should stay a couple more days, and go to Nevada (bright lights, big city...lol), and i wanted to get some opinions on that.. As a novelty (as in, i;d never do it again) is it worth it, i hear the accomodation is not too badly priced.. maybe people have been heaps, and have ideas on where to stay.

anyways, if anyone has any ideas for things to do or see whilst in LA, or stuff about Vegas... just reply in here...i've got 11 months to figure it all out

i heard they're closing Disneyland next summer for repairs. Also, Homeland Security is shutting down Vegas cuz too many pervs are there (remember Alan and his "ranch" is there). There's some really nice farms in Illannoys you could visit.

Staying an extra few days is definitely worth it, but as to what you want to do with 'em, well, it's up to you.

Vegas, Sin City gone soft enough for families. The shows are no longer cheap, though.

The Grand Canyon in Arizona is less than a day's drive (maybe a half day?) if you've a hankering for nature's wonders.

Also not quite a day's drive in a slightly different direction is Yosemite. There's a reason it's so damned popular. The crowds, like at the Grand Canyon, can suck. They call the Yosemite Valley to Half Dome and back down again a day's hike, but I think the folks who do it that way are nuts.

San Francisco may be worth a trip--not sure on the time involved, I think that's a six or seven hour ride (Keri can correct me if I'm wrong). Actually you'd probably find something cool anywhere along the coast of Central California--I was always rather partial to Monterey.

San Diego is just a couple of hours South. If you like animals there's Sea World and the Zoo along with its various satellites.

And of course, even if you just stick to the Los Angeles area you'll probably still find some really cool stuff to do.

so, you're offering to let us stay at your *ranch* are you xc? :P



we're basically just trying to come up with feasible ideas, that don't cost a heap to do (like i'd love to go to NY, but its on the other side obviously, mum had the idea of mexico too, but i dunno if i'm up for that, and then there is always texas

i'll listen to any ideas though, cause you guys know more than me

is yosemite still in california? i know nothing about the layout of USA, unless i look at a map

Nora actually has everything pretty well covered there...her inner-Californian is shining through.

And yes, San Francisco is about a six hour drive, depending on what route you take up. Also, I recommend not staying in SF itself but a town outside of it (like San Jose, Sunnyvale, etc). It's only a 30 min drive into SF and you get much much cheaper hotels, and you don't have to pay tons of money for parking each night. San Francisco is personally my very favorite place to vacation to...I just love the Golden Gate, the weather, the Pier, so many things. It's the place I go to feel rejuvenated.

On the way up, there's Monterey which is off the Pacific Ocean. There's a 18 mile drive that runs right along the cliffs so you get these beautiful views. Quaint little shops. Things like that.

Grand Canyon is a day's drive from LA -- probably 6 hours or so. San Diego is 2 hours south (the one with Sea World). There's also Legoland that's an hour south or so, I believe.

LA itself has tons of things of course...Disneyland is already a given in your case. There's amusement parks galore: Six Flags, Knotts Berry Farm, Raging Waters (water park), Universal Studios. Santa Monica Pier is fun as well, with rides, food, beach, pier, and whatnot. If you want to go to the mountains for camping/hiking/whatever, those are in LA and only an hour drive up to them probably. Er...I'm drawing a blank on other stuff, but I'm sure there's more, it's LA after all.

I'd give an opinion on Vegas but I've ironically never been there before.

quote:

Originally posted by Gabber:
And yes, San Francisco is about a six hour drive, depending on what route you take up. Also, I recommend not staying in SF itself but a town outside of it (like San Jose, Sunnyvale, etc).

Ame will pick this on account of "Sunnyvale" sounding so much like some certain fictional town with a HellMouth that she seems to be fond of...

i'm not an expert, but i enjoyed santa monica and santa barbara

the only part of las vegas i've really seen is the air port (drove from there to utah's arches nat'l park, etc) and hoover dam

Of all the places being discussed, Las Vegas is at the bottom of my personal list.

You know what it's like from TV, right? Well - that's pretty much exactly what it really IS like... so if that's not your thing (it's not mine), I wouldn't bother with Vegas.

Then again, a lot of people really like it...

Hoover dam is just down the road from Vegas. Take the tour.

Drive through Death Valley if you get a chance. Uhm... it's August, isn't it... Okay, maybe not.

we've been thinking about the grand canyon.

we're already going to universal studios, and a few other places thatare included in our tip, tours and stuff.

i've never heard of hoover dam, what's the big attraction to go see it?

outside of Las Vegas is Valley of Fire..cool rock formations ETC there......I was surprised when a tarantula ran across the road in front of the car.....
San Francisco is one of my most favorite places I have been..have to also check out Sausalito while you are there...it has lots of folks living on house boats, loads of quaint little shops on the wharf area...also the redwood forests are not far from SF either....Disneyland is great if you go off season..say like in October when the lines are not as long....up the coast from LA is San Luis Obispo....Hearst Castle..that is very cool to see...Morro bay is beautiful in that area

quote:

Originally posted by Mrs God Of War:
so, you're offering to let us stay at your *ranch* are you xc? :P

With my harum of wives, who needs a "ranch"?