I planned this family summer vacation to California like it was a European vacation -- minus all the cultural and ancient sights. And more driving and modern shopping malls. We wanted Leah to see LA with us first, a city she may someday end up in if she continues to pursue directing. And we wanted to show the girls where we lived in the Bay Area and the beauty of Muir Woods. So, California for our summer vacation it was!
Our general plan was the fly to SFO, spend a few days in San Francisco visiting Muir Woods, Sausalito and a little of the city. Then take a few days to drive the 6 hours to LA, stopping a long the way. And then a few days in LA before enjoying two days in Disneyland.
In hindsight, it was too much moving. Not enough lingering in places we wanted more time to explore. But it was all of us together, so it was perfect, too.
Stop 1: San Francisco
We stayed at Hilton San Francisco Financial District Hotel that was close to the Ferry Building and right at the edge of Chinatown. I booked it last minute after I rechecked our reservations and realized we were reallllly overpay for a hotel here. So I cancelled the other and we found this one that was a whole lot less. With luck, there was a lot nearby to see and do.
The hotel was a mid-point, as we drove up to Muir Woods and Sausalito. Then down Lombard Street in the rental! And down to Burlingame to see our old apartment and visit Mollie Stone's and Stacks for brunch. Then Palo Alto because that State Street is so good.
We wanted to get through the Bay Area but needed a stop between San Fran and mid-PCH, so I found this DoubleTree Hilton in Campbell. I picked it because it was so well located -- in a retail strip with restaurants, a book store and a Trader Joes. A perfect stop before the 6 hour drive to Los Angeles. It even had a pool we used to cool off before dinner.
From this hotel, we were able to drive to Santa Cruz in about an hour (though, it wasn't the town we all thought it was going to be) and Carmel-by-the-Sea, which we all loved.
Stop 3: Cambria
The drive down the 101 wasn't as picturesque as the PCH, but there was a mud-slide so that route was closed to us. So we drove 3 hours south from Carmel to Cambria, a small sea-side town that was kind-of the mid point. I booked Fireside Inn on Moonstone Beach because it was across the street from the ocean and we could watch the sunset. It was perfect!
We really wished we had more time in this area, because the small town was cute and the beach was magical, with a boardwalk and surfers to gawk over. But, we had to get to LA quick because we had tickets to visit the Warner Bros. Studio Tour.
With a quick stop in Santa Barbara for lunch, we made it to the Warner Bros. Tour *just in time*. Traffic. Gah. Then we checked into our Los Angles hotel which I was excited about because it was in Hollywood with views of the sign -- The Kimpton Everly Hotel. And after meeting Ben Gibbard from our favorite band Death Cab for Cutie who just HAPPENED to be standing outside of the hotel (holycrap!), we checked in to two rooms, for girls and for adults. I just knew we would need a little separation after rooming together all week.
It's a beautiful and modern hotel and the rooms are big and luxurious. However, the neighborhood was a mess. A tent city next door and the famous Hollywood Blvd. was a slum. So disappointing. We had to jump in the car if we wanted to go and see anything, because the hotel neighborhood was a no-go.
We checked out the Santa Monica Pier and Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills (where we probably should have stayed) and the Grove shopping mall. The sun was bright, the traffic was abundant and all the stereotypes about LA were being reinforced. As our new friend Ben would say "and I can't see why'd you want to live here."
We even spent a whole day in the hotel while a unprecedented hurricane and earthquake hit the city. Such luck!
As much as I enjoyed the hotel, the location was all wrong.
We were in the car at 7am so we could get to Disney early enough that we'd have all day in the park. The nice thing about traveling with teens who are also Star Wars/Disney nerds is they had absolutely no issue with this early go time.
Dave booked the Disneyland Hotel so we could maximize our time in the parks for the two days. The hotel is nice enough, obviously well-used by all the families that come through to hang at the amusement park on vacation.
Disney with teenagers is a joy. There are no tantrums, tears, running away, begging and exhaustion. It's more of a team effort, deciding where to go next, what to eat, stopping for coffee in the morning. And we all had just as much fun as we did when they were little girls believing they were meeting Ariel ... the REAL Ariel. And all that awe. What a great time.
With some good luck, we had no issues getting to the airport and flying home from LAX, ending our busy and not-all-that-relaxing vacation. And I hate to think our family vacations with "kids" is coming to an end. And hoping that we transition to vacations with our adult kids. Gah! That's a crazy thought.
California, we came and saw and were exhausted.
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