Mapquest doesn't work in SoCal
 

You poor folks here in SoCal. Mapquest says 2 hours 10 minutes from San Diego to Magic Mountain. It was more like 3 hours and 15 minutes in actual sitting in traffic time. And we left SD at 10 AM, way after commute hours in other parts of the nation!

OK, SD is beautiful. Driving down PCH from Newport to Dana Point, hanging out at the beaches along the way is an experience I won't likely forget anytime soon. But that traffic on I-5 in the AM and hwy 405 in the afternoon would take the fun out of living here.

I left the San Fernando Valley back in 1989. Traffic was bad then but it's nightmarish now! SF Bay Area ain't got nuthin' on LA when it comes to congestion.

Just returned home to Phoenix from Carlsbad Ca, just North of San Diego. Got up at 0400 in the morning to get on the road JUST TO AVOID the frigging traffic jams!

Anytime from 0600 to 1000 its simply a parking lot there and I would rather get up early and hit the road but can sure understand what you are talking about. There is no way to factor in the traffic in some parts of the country...

Re: Mapquest doesn't work in SoCal
 

Yeah traffic is bad here... although the few times I have driven through SF it didn't seem that much better. I worked Berkley for two weeks and trying to get to SF was a nightmare (except for BART) and driving up and back to Sonoma wasn't much better on a Sunday afternoon.

YMMV

one word: motorcycle

Agree but its hard to do when carrying a flight bag and luggage necessary for a weeks stay. As well I refuse to ride a "winnebago!"

Drove yesterday home and weather was beautiful going up the mountains East of San Diego. Temps in the 60's and 70's then hit the mountain ridge about 40 miles East then the incline down into the desert. Within 5 miles it was 105 degrees...

A/C on a motorcycle aint good! Will stick with the car for long trips!

Hot on a bike?

Right hand has the A/C controls. Faster is cooler.

Re: Mapquest doesn't work in SoCal
 

You just need to know the back roads. Having two manual trannys have taught me to drive late at night, bring a passenger for carpool, take a toll road and even find alternative routes with a GPS but trusting a GPS is quite dangerous still IMO.

The 405 is vicious in the afternoon but if you can leave between 2 and 4, you have a much better chance.

Re: Re: Mapquest doesn't work in SoCal
 

Local joke...

405=It will take you 4 0r 5 hours to get anywhere.
SmileWavy

I'm not looking forward to next wednesday. Have tickets to the Steely Dan show in Irvine (well, looking forward to that), but I have to fly to Monterrey on biz that day. I get into LAX at 5:30pm. The g/f is picking me up, then we slog down the 405 to Irvine. Only plus is we can use the carpool lane...

Just returned home to Carlsbad Ca from Phoenix. Got up at 0400 in the morning to get on the road before the temp hit 115F! SmileWavy

Is it possible to fly into John Wayne? Do they have a helicopter or small plane that shuttles fro LAX to John Wayne?