Down the Pacific Coast I Go...

Shawn

Lexus? Oh shi-
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MkVI GTI w/DSG
So those of you who read any of the Random Thoughts... threads with any regularity have probably read something related to this.

I wanted to go to Southern California for a few weeks and the idea occurred to me that I should take a chance for once in my life and do something I wouldn't normally do - drive my car 2,300 odd kilometers down the coast of western North America to get there.

Some recommended that I take the scenic route that hugs the coast all the way from Washington state to California but this is my first time on the road and I'll be all alone so I'm going to compromise and take the scenic route just within California. It's still a considerable chunk of the trip, and if Google Street View is any indication it's a hell of a road.

Long story short, this is my route as it stands now. I'm going to be stopping over in Portland and Medford in Oregon and San Francisco and Paso Robles in California.

https://pic.armedcats.net/s/sh/shawn/2010/10/14/map.jpg

Fortunately for you all I don't really have any questions, just wanted to make a thread so I don't clutter up the others. Let me know though if you have any tips or whatever, on any of the cities or just in general about the trip. I'm not into the typical tourist traps but I'm hoping to take a look at some nice eateries and stuff.
 
Fucking Yogurtland, sorry it's my only contribution. I was only in California for a bit and most of that time I was in the woods.
 
From what i've heard, seen, and read you should definitely take the 199 from Grants Pass to Crescent City, then the 101 to Legett and then stay on Highway 1 all the way to L.A. or even up to San Diego.
 
need a co-driver?

Is that an offer or are you asking if I think I will need one? I was kind of looking forward to doing it because I enjoy driving alone, but since I've never done anything of this magnitude I want to kind of take it easy.


From what i've heard, seen, and read you should definitely take the 199 from Grants Pass to Crescent City, then the 101 to Legett and then stay on Highway 1 all the way to L.A. or even up to San Diego.

San Diego is further south than LA. :p

I wish I could take the coast route the whole way down, it looks so nice even from the crappy Street View pictures. But it looks like it extends the trip by about 30% or so... I'm already planning on four nights on the road with the route posted above and I don't really think I can handle anything longer than that for now.
 
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Only 1 suggestion...Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland, Oregon. Here's their famous maple bacon doughnut.

voodoo%20bacon%20donuts%20(Small)-thumb.jpg
 
I see you're going through Weed. I have a suggestion.

Don't stop and take pictures of the Weed town signs and whatnot. You'll potentially get yelled at by the riled college students about being a tourist. Lol.

Kinda surprised you decided to go down I-5 for most of it though, it's a pretty boring drive where it's flat and pretty exciting on the Siskiyou pass and the big curvy passes south of Dunsmuir. (If you have a good car, unlike me who has to go slow.)

Oh sorry, edit.

If you go though Sacramento, be sure not to hit it at 5 PM. It's miserable through there. (I recommend going around Sacramento and avoiding it completely though using I-505. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_505_(California))

Just try keep yourself entertained from Redding to the Bay Area, it's a dry and boring drive. Nothing really to look at as it's just dry farmland and fields.
 
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If you're coming down I-5, you could visit me :p I live not very far from exit 260.
 
Only 1 suggestion...Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland, Oregon.

Oh, that place don't need no suggesting! It's the one place I had in mind to hit up before I even seriously thought about this trip.


Kinda surprised you decided to go down I-5 for most of it though, it's a pretty boring drive where it's flat and pretty exciting on the Siskiyou pass and the big curvy passes south of Dunsmuir. (If you have a good car, unlike me who has to go slow.)

Well, like I was saying above, I really would love to stick to the 101 and then the 1 within California, but I think it might be slightly too much for me the first time around. I don't mind spending the extra night or two it would take me to do the scenic route, but where would one stay on the Oregon coast? I'd really rather stay in Portland and Medford than like Tillamook and Crescent City.

So you're saying I5 isn't entirely flat and boring? My longest drive would in fact be between Medford and San Francisco, which includes the boring bit you talk about between Redding and the Bay Area... maybe I'll take one extra night and from Medford head west and start the scenic route from there down instead of from San Francisco down.


If you're coming down I-5, you could visit me :p I live not very far from exit 260.

I'd like to get to meet some FG-ers on my way, but as you can see I'm not planning on stopping in Washington since it's so close to home. :)
 
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maybe I'll take one extra night and from Medford head west and start the scenic route from there down instead of from San Francisco down.

