Half Dome - rain

Hello All!

My wife and I are staying at Yosemite this Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights and were planning on doing Half Dome on Tuesday and relax a bit Monday.

I%26#39;m hearing it may rain Tuesday - is it still safe to do Half Dome if it is raining?

Please let me know if anyone has experience with Half Dome in the rain.

Thank you,

Patrick

Half Dome - rain

No, it is not safe to go up Half Dome in the rain. The rock becomes too slippery. Some of the people who tried will not report back on their experience because they did not survive the attempt.

Also, if there are thunder clouds, it is very dangerous. People have been killed by lightning up there.

You could hike as far as the base and decide at that point if it is safe to continue (i.e., it hasn%26#39;t rained, isn%26#39;t going to rain, and no lightning threatens).

Half Dome - rain

Where are you hearing it might rain Tuesday? If it%26#39;s weather.com that site is completely wrong on their Yosemite forecasts. Try www.wunderground.com instead, it says no chance of rain Tuesday, and the temperatures are closer to correct. (example - LA times has 93 high for today, wunderground has 86, weather.com has 75!)

We are driving up there Wednesday and doing Half Dome Thursday.

If you are trapsing about and an unexpected storm hits, please change your plans! The cables aren%26#39;t a good place to be nor is the peak when lighting is flashing about.

Have a SAFE trip!

Thank you all for the helpful info! Looks like we%26#39;ll be fine, but i%26#39;ll know to just let go of the idea if it starts to look like a storm%26#39;s a comin%26#39;.

Patrick

Of course forecasts are an inexact science and are prone to change. Either way, the forecast as of today shows a 30% chance of isolated thunderstorms for Tuesday in Yosemite. The key word here is ';isolated';.

Just don%26#39;t get stuck on that large hunk of granite with lightning on its way.

zits

new toy story ride - is it open?

Next week at this time we will be high in the sky en route to cali for 14 days of bliss. We start in anaheim and are hoping the new toy story ride will be open. Any comments?

new toy story ride - is it open?

I have heard that it is open as of yesterday they were letting people ride it. So you should be fine.

new toy story ride - is it open?

Actually for the next few days, don%26#39;t expect it to be open, there are a lot of special events (Media/VIP) scheduled, so expect to find the entire area closed. It opens to the public around Noon on Tuesday, July 17th.

We were in the park Sunday, Father%26#39;s day, and they were allowing a general ';sneek peek';, which was about a two hour window of opportunity. We got to go, and let me tell ya, it%26#39;s a kick in the pants! You%26#39;ll enjoy it :)

Darkbeer- I think you mean it opens on JUNE 17th 2008.

5 Nights in Los Angeles

My family of 4 (2 adults, 2 girls aged 11 and 9) have five nights in LA in July. We have a car and will spend the first three nights in a vacation rental in Hollywood and our last 2 nights at Casa Malibu on Malibu beach. We don%26#39;t plan on doing Disney or Universal. Could anyone recommend an itinerary that hits the highlights for a first time trip to LA? Thanks.

5 Nights in Los Angeles

Please see our FAQs at the top of the LA Forums where we have sample itineraries for one day, two days, etc.

5 Nights in Los Angeles

You can also look up previous discussions on this topic (which is a popular one) by entering keywords in the SEARCH IN box below and to the right of the narrow green stripe (above) and then clicking GO. Sample keywords are:

THINGS TO DO WITH KIDS

Good luck!

While in Hollywood:

L.A.Zoo

Griffith Observatory

La Brea Tar Pits/Page Museum

Shopping(Farmer%26#39;s Mkt, The Grove, American Girl Store)

Drive around Sunset/ Bev Hills/Bel Air and Getty Museum

Warner Brothers Tour or Paramount Tour

While in Malibu:

Getty Center if you didn%26#39;t get there yet

Santa Monica Pier

Drive up the coast to Santa Barbara?

P.S. Before leaving Hollywood, check the morning news/ keep up-to-date on any fire situations in Malibu. Upon checking into hotel, know all your exits and keep your car half-packed and ready!!!! Not to scare you, probably nothing to fear, but better prepared than sorry!

2 days in San Francisco must dos??

