<p>[url=<a href="http://www.philippes.com/]Philippe’s[/url">http://www.philippes.com/]Philippe’s[/url</a>]</p>
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<p>How fast are you driving??? heh heh</p>
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<p>I second this, and can also suggest Huddart Park in San Mateo County off of 280 - beautiful redwoods with hiking trails.</p>
<p>Either Big Basin or Huddart Park are good options if you don’t have time for Muir Woods north of San Francisco.</p>
<p>Just be prepared for rain.</p>
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<p>That will all depends what do you call LA and the Bay Area, LoL… If you call Lebec is Los Angeles and Los Banos(152) is Bay Area, then it is very possible to get there in 5 hours driving at XXX miles per hour non-stop. From Santa Ana to SF downtown, you need a helicopter ride which might even faster. Not driving… :)</p>
<p>Regarding the rain, it is even raining today in the SF and we are not in the raining season yet, so, depends on your luck, you may get wonderful vacation in N. Cal. but you maybe miserable.</p>
<p>My suggestion is if you come in December, put more emphasis on the Southern Cal. and play by the ear for N. Cal. Do your planning, but not to commit N. Cal. You should go to S. Cal. first, after arrival then look up the weather and plan accordingly for N. Cal. If the weather is good, then come, otherwise there is always Las Vegas and Hoover Dam.</p>
<p>LOL, maybe Los Angeles to Fresno in 5 hours, but not LA to SF. </p>
<p>Someone has a lead foot. ;)</p>
<p>… And they were driving at night without any traffic ;)</p>
<p>The last time I went to Monterey, it took us 8 hours. Left at 230 pm on a Friday, got there at 1030 pm.</p>
<p>Yeah, that was a long trip. Not driving slow, either. </p>
<p>Hit the dreaded end of the day traffic on the 405. Took us almost two hours to go 35 miles. </p>
<p>My H had a trip to Las Vegas - should have taken 4.5 hours, took almost 7. Just has to do with traffic, accidents, road work, etc. He opted not to fly for that trip because he counted on it being a normal trip. Missed business meeting, and had to reschedule. Yes - he should have flown!</p>
<p>Hate to be Debbie Downer here, but that time of year is famous for pile-ups in the fog.</p>
<p>Tule Fog
<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tule_fog[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tule_fog</a></p>
<p>“The variability in visibility is the cause of many chain-reaction pile-ups on roads and freeways. In one such accident on Interstate 5 near Elk Grove south of Sacramento, 25 cars and 12 big-rig trucks collided inside a fog bank in December 1997. Five people died and 28 were injured. In February 2002, two people were killed in an 80-plus car pile-up on State Route 99 between Kingsburg and Selma. The visibility at the time of the accident was zero. On the morning of November 3, 2007, heavy tule fog caused a massive pile-up that included 108 passenger vehicles and 18 big rig trucks on Northbound State Route 99 between Fowler and Fresno. Visibility was cut to about 200 feet at the time of the accident. There were two fatalities and 39 injuries in the crash.[2]”</p>
<p>I’m not sure what the snow situation is like at Joshua Tree in December, but I was there in March and had a fantastic time. There’s some nice country around Palm Springs on all sides, although much of it gets snowed in during the winter. PM me if you want some more details.</p>
<p>I guess the fog is all the more reason not to take I-5 from LA to SF. That plus it’s one of the most boring, dreary stretches of highway imaginable. The coast route is much nicer, but it does take longer. Alternatively, flights from Ontario, Burbank or Long Beach only take an hour to SJC or SFO.</p>
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<p>This made me laugh out loud. We drove from north of LA to San Diego. It was a weekday and we left at about 11 p.m. There was heavy traffic the whole way.</p>
<p>I asked my husband “don’t these people EVER sleep?” Guess not.</p>
<p>Assume there will be LOTS of traffic at least on a good chunk of any drive you take</p>
<p>Whatever you do, try to fly in anywhere but LAX around Christmas if at all possible. I love the Burbank airport, just love it. I picked up my daughter after finals one year at LAX on December 23, and it was an awful experience.</p>
<p>Tule Fog is scary.</p>
<p>So is LA traffic - at any time of the day or night!</p>
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I was roughing the LA area as around Santa Clarita and the bay area as around Gilroy/San Jose which is around 5 hours - even google calls it 5h 20min but I apparently drive faster than google does. Google calls LAX - SJC as 5h 57m. It all depends a lot on traffic and where exactly one pegs the ‘bay area’ and ‘LA area’ since each of those areas is huge. SF would be another 45 minutes or so. If one did it flying they would save some time but not all that much with having to get to the airport early, flying, waiting for bags (maybe), renting a car. This faster route is along 5 which isn’t what I’d recommend to someone who’s here on vacation to enjoy the state. </p>
<p>It’d be a shame to skip the area between LA and SF so it’s best to drive along hwy 1 or a combo of 1 and 101 if one has any interest in it.</p>
<p>As others have said, do NOT drive Hwy 5 in the winter. The fog is truly deadly, and it’s the most boring drive possible. Drive the coast. Do stop in Big Sur. One note about Los Angeles–during the holidays the traffic is often far less than at other times. My friends say it’s because everyone is from somewhere else, so they leave to visit family. Ucla_Ucsd Dad, do you work for some tourist board in San Diego? 
