Trip Planning and Cleaning as Displacement Activities

[affreca]

Someday I'll stop lying to myself about finishing up work projects over the weekend. Just do the work on during the work week.

Trip route has been decided and reservations are halfway done. I've managed the ones that I'm most concerned about not getting (Labor Day Eve on the coast north of San Fran was the worst. Ended up with mid level hotel with ocean view for more than I like to pay). Also, sticker shock from camping costs in California. Granted, I'm from the Plains, so I can camp at the county lake half an hour away for no cost (though someone needs to find a scout troop/other volunteer group to pick up the insane levels of empty alcohol containers at the campground). I have also been cleaning, so less embarrassed about having someone over to check on house/cats.

I'm at the very excited before travel stage.

For those interested:
Day 1 Fly into Sacramento. Hope the rental car is actually there. Drive to the edge of 'burbs and crash for the night. No hotel reserved in case car rental is not there or flights are late (and we're stuck overnight somewhere else). Plenty of places to crash in direction planned.
Day 2 Make grocery run, so we have snacks and some meals if we don't see restaurants when hungry (and dramamine). Drive north and west, then south along coast. Hotel with ocean view
Day 3 Point Reyes or Muir Woods. I've done both on visits to Oakland friend, Lawnchair has done neither. I'm leaning Point Reyes and Lawnchair is currently up for either. Dinner with Oakland friend, hotel somewhere in Bay Area
Day 4 Drive along coast, then to Pinnacles NP. Rocks! Campsite reserved.
Day 5 Explore park until bored, drive back to coast and south. Lawnchair keeps bringing up Big Sur, so I think he wants to see/drive it. Campsite reserved at state park made out of Hearst's castle. Castle is closed, but figure we can drive past. Don't care about Hearst, but I want to have picture in my for next time it shows up in fiction books.
Day 6 More drive on coast. Maybe stop at Santa Barbara (read to many Grafton novels, again fiction). Hotel in Ventura (not reserved yet)
Day 7 Ferry* to stop at two islands at Channel Island NP. Plan to stay at same hotel in Ventura as I expect will be very tired from three ferry rides.
Day 8 Drive to Sequoia NP. Lawnchair's already mentioned curvy mountain route he want to take out of Ventura. Campsite reserved
Day 9 Crystal Cave tour and explore Sequoia NP. Looking at campsites between Sequoia and King's Canyon, but haven't decided on one yet (plenty currently available).
Day 10 Explore King's Canyon NP. Hotel in Fresno? Depending on timing
Day 11 Drive back to Sacramento. Flight is mid afternoon, so no hurry. Fly home, crash. I'm taking the day afterwards off (mostly).

Comments

[thistleingrey]

Sounds like fun!

If things are still burning during your trip, it might decide how Day 3 is split--I think Muir may have slightly better air if you're not on the Stinson Beach side the whole time. Fingers crossed for contained fires, regardless. I'm not sure offhand whether any current ones would threaten the Sequoia/King's segment or the SB/Ventura one--you probably know about fire.ca.gov ?

[affreca]

Yep. I'm to the checking the fire maps about once a day. My traditional time to visit California is December/January (half a year offset from seeing Dovekie at WisCon), so this fire/smoke thing is not something I'm used to. We get a lot of smoke in the spring when they burn the Flint Hills, but that's a different scale (prairie grass does well with annual burning).

[thistleingrey]

Dec/Jan is usually so green and so different, heh. The underbrush nearish here would do well with annual burning, too, if well meaning but totally misunderstanding laws hadn't nixed it years ago. Anyway, good luck!