L.A., Las Vegas and San Fransico

[psk4363]

I know this is slightly off topic BUT I've just booked (2 hours ago actually - on an impulse!) a two week vacation to Los Angeles (5 nights), Las Vegas (5 nights) and San Francisco (4 nights) and intend taking all of my photo kit in my Lowepro Trakker bag (see below).

This will be my (our, if you include the wife) first trip to the States - we cops aren't that well paid you know. So any advice re photo sites that are accessible by car in these 3 areas would be very much appreciated.

Cheers,
Barry

[Belmondo]

Before I answer, it would be helpful to know what time of year you're coming. That will influence my recommendtions. I grew up in the L.A. area, and live about two hours drive from there now. I spent 31 years in the Bay Area (1969-2000), about 40 miles from San Francisco, and we go to Las Vegas a few times a year.

So, I'm pretty familiar with all three of those places.

Sounds like a fun trip.

Tom

[psk4363]

Hi Tom,

We leave the UK in two weeks time (10th January) - hence the impulse decision.

Cheers,
Barry

[Belmondo]

Okay, Barry. I'll work on an answer for you later today. It's a gorgeous day here in the desert, and we're going to go get some sunshine and do a few errands.

Tom

[defordphoto]

San Francisco in itself is a photo-op. After that, hit one of the most beautiful places in the world, no matter what time of year: Yosemite.

I'll let the others fill in the gaps.

[sdommin]

Sounds like a fun trip, and your photo opportunities are unlimited! One thing to note in your planning is road closures (due to snow) in the Sierra Nevadas. You can easily get from LA to Vegas anytime, but if you want to go from Vegas to San Francisco, you have to go all the way up to Reno and take I80 west, or you have to go the southern route, almost back to LA before you can go north.

Are you arriving and departing LA?

[psk4363]

Thanks for the help so far you guys. Just to clarify the transport situation though - we fly with United to L.A., then after the five nights again fly with United to Vegas, and then 5 nights later fly with,yes you guessed it, United to S.F. before flying back with them to the UK.

I really do want to go to Yosemite but the distances from San Fran. (the nearest of the three as I figure) would mean a middle of the night start to get the full benefit of a complete day there. I mean you could spend a week/month there if it was possible.

When I retire in 6 years from the police, at the ripe old age of 57, I fully intend to use part of my cash 'lump sum' to spend 3 months motoring across the States so this trip is a kind of look-see adventure.

Cheers,
Barry

[sjprg]

Here are a series of images from the San francisco area and surounds.

http://www.pbase.com/sjprg/galleries

Paul

[sdommin]

psk4363 wrote:
Thanks for the help so far you guys. Just to clarify the transport situation though - we fly with United to L.A., then after the five nights again fly with United to Vegas, and then 5 nights later fly with,yes you guessed it, United to S.F. before flying back with them to the UK.


Oh no! You should have asked us first. You would have been much better off by flying to one place, renting a car, and driving the rest. Most of the beauty and adventure is BETWEEN your destinations.

Anyway, assuming you'll have a car, drive out of Vegas to Zion NP and the Grand Canyon. You'll need a day for each (at least). "The Strip" in Vegas is great for night shots. I like death Valley NP, too.

San Francisco itself has tons of photo ops. Parking can be tight, so try to walk or take the cablecar around town. Yosemite is a good 4-5 hour drive. I wouldn't try to tackle it in one day.

LA is the least photogenic of your stops (in my opinion), but there's still lots to do & see.

[psk4363]

Hi Scott,

I know, I know! Driving between the cities would be the ideal way to do the trip but this was a package deal with all 3 hotels, internal and international flights, and breakfast included in the set price - 600 GBP or around 1000 USD.

Six more years and I'll be doing the proper road-trip.

Cheers,
Barry

[defordphoto]

To miss Yosemite would be like going to England and bypassing London. Yes, it's 3.5-4 (190 miles) hours from S.F. by car, but worth it, IMO. I just can't imagine flying 8,000 miles across the planet and miss one of the wonders of the world.

With Yosemite in the winter you can't travel the whole park anyway, so one full day there (which equates to about 9 hours of light) would be fine.

