California trip

[Dan Barlow]

I really don't want to say anything about California is terrible except for.........how the state is ran . It and me are at opposites . The making you pay 10 bucks an hour for parking a mile down the mountain for Griffith Park Observatory then a premium for the actual park parking lot and 18 to 30 everywhere else except the grocery store and CVS ( pharmacy ) I get it. It's a matter of supply and demand ( the supply being the parking spots ). And maybe they don't always close the car parking of at the Golden Gate bridge scenic overlooks (where you would park to pedal or walk across the bridge )on the weekend. Maybe just holidays. It did blow me away when I found out the if you were making under $100,000 a year they consider you slipping into the poverty level in San Francisco. Probably LA too , not sure . But it was fun . I'd say at this day and age Mullholand drive was the biggest let down to a middle east car guy . It's still cool but I'd hope the road racing days are over. Way too much houses and traffic. It has nothing on Tail of the Dragon. Probably the funniest things were flying all the way out there . ( When I wasn't thinking about the plane breaking apart a 6.8 miles up ) , and going up the Pacific Coast Highway. And those California mountains. How the go almost straight up. The beaches are cool and man the color of the Pacific just blows away the Atlantic. But man , that far south and the water is that cold ! ( around LA even ) makes Florida water feel like bath water in the gulf and at least warm in the Atlantic. Well that's all for now. Youngest kid wants me to go on a 62 mile ride tomorrow. Gotta get some rest .

[DanStokes]

I really don't want to say anything about California is terrible except for.........how the state is ran . It and me are at opposites . The making you pay 10 bucks an hour for parking a mile down the mountain for Griffith Park Observatory then a premium for the actual park parking lot and 18 to 30 everywhere else except the grocery store and CVS ( pharmacy ) I get it. It's a matter of supply and demand ( the supply being the parking spots ). And maybe they don't always close the car parking of at the Golden Gate bridge scenic overlooks (where you would park to pedal or walk across the bridge )on the weekend. Maybe just holidays. It did blow me away when I found out the if you were making under $100,000 a year they consider you slipping into the poverty level in San Francisco. Probably LA too , not sure . But it was fun . I'd say at this day and age Mullholand drive was the biggest let down to a middle east car guy . It's still cool but I'd hope the road racing days are over. Way too much houses and traffic. It has nothing on Tail of the Dragon. Probably the funniest things were flying all the way out there . ( When I wasn't thinking about the plane breaking apart a 6.8 miles up ) , and going up the Pacific Coast Highway. And those California mountains. How the go almost straight up. The beaches are cool and man the color of the Pacific just blows away the Atlantic. But man , that far south and the water is that cold ! ( around LA even ) makes Florida water feel like bath water in the gulf and at least warm in the Atlantic. Well that's all for now. Youngest kid wants me to go on a 62 mile ride tomorrow. Gotta get some rest .

Good that you had the experience. When I go there (most recently this Spring to work on the oldest daughter's house) I find it interesting but I'm happy to get home. Not where I want to live even though I have good friends there.

[Loren]

I haven't been to Griffith Park for decades but most such places you hope to find a shuttle bus service. Chrissy Field (at the south end) is where to park for the Golden Gate but I can't say how it is on a given day. The short section of Mulholland Drive that everybody used to hang out at, long ago, was from Coldwater Canyon to half-way to Laurel Canyon, another place I haven't been for years, it looks like they realigned the road and made Deadman's a parking area since I wrecked a car there in '81. Google Maps The Pacific Ocean current runs clockwise a about a mile-an-hour, the water is coming from Alaska and is still dang cold, nothing like the East.

[Dan Barlow]

Trip was a year ago and I have been recently been thinking back about the trip . Best part form me was running up the Pacific Coast highway. In a mustang convertible and then in a camaro convertible from L.A to San Francisco. I would like to complete the trip sometime.

[cstmwgn]

Coast Highway is CLOSED at (or around) Big Sur so you will need to go on 101 from SLO to Monterey

[DanStokes]

My oldest daughter lives there (Sacramento area) and while it's great to visit California it really isn't my cup of tea.

[Dan Barlow]

I like California outside of the big cities . Personally wouldn't want to live there . But hey , there are plenty of people that wouldn't want to live in Indiana .

[danielsk]

Sounds like a great trip!

[Dan Barlow]

It was . I even enjoyed the long , long return where the road was closed and back down to the part where the road was closed last year . I heard more land slides caused more closure this year .