West Coast Road Trip 2024

NOTE: this post is a little late, found it in my writing folder and wanted to share.

I love road trips! I like to hit the road with destinations in mind but the route left up to the day. This is different from all the roadtrips we have done where we have one destination in mind and are looking at the most optimal route to get there in the shortest amount of time. When you have a big family and flying just isn't in the budget it's road trip time. Think if I asked my kids they would say they enjoyed it, wonder if the DVD player had any influence on that?

Several years ago we took our first true roadtrip where we had many destinations, a rough timeframe, no pre-arranged place to stay. It was awesome!! Felt sort of spontaneous but had a little organization. I fell in love with the idea and couldn't wait to do it again.

This was the year I put together an agenda and a couple of weeks ago we set out on our journey. All we had was destinations with no defined route. The destinations were Disneyland, Big Sur, Yosemite National Park, Sequoia National Park, and Palm Springs.

Stop 1: Disneyland - we went for a couple of days joined by 2 of 4 daughters and 2 of 10 grandkids. We go to Disney a lot but not with our kids and grandkids so it was a blast riding the rides, watching the shows, and of course eating park food. The weather was good and fun was had by all.

Stop 2: Treebones Resort, Big Sur, CA - stumbled on this seaside resort while just panning around my Apple maps looking for cool shit to see. It is a glamping resort...meaning you stay in camping like accomadations but a step up. I wasn't sure about it but I loved the idea and it overlooked the ocean so worst case I had a good view. It turned out to be fantastic and exceeded my expectations. We stayed in a large yurt that was furnished very nicely and had a deck with adorandack chairs overlooking the Pacific ocean. No, we didn't have a bathroom in the yurt but it was a short distanace away, extremely clean and with nice showers. The lodge itself was not too big and the food was amazing - not what I expected. There is no internet outside the lodge and there is no cell service so we could disconnect for a couple of days - we sat on the deck and read.

Stop 3: Yosemite National Park, CA - I have been wanting to go here for several years. We made our way from Big Sur to Oakhurst, CA stopping along the way at places like Sand Dollar Beach (premire surfing spot) and Elephant Seal Beach (we timed it perfect to see the seals on one of two times they are actually there). The trek took most of the day and we pulled into Oakhurst with time to grab a coffee and relax a bit. After checking into the hotel we walked over and had dinner at the Oakhurst Grill and Whiskey 41 Lounge - recommend it if your passing through. The next morning we were out the door at 6:30am and on our way. We made good time up and over the pass and hit the tunnel within an hour. Exiting the tunnel and viewing Yosemite Valley for the first time is like the scene from the first Jurasic Park when they reach the island and they see dinasoars for the first time. The last time I saw something that beautiful was coming down from Jungfraujoch Switzerland on the train towards the village of Lauterbrunnen. Looking at the 3,000 foot granite wall of El Capitan shooting out of the valley, and Bridalvail Falls on the right - it took my breath away. After getting out taking it in and of course getting a couple of pictures we kept moving, first stop an up close and personal view of Bridalvail Falls. We then made our way to a parking spot following the loop around to right in front of El Capitan. From here we hiked over to view the upper and lower Yosemite Falls then made our way to the village where we enjoyed a very good Americano at Degnan's Deli. We stopped at several of the museums and the Ansel Adams Gallery to look at his photographs, I picked up his autobiography, before hiking back to the car and heading on to our next stop.

Stop 4: Three Rivers, CA - this small town is right outside the gates of Sequoia National Park. After our time and Yosemite and the drive over we arrived right around dinner time. We checked into our next home for the night, the Gateway Lodge. After a long day I really needed a beer so we walked over to the restaurant and sat on the outside deck overlooking the confluence of the Middle and East Fork of the Kaweah River. It was a little warm and the river was loud but we enjoyed several beers and conversation before calling it a night. Once again we got an early start out the door at 6:30am for an hour drive to what we wanted to see, the General Sherman sequoia - the largest by volume sequoia in the world. I should clarify this, sequoias can only be found on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains and only between the elevation of 6,000-8,000 feet. A very particular tree that knows what it wants. Traffic was light so we made good time and found plenty of places to park once we got there. We parked at roughly 7,500 feet and walked down to roughly 6,500 feet to see the general. The documentaries and pictures didn't prepare me for what I was seeing in this giant forest (named the giant forest by John Muir), I couldn't take my eyes off of them. It wasn't only the size but the beauty of thier bark and the stature against the other trees. It is difficult to put into words and something you need to witness for yourself. The climb back up to the car wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, and we were off to our next stop.

Stop 4: Palm Springs, CA - one of my favortie places, I get here often between conferences and just weekend getaways. We had two travel options; through LA or the back way, we chose the back way. It would be our longest drive up until this point and while I don't regret taking it when it was done I was glad. It started out scenic but quickly turned flat with very long straight desert roads, the kind in movies where the road goes on for 20 miles and you can see it all. By the time we arrived in Palm Springs it was early evening, hot and we were weiry from the road not to mention it was the end of our trip. I thought we would go to my favorite restuarent LuLu's but instead we went to the best deli I've ever been to, Sherman's Deli - you have to eat here if you are ever in Palm Springs. We retired early after a good sandwich and did some reading.

I really enjoyed this California road trip visiting places I've always wanted to see. California is a beautiful state offering so much to see and hats off to the National Park service for the wonderful job they have done and are doing with our nations most incredable places. I can't wait for the next road trip!!