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| PCH - Pescadero to San Fran |
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Pacific Coast Highway - Carmel by the Sea to Pescadero
More to come ... most of the blogging will likely be after we get back. Enjoy the pics in the meantime.
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| PCH - Carmel to Pescadero (w Big Sur hiking) |
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Pacific Coast Highway - Ventura, San Luis Obispo, and the beginning of Carmel-by-the-Sea
Will blog more on this later, but wanted to share the pics. We drove through the most scenic part of the trip so far ... pics are here:
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| PCH - Ventura to Carmel-by-the-Sea |
Monday, April 12, 2010
Pacific Coast Highway - Los Angeles to Venture (Camarillo to be exact)
We have already done LA, and wanted to experience more of the PCH outside of the big sprawling city. We started the day off a bit late, but still had a pretty packed schedule. Below was our itinerary.
To see all of our pics from this leg of the trip, check out
(1) The Rose Cafe - This amazing restuarant in Venice (220 Rose Avenue, Venice - (310) 399-0711 - www.rosecafe.com) was recommended to us by a native Californian and did not disappoint. I had an amazing bbq sandwich, Nadia had French Toast, and we relaxed a pretty beautiful surroundings. The meal wasn’t cheap, but was worth the splurge on our first morning in Cali.
(2) From Rose Cafe, we drove through Venice and cut inland to the Getty Center (http://www.getty.edu/visit/). This was an amazing place, with great architecture, gardens, and art.
(can’t figure out how to rotate this one ... will do so shortly)
More on this section to come ... off to hike!
To see all of our pics from this leg of the trip, check out
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| PCH - Los Angeles to Ventura (Camarillo to be exact) |
| What | Cost | Comments |
| (1) Brunch at Rose café | $42.67 | Amazing breakfast. $35.67 + tip. |
| (2) Getty Museum | $15.00 | Paid $15 for parking |
| (3) Hiking at Topanga State Park | $10.00 | Day pass is $10. |
| (4) Dinner at Coogies - Venice Beach | $27.17 | Island style broiled salmon & Coogies Chili |
| (5) Country Inn & Suites Camarillo | $68.39 | Pricelined hotel for $55 per night before tax. Normal rate was $110 per night before tax. |
| Day 1 Total | $163.23 | |
| Running total | $699.53 |
(2) From Rose Cafe, we drove through Venice and cut inland to the Getty Center (http://www.getty.edu/visit/). This was an amazing place, with great architecture, gardens, and art.
(can’t figure out how to rotate this one ... will do so shortly)
More on this section to come ... off to hike!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Pacific Coast Highway - Arrival
Since I have never been to San Francisco, we decided to try to do a budget trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco on the Pacific Coast Highway. We flew into LA last night, picked up our rental car, and are now on our way up the coast. We didn’t really have much planned in advanced, but figured we’d explore as we go along. We’ll keep you posted on the highlights of our day, and the overall cost of the trip as a running tally.
Pacific Coast Highway - Day 1 ... Los Angeles to Ventura (Camarillo to be more specific)
Arrival costs:
We arrived into LAX at a bit after midnight on Saturday morning, so didn’t have any activities upon arrival.
(1) Flight was on Delta, who now charges $25 per bag for checked luggage. We didn’t want to check any bags, but for the first time traveling, were given crap at the gate about the size of our carry on baggage (along with a majority of the rest of the flight). I ended up having to check my bag, but refused to pay to check and it actually worked out.
(2) We searched quite a bit for rental cars before our trip, and the cheapest option was called the “standard surprise” from Thrifty. I equate this to the cart food that I love so much in NYC ... you know you’re going to get a delicious styrofoam box full of meat, but you never really know what type of “chicken” you’re getting (best I could come up with).
Thrifty guarantees a mid-size or standard car, but gives you a car from their excess inventory. Apparently you can really luck out (people talk about SUVs and convertibles on flyertalk.com), and we ended up with our choice of a Hyundai Sonata, Kia Sorrento, Ford Fusion, or Subaru Impreza.
(3) The Renaissance Hotel is listed as a 4-star hotel on Expedia. Hotel was decent, but the rooms were a bit outdated and made it feel like less than 4-star worthy. Highlights were the amazingly comfortable bed, Aveda products in the bathroom, one of the best hotel gyms we’ve seen (forgot to take pictures), and the $55 priceline deal on the room ($70 after taxes). I have a pretty solid way of getting great deals on the “Name Your Own Price” through Priceline. I’ll share these ninja skills with you later.
Pacific Coast Highway - Day 1 ... Los Angeles to Ventura (Camarillo to be more specific)
Arrival costs:
| What | Cost | Comments |
| (1) Tickets from NYC to LAX | $- | Used 30,000 ThankYou Points each. Would have been $300 each. |
| (2) Thrifty “Standard Surprise” rental car | $466.00 | One-way rental with unlimited miles from LAX to SFO. Cheapest elsewhere was $620. Got a Hyundai Sonata |
| (3) Hotel: Renaissance Hotel LAX | $70.30 | Pricelined hotel for $55 night before tax. Normal rate was $130 before tax. |
(1) Flight was on Delta, who now charges $25 per bag for checked luggage. We didn’t want to check any bags, but for the first time traveling, were given crap at the gate about the size of our carry on baggage (along with a majority of the rest of the flight). I ended up having to check my bag, but refused to pay to check and it actually worked out.
(2) We searched quite a bit for rental cars before our trip, and the cheapest option was called the “standard surprise” from Thrifty. I equate this to the cart food that I love so much in NYC ... you know you’re going to get a delicious styrofoam box full of meat, but you never really know what type of “chicken” you’re getting (best I could come up with).
Thrifty guarantees a mid-size or standard car, but gives you a car from their excess inventory. Apparently you can really luck out (people talk about SUVs and convertibles on flyertalk.com), and we ended up with our choice of a Hyundai Sonata, Kia Sorrento, Ford Fusion, or Subaru Impreza.
(3) The Renaissance Hotel is listed as a 4-star hotel on Expedia. Hotel was decent, but the rooms were a bit outdated and made it feel like less than 4-star worthy. Highlights were the amazingly comfortable bed, Aveda products in the bathroom, one of the best hotel gyms we’ve seen (forgot to take pictures), and the $55 priceline deal on the room ($70 after taxes). I have a pretty solid way of getting great deals on the “Name Your Own Price” through Priceline. I’ll share these ninja skills with you later.
First Post - what's this all about?
My wife and I are always looking to travel and try new things, and will be living on a tight budget for at least the next year (more on that later).
Since I am of Indian descent, a little part of my soul dies each time I pay full price for anything and my wife has adopted this mentality quite well also.
This blog is an attempt to capture our adventures , where we'll try to enjoy as much as possible (with some level of “luxury”) without spending that much cash. It hopefully won’t be all about cost, but about getting the most from our experiences on the cheap.
We hope you enjoy!
~Lalit & Nadia
Since I am of Indian descent, a little part of my soul dies each time I pay full price for anything and my wife has adopted this mentality quite well also.
This blog is an attempt to capture our adventures , where we'll try to enjoy as much as possible (with some level of “luxury”) without spending that much cash. It hopefully won’t be all about cost, but about getting the most from our experiences on the cheap.
We hope you enjoy!
~Lalit & Nadia
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