<p>Am starting to plan a southern california road trip with S2 to visit UC campuses. Am looking for any recommendations of places to stay and things to do or see. We will definitely be visiting UCSD, UCLA, and UCSB. We'll possibly go to UCI, although maybe just a drive by.</p>
<p>We'll be going during ski week in February.</p>
<p>TIA</p>
<p>For UCSB, you ought to walk around the lagoon to the bluffs that overlook the ocean (weather permitting). It's about a 30-45-minute walk but you will want to pause to watch the surfers. It's not part of the tour, but it is incredible and shouldn't be missed. Go to the library and take the elevator to the 8th floor and check out the view of the entire campus and ocean. Drive around Isla Vista (the adjacent town where most of the kids live when they're not on campus) and stop and get some pizza at Woodstocks. </p>
<p>I would stay in Santa Barbara if you are overnighting. Walk up and down State Street. Dinner or lunch at Zia's Cafe (get the tamale plate) 532 State Street. There's a great used book store (been around for 100 years) called The Book Den on Anapamu Street, right off of State, across from the Natural History Museum. If you like Missions, there's the Santa Barbara Mission.</p>
<p>I have been on the UCLA and UCSB tours and both are good. PLease be sure and MAKE RESERVATIONS. Prepare questions for your student guide as they are a wealth of information. I assume you are instate, as they accept very few out of state students.</p>
<p>Another lunch suggestion: the Altamirano, 422 N. Milpas. Doesn't look like much of anything. The rajas tacos are delicious. There's also a pork-cheese concoction whose name I can't quite summon.</p>
<p>Coureur's Guide to the San Diego Area</p>
<p>Places to Stay</p>
<ol>
<li> The Hotel Del Coronado (called The Hotel Del by the locals) which is on Coronado Island (actually a peninsula). Its a fabulous old hotel and supposedly the largest wooden structure in the US. Several movies have been filmed there.</li>
<li> The Grand Colonial Hotel. 910 Prospect Street in La Jolla. An old hotel in downtown La Jolla that has been completely refurbished up to modern standards. Great location next to the beach and great ocean views. Terrific gourmet restaurant on the premises. Good location for touring and shopping in trendy downtown La Jolla.<br></li>
<li> Beyond that there is the usual selection of Hyatts, Marriotts, etc and of course the vacation motels too.</li>
</ol>
<p>Places to Eat</p>
<p>Italian
1. Lornas My favorite place. 3945 Governor. Moderately priced. Its a café in a shopping center in the southeast corner of the intersection of Genesee and Governor. I recommend the Tagliatelle Bolognese - spicy cream sauce.</p>
<p>Mexican
Tons of places. I especially like:
1. Alfonsos on Prospect Street in La Jolla. Excellent meat dishes.
2. Cozymels in the UTC mall in La Jolla. Corner of Genesee and La Jolla Village Drive.
3. Coyote Bar and Grill in Carlsbad. 300 Carlsbad Village Drive. Take the Carlsbad Village Drive exit off I-5 and go west.</p>
<p>Thai
1. Spices Thai Café. 3810 Valley Centre Drive #903. In the Carmel Valley area. Located in a shopping center.</p>
<p>Sushi
1. Onami huge sushi buffet. All you can eat. Sushi lovers paradise. Lots of cooked food, salads, and desserts too for sushi wimps. There is one in the Plaza Camino Real Mall in Carlsbad. Take the El Camino Real exit off the 78 Freeway and turn right (south). There is another Onami in Escondido in another mall off the east side of the Via Rancho Parkway exit off the I-15 freeway.</p>
<p>Steaks
1. Georges on Fifth. 835 Fifth Ave in downtown San Diego. Its in the Gaslamp district. This has great steaks and is located in an historic old building that used be a hotel and restaurant run by Wyatt Earp of Wild West fame.</p>
<p>There are many other fine restaurants in the Gaslamp District. Most of them, however, are kind of spendy.</p>
<p>Fast Food
1. In-N-Out. All over SoCal. The original southern California burger drive-in. Terrific burgers. Get a Double-double. No trendy chicken McNuggets here. Burgers, fries, shakes, and cokes. Their menu has not changed in over 40 years.
2. Rubios. Started in San Diego and spreading northward. Get fish taco Combo #1. If youve never tried a fish taco it doesnt sound very appetizing, but they are great. Be sure to squeeze the lime juice over the fish and add salsa too before eating the taco. Everyone loves Rubios fish tacos. When on a plane I asked a high school foreign exchange student who was returning home to Germany what she would miss most about San Diego, she instantly said Rubios!
