WAY OT: Going to America

[DaffyDub]

Hi Peeps

I'm taking my 14 year old son on a trip to the US.
Will stay in New York from the 2nd to the 7th of April
LA from the 7th to the 10th and then we drive to San Francisco... and fly home on the 16th.

In my country it's no problem to take the kid to live gigs - would that be a problem over there????

Anything exciting going on while we're in the above mentioned cities???
Any of you American Abletonians playing????


Peace DaffyDub

[beats me]

That sounds like an awesome tour of the US cept you left out Miami if you're wanting to hit The top spots.

As far as I know if the show is at a 21 and up venue then you're going to have a tough time getting your son in. But some venues might lower the age requirements for certain shows. I think it would be a case by case basis.

[Geezus]

Depends where you go. Most good stuff is 21 and over. You're probably gonna have an easier time in NY and SF cause LA is pretty sprawled out and a nightmare for tourists. I know I live here


check going.com for stuff going on around the time you're in that particular city, its a great resource.

Also, use Yelp.com for restaurants and bars. Take advantage in NY and SF, they have some of the best spots in the world and you dont want to waste your time at lame spots.

Like I said, LA is really spread out so its gonna be difficult getting something together. We definitely have our spots but its tougher to get to all of them and you gotta have you ear really close to the ground to find the really happening shows/parties/nightspots (that aren't full of fucktard hollywood types or lame valley/OC dudebros). If you have an idea of what you want to do, ask me and I can try to hook you up with some suggestions

[john doe by choice]

I know of circumstances where venue management have let minors in with their parents, but you need to make sure your kids have proper ID (passport should be fine), and that your last name matches their last name on your ID's - that's a key factor in convincing someone that you are at least related to the kids you're bringing in, and not just some dude trying to get some minors into a show.

[Green Lemon]

Man, that's great.

Take highway 1 (not 5) from LA to SF- follows the coast, stop at the beaches, see seals, redwoods in Big Sur. Awesome. Cali-fuckin'-fornia. Say hi for me.

[Geezus]

Man, that's great.

Take highway 1 (not 5) from LA to SF- follows the coast, stop at the beaches, see seals, redwoods in Big Sur. Awesome. Cali-fuckin'-fornia. Say hi for me.

quoted for truth. beautiful fucking drive. 101 also works...solvang, santa barbara, san louis obispo...omg awesome.

[longjohns]

might not get much time in SF if you drive 1

??

[Anubis]

That sounds like an awesome tour of the US cept you left out Miami if you're wanting to hit The top spots.

I would have to agree with that. And this week would have been the week to come down what with WMC and all. Especially since the star this year was Ableton Live.

[DaffyDub]

@ Longjohns

I understand that the best thing is to have plenty of time driving up 1 - BUT.... as we only have 15 days total over there, do you think it's possible to make the drive from LA to SF in 2 days ??? (knowing we'll miss stuff on the way) or would it be smarter to leave LA a day early???

@ Geezus... funny you should mention Solvang - as we are Danes

AND THANX everybody for the reply's


Miami - next time

[Geezus]

@ Longjohns

I understand that the best thing is to have plenty of time driving up 1 - BUT.... as we only have 15 days total over there, do you think it's possible to make the drive from LA to SF in 2 days ??? (knowing we'll miss stuff on the way) or would it be smarter to leave LA a day early???

oh dude the drive from LA to SF only takes like 5-7 hours max. you could do that and stop at places on the way in less than a day easy

if you need some ideas of places to check out, lemme know.

[Tone Deft]

5 days between LA and SF. I did this in September, SF to San Diego and back in 9 days, it wasn't enough time, there's too much to see.

my $0.02 with your 14 year old in mind...
LA - lots of amusement parks, Disneyland, Knots Berry Farm etc.
traffic can suck ass, do not drive through the middle of it ever.
we had OK luck sticking to the coast. after you pass Santa Monica it lightens up. heading north is miles and miles of state beach, no gas stations.

then Oxnard which is as pretty as it sounds but you're leaving LA at that point.