Pebble Beach/Monterey/Carmel would be another place to hit.

[IndyJeff]

LA is the least photogenic of your stops (in my opinion), but there's still lots to do & see.


You could always become a paparattzi for a couple of days, maybe even pay for the trip if you get the right shot of the right person LOL

[Chrisc]

'To miss Yosemite would be like going to England and bypassing London'

Bypass London? Yes please.

[defordphoto]

chrisc wrote:
'To miss Yosemite would be like going to England and bypassing London'

Bypass London? Yes please.


?

[sdommin]

psk4363 wrote:
Hi Scott,

I know, I know! Driving between the cities would be the ideal way to do the trip but this was a package deal with all 3 hotels, internal and international flights, and breakfast included in the set price - 600 GBP or around 1000 USD.

Six more years and I'll be doing the proper road-trip.

Cheers,
Barry

OK, that sounds like a good deal. But you will rent a car, right? Since this is your first trip to the "colonies", you must know that public transportation is nowhere near what you are used to in the UK or the rest of Europe, and its especially bad out west (by "bad", I mean it is almost nonexistent). You could have a great time staying relatively near your hotels, but you'll miss SO much!

[Vegas Poboy]

Good Luck with your trip, as far as Vegas there is plenty to shoot.
First of all Las Vegas itself has plenty to shoot (early morning or evening is best to capture the skyline and lights along the strip)
Red Rock Canyon 30 minutes from the strip
Valley of Fire 1 hour away
Death Valley California a few hours away
Utah has many sites
Mnt Charleston antoher 40 minutes north
The list can go on and on the main thing to think about is sunrise & sunset to capture the color of the sky and desert. Heli rides are available and even the Grand Canyon is worth a trip to see. I would stay away from the north this time of the year the weather can be clear to deep snow. Hopefully this can help click Nevada in google or LasVegas.com and take a look see.
Good luck

[robertwgross]

RFMSports wrote:
San Francisco in itself is a photo-op. After that, hit one of the most beautiful places in the world, no matter what time of year: Yosemite.

I'll let the others fill in the gaps.

I agree with the Yosemite vote. Unfortunately, if you go there in mid-January, there is poor access to about 90% of the entire national park. That's the bad news. The good news is that the 10% left is Yosemite Valley, which can be the best part of the park, depending on weather. The trick there is that all winter mountain driving in California requires you to have tire chains available in the car, even if you don't have to put them on for any particular section of road. For a rental car, this is awkward. Car rental companies can sometimes arrange to have chains for a rental car, but MOST WILL NOT.

If you were heading for some place like Yosemite Valley for a little lightweight photography, then the thing to do would be to drive to Fresno in the rented car, then take a bus tour from there up to Yosemite Valley for the day, and then return.

---Bob Gross---

[KarlJones]

psk4363 wrote:
... Driving between the cities would be the ideal way to do the trip but this was a package deal with all 3 hotels, internal and international flights, and breakfast included in the set price - 600 GBP or around 1000 USD.
Sounds a little like a Titan HiTour. Is it one of their independant itineraries?

[hawg]

I agree with most, that San Francisco is a photo-op all year round. Los Angeles has a lot to offer too, but mostly tourist sites, Hollywood, Grumann Chinese, Rodeo drive,beaches and such. I highly recommend getting a car in Los Angeles unless a tour of the sites is included in the packaged. Greater L.A. is a big town about 454 sq. miles. Also with a car you drive down the coast towards San Diego.

[merlyn9]

Funny the timing of this!

I live 40 miles west of Chicago, but have been working in Sacramento on a project since begining of Nov. Drove out the northern route, BUT...

Going home for the holidays, My best friend flew out, I took her down to San Francisco & we did the 1-hour bay cruise unser the bridge & around Alcatraz (I did this years ago!)
Then headed down South towards L.A... 'cept we cut over & headed over to Vegas! What a treat... Heading South, we spent time at Hover Dam... (Hurry befor you can't drive over it any longer!!!) Very very picture worthy (water's low, but mountains are great!)

