Two Week Road Trip: What are the "must sees" in San Diego and Southern California? (San Francisco: how much, home)

[Hopes]

My husband and I are taking a two week road trip from Seattle to either San Francisco or San Diego, depending on how much there is to see.

What are the "must sees" for San Diego and southern California?

Any ideas for north of San Diego and LA would be great too!

We're thinking of flying with a tent so we can camp on occasion.

I'd love to hear your ideas!

[Hopes]

Maybe we shouldn't go all the way to San Diego. Every other forum responded but this one. Tourists must not be welcome.

[bloom]

Listen Hopes if you expect immediate gratification and responses after posting 3 hours on Saturday, you are right just stay in overcast Seattle while we all were out enjoying a perfect morning away from the computer. I hope your life doesn't always require immediate gratification, incl. from husband. You're right, tourists are not welcome - we don't have many because we have bad attitudes.
Must sees: Coastal beauty - Torrey Pines, Cabrillo; Joshua Tree; maybe Balboa Park. Outside of SD area, Yosemite is a life must. Consider a focus on either SF or SD area not both.

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Intersting...didn't know free advice had a time limit on responding lol

Well said bloom as usual.

If you are bringing a tent what are your expectations? We have camping all over the county. Do you want coastal or inland camping?
Have you done any research on areas you might consider and narrowed them down?

When are you actyally planning on coming.

Not trying to be rude but ita a really broad question as there is a ton of stuff to do that you could find in a quick forum search.

Whrn do you plan on coming? You weren't specific on that asnit can impact areas to resetve tent spots in parks etc?

[Hopes]

Hey, I got both of you to respond!

Originally Posted by shmoov_groovzsd

Not trying to be rude but ita a really broad question as there is a ton of stuff to do that you could find in a quick forum search.

City Data encourages people to create new threads, not just search old threads.

We will be traveling for 15 nights from May 25th to June 10th.

We don't plan to camp everywhere. We are simply bringing a tent to camp on occasion perhaps.

I'm simply looking for many ideas. That's why my question is broad. I want to hear what everyone likes about their own areas.

I've received great responses from the other 4 forums I posted the same question for their regions. My home forum does the same.

I appreciate the ideas that were offered here as well.

[Hawaii4evr]

Come to see Torrey Pines State Park in San Diego. IMO it is the best beach in California. I also really like Coronado Beach. Also see SeaWorld, San Diego Zoo & Safari Park, Balboa Park, some neat nightclubs in Gaslamp District, Legoland is good for kids. You can find some good Mexican restaurants out here too, so DO NOT leave San Diego without eating at an authentic Mexican restaurant or taco shop. Definitely see Joshua Tree, as Bloom said, and try to visit Catalina Island for a day trip (ferry leaves from Dana Point, tickets aren't that expensive).

[Fran66]

Oh no, no, no. Start south and go north. Certainly Seattle is something to see and it has the Seattle Space Needle -- but CA offers so much more. I would go from San Diego to wine country and John Muir Woods, north of San Francisco, back to San Francisco and fly home from "The City".

Two weeks is a long time. There's a lot you can see and do. But you could spend a year in CA and not see everything that is truly worth seeing.

I would fly into San Diego and drive up the coast. Because it is one of the most beautiful drives in the world, and you're going to hit some very interesting cities.

California State Route 1 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You don't say when you are planning on arriving. But, even if you can't get the visitors guide to CA (and it's a great guide) because there isn't enough time, you can always look at the web site.

Visitor's Guide - Visit California

You really need to plan this vacation. Enjoy CA -- there is SO much to see/do. Leave Washington and Oregon for another trip. (And I love those states -- but you're going to miss so much if you try to do too much.)

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Ah ok. I wasn't trying to be a pain at all but in SD WYSIWYG. Plus noy much has changed here in SD which is why I mentioned the thread search. It only helps when you post later on, more informed.

Must sees would be Torrey Pines as mentioned, Coronado, La Jolla and simply driving through the coastal cities along the Coast Highway. The SD Zoo and Balboa Park are also tops.

I personally don't think there is anything to write home about with our coastal cities that you won't see north of LA. They are cute, relaxed and beachy which is absolutely part of the allure and why they are so popular. So its all matter of perspective.
We just had family friends in from France and they were none too impressed with staying in these beach towns on their way up the coast to SF. They preferred more of the Morro Bay vibe and SLO.

If you look online for the SD county parks or State parks in SD, most you can reserve tent sites in. We use it ever season to camp in the inland areas and its a lot of fun.

Posting on a Saturday in SD is tough especially when the weather is as nice as today

[Hopes]

Love your responses! Switching the trip from San Diego to Seattle is an interesting idea. We're definitely driving the coast via Highway 1 either way.

I'm not really interested in spending time in Seattle, just the San Juan Islands and Olympic National Park nearby.

I know I can't see everything but I sure can see as much as I can. We can return next year to spend more time in a specific area if it inspires us.

Thanks for reminding me to have authentic Mexican while I'm there. That's a goal of mine since I am absolutely certain I have never had it before!

We're traveling May 25th through June 10th.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by shmoov_groovzsd

Ah ok. I wasn't trying to be a pain at all but in SD WYSIWYG.

Must sees would be Torrey Pines as mentioned, Coronado, La Jolla and simply driving through the coastal cities along the Coast Highway.

I personally don't think there is anything to write home about with our coastal cities that you won't see north of LA. They are cute, relaxed and beachy which is absolutely part of the allure and why they are so popular. So its all matter of perspective.
We just had family friends in from France and they were none too impressed with staying in these beach towns on their way up the coast to SF.

If you look online for the SD county parks or State parks in SD, most you can deserve tent sites in. We use it ever season to camp in the inland areas and its a lot of fun.

That's a good tip to pass through the coastal towns or simply do pit stop visits. We can definitely do that. We'll stay in a couple coastal towns a night here or there. This is a road trip so it's mostly about what we can see and what we can eat!!! Not where we can sit on our beach towels every afternoon. LOL