Santa Barbara is a nice college town, check out State St for shopping and stuff, that's the heart of the town. for kid/museum stuff, they have a nice Mission.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_mi ... California
this is the last stop for 'warm' water on the beaches. north of there the water gets cold.

from there it heads up into the hills, just some small towns.

Pismo Beach, don't know it, never stopped there, looked like some amazing geology though.

then San Luis Obispo, another college town, not a whole lot to see, but a nice vibe. for a laugh, eat at the Madonna Inn, your son will love the insane decorations. definitely take a piss in the bathroom, it's a freaking waterfall.
http://www.madonnainn.com/
it's right off the freeway.

then west to Morro Bay, small beach town, lots of outdoor ocean activities and a HUGE ass rock. Cayucos is a small town north of there, supposed to be better than Morro Bay, never stopped there (yet.)

north of there is pretty sparse, fill up on gas before you leave town. eventually you pass Hearst Castle. you know William Randolph Hearst? aka Citizen Kane. I've heard it described as 'once you see one huge amazingly decorated room you don't need to see 300 more.' look it up, maybe the kid would dig it, I'd skip it since you don't have much time.

then you climb up and up as you hit Big Sur, HUGE cliffs, amazing views. outstanding camping/hiking. Nepenthe is a necessary stop, amazing place and a nice break after driving twisty roads.
http://www.nepenthebigsur.com/

then north to Monterey Bay/Carmel.
Monterey Bay Aquarium is very cool, "holds 35,000 plants and animals representing 623 species."
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/
eat at one of the restaurants along the water and you can watch the sea life in the bay, which is a national park and has a LOT of wildlife in it. you can also rent kayaks and get tours out onto the water.

the 17 mile drive in Carmel is pretty amazing. perfect coastlines and $5 billion homes, jaw dropping stuff. it's $10 to drive it but it's worth it. there's an overpriced deli with uber-Gucci food, buy a picnic there, find a spot and eat.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17-Mile_Drive

over to Santa Cruz. there's an amusement park on the water, next to the famous 'Steamer's Lane' surf spot. another college town with a downtown a kid would dig.

SF...
stuff around the Fisherman's Warf area.
Bay Cruise - get in a large boat, it goes out past the Golden Gate Bridge, around Alcatraz and back, all the while they play a recording of people telling local history. I still like to do this, even after 25 years.
http://www.blueandgoldfleet.com/

Alcatraz - very cool tour, even the locals like it.
http://www.alcatrazcruises.com/

Museum Mecanique - a pretty collection of OLD mechanical amusements, as in the turn of the century version of videogames.
http://www.museemechanique.org/

in that area I really like McCormick and Kuleto's for dinner. GREAT views of the bay and the food is decent, in 25 years I've never had a bad meal. nothing amazing but I love the place.
http://www.mccormickandschmicks.com/Loc ... intSt.aspx
(it says schmicks, but that's a sister restaurant.)

if you want f-ing amazing outstanding food in that area, try Gary Denko's, make reservations well in advance. one of the top 3 restaurants in SF.
http://www.garydanko.com/

west of there towards the Golden Gate Bridge is a cool vista, Fort Point
http://www.nps.gov/fopo/

further west and south is some amazing hiking (yes, hiking in a major city.) Lands End
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/6534176

then go over the Golden Gate Bridge, at the other side, just past the vista viewpoint, take the Rodeo Drive exit, it goes back under the road and up a hill, freaking fantastic view of SF.
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/9397581

the great view of town from the south is from Twin Peaks.
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/10461789

and finally you can see SF from the middle of the bay on Treasure Island (aka Yerba Buena Island.)
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/3982732

North Beach/Chinatown
North Beach is the Italian district, it's right next to Chinatown. it's a trip to be in one part of town, walk down Jack Kerouac Alley and you're in another.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kerouac_Alley

Haight/Ashbury is cool, your kid will want to see that. upper Haight (west end) is for tourists, lower Haight (east end) is more locals. the corner of Haight & Ashbury is the center of town.