We continued on over to Flagstaff, and that big Crator AZ. brags about! Great Sunset's here just outside the crator area. Painted deasert... (damn, need more memory cards, or a faster transfer means) (Resturants with power outlets in the booths are GREAT!

Texas, Oklahoma... Route 66 Museum... St. Louis....

Glad to be home in the land of Snow, Ice, & cold.... Where is it?

Did this with the 10D, 17-35, and 28-300....

I go back in mid-Jan. Looking forward to a weekend jaunt down to Yosemite...

Take your time, enjoy the sites.... I'll be in England/Scotland/Germany in August!

[Vegas Poboy]

I just located a site that can help while traveling Nevada Hopefully this will also help
http://www.travelnevada.com/

[arthurb]

psk4363 wrote:
I fully intend to use part of my cash 'lump sum' to spend 3 months motoring across the States so this trip is a kind of look-see adventure.


Its just sad that you choose California as your introduction to the USA. Please don't judge all of us by your California experience. :)

Seriously though, I am not sure what is worth seeing in La, (Disney in Florida is 10 times better.) San Francisco has lots of photogenic places. If you haven't booked a hotel there yet, checkout, The Lighthouse Motel in Pacifica;
http://www.bestwesternlighthouse.com
Its about a 20 minute drive from downtown.
We stayed there for the 7 days in 2001, surrounding 9-11. They have grreat rates and waterfron or waterview rooms.
Here is my gallery of pictures which includes a great set of sunset picture taken right from the hotel;
http://www.ajb.com/sfpic
These were taken with my old Casio camera. Not near as good as my DRebel.

The gallery also includes shots taken going south along the coast, it is a great drive. You may want to go all the way to Monterey, that is the location of the Aquarium that they used in Star Trek IV (with the whales, although there are no whales at the real Aquarium)

A short drive north of SF is Mir woods, a famous Redwood forest, and there is a park that you pass going from the Lighthouse Motel toward the city. That park had folks hang gliding, which was neat to watch.

Good Luck on your trip.

[psk4363]

Thanks to everyone for the responses so far!

ArthurB - the hotels are part of the whole deal. But I would agree with you re the Best Western group based on our experience at one of their hotels in Paris this summer;

Jim - "like going to England and bypassing London"???? London is the pits! But Pebble Beach/Monterey/Carmel are on the list already!

Scott - Rental car is a top priority!

Vegas Poboy - The first 4 you mention are up there on the list so far. If I could only get the other half to join me on a heli-ride to the Grand Canyon!

Bob Gross - Thanks for the tip re the bus tour from Fresno to Yosemite Valley.

Karl - It doesn't seem to be a Titan HiTour. It's been arranged via a UK operator who fixes up direct with the hotels and the airline independently.

Hawg - As a cop here in the UK I do have reservations about driving a rental car around or through LA. I may be mistaken but I believe that rental cars are easily identifiable in the States and consequently targets for the scum. Here in the UK our car robberies and car-jackings are rapidly rising so that side is on my mind.

Merlyn9 - England, get to the Lake District in Cumbria, the Pembrokeshire coast, Devon/Cornwall and either the Beamish museum in the North-East or the Black Country Living Museum in the Midlands.
Scotland, get to the Trossachs or the Highlands.
Germany, Bavaria and the Alps then stay until October and get totally blitzed at the Oktober BierFest.

Cheers,
Barry

[deztoys]

Barry -


Glad to see my wife and I aren't the only impromptu travelers. We are in Vegas as I send this, we've been here for nearly a week and could be here much longer. We are from southern california, commute and work much of the time in the San Francisco bay area, so the locations you mention are very familiar to us.

Here are some ideas (some repeats) to the list of potentials.

LA Visit

Do some of the local touristy things like Vencie Beach, Malibu and Hollywood. If nothing else, it will put things in perspective for you. As for the other days, I would recommend a day trip (or overnighter) to Joshua Tree National Park. Great photo ops out there, especially during sunrise/set. If you want to make a mainly urban trip of it, try going to the La Brea tar pits and LA County Museum of Art. A trip up to Griffith Park during clear days can make for great scenic pics of the city. Speaking of which, you may want to plan a rain day for indoors things. If you are up to the drive, head to San Diego for a zoo day. The zoo and Balboa Park are great photo places.


