L.A. Dopers - Freeway advice?

[Khampelf]

@Ol'Gaffer

A local variant on this would be to go south on 99 down to 166 (it is only about half an hour) and then go west on 166 to 101 - that takes you through some amazing and beautiful country but it is windy and there isn’t much out there. Then go north on 101 from Santa Maria to Atascadero (less than an hour). As a bonus, you get about five minutes of ocean views as you drive past Pismo!

There are too many roads in California, my head’s starting to hurt.

Go to the freeway, turn right, drive 400 miles, turn right at the sign that says 101 draws 101 on back of hand drive another 200 miles until you see the exit marked 218A Draws 218A under the ‘101’. Your Hotel is right near there.

That’s my speed. Getting lost terrifies me.

[Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus]

@The Sonoran Lizard King

Yeah, Rico and Mapquest suggested the same route, but I like driving by the water, and Asimovian pointed out that your way’s got some twisty one lane roads and low speed limits. .

Not all of PCH is by the water; there are inland stretches that are miles long. The route often “loses” itself passing through small towns like Oxnard, and then it can be tricky to pick it up again sometimes.

[Ol_Gaffer]

@The Sonoran Lizard King

There are too many roads in California, my head’s starting to hurt.

Go to the freeway, turn right, drive 400 miles, turn right at the sign that says 101 draws 101 on back of hand drive another 200 miles until you see the exit marked 218A Draws 218A under the ‘101’. Your Hotel is right near there.

That’s my speed. Getting lost terrifies me.

Well, like many of the other posters, I would rather drive an extra 200 miles and spend the extra $25 on gas just to not have to sit in traffic. Plus, I really like looking for those small rural highways. Spend the $15 and get yourself and Thomas Bros. guide for California and, I swear, it is virtually impossible to get lost.

Spectre of Pithecanthropus, that stretch of 33 between Ojai and 166 has got to be one of my all-time favorite stretches of (windy) highway. Just beautiful.

[Rick]

I would modify the recommended route slightly.
I 10 to I 15 North. This will take you to the very beginning of the I 210 West. You will drive an extra mile or two as the I15 bends slightly east, but it is way faster than the 57.
The I 210 west is real fast prepared to have traffic travel at 75-80. Or more.
When you get to Pasadena DO NOT take the `134 / 101 route it will only add time to your travels. Stay on the I 210 through La Canada/Flintridge area. The I 210 will take you right to the I 5 North as it leaves the San Fernando Valley. All of this will have no traffic to speak of. At the middle of rush hour, most of this stretch of freeway will slow all the way down to 60. in the interest of full disclosure, if you take this route at rush hour, the last 3 miles or so of the 210 will be slow as well as the first 4 miles or so of the I 5.
From I 5 you have three choices

1. A mile or so past Magic Mountain take California 126 West. It will join US 101 in Ventura. A nice drive, not all freeway, lots of fruit stands to stop and buy stuff at.
2. Take I 5 over the grapevine and then right after the I 5 / US 99 (stay on I 5) split take California 166 west. 166 is a interesting drive though some rural country. Not freeway, but pretty. If you take this route, make sure you have gas in your tank, I think there is only one or two gas stations. Driving this route, you will get to visit the bustling communities of Cuyama, and New Cuyama.
3. Continue North on I 5 to Lost Hills and take California 46 West. This will take you to Paso Robles which is a couple miles north of Atascadero. Very pretty country. Again, make sure you have fuel before you leave I 5.

[Khampelf]

Thanks everyone for the advice in the thread, I can’t take everyone’s suggestions, so I’ll stick to what AAA mapped out for me. I’m tossing last minute items in the car, wanted pull out by 8am, but came here real quick to give a big thanks to everyone who chimed in.

And I’m off. See you back on the 13th.

SLK

[Khampelf]

I made it there and back again. Both trips took about 10 hours, to within about 10 minutes or so, I didn’t have a stopwatch on myself. On my way out I was on the freeway by 9am and hit Atascadero by 7:30pm. On the way back, I was underway by 8:40 and home at 7pm. Outbound, I took a longer lunch, on the way back, more frequent stops to stretch and micturate. Overall, I’d say it was a wash. Asimovian was mostly right, the 101/I-10 was not too bad, considering. Even the I-10 was slow and go outbound, past where I’d have joined it anyway.

Overall, I’d call it a wash. But I don’t think I’d take that junction at 4pm on a weekday. So, thanks again to all the SoCal and other informed Dopers who armed me with knowledge.
For anyone really interested into seeing the reason why I made the trip, and giving the mods really good reason to move this to MPSIMS:
http://bbs.desert.net/upload/EasterEmma.jpg

http://bbs.desert.net/upload/EmmaAndOtters.jpg

http://bbs.desert.net/upload/TheresThatSmile.jpg

http://bbs.desert.net/upload/TreeSprite.jpg

[Reply]

Your links don’t work!

[Shamozzle]

@Rico

Good enough for me.

I miss the water, as well, being up here in the Utah desert. I fully understand why you’d want to go that way.

Just a note of interest, though - if you do go the Bakersfield route, you will pass by the historic Tehachapi Loop, a railfan’s delight as you see the trains passing through the mountains, and the Loop is the only place where you can see a long train pass underneath itself. No guarantees, of course, but if you go through during the day, it is fascinating viewing.

In case you are interested, there are a couple of these tunnels in the Canadian Rockies as well near Kicking Horse Pass.

In one of the photos you can see the locomotive passing under the cars it is pulling. Pretty cool!

[Khampelf]

@Reply

Your links don’t work!

Yes, they don’t. Sorry, the message board where I stashed them went down right after I posted. I don’t have any snapfish or photobucket accounts, I do photos right from my flashcard to my hard drive. The cuteness will have to wait until the DesertNet Sysop wakes up and reboots the system that runs that board. Might be monday, unfortunately.

SLK

[Khampelf]

The links are fixed.

Hang on, were merging from the CA-GP onto the MPSIMS expressway.

[samclem]

Moving this to MPSIMS, where it is welcome to continue.

samclem GQ moderator

[Khampelf]

Thank You, SamClem. I was trying to Email Rico, as well, but Hotmail is having some sort of Denial of service attack. Anyway the first pic is on our way to an Easter Egg hunt. The second is at the Monterey Bay Aquarium squashed up against the glass at the otter feeding show. The third is indoors at our hotel room. and the last one at Morro Bay, frolicing in the trees up above the estuary. We had a lot of fun.

[A.R.Cane]

@The Sonoran Lizard King

Thank You, SamClem. I was trying to Email Rico, as well, but Hotmail is having some sort of Denial of service attack. Anyway the first pic is on our way to an Easter Egg hunt. The second is at the Monterey Bay Aquarium squashed up against the glass at the otter feeding show. The third is indoors at our hotel room. and the last one at Morro Bay, frolicing in the trees up above the estuary. We had a lot of fun.

Emma seems to be a sweet child, I’m sure she brings you much joy. Embrace it, for she will be too soon be all grown up.