3. Robertos Taco shops. Taco shops in San Diego are nothing like a Taco Bell. They are much more authentic. Lets just say that when the INS stages a raid, Robertos can find themselves short staffed. Get the carne asada burrito; you wont regret it. There are lots of imitators that try to sound like Robertos: Albertos, Adelbertos, etc., and some of them arent bad. But Robertos is the original and the best.</p>
<p>Things to Do/See (in no particular order)</p>
<p>Zoo the best zoo in the world. The giant Pandas currently have an incredibly cute baby. </p>
<p>Wild Animal Park - Overflow animals from zoo set in natural surroundings. You take a little tram on sort of safari tour. If you arrange in advance you get a special up-close and personal tour - you ride around in the back of a truck and you get to hand-feed carrots to giraffes, rhinos, antelopes, etc. </p>
<p>Sea World Shamu the killer whale and all that stuff.</p>
<p>Balboa Park Huge beautiful urban park. Has lots of museums: art museum, science museum, anthropology museum, etc., plus an IMAX theatre. Its very near the zoo. This is the second oldest large city park in the US behind Central Park in New York.</p>
<p>Star of India this is San Diegos tall ship. Not a replica - Its been in continuous service since it was built in the 1850s. Still sails on ocean voyages. They have tours. Its usually moored at the Embarcadero.</p>
<p>Palomar Mountain a nice day drive. Its about 45 miles east of Oceanside on highway 76. 6000 feet up in the evergreen forest. You can tour the observatory and see the famous Hale telescope, which for many decades was the largest in the world. And they have a little astronomy museum. There at the crossroads there is also a terrific little vegetarian restaurant that serves great home-baked whole wheat bread.</p>
<p>Julian Quaint old little town. You can catch it on the same trip as Palomar. They grow a lot of apples up there, so they are famous for their apple festival, and year-round many places in town serve terrific apple pie, apple cobbler, apple cider. You get the idea.</p>
<p>Hot Air Balloons You can serenely fly over San Diego in the late afternoon and evening. Its wonderful and amazingly quiet way to fly. You can call down and carry on conversations with people far below on the ground. The balloons usually depart out of Chevys restaurant in Del Mar. You have to book in advance.</p>
<p>Visit Ships The US Navy designates one ship each weekend as the visit ship and you can take interesting guided tours. Its often a destroyer or frigate but occasionally its an aircraft carrier or submarine.</p>
<p>Old Town As the name suggests this is the historic Old West part of San Diego. Its done up rather touristy now. Shops and restaurants.</p>
<p>Golf If you like golf San Diego has two fine PGA courses: Torrey Pines and La Costa plus many lesser courses. Torrey Pines is breath-takingly scenic.</p>
<p>Torrey Pines State Park Its next to the golf course. The Torrey pine is a nearly extinct species of pine tree. There are only two natural stands of these trees in the world: this one and one on Santa Rosa Island in the Santa Barbara channel perhaps 6000 trees total. The tree is known for its long, long needles that are always bundled up in bunches of five. The park has many scenic hiking trails on cliffs over-looking the ocean. You can often stand on the cliffs and watch dolphins frolic in the water below. The Guy Fleming Trail is particularly scenic.</p>
<p>Missions there are several of the historic old California missions that date back to the 1700s. The best to visit is probably Mission San Luis Rey, which is located about 7 miles east of I-5 on the Highway 76 in Oceanside.</p>
<p>Universities -
1. UC San Diego the top academic university in town. One of the top ranked public universities in the country. Beautiful campus near La Jolla. Take the Gilman exit off I-5. Striking architecture, especially the famous library building.
