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California trip report

Thought I would do a MM-related trip report.  H and I spent 3 nights at a (gorgeous) resort south of LA on my firm's dime.  If any of you ever want a really nice domestic trip, PM me.  It's pricey, but beautiful.  After spending time at the resort we flew to SF for two nights to see family and some of the sights.  Here is my report:

Cheapest meal we ate: $15 for lunch from a grocery store.  Food is so expensive there.

Gas prices: $2.50-$3.00/gallon (mostly taxes)

Car rental: $60 for 2.5 days in SF (again, mostly taxes).  People of California: you all pay too much in taxes.

Best use of $20: Visiting Muir Woods to see the redwood trees.  I know people have mixed feelings about paying for national parks, but they are so expensive to maintain that I really don't mind. 

Best free activity: Golden Gate Park and visiting the gardens early enough to get in for free!  Also, parking was free around that area, which really surprised me.  Another great free activity was visiting the marine reserves near H's grandma's house.  There is one within walking distance of her house that is empty most of the time, and there is a big family of sea lions that hang out there.  That was really cool.

Best splurge: Paying $12.50 for early boarding on each leg of our flight (my firm covered my fee, so we just paid for H's).  We flew Southwest and managed to get a really high boarding number each time.  That mattered a lot because we had two really tight connections, and our flight landed at midnight last night.  

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Re: California trip report

  • Any LA recs? I'm headed for 4 days for work at the end of the month, staying near LAX.
    HeartlandHustle | Personal Finance and Betterment Blog  
  • Nice! Glad you had a good time! Everytime we visit CA we stay with my aunt and uncle which is a huge savings help. I love CA, so much to see and do!
  • Awesome!  Sounds like you all had a great time and made the most of this work trip.
  • Have you been to LA before?  I'll be totally honest - I don't like LA much at all.  This trip confirmed it.  When we were driving to the resort I kept thinking we were driving through some crappy areas, and then I would be like, "Oh wait, that dealership only sells $100K+ cars."  The few areas I have been to in LA (mostly south of LAX) where the non-mega-millionaire people live have this odd blend of being ultra California and way overpopulated so the buildings look kind of run down and squashed. 

    In all fairness, I've only ever seen a fairly small segment of it.  LA is huge and sprawling.  

    I don't have any food recs, as we just stayed on the resort.  We actually stayed in Rancho Palos Verdes, and I thought it was much nicer than the area around Redondo Beach, etc.  You could get there in 30-40 minutes from LAX if the traffic isn't too bad. There are several communities with nice restaurants in that area.  The views from that area are pretty dramatic, as you are up on a steep hill overlooking the ocean.

    Otherwise, the Hollywood stuff can be kind of fun if you are into that.  You can take tours of a lot of movie stars' mansions.  I have also visited (and enjoyed) the Getty, but I'm a museum nut.
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  • als1982als1982 member
    1000 Comments 500 Love Its Third Anniversary Name Dropper
    edited April 2016
    hoffse said:
    Have you been to LA before?  I'll be totally honest - I don't like LA much at all.  This trip confirmed it.  When we were driving to the resort I kept thinking we were driving through some crappy areas, and then I would be like, "Oh wait, that dealership only sells $100K+ cars."  The few areas I have been to in LA (mostly south of LAX) where the non-mega-millionaire people live have this odd blend of being ultra California and way overpopulated so the buildings look kind of run down and squashed. 

    In all fairness, I've only ever seen a fairly small segment of it.  LA is huge and sprawling.  

    I don't have any food recs, as we just stayed on the resort.  We actually stayed in Rancho Palos Verdes, and I thought it was much nicer than the area around Redondo Beach, etc.  You could get there in 30-40 minutes from LAX if the traffic isn't too bad. There are several communities with nice restaurants in that area.  The views from that area are pretty dramatic, as you are up on a steep hill overlooking the ocean.

    Otherwise, the Hollywood stuff can be kind of fun if you are into that.  You can take tours of a lot of movie stars' mansions.  I have also visited (and enjoyed) the Getty, but I'm a museum nut.

    Thanks!! Last time I was there I was a tween, but we did see a lot of the Hollywood stuff. I vividly remember the neon McDonalds for some reason! I won't have a car and don't want to spend much on Uber or cabs, so we'll have to see. It's a conference for peer Children's Hospitals, so I will get to tour and spend some time near Childrens Hospital LA, but I'm not yet sure where that's located within the city. Some of my colleague are thinking of going to a MLB game (our hometown team plays there that week) but I'm not a big enough sports fan to use what little free time I have in that way.
    HeartlandHustle | Personal Finance and Betterment Blog  
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