“High MPG ….lol if no nippers are with you get a Corvette get the roof off and enjoy the sunshine and cheap fuel.”

enjoy payign through the nose at the hire co for the american dream and the shit interior….. ive had some of those “fancy” cars through work upgrades – i would no more like to do a road trip of any length in one than i would like to drive my land rover to the south of france…..

Yeah, the convertible corvette thing is a con imo. Pay tons of money to get sunburned, because you wanna look like they do in the movies… Maybe you will realise that your dreams are meaningless and paper thin… 😉

We did San Fran/Yosemite/Zion/Grand Canyon/Big Sur and Santa Cruz/San Fran. That was spread over more than two weeks.

As someone who has done the twin thing, wouldn’t contemplate that with two 5yo, to be brutally honest. Yosemite is fantastic to look at, but, apart from a paddle in the Merced and a trot up to Bridal Veil Falls, don’t think they’d enjoy it all that much.

GC even more so. Nice views off the rim for you but the only other thing to do is trek into the canyon. There are virtually no facilities apart from camping/visitor centres, and none aimed at nippers.

Even SF I would have said was a more ‘grown up’ city, with plenty to enjoy as an adult, but it would be frustrating restrictive with two little ones in tow.

Plus the flights, obviously, which will be a challenge even if your kids are well-suited to flying.

We were considering a US trip with our two next year, but maybe we’ll leave it a couple more so they can get the best out of it. They will be 13 this month. 🙂

PS If you do go, stock up on all the decent food you’ll need while in SF. We were staggered at just how awful the food was outside the cities. Unless you can live off mega packs of twinkies, cheetos and beef jerky.

I think there is enough in SF for a few days for kids, but I guess it depends on their interests. There is the musee mechanique and stinky sea lions at the Piers, riding on the old street cars and a tandem / trailered bike ride over the bridge (wrap up even in summer!).

I would also +1 to doing a loop around SF including Monterey. If the kids like wildlife, you can tandem kayak in the harbour around Moss Landing / Elkhorn Slough and you should see sea otters and sea lions up close.

There will be ‘stroller friendly’ options for hiking in all of the Parks and if your kids are active you can always find somewhere quiet to hike. Google is your friend.

Although I find LA too sprawling, there are some interesting attractions there to occupy a few days. The La Brea tar pits, the space shuttle Endeavour at the Science Centre and plenty of kid-friendly beaches with life guards or rock pooling.

GC even more so. Nice views off the rim for you but the only other thing to do is trek into the canyon.

Insofar as I have a bucket list, walking the Havasupai gorge is on it. Not suitable for little kids though!

Anyone wonder what was down there…?

“If you do go, stock up on all the decent food you’ll need while in SF. We were staggered at just how awful the food was outside the cities. Unless you can live off mega packs of twinkies, cheetos and beef jerky.”

When was this ? i was impressed by the variety of food available on our trip…. even in the arse of no where at lassen it wasnt bad.

breakfast was my only concern.

How ever – we did use trip advisor and spoke with locals a lot when it comes to mom and pop places to eat, many places give of the “shit hole” vibe to look at but do great food , how ever its always a 50 50 if your going on sight alone.

+1 on bridal veil falls…

Have you flown with the kids?

Yes, the flights are mostly covered by compensation for a delayed return journey from their last big trip (Tokyo, it was lovely :)) They both love it, the youngest is plane crazy and the big one likes watching the films.

We’re trying to narrow down the places we want to visit. San Diego, San Francisco and Yosemite are on the list, and some driving up the coast… the list of things is filling up again.

Thanks for all the advice 🙂 We’re definately knocking the RV on the head and going for car + motels (and maybe a stay in a yurt).

Seems like an appropriate place to ask…..

North carolina – anyone done it ? Specifically in october,

Smoky mountains area, probably fly in and out of new york and take internal flights to/from NC and see a bit of new york at each end.

Failing that – any other suggestions on the east coast.