My wife and i are finishing are vacation with 2 days in SF. What are the must sees and dos

I know i want to do the trolley and Alcatraz and fisherman%26#39;s wharf

is there anything else i HAVE to do while there.

We are staying at the Orchard Inn

anybody know anything about this place

Thanks for your help

2 days in San Francisco must dos??

explore any of the neighborhoods of Chinatown, North Beach, Coit Tower/Telegraph Hill, Mission District streets: Dolores and Valencia Streets; sfgate.com/traveler/guide/sf/neighborhoods/

perhaps check out a show either Beach Blanket Babylon www.beachblanketbabylon.com/ or see a live music performance http://www.tripadvisor.com/GoListDetail-i17402-Concert_venues_in_San_Francisco_or.html)

2 days in San Francisco must dos??

I love to go to Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill. It gives a view of the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. One can get a sense for what an amazing find the bay was for the sailing ships looking for a safe harbor. And you can see how narrow the Golden Gate is. The bridge is named after the gap that it spans, not the other way around. It%26#39;s an easy opening to miss if you are not sailing dangerously close to the coast.

Inside Coit Tower are murals painted during the depression that depict California live in the early 20th century. Look closely for the occasional visual jokes.

You can take the 39 bus up, which leaves you free to walk down the steps - they start just across from the bus stop. If you are lucky, you might glimpse the flock of green parrots that gave their name to the documentary ';The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill.'; If not, you still have a lovely walk through an area that survived the %26#39;06 quake, a haven of green in a busy city.

The walk ends near the Ferry Building - central to all there is to see on the SF waterfront.

thanks for all your info.

i forgot my wife wants to walk across the bridge too.

TO GG Bridge: you can take the #30 MUNI bus on Kearny -- or from F.Wharf area on North Point heading towards the Marina. At Laguna and Chestnut transfer to #28 MUNI and that%26#39;ll take you to the visitor area of GG Bridge and from there you can walk across. goldengatebridge.org/photos/bridgewalk.php

here%26#39;s GG Bridge info

…about.com/cs/sanfrancisco/a/ggbridge.htm

If you have a car it%26#39;s nice to drive through Golden Gate Park and visit the Japanese Tea Garden. It%26#39;s one of a kind, beautiful, and was used as a backdrop in the movie %26#39;Memoirs of a Geisha%26#39;

If you go to Fisherman%26#39;s Wharf be sure to check out the Musee Mechanique as it contains all of the %26#39;games%26#39; people played in the early 1900%26#39;s, and you can play them all yourself, and it%26#39;s free! I%26#39;ve never seen anything else like it.

great info

too bad i only have two days in SF

We went to San Francisco for the first time last year for five days, and absolutely did not have enough time! I%26#39;ve already booked our second trip this coming October to see several places that I felt would be integral to any trip to San Francisco.

Several things that we enjoyed seeing and have not been mentioned so far are: Lombard Street - one of the cable car lines stops here, so you don%26#39;t have to do too much planning. We walked down ';the most crooked street in San Francisco';, and took our pictures then walked back up to catch our cable car down to the Wharf area. Whew, that%26#39;s a walk!

We took a trip to Muir Woods to see the giant redwoods. I felt I couldn%26#39;t come this far and not see something that is found no where else on this earth other than in this section of California. I%26#39;m so glad I did.

We spent about a day and a half exploring Chinatown and had a wonderful time exploring the apothecary shops buying teas and herbal remedies, and we had lunch there, trying dim sum. We went to a small restaurant (sorry, don%26#39;t know the name) and we were seated at a large round table with a Chinese family that spoke only Chinese and ordered the most wonderful looking dishes. I should have told the waitress ';we%26#39;ll have what they%26#39;re having';, but I was intimidated by the language barrier and just pointed at things on the cart as the waitresses came by. It was an experience I won%26#39;t soon forget.

We crossed the bay to the town of Sausalito to have lunch, and were treated to a view of the City by the Bay that was fantastic. It%26#39;s a cute town to shop and explore on your next trip to San Francisco.

If you%26#39;re like my husband and I, you will return to this wonderful city. Two days is definitely NOT enough time to hit the ';highlights';. There are too many.

Sign me,

I Left My Heart in San Francisco.

Musee Mechanique, while there is no entry charge you do need (I think) quarters to play the games.