Take the 101 south to the GG bridge. Kinda have to, it's tradition. If you want some shots, stop by the Vista point - Marin Headlands. But basically it's on the right hand side of the freeway before you enter the bridge. There'll be signs.

It's where this picture was taken:

 
Do you know of any spots where I could pull up my car and photograph it with the Golden Gate in the back?

Even the vantage point from which your shot was taken should be good enough, eh? There must be a parking lot behind you somewhere.
 
Yep the cars were actually just a foot or 2 away (behind us). So you can just park up at that spot, and find the right angle for the shot. It's a side of the road vista point dealio, and so people just pull up and park and snap away.

If that doesn't work, there's also the park on the other side (when you go North). The lot is facing the GG bridge.

Actually I have a picture from that spot! Durr.



It might be harder here because there are a few more things in the foreground. But it's worth a shot even if you don't include the car in it.

The only thing about that is that you'd have to come back up North and do it again. So you'd be paying extra toll (since you're going south twice).
 
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I-5 in the Siskiyou Pass and I-5 south of Dunsmuir is one of the funnest places to drive if your car isn't total crap. You just have to watch out for Trucks, they are usually going pretty slow on the side of the road in the Pass part of Oregon, and the right lane in the California part.

It's very hilly and curvy, perfect for if your car has good handling and ability to take corners. I see you have a Golf GTI so you would probably have fun in these sections. Nice cars like CTS' and other performance cars seem to always zoom past on these sections. Also, it's nice scenery from Medford to the Pass because there's nice lush farmlands that have cows and it's just really nice. I'll check my camera when I get home, I might have some old pictures I took on the way up to Medford once. (And they recently just increased the Speed in the Medford area from 55 to 65, so it's not as slow as it used to be.)

But once you get to Redding and go South it's quite miserable in terms of scenery. I hate that drive soooooooooo much but I have to take it because it's the only way how I can go North to Redding. And on I-5, there are a lot of cops that hide out in various locations (where it's mostly flat), especially in Red Bluff and from Dunsmuir to Yreka.
 
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Take the 101 south to the GG bridge. Kinda have to, it's tradition. If you want some shots, stop by the Vista point - Marin Headlands. But basically it's on the right hand side of the freeway before you enter the bridge. There'll be signs.

It's where this picture was taken:


Just remember, the fog usually rolls in in the late afternoons towards sunset and will entirely engulf the bridge. So if you want a good pic, early afternoon is the best time.

https://pic.armedcats.net/s/sk/skidd01/2010/10/14/n1245792384_158414_4391.jpg

The road takes you up to the vista point over the GG bridge, but if you keep going you'll end up on top of a cliff overlooking the Pacific.
 
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Have fun man! It should be a good trip!

If you need to stop for lunch on the first day of driving, might I suggest the Poodle Dog Resturant off I-5 in Fife, WA.

1522 54th Ave E Fife, WA 98424

That's the address, My friend and I always stop there and eat when we go down to the states.
 
I'd like to get to meet some FG-ers on my way, but as you can see I'm not planning on stopping in Washington since it's so close to home. :)

Awww, not even for me? I could even bake cookies for you or something.
 
Or stop and yell at Viper. He lives somewhere along that route (just look for the cardboard box behind the Viper with the WOW paintjob)...
 
I appreciate the input guys.

JipJop: Duly noted, I'll be on the lookout for it. How many times have you been down the coast anyway? You seem to have a lot of experience with the route considering you've only been driving four years. :p

Everyone else: I really don't think I'll have time for anything over and above just resting and taking in some immediate sights. Perhaps I'm foolish for rushing through the route, but I'm really worried that if I take too long I'll suddenly find myself without any energy or wherewithal left to get to my eventual destination.

So with that said, I think I'm going to more or less stick to my route. I wish I could take the extra two days and do the scenic route the whole way down... but it's too overwhelming for me right now, hopefully in the future because it's a dream of a route by all accounts.

Right now the one outstanding issue with my selected route is that I'm planning on arriving in downtown San Francisco from I5 and sleeping overnight, so going across the Golden Gate would itself be a separate and lengthy exercise. To that end, any good vantage spots on the SF side to view/photograph the bridge? It would delay me too much to take a detour and arrive in SF via the Golden Gate.

I must sound like an idiot, going all this way and forgoing much of the scenic route and many of the sights and attractions. But somehow I feel like I'd be setting myself up for disappointment if I pile on too many things; the four nights and 2,400km that I've got planned is already starting to make me anxious as my departure day gets closer.
 
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