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Please, help me plan my trip.

The TVClubHouse: General Discussion ARCHIVES: 2006 Mar. ~ 2006 May: Please, help me plan my trip. users admin

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Archive through March 21, 2006Azriel25 03-21-06  7:04 pm
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Juju2bigdog
Member

10-27-2000

Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - 7:11 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Juju2bigdog a private message Print Post    
Okay, I have looked up the hotel in San Fran. Here is a pretty good page on it because of the bus info and the expandable map.

http://tinyurl.com/qhrvv

You say you are going to tour in SF and THEN rent a car. That is wise. Parking is SO difficult in SF nowadays, that it pays not to have a car. I would have the brother write to Muni for a bus route map (you send maybe $2-3 and self-addressed envelope) and get bus passes for however many days you are going to be there.

I used to know all the bus routes when I lived in SF (1995 to 2000). When people came to visit, I took them sightseeing on the Muni buses. I see you are on the 28 bus line, or it is nearby. That one goes to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Best way to take a cable car is to take the California Street line. There is never a wait there, and you get almost the same thrill. Make your way from the hotel to Van Ness street and then take a bus on Van Ness (in the direction going away from the water, South) to California St. Get off at California, cross Van Ness and catch a cable car right there on California. You can take it all the way to the end and then take a bus somewhere else.

If you zoom out on the Google map, you will see a place called the Palace of Fine Arts in the upper left corner. You can probably walk there from your hotel, or you might be able to take the 28 bus, on your way to the Golden Gate bridge. You don't need to spend a lot of time there, but it is some remarkable architecture to find in a big urban city. You will mainly just walk around and take some pictures of yourselves standing there and then move on. It is the site of the 1915 Pan Pacific Exhibition, which celebrated the completion of the Panama Canal and the rebuilding of San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. They built all kinds of fantastic temporary exhibition buildings and then tore all of them down except one when the fair was over. The last one was too beautiful to tear down, so they left it standing, and in the 1960's (this is all sort of fuzzy by now, so things are approximate) a wealthy San Franciscan donated the money to make the remains permanent buildings. Worth a stop.

Warning about San Francisco. It is not very big, so it looks like everything is walking distance, which it pretty much is. BUT, you can end up exhausted if you walk everywhere. Particularly if you walk somewhere via looking at the map, and you walk up a HUGE hill to get there. If you are going to walk, you are often better off walking around the hills rather than over them. If you want to walk from your hotel to Fisherman's Wharf, head to the water first and walk that route rather than up Lombard toward Van Ness. Still, I think I would try to take buses as much as possible, as you will walk enough by accident. Start practicing to walk now.:-)

Beachcomber
Member

08-26-2003

Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - 8:00 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Beachcomber a private message Print Post    
I want to sign up for Tabby's Jack Daniel's tour!! We would need a couple of tour directors for that!

Mamapors
Member

07-29-2004

Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - 8:30 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mamapors a private message Print Post    
If anyone is a baseball fan, you must visit the Giants ballpark. It is beautiful. I could help get tickets.

Landi
Member

07-29-2002

Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - 8:34 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Landi a private message Print Post    
mamapors, you and i will have to talk!

Penguingirl
Member

01-26-2006

Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - 8:36 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Penguingirl a private message Print Post    
Azriel...mind if I jump in with some travel requests?

We're Australia bound in Sept. and plan to be there about a month. We wanted to spend lots of time in Cairns, but are waiting to hear more about the level of storm damage. We like to snorkel, hike and prefer rural to city life. Anyone been to Kangaroo Island? DH doesn't drink, so wineries are out of the running.

Coco
Member

07-13-2000

Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - 9:00 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Coco a private message Print Post    
Azriel, if there's drinking, definitely don't get into the car. Just jump on a red trolley as the lady keeps repeating "LIME"! And let's not forget the Pharoah...giggle!

(ps. I know there aren't really any red trolleys in Napa, I was just funning with Az about our trip to Chicago and the 3 hour red trolley tour from hell....)


Tabbyking
Member

03-11-2002

Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - 9:17 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Tabbyking a private message Print Post    
c'mon down, beach!

i always like taking a pregnant chick with me on drinking tours so she can drive all day!

Seamonkey
Moderator

09-07-2000

Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - 9:51 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Seamonkey a private message Print Post    
Penguingirl..

Here is a small bit of info I got from a friend in New Zealand, about the Cyclone Larry, which hit hard in northern Queensland.

I was asking about Noosa, which is way south and ok, I gather, because a friend's son and his family live in Noosa (on the Gold Coast) (her son is quite a popular magician there).

Lynn, Noosa is in southern Queensland, down near Brisbane, which is 1807 km or 1120 miles south of Cairns, which is north of the area affected by the cyclone hit. Cairns was also affected, although not to the same extent as Innisfail, Tully and Mission Beach. link to article about Cyclone

Article says cleanup from the cyclone in Cairns is to take weeks.. so sounds like it should be ok.

It was a huge cyclone, though.

Azriel
Member

08-01-2000

Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - 10:59 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Azriel a private message Print Post    
Coco, I would love to get my husband on a red trolley with Calypso Sue and the Pharoah. I know it would be hilarious to watch his reaction. I don't think he ever would have stayed on the trolley trip from hell as long as we did! I don't think he would ever understand how we ended up enjoying it so much, either. :-)

Azriel
Member

08-01-2000

Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - 11:01 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Azriel a private message Print Post    
Penguingirl, I don't mind at all, that's why I made the title a generic "help me plan my trip" because I thought we needed a thread like this for everyone to use.

