What are the best places to visit along the West Coast?
I am going on a road trip from Fort Worth, Tx through the west coast visiting; Mesa Verde NP in Colorado- Arches NP,Bryce Canyon, & Zion NP in Utah-Grand Canyon NP in Arizona- Las Vegas in Nevada- Los Angeles, Yosemite NP, San Fransisco Area, & Redwood NP in California- Mt Rainier NP & Seattle in Washington- Glacier NP in Montana- Yellowstone NP in Wyoming- Mount Rushmore NP & then a long drive back home. I want to know any place I really should stop along the way like oddities, great vegetarian restaurants, parks, waterfalls, vintage clothing stores, cheap neat things, great views, museums and whatever else. Remember this is a road trip so it doesn't need to actually be there places along the way are great too. This is a lot of work trying to find things to do places to go I am counting on you to help me out. Oh! and I am traveling with two teenagers so that would be a good thing to keep in mind. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please reply with anything you deem worthy. Other - United States - 4 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
In LA make sure you go to Santa Monica. You'll want to hit the 3rd St. mall for souvenirs, the famous Santa Monica Pier, the boardwalk. Take a ride down Sunset Strip or up Mulholland Dr. BelAir for stars' houses, and Rodeo Dr. just for fun. Pinky's for hot dogs. On the way up north take the 17 mile drive through Big Sur. Stop in Carmel for lunch at Clint Eastwood's Hog's Breath Inn. In SF, go to the Legion of Honor. It's a great museum, but also offers awesome views of the Golden Gate. Wander through Haight-Ashbury for a trip back in time! GREAT restaurants and vintage clothing stores. Don't miss a walk across the Golden Gate bridge and lunch in Sausolito. Travel further north on hwy 101 to Sonoma County. Just past the town of Novato, stop at Olampali State Park for a look at the home of the Grateful Dead back in the day! And I mean a real house they lived in. Then on to the Wine Country! Sonoma has great vineyard views and wineries (Napa makes auto parts, Sonoma makes great wine!) The Smother's Brother's winery out in Kenwood is one to see! Stop in the town of Windsor---- a great revitalized community of mixed-use living, reminiscent of the South of France--as well it should be. Sonoma County bills itself as "the New Provence". Windsor has lovely restaurants with sidewalk seating and a fabulous old fashioned candy store and soda fountain among other things. Then on to Healdsburg for more good food. The back to the coast to Bodega Bay. This is where Hitchcock filmed The Birds. Beautiful coastal scenery! Enjoy your trip!
2 :
I would consider taking a small detour south of Los Angeles down to San Diego, it's about 2 hours south of downtown LA. It's one of the best places to visit in CA b/c of the perfect weather, beautiful warm beaches, and all the attractions. SD is one of CA's biggest tourist destination and is best during the summer. You got all the typical attractions like the world famous San Diego Zoo, SD Wild Animal Park, SeaWorld, Balboa Park and all the musuems there, ect... Great nightlife downtown and in Pacific Beach. And it has the best beach scene and some of the best beach communities on the West Coast. La Jolla is a really beautiful and wealthy beachside community There is so much beautiful natural scenery all over the place too; great views from all the hills and mountains of the city and ocean, beautiful natural canyons all over the city even in the really urban parts, and there is so much to do all the time there, especially in summer. And you won't have to worry about the weather, it will not be too hot, too cold, or rain at all. You can also take a day trip to Mexico and check things out. Also when you go from LA to SF take highway 101 or 1 and not I-5. The scenery and towns along the coastal route are much better. I-5 is mainly for people looking to get between Northern and Southern CA quick and not for sightseeing at all unless you enjoy hot, dry, flat farmland for hundreds of miles. Visit Santa Barbara, Morro Bay, Hearst Castle in San Simeon, Big Sur, Carmel, and Monterey on your way up to the SF Bay Area.
3 :
San Francisco Bay Area is teeming with great vegetarian restaurants. Highlights: - Cha-ya (locations in San Francisco & Berkeley) - freshest, tastiest Japanese vegetarian food. - Greens (San Francisco - a little spendy, but it set the standard for quality vegetarian restaurants) - Millennium (San Francisco) - vegan gourmet food - Cafe Gratitude (vegan AND raw)...this place is a uniquely "Bay Area". All the dishes are named things like "I am empowered", "I am happy", etc. Definitely would give the teens something to remember. If you go, get a salad. Locations in SF and Berkeley. Have fun! P.S. If you are staying at the lodge at Mesa Verde NP, be sure to hang out in front of the restaurant around dusk/early evening. All the little bats start flying around. If you stand by the street light in front of the restaurant, they whiz close by your ears! It's the coolest, weirdest experience.
4 :
Check out the list of vegetarian or veg-friendly restaurants in those areas at VegDining.com. It recently updated its West Coast listing, so I hope it will be helpful for your trip. http://www.vegdining.com/GetRestList.cfm?rgk=NA-US Enjoy your vacation, and good luck!
