my honeymoon

[mike c]

looks like one of the countries I'm going to for my honeymoon is the US.
(got my visa approved today)

I'm looking at Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas ... duration: unknown

how far is 159km? -> how many hours ride? <- distance from San Francisco CA to Morgan Hill CA. guess what is in Morgan Hill ...

 

[jaxvon]

At normal highway speeds, probably around an hour and a half. However, with normal traffic congestion, that can easily take over 2 hours.

 

[majorloser]

Good luck with traffic!

Morgan Hill is just South of San Jose. Bay area traffic can be a b****!

http://www.sfbaytraffic.info/map.htm
http://www.dot.ca.gov/travel/index.php

EDIT: BTW, save Las Vegas for the last stop. Otherwise you won't have any money left for the rest of the trip.

 

[Sheep]

how far is 159km? -> how many hours ride?

1 hour.

SheepStar

 

[Mort Corey]

Going to Las Vegas=bring lots of $$$...if you don't gamble, just $$. San Francisco=don't bother trying to drive because there's no place to park anyway.....bring $$. Los Angeles=make sure you're well armed

Mort (PRK native)

 

[Tarub]

San Francisco=if you see $ onthe street, dont bother to bend over and pick
it up. Leave it alone. Otherwise you will be leaving your heart in San Francisco (Tony Bennett).

 

[mike c]

do cabs take you that far? how much is a cab ride that far cost you?

im not even sure velodyne allows factory visits ...

depending on the visa applications, we're planning to go to Toronto Canada (this one is short - its just to visit my cousins), and countries in Europe the wife wants to go to ... I was never a person who liked scenic places. give me a PC and HT at home and you won't see me going out.

 

[mike c]

EDIT: BTW, save Las Vegas for the last stop. Otherwise you won't have any money left for the rest of the trip.

will do that, is it because of the gambling or just buying stuff?

Going to Las Vegas=bring lots of $$$...if you don't gamble, just $$. San Francisco=don't bother trying to drive because there's no place to park anyway.....bring $$. Los Angeles=make sure you're well armed

I prefer not to gamble. re: LA ... I thought LA was Beverly Hills and other posh places ...

San Francisco=if you see $ onthe street, dont bother to bend over and pick
it up. Leave it alone. Otherwise you will be leaving your heart in San Francisco (Tony Bennett).

is this some sort of "don't pick up the soap in the prison shower" warning?

At normal highway speeds, probably around an hour and a half. However, with normal traffic congestion, that can easily take over 2 hours.

thanks

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

You'll be disappointed in LA if you go to Beverly Hills. Even the streets there are dirty. LA is a dump and overpriced. Latinos probably outnumber everyone else. It helps to know Spanish. It's not what you expect.

I'd recommend hitting some of the more popular beaches just south of LA like Huntington Beach, La Jolla, and Coronado (San Diego). Renting a convertible is fun along the Pacific Coast Highway. You can rent a car in LA, and drive all the way down to Tijuana and back. I have family in LA and San Diego, and we're always doing something different out there. You shouldn't drive from San Francisco to LA. It's much too far IMHO unless you really like to drive.

I've not been to San Francisco, but my wife has. It's simply a huge bustling city - and our gay capital of the US (not that there's anything wrong with that). You need to map out your day and take public transportation to get around. It's a very pretty city, but hectic like most major cities.

I'm not a big Vegas fan (been there 3 times) since I'm not a big gambler. The hotels and pools are out of this world. The nightly shows are fun, but the dress codes in many of the night clubs are strict - so bring some nice threads.

You can take a cheap puddle jumper to the Grand Canyon from Vegas, which is worth every cent. The flight itself is amazing. I think I paid $85 for a a round trip including pick up at my hotel and sat next to the pilot in a twin engine Cessna. The Canyon is 10x what I expected.

 

[htjunky]

You'll be disappointed in LA if you go to Beverly Hills. Even the streets there are dirty. LA is a dump and overpriced. Latinos probably outnumber everyone else. It helps to know Spanish. It's not what you expect.

I'd recommend hitting some of the more popular beaches just south of LA like Huntington Beach, La Jolla, and Coronado (San Diego). Renting a convertible is fun along the Pacific Coast Highway. You can rent a car in LA, and drive all the way down to Tijuana and back. I have family in LA and San Diego, and we're always doing something different out there. You shouldn't drive from San Francisco to LA. It's much too far IMHO unless you really like to drive.

I've not been to San Francisco, but my wife has. It's simply a huge bustling city - and our gay capital of the US (not that there's anything wrong with that). You need to map out your day and take public transportation to get around. It's a very pretty city, but hectic like most major cities.

I'm not a big Vegas fan (been there 3 times) since I'm not a big gambler. The hotels and pools are out of this world. The nightly shows are fun, but the dress codes in many of the night clubs are strict - so bring some nice threads.

You can take a cheap puddle jumper to the Grand Canyon from Vegas, which is worth every cent. The flight itself is amazing. I think I paid $85 for a a round trip including pick up at my hotel and sat next to the pilot in a twin engine Cessna. The Canyon is 10x what I expected.

I live in LA and i dont consider it a dump, but i agree lots of areas in LA are dirty and it is definitely overpriced(housing that is). Mike C, I recommend if you know anyone in LA, ask them if they would kindly give you a tour of the nicer areas in the city. Also, if you've never been to LA, anticipate unimaginable traffic gridlock. Lastly, LA is like a book, dont judge it by it's cover and have lots of fun.

 

[mtrycrafts]

1 hour.