';We walked down ';the most crooked street in San Francisco';

Or did you?

http://mistersf.com/high/highvermont.htm

ideas for throwing

Parking nearby Le Merigot

Hi, we will stay 5 nights at Le Merigot at 1740 Ocean Avenue.

We will come by rental-car but the parking at Le Merigot ($35 a day) is more expensive that the daily car rental!!

Are there any cheaper parking alternatives nearby?

Many thanks for any advice!

Keith

Parking nearby Le Merigot

All hotels in Santa Monica and LA have high parking charges. There is no overnight lot nearby, nor street parking for overnight. There are many short stay lots and some meters in front, but nothing long term.

Parking nearby Le Merigot

Hmm, too bad.

Thanks Yogachick!

Keith

Road trip in August

Hi

Me and my girlfriend have booked flights to San Francisco in August. Planning to stay there for a few days before heading out on a road trip round northern California for roughly 10 days. The places I%26#39;m thinking we want to go to are Yosemite, Napa valley, Lake Tahoe and Big Sur - we generally like lakes/mountains and the great outdoors.

I was thinking of hiring an RV but I%26#39;m not sure how difficutlt it will be to find availability at camp grounds at this time of the year and how much it would cost? Would we need to book ahead or could we just roll in and find a space?

Thanks in advance

Andy

Road trip in August

YOu are planning to head to some of my favorite places in the state. It sounds like a great trip.

Using an RV will limit your options at campgrounds. August is a busy travel month. I have never used an RV in California, so I can%26#39;t speak from experience. Campsites inside Yosemite Valley are booked for August, except for August 28, the night before the big Labor Day long weekend. I don%26#39;t know if any of those spaces are for RVs or what your exact travel dates are.

Fuel here (called gas here, not petrol, as you probably know) is cheap by your standards but is still $4 a gallon. Distances are huge and RVs get notoriously lousy mileage, so fuel costs could cancel out savings on lodging. Campsites for RV%26#39;s aren%26#39;t particularly cheap either. Do some google searching for California campsites and you should find prices listed for each location. Add to that the inconvenience of getting around in and parking an RV at rest stops and restaurants and such and I%26#39;m not sure it comes out as a win. You%26#39;ll have to crunch the numbers yourselves.

As far as booking in advance, anything near Yosemite in August should be booked ASAP. In general, the days of rolling into a campground and finding a space are long gone, especially in popular places like Tahoe, Big Sur and Yosemite in August. Better to book and be sure. Even hotels/motels might be tight in some places.

Booking in advance cramps flexibility but provides assurance of a place to sleep. Only you can decide where the balance is for you. One way you can check how tight things will be is to look at places in July and see how booked up they are a day or two in advance. July (outside of the July 4th weekend) is roughly comparable to August (outside of the Labor Day weekend Aug 29-Sept 1) so that will give you some idea of where you would likely need to book in advance.

Best of luck and have a great trip.

Road trip in August

Hi and welcome to the travel forums! You will love Ca and are visiting some very popular destinations at a very busy tourist season. I would definitely book ASAP as stated by the previous poster. Have a wonderful trip! :)

Thanks for your help both. We%26#39;re thinking of going for one of the smallest RVs - looking at a 17ft vehicle max I think. Hopefully this should make it more economical ($4 a gallon sounds like a bargain to me we%26#39;re paying £1.16 a litre at the moment - over $10 a gallon if my calcs are correct!!). Only really want it for sleeping in as we%26#39;ll probably eat out in the evenings. If it all works out too expensive I might still take a small tent and maybe pick up and airbed once we%26#39;re there.

Is there any campgrounds you would specifically recommmend or avoid? We like sociable but not too noisy camping. We would need shower facilities.

Thanks again

Andy

Hi. I do know RV%26#39;s, lol!

If you are thinking of a Class B (van) you will have no problem getting around and finding parking spaces. It%26#39;s actually smaller than many of the full-size pickups on the road here. Your gas mileage - if you drive with a light foot - should be decent, around 15 MPG. Our US gallon is smaller than your Imperial gallon, so it works out right now to about $8.50 USD/gallon of your petrol over there. So even as our prices keep rising, ($4.40 here) it%26#39;s still cheaper, as is nearly *everything* else here.

