I'm going August 20th.
Well, here's what I think...
Land at LAX Friday, spend the day in LA, drive to San Bernardino, get a cheap place for the night.
Wake up Saturday, concert is basically all day, drive to San Diego, get a cheap place for the night.
Wake up Sunday, spend the day, drive to LA, leave the car. Now either:
1. One hour red eye to Vegas and get a cheap place for the night.
2. Get a cheap place for the night, early bird one hour to Vegas.
Monday morning, helicopter flight to canyon floor which includes dinner at the lodge and camping the night in a teepee.
Wake up Tuesday morning, chopper back, hit Vegas however by foot and cab, hang out, get a cheap place for the night.
Wake up Wednesday, hit Vegas till 8pm, head to the airport, fly home.
So far this is the plan I like most. I found out I can't do the racetrack that weekend so that plan is shot.
With certain pieces of info not given, I don't like the plan. But that's just me.
I think you should plan this down to the minute, and if not, at the very least, down to the hour.
So, what time can you arrive Friday? Name the exact hour. Then add another hour for baggage and rental. I suppose NY/LA is still cheap enough where doing layovers doesn't save enough to be worth it, so flight time not any longer than it has to be. Include 3 hr time change. I am reading that you will fly back directly from Vegas to east coast?
When leaving LA, you will want to be well on your way before 2pm on Friday, and earlier is even better, or not until well after 8pm, and later is better.
You will not be walking around Vegas, unless in the middle of the night. You can walk during the day if you're ok with being in a full sweat after one block. Cab it everywhere. I hear the Cirque de Soleil shows are something else, and chicks dig that stuff. I hear the "O" (as in "eau" or water) show is particularly spectacular. Some hydraulic platform can allow dancers to be gliding over the shallow water, and then moments later people are diving head first disappearing through the "floor".
I might recommend forgetting SD altogether. You can't "do" LA in half a day. If only because getting around is a biznatch. If you forget SD, only rent the car for the concert portion, return it immediately after, and just cab it everywhere while in LA. Then you can easily take your girl to any posh restaurant, or hole in the wall bar, etc. LA is pretty spread out, depending on what you want to do. Easy come, easy go, as some places can be an impossibility to park in, particularly in popular weekend night areas, I think anyways.
Anyways, it's easiest to drop SD (it's not Vegas nor near concert). Assuming one full day is killed on concert, you are given three full days for LA and Vegas combined. Actually, since one full day is for the GC, make that only two full days. That may be too relaxed for you, but LA/Vegas/SD with only two full days is just kind of nuts if you ask me. Yeah, I'm speaking in terms of days, and not hours, because I just want to reiterate that point . . .
What race track were you thinking of? I'm sure there must be a good handful of tracks between all the places you will visit.
OK, I reread your post. You might be able to pull it off. I recommend leaving both LA and SD late as possible while still being able to catch a flight. Like say a midnight flight for Vegas. Arrive maybe 1am, and you then hit the ground running. Vegas is alive at night in the summer. You need to plan your sleep though, if planning on hiking the GC.
Alright, your first post, when you say leaving Vegas at night, what time do you mean? Whatever you mean, make sure there are actually flights at those times. However, I'm sure it must be different with Vegas . . . but better see . . .