You’ve reminded me of a many things we need to do/see around here.</p>
<p>Spent about a week in San Diego a couple of years ago. To be honest, I found it pleasant enough but somewhat bland and even . . . well, a little boring. To me the SF Bay Area is the most interesting part of California by far, not only the city which is delightful but the Marin Headlands, Muir Woods, the coast north of SF, Berkeley, the views of SF Bay from the Berkeley Hills, and on & on. If I had a 5-day vacation to spend anywhere in California I’d fly into SFO, stay in the city and spend a solid couple of days there, maybe spend a day in Marin and half a day in Berkeley, and do a day trip to Monterey or possibly even overnight there if I had time. Monterey is a gem. The weather can be chilly and there’s a good chance of winter rain in the Bay Area, but the sights are so much more interesting than in other parts of CA.</p>
<p>Second choice would probably be LA. Until recently I thought I didn’t like LA, but last time I was there (to explore several colleges with my D1) I found it strangely compelling. I think it has grown into one of the world’s greatest and most complex cities, and some parts are just stunningly beautiful, e.g., Santa Monica and the coast drive up to Malibu, or Mulholland Drive in the Hollywood Hills. From LA I’d probably head north along the coast to Santa Barbara, or maybe even as far as San Luis Obispo. I wouldn’t try to combine LA and SF in a single trip. That’s sort of like saying, “I’ll be on the East Coast for 5 days so I’ll see Boston and Washington.” Unh-unh, can’t be done.</p>
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No - I just really like it here. I’ve traveled fairly extensively and lived in a number of areas and am fortunate to have ended up in an area that I think is one of the best in the country for what I like.</p>
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I used to live in the bay area and while I liked areas fairly close to there (but not the metro silicon valley area filled with traffic and industrial buildings) it really boils down to preferences and activities one likes. There are similarities and differences. I prefer it here because of the more temperate climate, light sand beaches, water warm enough to go in without a wetsuit (more ‘usable’ beaches all around), desert areas, big hills scattered throughout the county, less traffic than the bay area or LA, etc. access to the desert, pine mtns close by (Julian), lots of hiking/biking, and more. </p>
<p>In the larger vicinity of the bay area I liked the rugged coast for its scenic value (but too cold to go in without a wet suit and less of a ‘beach’ atmosphere), redwood trees, access to Tahoe 4 hours away, and some other attributes but all in all I like it here better but I’m glad some people like the bay area better. They’re both areas with more appeal and activities than much of the country IMO.</p>
<p>We have visited California many times over the past 25 years (several annual meetings plus seeing OC relatives and finally SF). Five days of vacation is too short to do everything in any one area. Pick one general area- LA/Orange County, OC/San Diego, San Francisco and parts north. Then make a list of a dozen things to do and prioritize as you won’t have time for them all.</p>
<p>Thanks again for all the great ideas. We have decided to fly to/from LA & visit Palm Springs for a few days, as the weather, hiking and other outdoor activities sound perfect and exactly what we are interested in. </p>
<p>Any suggestions of places to stay? The perfect place would be a timeshare/condo rental or 2 bedroom cabin with a hot tub. (We want a place with a kitchen for breakfast & lunch prep).</p>
<p>I love the Horizon in Palm Springs.
Some of the rooms have kitchenettes.
[Palm</a> Springs Hotels * Palm Springs Hotels CA * Palm Springs Hotels and Lodging * Palm Springs Boutique Hotels * The Horizon Hotel](<a href=“Digital Edge - Tech, Media, Business, IT, Cloud, Startups”>Digital Edge - Tech, Media, Business, IT, Cloud, Startups)</p>
<p>Thanks for the detailed San Diego info. Son in grad school there next year, and so looking forward to visiting when winter in the midwest.</p>