There are two categories of RV lodging. ';RV parks'; are privately owned and have full hookups, plus often a swimming pool and other amenities. ';Campgrounds'; may be owned by the government or privately, and are usually more rustic without hookups in many instances. They will usually have showers, but you may have to pay extra. State Parks are very busy and will all be booked up already. This late, you may have better luck trying to find a privately owned place to camp, and there are many of them. This will help you:

http://www.rv-clubs.us/rv_campgrounds.html

www.rvparkhunter.com/state.asp…

Prices run from about $25 USD for a campground, up to an average of about $35/40 USD for an RV park with lots of amenities. Yosemite has no RV hookups of any kind, and may be completely full.

In a real pinch, you can park overnight at a rest stop or alongside the road - as long as there is not a sign stating that it is not allowed. This is not allowed within a National Park, though.

14 day west coast (From San Fran to LA)

hi all,

ive got a few questions here and need some help in planning our road trip.

Me and my friends (5 of us, 20s and 21s) will be stepping into San fran soil on 19th July noon. we will be leaving for home (singapore) on 2nd Aug midnight(3rd aug 0000hr).

We are planning a driving trip for about 11 days.

San Fran - 19th %26amp; 20th July.

21st morning leave San Fran for San Jose/Santa Cruz.

San jose/Santa Cruz - 21st July

22nd morning leave for Big Sur

Big Sur - 22nd July

23rd morning leave for Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara - 23rd July

24th morning leave for OC

OC - 24th July

25th morning leave for Anaheim(disneyland)

Anaheim(disneyland) - 25th July

26th July leave for Las Vegas

Las Vegas Outlet Mall - 26th July

27th July go to Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon - 27th July

Las Vegas Strip - 27th Night

28th morning leave for LA

LA downtown - 28th %26amp; 29th

LA outlet mall - 30th

Is our schedule feasible? Is there a better plan for us to see the coast yet go to LV %26amp; Grand Canyon? Are our stops for the small towns sufficient? Is the plan too packed, should we space it out further?

Our flight only leave on the 2nd so we in fact have more days off. what do you suggest that we can do? Sightseeing, beaches, towns, shopping, architecture is something we favour. any suggestions on what to do at the small towns as well?

We will have 5 luggages with us throughout the trip and we intend to rent a 7 seater SUV. Is that feasible?

Any advice/suggestion greatly appreciated! thank youuu!!

14 day west coast (From San Fran to LA)

Hi

A full size 5-seater SUV will do but have you thought about restrictions re. your age?

You are underestimating distances. It%26#39;s 5 hours from Las Vegas to GCNP and it%26#39;s 8-9 hours from GCNP to Los Angeles plus your time to see GC.

Maybe try this:

7/19: Arrive SF. You%26#39;ll need several hours for immigration. p/u luggage. p/u rental car (or maybe visit SF without a car). And you%26#39;re jet lagged. Don%26#39;t expect to see much first day.

7/20: San Francisco

7/21: San Francisco. At least 2 days to explore SF. 1 day certainly will be too short imo.

7/22: Drive to Santa Cruz for a visit and drive to Monterey.

7/23: See Monterey Aquarium. see Carmel, Point Lobos SR. Big Sur and drive to Cambria for the night.

7/24: See Hearst Castle and drive to Santa Barbara.

7/25: From Santa Barbara to Las Vegas

7/26: Las Vegas (no gambling under the age of 21)

7/27: Las Vegas-Grand Canyon NP. If you start early you can visit this great NP in the afternoon. But it will be hard to get accomodation. Try www.grandcanyonlodges.com or try lodging in Tusayan just south of the park.

7/28: The very long drive to Los Angeles

7/29-8/2: OC, LA and Anaheim.

You%26#39;ve mentioned only 11 days but is seems more like 14 days.

Tet

14 day west coast (From San Fran to LA)

hey tet! thanks for your suggestions!

we did think of age restructions but what ive known is that we will have a underage surcharge thats all. ive rented a 7 seater SUV from budget without problems :)

for SF, we do not intend to have a car. we intend to start renting the car the day we leave SF.

do you know how long is the drive from SF-Santa Cruz-Montery-Big Sur-Cambria-Santa Barbara-LV?

at Grand Canyon we intend to visit the Sky walk.. how long is the drive from LV to the GC skywalk?

from LA to OC %26amp; Anaheim, is there available public transport or we have to rent a car? We are thinking of renting the car for the entire trip that needed to be visited by driving at one go instead of splitting up the rental into 2 occasions.