Azriel
Member

08-01-2000

Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - 11:10 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Azriel a private message Print Post    
Juju, thanks for the info on San Francisco. I noticed the bus lines were near and that was a plus for the hotel. My brother was all we don't mind walking and I told him, yeah well wait till you walk up a few hills, dude, then get back to me on that. My husband is Mr. Cab Man. He thinks he can just grab a cab on any street in the world. He says if the buses are crappy we are taking a cab!

Of course, we have to take a cable car while we are there. Thanks for the info on that, too.

Kitt
Member

09-06-2000

Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - 11:52 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Kitt a private message Print Post    
Here's some info on how the storm affected Cairns.

http://www.cairnsinfo.com/news.asp

That site also has links to tours. I spent a few days in Cairns about ten years ago, seeing the barrier reef is clearly a must. We went on a tour of the rain forest, I don't think there was much hiking as it was all guided, but it's spectacular. At one point I looked up and about a foot away there was a spider that was literally bigger than my hand. That website looks like it has some options for things to do there, even if you don't like those tours it should give you some ideas. Oooo (looking at the site is bringing back memories!) we did the Kuranda Railway too, at the end of it there's an aboriginal area where they put on little plays for tourists. On the way back you go on a little gondola type thing that skims the tops of the trees.

Enjoy the trip, I'm very jealous. I'd love to go back.

(P.S. Just to please the locals, remember Cairns is pronounced Canns.)

Penguingirl
Member

01-26-2006

Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 12:52 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Penguingirl a private message Print Post    
Kitt, did you make it further south at all? Did you do the Rock, Tas, Blue Mtns? Yep, we'll probably do the Reef, but are thinking land and animal things too.

We'll also be spending time on some island in the S. Pacific..not sure which one tho. Not the Cooks or Hawaii..did those already. If there was one you loved along the way, would you care to share?

Juju2bigdog
Member

10-27-2000

Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 11:10 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Juju2bigdog a private message Print Post    
Azriel, you can certainly also take cabs. In fact, it might actually be easier for the four of you, and since San Francisco is small, they don't cost a lot because you are not going that far.

Okay, I might dispense with the bus recommendation and say go with cabs. You actually CAN get a cab most anywhere in SF, certainly at the tourist places where you will be going.

But maybe still get a bus map, just in case.

Kitt
Member

09-06-2000

Thursday, March 23, 2006 - 7:34 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Kitt a private message Print Post    
Penguin, we went to the Blue Mountains just North of Sydney, are those the ones you mean? We really only drove along the road at the top, and admired the view though. We didn't want to hire a car so we went to a few cities and did arranged tours from each. We had a great few days in the Red Centre, staying at Alice Springs and doing a trip to Ayers Rock and hiking over the Olgas and some place I think was called Kings Canyon?? Something like that, it was the one they climbed up in Priscilla Queen of the Desert. I'd definitely recommend that area, it's so different from anywhere else. Other than that we went to Sydney (to meet a friend) and Melbourne (for family). Those were both interesting cities but we didn't get out and about so much. Didn't go to Tasmania or NZ.

Seeing as your name is Penguingirl, did you know about the Penguin Parade? We wanted to do it but didn't have time in the end. It's on Philip Island, about 80 miles from Melbourne and meant to be a sight not to be missed.
http://www.phillipisland.net.au/penguinparade.html

Penguingirl
Member

01-26-2006

Friday, March 24, 2006 - 9:04 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Penguingirl a private message Print Post    
Thank you for the info Kitt. I really want to do the Red Center, but dh would rather spend our time elsewhere. Maybe cuz I'm looking into camel safaris, ha! I think it sounds like a kick. We saw a penguin parade on the South Island NZ...it was amazing. We have nothing confirmed at this point, other than we'll be there sometime in Sept/Oct. I'd better get serious about it soon, whoa. thx

Tabbyking
Member

03-11-2002

Sunday, March 26, 2006 - 8:00 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Tabbyking a private message Print Post    
AZ, do take good comfortable walking shoes! when i worked in san fran, we were on a mighty hill (parnassus st) and i usually had to park down at haight and ashbury and walk up. even though i wore heels at work, i wore good athletic shoes from my car to my office!

Deanofwords
Member

09-13-2005

Sunday, March 26, 2006 - 9:40 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Deanofwords a private message Print Post    
You can transit passes -good for buses/trolley cars -not good on BART -the area rapid transit.Great savings -as an one way Trolley Car ride is 10 or is it 5 ? We got a 3 day pass-took it from Union Square area to Fisherman Wharf area and back we stopped at Chinatown. Great fun .Lots of hills to climb. Lots of good eatries . Loris diner okay for a cheaper meal .
Other times i have been thee a friend rented a car and we went to the wine country Sanoma -ate an ex train station .We also went to Montrey and stopped in Los Altos near San Jose on the return at cousins.
I love the city !!Just was there in November and my other half met up with someone who they had worked together over 18 years ago!!
Bon Voyage!!

Doxiestar15
Member

06-10-2005

Thursday, April 20, 2006 - 6:15 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Doxiestar15 a private message Print Post    
I'm planning my first trip to Cedar Point this summer. Anyone live in the area or are Cedar Point fans that can give me some good tips. Different entrances to the park, which one is the best to use for early entry.

Halfunit
Moderator

09-02-2001

Thursday, April 20, 2006 - 6:55 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Halfunit a private message Print Post    
Hi Doxiestar!

Not only do I live in Ohio, hubby and I try to go to Cedar Point every year.

Essentially, the park is a peninsula, so one way in - one way out.



I don't know which direction you're coming from, but once you get to the Route 6 / Route 2 area in Sandusky, just follow the signs.



If you are staying in a hotel, I would recommend staying in one just south of Route 2. Much cheaper than the ones just before the causeway - unless you want to stay close or can find a good deal, of course.

I hope you have a fantastic time!