I am going on a road trip from Fort Worth, Tx through the west coast visiting; Mesa Verde NP in Colorado- Arches NP,Bryce Canyon, & Zion NP in Utah-Grand Canyon NP in Arizona- Las Vegas in Nevada- Los Angeles, Yosemite NP, San Fransisco Area, & Redwood NP in California- Mt Rainier NP & Seattle in Washington- Glacier NP in Montana- Yellowstone NP in Wyoming- Mount Rushmore NP & then a long drive back home. I want to know any place I really should stop along the way like oddities, great vegetarian restaurants, parks, waterfalls, vintage clothing stores, cheap neat things, great views, museums and whatever else. Remember this is a road trip so it doesn't need to actually be there places along the way are great too. This is a lot of work trying to find things to do places to go I am counting on you to help me out. Oh! and I am traveling with two teenagers so that would be a good thing to keep in mind. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please reply with anything you deem worthy. Other - United States - 4 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
In LA make sure you go to Santa Monica. You'll want to hit the 3rd St. mall for souvenirs, the famous Santa Monica Pier, the boardwalk. Take a ride down Sunset Strip or up Mulholland Dr. BelAir for stars' houses, and Rodeo Dr. just for fun. Pinky's for hot dogs. On the way up north take the 17 mile drive through Big Sur. Stop in Carmel for lunch at Clint Eastwood's Hog's Breath Inn. In SF, go to the Legion of Honor. It's a great museum, but also offers awesome views of the Golden Gate. Wander through Haight-Ashbury for a trip back in time! GREAT restaurants and vintage clothing stores. Don't miss a walk across the Golden Gate bridge and lunch in Sausolito. Travel further north on hwy 101 to Sonoma County. Just past the town of Novato, stop at Olampali State Park for a look at the home of the Grateful Dead back in the day! And I mean a real house they lived in. Then on to the Wine Country! Sonoma has great vineyard views and wineries (Napa makes auto parts, Sonoma makes great wine!) The Smother's Brother's winery out in Kenwood is one to see! Stop in the town of Windsor---- a great revitalized community of mixed-use living, reminiscent of the South of France--as well it should be. Sonoma County bills itself as "the New Provence". Windsor has lovely restaurants with sidewalk seating and a fabulous old fashioned candy store and soda fountain among other things. Then on to Healdsburg for more good food. The back to the coast to Bodega Bay. This is where Hitchcock filmed The Birds. Beautiful coastal scenery! Enjoy your trip!
2 :
I would consider taking a small detour south of Los Angeles down to San Diego, it's about 2 hours south of downtown LA. It's one of the best places to visit in CA b/c of the perfect weather, beautiful warm beaches, and all the attractions. SD is one of CA's biggest tourist destination and is best during the summer. You got all the typical attractions like the world famous San Diego Zoo, SD Wild Animal Park, SeaWorld, Balboa Park and all the musuems there, ect... Great nightlife downtown and in Pacific Beach. And it has the best beach scene and some of the best beach communities on the West Coast. La Jolla is a really beautiful and wealthy beachside community There is so much beautiful natural scenery all over the place too; great views from all the hills and mountains of the city and ocean, beautiful natural canyons all over the city even in the really urban parts, and there is so much to do all the time there, especially in summer. And you won't have to worry about the weather, it will not be too hot, too cold, or rain at all. You can also take a day trip to Mexico and check things out. Also when you go from LA to SF take highway 101 or 1 and not I-5. The scenery and towns along the coastal route are much better. I-5 is mainly for people looking to get between Northern and Southern CA quick and not for sightseeing at all unless you enjoy hot, dry, flat farmland for hundreds of miles. Visit Santa Barbara, Morro Bay, Hearst Castle in San Simeon, Big Sur, Carmel, and Monterey on your way up to the SF Bay Area.
3 :
San Francisco Bay Area is teeming with great vegetarian restaurants. Highlights: - Cha-ya (locations in San Francisco & Berkeley) - freshest, tastiest Japanese vegetarian food. - Greens (San Francisco - a little spendy, but it set the standard for quality vegetarian restaurants) - Millennium (San Francisco) - vegan gourmet food - Cafe Gratitude (vegan AND raw)...this place is a uniquely "Bay Area". All the dishes are named things like "I am empowered", "I am happy", etc. Definitely would give the teens something to remember. If you go, get a salad. Locations in SF and Berkeley. Have fun! P.S. If you are staying at the lodge at Mesa Verde NP, be sure to hang out in front of the restaurant around dusk/early evening. All the little bats start flying around. If you stand by the street light in front of the restaurant, they whiz close by your ears! It's the coolest, weirdest experience.
4 :
Check out the list of vegetarian or veg-friendly restaurants in those areas at VegDining.com. It recently updated its West Coast listing, so I hope it will be helpful for your trip. http://www.vegdining.com/GetRestList.cfm?rgk=NA-US Enjoy your vacation, and good luck!
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