2. University of San Diego small Catholic university with beautiful Spanish-style architecture.
3. San Diego State A big ol state school. Big on athletics.</p>
<p>Water Sports It's winter but there still are many possibilities. You can rent jet skis and wave runners in Mission Bay. Those are enormously fun. You can hire all manner of sailboats, fishing tours, or excursion boats. Most of them go out on San Diego Bay or out into the ocean proper.</p>
<p>Beach/Surfing - There are 75 miles of sunny San Diego beaches to choose from. You can rent surfboards in many places. There is also windsurfing. The Pacific Beach or Ocean Beach neighborhoods would be good places to start, since there is a lot going on there. Youll need a wet suit this time of the year.</p>
<p>Wineries if you like to tour vineyards and wineries with their associated restaurants, drive out to Temecula north on I-15. There is a nice wine country area out there.</p>
<p>Malls Mostly, a mall is a mall. There is University Town Center (UTC) in upper La Jolla. Horton Plaza downtown. Fashion Valley. Many more. They are all good. Most malls in SD are outdoor malls.</p>
<p>Tijuana its Mexico. Enter at your own risk. Dont drink the water or eat the salads.</p>
<p>Other than that there is not much else to do in San Diego.</p>
<p>avoidingwork--</p>
<p>For UCLA, you can stay at the UCLA Guest House that's right on campus <a href="http://map.ais.ucla.edu/portal/site/UCLA/menuitem.3f8e7342ad4ca217b66d4ab4f848344a/?vgnextoid=fd5af9f9bd19ff00VgnVCM1000008f8443a4RCRD%5B/url%5D">http://map.ais.ucla.edu/portal/site/UCLA/menuitem.3f8e7342ad4ca217b66d4ab4f848344a/?vgnextoid=fd5af9f9bd19ff00VgnVCM1000008f8443a4RCRD</a>. It's very reasonable and convenient, but make your reservations early.</p>
<p>Another very reasonable alternative is Tiverton House near the UCLA Medical Center. Primarily for families of patients, UCLA visitors are also welcome there. <a href="http://www.tivertonhouse.ucla.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.tivertonhouse.ucla.edu/</a> They offer suites for families as well. (I personally prefer Tiverton because it's right in Westwood with easy access to shops and the Hammer Museum, etc.) Make sure to try the $1 (might be higher now) ice cream sandwiches at Diddy Riese's in Westwood and visit the UCLA athletic hall of fame on campus.</p>
<p>A great place (and cheap!) for dinner in LA is Versailles at 10319 Venice Boulevard (there's another one on La Cienega that's farther east). Despite the name, Cuban food that's absolutely great is the specialty.</p>
<p>When we visited UCSD, we stayed at the La Jolla Cove Suites <a href="http://www.lajollacove.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.lajollacove.com/</a>. It faced the shore and provided more than enough space for our family of four. We were able to find a good rate, but that was six years ago. Scripps Oceanographic Institute is nearby.</p>
<p>You might save money if you buy a family membership to do both the San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park. Compare the rates. Definitely the Wild Animal Park is the more exciting of the two--you can even feed the elephants!</p>
<p>During a vacation to Santa Barbara last spring, we stayed at the Franciscan Inn <a href="http://www.franciscaninn.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.franciscaninn.com/</a>. It was on a quiet side street just a couple of blocks from the beach and offered a variety of room sizes to accommodate couples to families of four. Plus, there is a free continental breakfast (quite ample) each morning. Walking around downtown Santa Barbara is quite a treat--very pedestrian-friendly. Visit the County Courthouse--impressive architecture and murals in the meeting rooms. There's also a good walking tour available in some guidebooks. Nearby are wineries including the Sanford Winery featured in the movie, "Sideways."</p>
<p>I like Momof2inca's walk suggestion but I prefer another walk. Go to the far north end of IV on Del Playa and park at the end. Walk those bluffs towards Deveraux. You will see students jogging, surfing on the beach below and others just out enjoying the walk and if timing works the sunset. You can walk all the way out to Sands beach wear the snowy plower nests. It is beautiful and will make you want to go back to college.
A good spot for lunch and student watching is Freebirds. It is popular with students. A simple mexican takeout where you customize your taco or burrito.
There are tons of motels. You can stay out in Goleta if you want to be closer to the school and probably save some money over some of the places near the beach on Carrillo. Don't stay at the Budget place near the airport (can't think of the name-it's on the corner of Hollister and Fairview). High end lodging near the school The Bacara.