Vegas Visit

Yes Yes Yes...Red Rock Canyon for a hike in the rocks. And a full day to valley of Fire. Valley of fire has a lot to offer, so take your time. Both of these place will require you to hike some, but nothing really difficult.


San Francisco

Take in all the city. Like someone else said, the whole city is a photo op. From Fishermans wharf (do a hot fudge sundae at Ghiradelli square to keep your energy up..:) ), you have to hit china town for a few pics, and a lunch in little italy. Of course you can always check out some of the ops in the financial district as well. Don't forget the fort att he base of the goldengate bridge. Which is a pretty big photo op by its self. Or maybe take the boat to Alcatraz. There are some pretty good harbor cruises as well. Man I could go on for a couple pages on this area.



Over all, do a few web searches and plan on being busy for all these locations. They are FULL of places to shoot. If you want some more ideas you can email me direct and I'll try and not ramble as much. Let us know a day or so ahead of time, we may have time to tag along with you on a day trip when you get to LA.

Some of the places I recommended are in our pbase site/pages.


Scott

[robertwgross]

psk4363 wrote:
But Pebble Beach/Monterey/Carmel are on the list already!


I was right around there two days ago. The surf is up, so the sea otters were seldom seen just floating around. However, there was one grey whale seen spouting. Numerous harbor seals and sea birds.

psk4363 wrote:
As a cop here in the UK I do have reservations about driving a rental car around or through LA. I may be mistaken but I believe that rental cars are easily identifiable in the States and consequently targets for the scum. Here in the UK our car robberies and car-jackings are rapidly rising so that side is on my mind.


Most rental cars have some sort of rental company identification sticker visible on a window or through the glass. Get any sort of sticker of your own and paste it over that one so that you are not marked as a tourist. I recommend a sticker like "Protected by Smith and Wesson."

Furthermore, here in the colonies, we drive on the right! Just let us know when you will be in town, and we will lock up our children and stay off the streets.

---Bob Gross---

[hawg]

Car Rentals -- Most rental cars aren't marked. Unfortunately in LA a car is a necessity, we do not have an extensive, cohesive mass transit system. On the other hand, driving in LA is that great either. Do you know whereabouts in LA you will be staying? That might help.

Just to give you a perpective, the city of San Francisco is approx. 47 sq. miles. Their mass transportation system is pretty good. Taxis are fairly common. Greater Los Angeles is 10 times that area (454 sq. miles). Poor mass transit and taxis only at hotels and the airport.

[Radtech1]

If you manage to get a little south of LA, Laguna Beach is nice, and quaint photo ops abound. Same with Balboa Island (newport beach). We just took the tadpoles to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. If you can / have time, take the Photo Tour of the wild animal park. You and a dozen other shutterbugs in the back of a steakbed being driven THROUGH the habitats, rather than the monorail AROUND the habitats.

Also, I will reaffirm the Red Rock area S of Vegas. If you feel tempted to go up the Stratophere in Vegas, be sure to do so around dusk, as the lighting is just too flat otherwise. (BTW... the Stratosphere is the BEST 5 star restraunt in Vegas, very pricy but worth it. Also see (no camers allowed though) the Cirque d'Sole Mystre show at the Treasure Island - $100 per ticket but worth every penny and then some.

Finally 2 UK jokes---

Q. What the difference between a Scotsman and a Coconut?

A. You can get a drink out of a Coconut!

and

Q. Why don't the Brittish make computers?

A. No matter *how hard* they try, they can't get them to leak oil.

Rad

[sdommin]

psk4363 wrote:
As a cop here in the UK I do have reservations about driving a rental car around or through LA. I may be mistaken but I believe that rental cars are easily identifiable in the States and consequently targets for the scum.

That used to be the case, however the car rental companies (at least the major ones) have caught on, and they no longer mark their cars so that a casual viewer can see their stickers.

One thing about driving in LA - its not as bad as you might think, as long as you avoid the morning and evening rush. I was prepared for hours & hours of traffic jams, but nothing ever happened (in 4 separate visits).