Muir Woods - remember the speederbike scene in The Empire Strikes Back? it was filmed here. the redwood trees are pretty amazing to see, hundreds of feet tall, thousands of years old.
http://www.nps.gov/muwo/

tip - check a map, see Market St? there's not much south of Market for out of towners, stay north of Market. the better clubs are south of Market, other than that it's industrial/commercial stuff.


as for music, I don't see anything particular with concerts on those days
http://jon.luini.com/thelist/date.html
maybe the Crystal Method on the 15th in Petaluma, which is about an hour north. I think it's a kid friendly venue, only time I was there was to see Primus, a show that ended up as their Videoplasty DVD (woot!!).



if you have any questions on how long the drive is, use mapquest. you can do it in ~9 hours if you take highway 5. it's a long, straight boring ass drive through California's central valley, hundreds of miles of farmland (part of the reason we have the 5th largest economy in the world.) if you take the coast, it's more than a day, some sections are twisty and people don't drive fast in parts.


other threads I've written on the topic:
http://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php? ... =lands+end

http://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php?p=537232#p537232 <-- more about clubs and audio stuff to check out, like Audium. http://www.audium.org/



hth, let me know if you'd like any more info. SF is a pretty small town, 7 miles x 7 miles.

[DaffyDub]

All smiles, thrills and great expectations over here !

Tone.......

[mikemc]

All smiles, thrills and great expectations over here !

Tone.......

+500

The drive from SF to LA was the highlight of one of my 6th grade family vacations.

Four words to remember: POINT LOBOS STATE RESERVE
http://pt-lobos.parks.state.ca.us/
A beautiful beautiful place.

[edit] also, near SF, Muir Woods +1. You have to see some big trees when you are in Northern California.

[edit edit] You are just missing this in NYC http://www.warperparty.com/ if you are not getting in til the 2nd, but they might have some info about electronic gigs you could catch with your son.

[Green Lemon]

FWIW I'd just go up hwy 1 in 2 days- leave LA in the morning, lunch and the Spanish Mission in Santa Barbara, stop at beaches along the afternoon and sleep in Monterey. Next morning, do the Monterey Bay Aquarium- its fantastic!- and drive to SF in the afternoon. You'll see the very best of it that way, without eating up too much time.

Tone, the drive from LA to SF takes 9 hours on hwy 1, not hwy 5! Hwy 5 is 6 hours of driving, without traffic.

[Tone Deft]

Tone, the drive from LA to SF takes 9 hours on hwy 1, not hwy 5! Hwy 5 is 6 hours of driving, without traffic.

is there anything people won't argue about? c'mon... wait, don't you live in Paris? I really liked taking it slow. 3-4 hours of driving a day, lots of time wandering about.
http://tinyurl.com/cpkcaf <-- 8 hours 50 minutes like you wrote, if you don't stop to see stuff, if you don't hit traffic, and if my grandmother had a cock she'd be my grandfather, if. if the OP has questions, use mapquest.
if time from LA to SF is an issue, you can get plane tickets for no more than $150, that's like 75 pounds?!?! it's an hour flight. the subway (BART) can take you from the airport into downtown SF, or it's a $35 cab ride.

it's pretty cool to see that many of us know and love the same vacation experience.

I forgot to mention, being on the coast the weather can change at a moment's notice. always have coats with you.

I also forgot a new very cool new museum, the California Academy of Sciences.
http://www.calacademy.org/
it's supposed to be all high-tech green environmental and all that. Thursday nights are adult nights, no kids and they serve alcohol (I can walk there, yay <hiccup>!!!) it's on Golden Gate Park which is a great place to chill.

FWIW if you stay around Monterey/Carmel, we stayed here
http://www.thesanctuarybeachresort.com/
uber nice place, right on the water, very posh, but with the exchange rate, why not?!?!


mikemc - nice call with Pt Lobos St Park, nice beaches. I stayed at Manresa years ago, pretty undeveloped but off the beaten path. thanks man, I think it's time for a spontaneous camping trip!

we also camped at El Capitan St Beach just north of Santa Barbara. maybe 3 hours outside of LA??
http://www.beachcalifornia.com/elcap.html


where are the NYC and LA peeps at?

does anyone else keep thinking of