California-Nevada Road Trip

Hello there,

My husband & I plan on doing a little road trip in the beginning of May. We plan to fly into LA on the 2nd or 3rd and will rent a car. We want to travel around a bit and then end up in Las Vegas - we will fly out of Las Vegas on the 11th.

Just wondering if any of you ladies have suggestions on great things to see & do. Our itinerary isn't exactly planned yet so we're open to suggestions about places to stop, hotels etc. I've already checked out the thread on things to do & places to stay in San Diego so I will definitely be checking into some of those ideas.

So far, we have tickets to see Blind Melon in San Juan Capistrano on the 3rd (My b-day present to my husband). We also plan on seeing a ball game - probably in LA & will definitely see a Cirque du Soleil show in Vegas. We won't be spending a lot of time in Vegas as we went last February but we do want to check out sites in the area (probably only 2 days or so).

Any suggestions/ideas are welcome. Thanks in advance - looking forward to reading what you have to say!

the Cirque show at the MGM grand is awesome.

If you have time you should go into San Diego, its a beautiful city and so many fun things to do

The one at MGM Grand is KA - it is fantastic! We saw it last February when we were in Vegas. We're thinking either 'O' or Mystere for this time.

San Diego is definitely on the itinerary.

What about Disneyland?? Only about 30 min from lax I think?

Grand Canyon is somewhere between LA and Vegas I think?

Hoover Dam outside of Las Vegas

Definately San Diego...

you can go into Hollywood maybe...

There is so much to do...

What are three things you love to do together?

Gosh there is so much to do, do you like music, museums, beaches, cool movie theaters, fine dining? Let us know and we will flood you with tips!

Are you driving from L.A. to Vegas? If so, a word of caution:

Make sure there is nothing major going on in Vegas that weekend. Most of the drive is along a 2 lane desert highway. The drive takes about 4 hours, but if there is a holiday or big event in Vegas (like a fight/sports event),the drive time triples...seriously! So just double check that it is a dead weekend unless you are flying

BTW there are some excellent desert outlets along the way to Vegas so if you are driving and want to shop, save your shopping for there!

Desert Hills Premium Outlets

Thanks everyone!

We love Italian & Mexican food so any tips on good restaurants would be fantastic. We both love beautiful scenery & historic buildings. I'm a prairie girl so ocean & beaches are a must - I'd love to be able to stroll along a boardwalk. I'm interested in Hollywood but would like the "insider" story - what to see & what to not bother with (I love old movies). I am also considering dragging my husband to see "Wicked" - is it worth it??

We've pretty much settled on San Diego, LA & Las Vegas in order to keep it simple. If it gets to be too much, I might push to drop Vegas so we can experience more in and around LA & San Diego.

I just went to see Wicked last week and I loved it. So in my opinion it's worth it! Plus I'm assuming that you'll be seeing it at the Pantages on Hollywood Blvd. You might as well just check out the standard tourist attractions like the Grauman's Chinese Theater, etc. etc.

There's a nice little Italian restaurant about 2 blocks from there:

Fabiolus Cafe

6270 W Sunset Blvd

Los Angeles, 90028

Btwn Vine St & Argyle Ave

Phone: 323-467-2882

If you plan on going before the show make reservations!

It sounds like you have a lot of stuff decided but I just wanted to through in that if you like wine tasting about 1.5 hours north of LA in Santa Ynez there's a lot of gorgeous vineyards with fun wine tastings. Here are some of my favorites which I would recommend if you feel like taking a drive up:

Sunstone Vineyards & Winery

Gainey Vineyards The best in California Wines

http://www.artiste.com/

And then this amazing restaurant:

Winemakers' Dinner with D'Alfonso & Curran at the Los Olivos Cafe - 1-888-WINES4U - Buy Wine Online :: Best Restaurant for Wines - California wine

If you like museums then I recommend LACMA