I will be attending a conference in Stanford for 10 days or
so in mid July.
With a few friends,we were thinking of renting a car
afterwards-we have 7 days free.
We were thinking of going to Vegas for a night,Yosemite,LAke
Tahoe.Does this sound reasonable in 7 days,the driving can
be split between 4 people.
Or can anyone possibly suggest a good alternative itinery
that could fit this timescale.
Thanks in advance
Jim
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Unless you're really into Vegas, and hot desert driving,
just go to Tahoe, or add Reno. See the Coast, Napa Valley,
and the Redwood Empire instead.
Go to Tahoe first, then drive down I-395 south to the
entrance of Yosemite via Tioga Pass (it will be open).
Head into the Yosemite Valley and camp or whatever for the
night. Go back out Tioga Pass and continue down south on I-
395 taking in Mono Lake and maybe stay a night in Bishop,
CA. Next, on the way to Vegas, hit Death Valley (it will
be death in July, but if you don't come to States often,
you can tough it out--plus, Vegas will be hotter than hell
too).
Hit Vegas for a night or two (any more would be criminal)
and by all means don't forget to visit the Hoover Dam.
From Vegas, hightail it West towards the coast. But be
sure to make a stop in Joshua Tree National Monument.
Quickly skirt the helL.A. area and try to land on the coast
at Oxnard. You can then spend a day or so meandering up
the California Coast, maybe spending a night in San Luis
Obispo (get there on a Thursday evening and there's an
excellent local, weekly market) before taking HWY 1 up the
coast to the Bay Area again.
Realize that you will be covering some long distances, but
the roads are all good in California and you can travel
some great lengths if necessary each day. If there's four
of you, definitely upgrade to something roomy, like maybe a
minivan. Good luck and have a blast.
With the first post. Vegas if you feel you must, but
definitely plan on Yosemite and Napa, and don't forget a
couple of days in San Francisco on the way! It's about 1
hour North of Stanford. (Napa is about 1 1/2 hours from
SF).
Stanford's fairly close to Santa Cruz too (where the Lost
Boys was filmed, if you're old enough to remember The Lost
Boys!), if you're interested in a mini-LA experience (but
with less silicone;)
-
Marin is really pretty, and doable in a day from Stanford
(probably about 1 1/4 hour's drive). See Sausalito, Point
Reyes, the scenery up on the coastline is wonderful.
-
Tahoe is beautiful as well. I'd put that, Yosemite and SF
as priorities.
-
Have fun, Palo Alto is a nice little town.
Julie
Don't miss it, but then again, you can probably see some of
it in the evenings while you're in Stanford, if you've got
some free time. If you've never been before, you will fall
in love like the rest of us have! Check out
www.sanfrancisco.sidewalk.com for information about SF and
road trips to Tahoe and Napa/Sonoma (wine country). My
usual advice for visitors to Vegas: go to Caesar's Palace,
it's the dark, seedy, red velvet casino you've been
expecting.
Do Vegas INSTEAD of Reno.
I would skip Vegas, but defintiely do Yosemite. I also
really like the suggestion that you do San Luis Obispo.
Great town. The Thursday night Farmer's Market is great.
Lot's of fun bars. Don't forget to go to Bull's, but don't
drink a Bull's Sweat,you'll regret it. Leaving SLO going
north on 101 you can also hit Hearst Castle, it's kind of
interesting and it only takes about 2 hours. And San Fran
is a must. Oh and if you are a smoker, the only bar that
you can still get a away with smoking in in Palo Alto is
called Rudy's, it's great fun. It's a combo of a Frat
boy/Euro crowd, strange, but fun.