[AW335TT]

I dont know about the other places but if your in LA for the weekend hit Sunset blvd. in
West Hollywood and Hollywood and Highland for the Chinese theater and Kodak
Theater and theres some gooood clubs both on Sunset and around Hollywood and
Highland. Over the weekends Hollywood and Highland is tourist capital!! Also if you
want to go shopping. Wilshir blvd. in Beverly Hills where you can find Armani,
Burberry, Versaci, Louis Vuitton, Gucci etc....you can also hit Rodeo Drive, but if you hit those stores its going to become a very expensive vacation lol. Sunset blvd. also has a lotttt of good restaurants.

[Fraggy]

Originally Posted by dejav0o

17 mile drive over in Monterey is worth checking out, esp if you love golf. Beautiful views of the ocean, and it passes through Pebble Beach.

I thought they had closed that drive, glad to hear its still open I had fun doing it.

[Shazmonkee]

Originally Posted by Dleo

I was thinking of planning a trip to cali for the summer with a few friends, none of us have ever been to cali so we gonna try too see/do as much as possible.

What we were thinking was either a flight to vegas, stay a few nights, and then drive out to cali, or fly to cali and drive to vegas and then flay back home.

We are thinking of it to be a 10 day vacation, but we can all extend our vacation time for the maxium of 2 weeks (not really wanting to take this option because we will have no more vacation days for the rest of the year)

What are some MUST SEE spots in cali?
We all agreed we would like to go to Hollywood and Beverly Hills...
After that we are pretty much have no idea, and would love some feed back from you guys.

A little about us, we are in our late 20's, I will be traveling with my friend, his wife, and another good friend of ours. We would love to try to end up everynight somewhere with a great night life, and during the day we would like to hit some of cali's famous beaches and sight seeing.

Any idea's?

I am born and raised of socal for almost 19 years now, and although i'm not passed 20, i can probably tell you some awesome places. If you're goin' to the LA area (hollywood/beverly hills), you GOT to go clubbin'. It's really fun and you'll probably meet a lot of people there. As for the day time, go to Santa Monica B) Their pier is a nice place to hang out for a little and then they have this.. i think 183rd street? Well it's a numbered street and they have all sorts of stores you can look through. OH and FOOD. You cannot miss out on some of their food. If you get a chance, go to a hotdog place called "Pink's" or "Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles". Very famous here in socal, and very good. If you're up for desert, there's a place called Pinkberry near Santa Monica. It kind of originated there, but now it's starting to spread across the Inland Empire and Orange County.
If the days are perfect, beaches are one of the greatest places to go. Huntington, Newport, Santa Monica. I usually go to those. Huntington they have fire pits so if you feel like a bonfire, go go go!!
Well it's late, and honestly i just thought i'd give you a few places, but if you're interested in more places to go to, PM me. lol. If you're a fan of trying new foods and whatnot, i'm the guy to ask. I've eaten at almost all the famous places around here B)

[j|rz44]

i just landed in S.F. a few hours ago.....
very nice city... ate at Gary Dankos #1 rest. so they say...
So fuhken Good! i recommend it highly...
This might be my next move....

Peace

[viobruin]

If you want to go clubbing in L.A., PM me and I'll try to get you and your guests on a few guestlists.

As for restaurants in L.A., there are a ton of good ones in Beverly Hills. I'm personally a fan of Mastros and Crustacean (both kinda pricey though). If you want to go trendy and cheap, I'd suggest Roscoes Chicken & Waffles or Pinks Hot Dogs (I usually hit up Pinks after a night of clubbing in Hollywood ... line is LONG though). If you want a nice array of foods, you can try the original Farmer's Market which is located on 3rd and Fairfax (I particularly like the French Crepe Co. and the Mexican restaurant directly across from it). There's also a great frozen yogurt place called Pinkberry (several different locations). If you want to eat in Santa Monica, I'd suggest Ivy by the Shore. There's also pretty good seafood at the Gladstones in Malibu.

There's great high-end (i.e., Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, etc.) shopping in Beverly Hills, and good regular shopping at 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. If you want to shop in Orange County, I'd suggest Southcoast Plaza.

If you're into wine tasting, I'd suggest making a trip up to Santa Barbara. I think you can print off a map from the internet of the wineries used in the movie "Sideways."

I'd stay away from Mann's Chinese Theater and the Walk of Fame. It's really nothing special and it's in a somewhat trashy area.

[dejav0o]

Originally Posted by Shazmonkee

If you get a chance, go to a hotdog place called "Pink's" or "Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles". Very famous here in socal, and very good.

Oooo.... Pinks is a good choice. It's not just the regular hot dog stand. They're famous for being able to top your hot dog with anything. Also a lot of stars supposedly visit that place, so you might get lucky to spot one.

There's two Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles, one in Santa Monica (clean) and one in the ghetto somewhere (Inglewood?). I tried the one at Santa Monica, and that was alright, I couldn't believe the incredibly small portion for the price I paid considering this was supposed to be "soul food". I heard the one in the ghetto tasted better, and gave more food but we didn't want to wander into that area at night.

[Dleo]

Keep them coming guys

My list of must see place's in each city keeps growing.

I love it, it will be my first time there but from all the great responses we will know exactly whats worth seeing and doing without wasting too much time!

[aznshrek88]

IF you goto Pink's Rule #1, never goto Pink's hungry....also if you like hot dogs but don't want the wait, then checkout Carnies...

[cburton]

If u are going to do the drive from SF down the 1, I would def stop in San Luis Obispo. Its a small college down about 1.5 hours north of Santa Barabara. The famous Madonna Inn is there, Morro Bay, Avila Beach, and Pismo Beach. If you want any restaurant recomendations in that area let me know.

Also Santa Barbara has an awesome downtown and some really nice hotels etc.

From S.B. LA is only another 1.5 hours south.

[j|rz44]

thats how i would do it...
fly to S.F. and rent a car, drive down the coast to S.D.
fly to L.V. and head home.... you can do that easy in 10 days....

GL & Enjoy

[OC ///M]

OP:

Plan on flying to Vegas.

It will be the best thing you did on the trip. Trust me on this one. Just after take off from John Wayne; before you have had time to finish your drink, the plane is making its descent. I will never make that drive again if I can help it.

Also, make sure to visit San Diego.

L.A./Hollywood/ is NOT what the rest of the country is led to believe it is. In fact it's almost down-right ugly.

Good Luck!

[CALIF65GM]

I'd recommend getting your rental before you leave SF or drop if off when you arrive. You won't need a car in the city really.

Also you'll be paying the inter-city rate which at the major rental car companies are usually like at least $60/day for a compact up to $100 for a convertible, if they allow a one-way rental.

Sometimes it's cheaper to rent from Dollar and pay their separate drop-off charge. You have to check the numbers out. Also Alamo typically has cheaper inter-city rates too.