Rose garden near the mission is nice but will probably be bare in Feb. but for others planning a later spring trip it is worth a stop.</p>
<p>Coureur, I'm planning to refer to your list next time we drive down to San Diego. Tks for that. I've eaten at Spices Thai--my dad lives in that neighborhood--and I tried a Rubio's fish taco too, over the break in the food court at the mall, yes, both good choices, IMO.</p>
<p>Want an interesting place to stay in LA? Try the Inn at Playa del Rey (<a href="http://www.innatplayadelrey.com)%5B/url%5D">www.innatplayadelrey.com)</a>. It's about three blocks from the beach, next to some undeveloped wetlands (probably the last in LA), five minutes from LAX, and if traffic is moving (admittedly, that's a pretty big if) it's only fifteen minutes from UCLA on the 405. They give us some kind of discount when we go there when we tell them we're visiting UCLA (10%, I think.) Regular rates are $165 to about $350 or so for the really fancy suites, including breakfast, parking and a wine and cheese reception every evening. (On our first trip we stayed at the W, which is a couple of blocks from the school, and they charged us around $30 just to park!) By the way, let me second LittleMother's recommendation for Versailles restaurant--very cheap and very good. We went to the one on La Cienega. There are also a number of Persian restaurants on Westwood Boulevard about a mile from the main entrance to the campus that I'd recommend as also cheap and good, a combination that's hard to find in LA! (More close by to the campus is Falafel King in Westwood, and Diddy Riese for 99 cent cookie ice cream sandwiches.)</p>
<p>And as far as things to see goes, there are the usual tourist attractions in LA, but don't miss the Getty Museum (five minutes from campus); the Hammer Museum (ditto, but in the other direction and an easy walk) the Museum of Tolerance (about a half-hour or so away on Pico Boulevard) and the Museum of the American West (a little further away in Griffith Park, near Dodger Stadium and Pasadena.) All are very cool places to go that (with the exception of the Getty) most tourists miss.</p>
<p>For L.A., I can highly recommend a great country-French cafe about 15-20 minutes from UCLA.</p>
<p>If time for museums, I'd recommedn the Huntington Gardens & Museum in San Marino, just down the street from Cal Tech. If pressed, I'd take the Huntington over the Getty. Howver, the Old Getty, the Roman villa in Malibu, is reopening on January 28th after being closed for redesign & renovations for several years after the opening of the New Getty.</p>
<p>You should also take in the LaBrea Tar Pits, relatively near UCLA's campus. And UCLA itself has several good museums on campus.</p>
<p>Thanks from me too! We're planning the same trip at the same time! You got me moving to make tour reservations, etc. I second the LaBrea Tar Pits. I saw them about 40 plus years ago as a child but they made an indelible impression on me. I guess they are still amazing?</p>
<p>We're taking the same trip at the same time, too. Shall we all attempt to coordinate schedules? :)</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the excellent suggestions. </p>
<p>momof2inca and mom60, the two Santa Barbara walks are great ideas. </p>
<p>Little Mother, the UCLA hall of fame is perfect as S2 is into athletics.</p>
<p>Given our limited time, we will mostly be focusing on getting a feel for the community and area around the campuses in addition to the campuses themselves.</p>
<p>If anyone is planning a northern california road trip, I'd be happy to reciprocate on information regarding Berkeley and Santa Cruz (and a smattering of Palo Alto)</p>
<p>One more thing--if you stop at the state park in Carpinteria (between LA and SB), there is a seal colony a short walk away from the parking lot. Ask at the booth for directions. While we were there, we also saw a trio of dolphins go by! You can also see wildlife (birds and dolphins) if you walk out to the Santa Barbara harbor. Plus, there are also the whales, but I'm not sure about the migration time.</p>
<p>mootmom--would love to meet you all but I think it would require too much logistical juggling--seeing as I have twins, we are driving many hours on who knows what days, etc. However--if you see a mom who is trying to make sure her two somewhat mercurial teenage girls are having a good time--say hi ;). (And if that mom looks somewhat frazzled and wide-eyed, it either means (a) one of them drove or (b) it is NOT a good moment!)</p>
<p>We do have tentative reservations for the UCLA tour on 2/21 in the afternoon. (By the way, it looked like Irvine and Santa Barbara do NOT require reservations--am I reading the website wrong? let me know if I am )When we flew all the way to NYC and took the Columbia tour in October, who should we see but one of our dearest friends from CA, from high school baseball days, who was there with his son for his official visit. And two days later at NYU, we were not the only people from our town at the session, and ran into school friends on the street in Chinatown there too. So it might happen!</p>
<p>TheDad,
what is the name / location of the country-French cafe?</p>
<p>mootmom,
I'm still working on the basic itinerary - currently thinking UCSB, UCSD, and then UCLA. Once I have that settled, will IM you and see if we happen to be at the same campus at the same time.</p>
<p>along the lines of patient, if you happen to see a short mom with a son who looks like he plays football, just ask if she is 'avoidingwork'</p>
<p>fyi, a quick review of the campus websites shows...</p>
<p>NO tours on February 20th</p>
<p>UCLA: reservations required
UCSD: reservations suggested
UCI, UCSB: no reservations needed</p>
<p>Coureur---your suggestions for San Diego were great. Since I am from the area, I would add: any restaurant in Little Italy, downtown San Diego--many are very reasonable and good. Also Old Town has great Mexican restaurants.
My eldest of four is a grad of UCSB. I suggest parents WALK thru Isla Vista where most of the students live after freshman year. Then think twice about sending your son/daughter there! Not a safe environment.</p>