OT: California Report, LA is a great big freeway ... Options

[abbott295]

Except when it's a parking lot. My California experience really gave quite mixed results.. I'll feel sorry for you guys when you all slide off into the ocean, but I think I can live without anymore California for me.

Thanks for all the information on some twisty roads out there, that was one of the good parts of the trip, but I found the corner of Mulholland and Mulholland. I turned right, was that right? And, yes, the roads and scenery looked like Guatemala. Houses are a bit more upscale in Cal. Off the scale, actually.

Rental car: bad. Chevy Cobalt PITA. I couldn't drive it for more than about a half hour without my hips starting to hurt, and you can't get anywhere in a half hour.

There are actually, what. about 42 freeways out there? And about ten times that many bottlenecks? One of our first drives was to Mission Viejo where Phantom Regiment was practicing and the freeway was slow with three lanes, so they took away one lane!

Didn't see a single 914 all the time we were there. I thought they would be all over! Did see two BMW 2002s, or it might have been the same one twice. Got pictures of the first sighting on the freeway. Didn't get a good look the second day. One approximately the same color was getting loaded onto a tow truck. Different freeway, different direction, might have been a different car. Sorry, picture posting isn't one of my skills.

Rose Bowl sucks for handling people! And the crowd wasn't half of what they get for the big football games! An hour to get the last half mile of freeway and to the parking lot and then another hour and a half to get from the parking lot into the stadium, thereby missing our other son's drum corps (Spirit from JSU) show. This was Saturday, the big one. I guess I should have been warned when on Friday when the crowd wasn't as big and it took over a half hour to go out to the refreshment stand to get a drink.

Beach. The ocean is just for kids? Hardly any adults in the water. Maybe kids don't mind that the water is a little cool because their metabolism runs higher than adults? Very little time to spend there what with not knowing how long it will take to get back where we needed to be on time.

And then the airport/airline situation wasn't good either. Do airlines not know that all their planes are booked solid all morning? (all day?) Do they not realize that means there will be large crowds trying to get checked in with baggage? Maybe they should put some more people on to get everyone processed in a timely fashion? So we can catch our plane!!!! And they should communicate to the airport and TSA so there is more than just one guy running the X-ray machine.

More rant than good comments, I guess. Sorry about that. California drivers are good about merging and permitting others to merge. And I didn't see as many drivers going through traffic lights still as they were changing from yellow to red like they do in Atlanta.

Another rant: "Motorcycles are everywhere. Share the Road." etc. etc. How can motorcycles expect us to respect them when so many will drive between lanes of cars? "Same Roads, Same Rules" Isn't that one of their slogans, too? I have also seen bicyclists do the same thing here in Ga. Not that I would ever do anything intentionally to endanger a motorcyclist or bicyclist, but they put themselves where you are not expecting anyone.

Have a good day, y'all. Alfred

[Hammy]

Unfortunately you've seen one of the worst areas of California. LA and Bay Area traffic SUCKS and is a totally miserable experience IMO. Yet for some reason there are the only parts of California people hear about.... ?
Central and northern coasts are gorgeous..... and a hell of a lot less populated than LA etc. San Fran. can be fun if you're visiting and staying for a while. Try seeing the sierras next time. NOT Yosemite because that is literally a LA in the mountains. It's disgusting what that place has turned into IMO. I was there a few years ago and there was literally an hours long TRAFFIC jam in Yosemite valley. What a joke. They've really destroyed that place. Instead go way up 108 for some magnificent views. The lower sierras (foothills) are also a beautiful site with many rolling hills and very country. Downtown Sacramento can be fun if you go on a less busy day of the week.

Anyways, don't judge California by LA. I go down there myself and hate it.