Post #698698 by Dagg on Thu, Nov 7, 2013 12:43 PM

On 2013-11-07 11:35, lunavideogames wrote:
Catalina Island is fun, but you might want to just do one night. It is going to be chilly, but not Canada cold. There won't be too many tourists or cougars this time of the year, but I agree that the Marlin Club is the best on the island.

I hear ya, wife really wants to spend a few days on the island relaxing... so what wife wants...

the weather shouldn't be a problem :wink:

On 2013-11-07 11:35, lunavideogames wrote:
I WOULD rent a car. Don't be scared of the traffic. It does suck in LA, but it is bearable. Many people deal with it on a daily basis. I go up to LA regularly (3 times this month) and I just treat the traffic as a warm hug telling me I made it to LA.

Yup Ive come to the conclusion that a car in unavoidable.

On 2013-11-07 11:35, lunavideogames wrote:
I would go to SD, but I might be bias. Bali Hai is amazing and Point Loma Seafood is great as well. There is a lot to do besides tiki, but Trader Morts, Freaky Boutiki, Tiki mini golf in Mission Beach are just a few of the tiki related things to do in San Diego. Lots of places have Tiki Tuesday in SD too. I would not go to the tiki bar in Pacific Beach, actually since Fat Burger closed in PB there is no real reason to go to PB anymore :)

We have been to SD before and loved it (my sister used to live there, as well as in Huntington beach, she is back in Canada now)
As of this morning we have pretty much decided that we will base out of Huntington Beach and day trip from there. So a drive down the coast to SD will be on my want list.

On 2013-11-07 11:35, lunavideogames wrote:
Don's and Tiki Ti are a must. You might just want to stay at those two places the whole trip. Tiki No is fun and by the Tonga Hut. I would recommend to go to the Beverly Hills Trader Vics over the LA Live. I have been to the downtown TV and never had a decent drink and I have tried them all a few times. The decor is nice though and I don't like to say anything bad about any tiki bars, so feel free to try it and judge for yourself. Billy's in Orange County is nice but parking is valet only so try to get a spot on the street. It would be a fun drive down the coast to Don's and Billy's on your way to San Diego. There isn't insane traffic on the Pacific Coast Hwy, and it is a nice scenic drive down the coast.

There is no real traffic in San Diego or Orange County so the commute down to San Diego from LA should only be a couple of hours, sometimes even less. Don't be scared of the traffic, it really isn't THAT big of a deal, it will just be annoying until you get out of LA.

If you do come down to San Diego, let me know. We can grab a drink at Bali Hai or something. Have a fun trip!

Thanks mega for your great input, Ill let ya know if we do the trip down to SD!
6.8 miles from HB to Dons = lots of time at Dons! (we will bus and/or cab it)

Mahalo!
Darren