SheepStar

Is that how you drive? No wonder we have an oil shortage And I subsidize it

 

[audiofox]

You'll be disappointed in LA if you go to Beverly Hills. Even the streets there are dirty. LA is a dump and overpriced. Latinos probably outnumber everyone else. It helps to know Spanish. It's not what you expect.

.

Coming from a one-dimensional town like Columbus (which is where I spent the first 25 years of my life), LA can be sensory overload, but calling it a dump is like any other sweeping generalization-oversimplification. Most people that have not been to LA have an unrealistic or outdated (ie, 60s Beach Boy era) Shangri-la image of Hollywood, etc, etc. and are doomed to be disapppointed when they arrive. BTW, many current residents still function just fine without being fluent in Spanish, at least in my neighborhood.

 

[majorloser]

If I was going for a long driving trip, I think about going to Lake Tahoe. Could even take a short flight to Reno, NV and rent a car to visit Lake Tahoe.

Let's face it, you live on some of the prettiest coastline in the world. Go visit the mountains and see what the rich people do for fun.

Unless you just LOVE huge, busy cities and crappy traffic.

 

[Biscokid]

Even the streets there are dirty. LA is a dump and overpriced. Latinos probably outnumber everyone else. It helps to know Spanish. It's not what you expect.

Man I could not agree more. Non-white people scare the Sh!t out of me.

 

[mike c]

Man I could not agree more. Non-white people scare the Sh!t out of me.

boo!

 

[mike c]

I think I'll be flying from LA to Las vegas and also flying from Vegas to Sanfo.
I had the option of driving myself (rent a car) - but I was afraid of getting lost (missing the exits) on the highways ...

 

[RMK!]

I think I'll be flying from LA to Las vegas and also flying from Vegas to Sanfo.
I had the option of driving myself (rent a car) - but I was afraid of getting lost (missing the exits) on the highways ...

Mike,

Velodyne does not have a demo room setup at their HQ. I'm afraid all you will get there is a coffee mug . They have several good dealers in the area that have the DD-18's and one of them has the Sig 1812. I heard that sub a couple of weeks ago (see there is an upgrade path from the DD-18) although I'm not sure how much of a real upgrade it is. It is really just a beautifully crafted ultra high end audio product and based upon some the amps and speaker prices I've seen, it is a real bargain @ $15K. There was British boat manufacturer in the 70's who's advertising tag line was "Comfortably beyond the grasp of the common man". That pretty much sums up the 1812.

I'm a No. California native and would be happy to advise you as to some places to visit when you are here. We Northern Californians do not like Southern California much and feel the state should be divided just like the Carolinas. Then we could charge them for all of the water they steal from us or just let that place return to the desert is supposed to be. On that happy note , PM me if you want any No Cal info and congrats on your marriage. I've had a couple of em but now I'm retired from marriage and able to do and buy what I want. Cost me a couple of houses but provided me with some really good expierences.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Coming from a one-dimensional town like Columbus (which is where I spent the first 25 years of my life), LA can be sensory overload, but calling it a dump is like any other sweeping generalization-oversimplification. Most people that have not been to LA have an unrealistic or outdated (ie, 60s Beach Boy era) Shangri-la image of Hollywood, etc, etc. and are doomed to be disapppointed when they arrive. BTW, many current residents still function just fine without being fluent in Spanish, at least in my neighborhood.

Didn't mean to rag on your town. Most travelers don't know where to go when they get to LA. The area around the airport, Beverly Hills, etc... is really nothing like what they show on TV. Now, if you know residents in the area, they can take you up in the hills where there are some fantastic houses, and towards the shore, where you would be amazed. I just hate suggesting people pay tour operators to bus you like cattle around that town. My aunt has a $650,000 1600 sq. ft. home in an area you have to lock your car/front door. There is no yard (typical), and she's separated from neighbors with a block wall. Oh, she gets a 1 car garage for her Lexus.

Columbus is the 6th city I've lived in. It's nothing great (especially being land locked), and we have our share of crime. What is does have is affordability. I couldn't swing my 2500 sq. ft. home in the better areas in LA. In San Diego or San Francisco, I'd be mortaged out to my eardrums. But, you do get the pacific ocean, and some nice looking eye candy to boot. People also take better care of themselves out your way - which means you'll live longer if you don't fall into the ocean first.

Mike C,

By all means, if one of the local guys here can give you some areas to visit in LA, go for it. I know time is limited, and thought some areas south of LA toward San Diego were much more interesting. One other area I absolutely fell in love with was Big Bear Lake. It's roughly 100mi. from LA, and 200 mi. from Vegas.

For my money, I'm headed back to Hawaii and Aruba down the road. But with just having a new baby this year, Cedar Point was all we could do on top of a short vacation to Tennessee this summer. Have fun!

 

[masak_aer]

Are u not going to visit east coast? ...i'd be happy to show u the way around... We have nice view, nice museums and a "Tweeter" near my place.

Congrats on ur marriage!

 

[Audioholics]

My aunt has a $650,000 1600 sq. ft. home in an area you have to lock your car/front door.

What confused me during my recent trip to LA was the fact that, in my perception, the people deserve the situation with housing that they are in.

The entire downtown area is run-down and depressed, yet it costs $600k for a 1500 sq. ft. house outside of town...? If any developers had half a brain, they would buy up the land around the downtown area and turn the surrounding city into a nice place to live. I've seen this happen in many parts of Florida and they don't have near the trouble expanding outward that LA has.

I was looking around dumbfounded that the downtown area was basically run-down and bereft of higher-end housing and upper-class neighborhoods. Yet we constantly hear all about how no one can afford to live in CA. Buy up the land and turn it - it's not brain surgery!