@bobkitty – Also in L. A., the fabled Getty Art Museum, if you’re interested in art museums. Also has an excellent view of the city, air clarity permitting. Includes a funicular rail ride from the parking lot alongside the 405 freeway to the hill-top museum. (I have no idea if reservations are required or recommended.)
Another idea: If you get as far as the North Bay Area (Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Solano Counties), e.g. for your Muir Woods jaunt, also visit the Bay Model in Sausalito. Just off the main road toward the north end of town, it’s a fully functional scale model of the entire San Francisco Bay area including surrounding estuaries and tributaries.
It was used, in the Before Times, to model water flows in and around the Bay. For example, if there was an oil spill out by the Farallone Islands, they could simulate it in the model and predict where the tides and currents would bring the oil before it got there, then they would get a head-start on the mitigation efforts.
The model has long since been decommissioned (being replaced by computer simulations these days), but it is kept running and open to the public, with a visitor center too, as a public education thing.
And if you do go to the Bay Model you will see, in the lobby and mounted on the wall…
… a pay phone.
History, right there.
Well before the pandemic you needed a reservation for a spot in their parking garage, so I’d guess you’ll still need one. But I good choice.
Quite true.
We just drove down I5 from Salem, Oregon to LA a few weeks ago. Once we got past the mountainous areas around the border (including snow!!), there wasn’t much to recommend it, scenery-wise or attraction-wise. The Central Valley, through which I5 runs for a good bit of the way, is hugely important for agriculture, but it can be a long way between tiny towns.
101 is much more scenic. I think US 101 actually goes inland, somewhere in California (speaking from my memory of having driven it south from Seattle, in 1985) and California Route 1 is the one that truly hugs the coast.
We drove that from LA to San Francisco in 1994, and it truly is lovely most of the way. Some of the driving is a bit terrifying - in places, you’ve got a mountain on one side and a steep dropoff on the other - northbound is less scary, as the dropoff part is a full traffic lane away! I think we took 2 long driving days to make the trip from LA to Carmel, then another one to get up to the SF Bay area.
Yes, 101 goes inland north of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. About the only time it gets near the Pacific again is on the Golden Gate Bridge. It runs by the Bay on the peninsula. It runs up past San Rafael and San Ramon. There aren’t a lot of good east west roads up there either.
It’s worth noting – if totally irrelevant – that the last time I was hiking in this area, my friend and I found an almost shoebox sized wooden box with a large bag of killer weed in it.
I like that part of the world.
Carry on.
I always feel a ping in my big toe when I think of this model. When I was there I got a giant sliver in my foot (wearing sandals) on the planked walkway outside.
Speaking of parking reservations, if you go to the Muir Woods you will need to reserve a parking sport there. Or during the summer months they have a bus service from some park and ride lots around the Sausalito area.
The only thing I would recommend in LA besides La Brea is Venice Beach, a zoo specializing in exotic varieties of H. sapiens. But it’s been years since I was there, so maybe it’s not as interesting as it was…
Oh my, that is so true.
We were in our 20s, and as noted, had driven down from the Seattle area via US101. When we realized that it had gone inland, and looked to stay that way, we decided to go toward the coast - on a very narrow, winding 2 lane road, being tailgated by logging trucks the whole way (we used every turnout we came to so they could zoom past us). We’re talking a single truck with about 6 logs on it, as they were clearly logging some VERY big trees.
We got to the coast, and just as we were enjoying the view, we got a nail in one of our tires. My husband to this day declares that first view “The Most Beautiful Spot In The World” - as otherwise, it was NOT worth the hassle.
We drove down a bit, then went back inland (via another narrow, winding road) to US101, and proceeded on our way to Berkeley.
There are a couple of nice redwood hikes in Henry Cowell State Park in the Santa Cruz Mtns. The main part of the park has the short Redwood Loop trail that takes you past some pretty large trees. My favorite hike is the 3.5 mile loop in the Fall Creek Unit just a short distance away–the parking area is small but there is no charge to park there.
If you plan on spending a night in the SLO/Pismo area, I highly recommend the Kon Tiki Inn (make sure you make reservations early)
I had a similar experience. No logging trucks, but locals thinking I should be driving the twisty road through a forest faster.
To not scare the OP, the road from Salinas on 101 to Monterey is not exactly a freeway, but a lot better than the ones in the north of the state. Much better than 17.
The zoo and its inhabitants are exactly as they were in 1983.
I think you mean it runs through Santa Rosa? San Ramon is in the East Bay on I-680 near Pleasanton/Dublin.
The Botanical Garden here in Santa Barbara is indeed a wonderful place, but if the timing works out, Lotusland is the place to see. It’s a giant estate, with gardens planners and financed by an eccentric European opera singer. I like a good hike/walk through nature and a good garden is interesting to me, but I was blown away by Lotusland. Note that unless you’re a member, all visits are led by a docent, but that’s good as the stories they tell are part of the charm of the place.
On the way north, Los Alamos has gone from a dying, mostly un-remembered town to a foodie paradise. At a minimum stop by Bob’s Well Bread to pick up some baked goods for the road. Get lunch or brunch there if the timing works out.
Re: Ostrichland, two things. One, those guys go to town on the food you offer. Absolutely follow the recommendations on how to hold the food tray as long as you enjoy continuing to own fingers. Two, ostriches up close are fucking weird in an alien way that’s hard to describe.
Where’s that face slap icon?
San Rafael, by the way, is the headquarters for Guide Dogs for the Blind. They used to offer tours, but an infection ran through the kennels once and they may not anymore. When we had a breeder we’d go there often. Lots of cute puppies in the kennel, and we got to play with her puppies when they were old enough and before they were placed.
That’s too bad. I had a friend I used to visit who lived in San Rafael. He said you had to watch for trainee dogs. They sometimes took a bit of time to learn the ropes.
Yes, nice hikes, educational/beautiful and not bad on older knees, either.
Dinosaurs.
Here ya go!