Don%26#39;t miss spending some time in Carmel, you may want to inquire about the Tor House tour, it%26#39;s a cool house with a tower where poet Robinson Jeffers lived, I think the tours are about an hour and a half for $7/pp. Looks like a great trip! :)

I suggest that you keep your car for the entire trip. Getting around in LA/OC area on public transport is difficult.

If you have nothing on the agenda in San Jose, then skip San Jose (I live in San Jose)and drive the down coast from San Francisco to Santa Cruz to Monterey to Carmel to Big Sur. One of the most beautiful drives in California. Carmel has a nice shopping area - not outlets. If you have the time, south of Carmel is Point Lobos State Park. Take a couple of hours to hike around and take photos.

But now that you mention shopping - we do have the Great Mall in Milpitas. Outlet shopping including Saks Off Fifth and Last Call Neiman Marcas.

For high scale shopping, there is Santana Row and Westfield%26#39;s Valley Fair. And then from San Jose to Monterey (you%26#39;ll have to skip Santa Cruz), there%26#39;s the Gilroy Premium outlets.

Mmmm...shopping or sightseeing.

Your plans are fine as is. Note: The only thing you might want to cosnider is what you want to do in the Santa Cruz/San Jose area. If you want to do Great America, Wichester Mystery House, Mystery Spot, Santa Cruz Boardwalk, oceans, etc. probably ok. If you don%26#39;t have anything specific you want to see in the San Jose area, then I would skip San Jose and just concentrate on Santa Cruz/Monterey area instead.

You need to check the Grand Canyon Forum for comments on the Sky Walk. It is actually at Grand Canyon West, not the National Park, %26amp; is very expensive. You also have to drive in on dirt roads, which you shouldn%26#39;t do with a rental car. How much time have you allowed for the GC?

This is the link to a debate about the Grand Canyon / Skywalk:

…tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g45963-i10-k20266…

Hi, we are thinking of doing the same itinerary. May I know how much is the surcharge for dropping off your car in LA? What about the hotels? Appreciate if you could share with me. Thanks a lot!

hey ChristmasSJ,

we have decided to skip san jose and just concentrate on santa cruz and monterey area. thanks for that suggestion. we realised there is nothing we wanna do in san jose. we realy like scenic views and beaches so we gonna do the beach route ;) we are into shopping but the cheaper ones like outlet malls and unique stuffs suit us better than expensive shopping brands. unless that shopping area has a certain kind of feel to it that we should experience we will not go down the upscale shopping route. thanks for you ideas ;)

hey ellenwillow,

our highlight of GC was supposed to be the skywalk. do you suggest anything else we can do for GC? we planned about 3-4hrs in GC itself. suggestions on what to do if we are encouraged to skip the skywalk please. thanks!

regarding parking charges, is it expensive to keep the car for 3 more days in LA for us to drive to OC and Anaheim? also doesnt hotel charge alot for parking cars overnight? please advise us on the car. thanks!

Where are you staying in the LA area? If you%26#39;re going to Disneyland in Anaheim, drive yourselves there. Most hotels/motels there do not charge for parking. Same for most lodging in the LA area.

For the LA area, most lodging around LA international airport have free parking. You will need your car to get around LA. Everything is very spread out. You don%26#39;t want to mess around with public transportation. You%26#39;ll want to go to Hollywood. Or do a studio tour. Colleges? There%26#39;s UCLA and Westwood. Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive. Thinking about Universal Studios? Don%26#39;t miss Venice Beach - just to walk around and people watch. There are lots of people biking, roller-blading, and playing volleyball. Lots of street vendors. You can even watch the body builders at work or should I say at play. You can bike or roller blade from Venice Beach all the way down to Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Redondo Beach. Or drive, but you guys are in your 20%26#39;s - so you can follow the bike path down along the beaches.

Just suggestions because I%26#39;m not clear about your itinerary and where you%26#39;re dropping off your car or what your rental contract is.

zits