west coast vacation

[Rogers Hopeful]

I have a 3 year old and was curious about a vacation we could do driving where he would have fun. we were thinking sometime in october

 

[monkeyswrench]

Depends on the kid. Cartoony type, outdoors type, inquisitive type? Also, where from and how much time do you have? I had two that loved the whole Disney thing, but that's a ton of money now. All of my kids loved going to the mountains. They loved seeing the giant trees and pine cones the size of their head. If you're in a city day to day, little kids think the forest is like another planet. Problem is, it's not much more than a day or so. I don't know how the fires have effected stuff either. When I was 4...40 years ago...my parents took us on a road trip. We went to see my Mom's friend in Washington. I remember the restaurants, bridges and mountains more than the place we were headed. Farm markets and dairy farms, anything that seemed foreign to me still remembered well.

 

[BassLakeCruiser]

Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Yosemite. Tenaya lodge might have their ice rink open by then. And the old train through the hills

universal studios
D land

 

[BIGRED9158]

Glamis lol

 

[4Waters]

Depends on the kid. Cartoony type, outdoors type, inquisitive type? Also, where from and how much time do you have? I had two that loved the whole Disney thing, but that's a ton of money now. All of my kids loved going to the mountains. They loved seeing the giant trees and pine cones the size of their head. If you're in a city day to day, little kids think the forest is like another planet. Problem is, it's not much more than a day or so. I don't know how the fires have effected stuff either. When I was 4...40 years ago...my parents took us on a road trip. We went to see my Mom's friend in Washington. I remember the restaurants, bridges and mountains more than the place we were headed. Farm markets and dairy farms, anything that seemed foreign to me still remembered well.

Shit, we went summer of '81 I was 4 as well. Drove all the way, stopped at Crater Lake camped in the Red Wood Forrest, saw the mighty sequoia's went to Mt. St. Helens walked the ape caves (lave tubes) checked out the space needle. Fun trip.

 

[rivermobster]

I have a 3 year old and was curious about a vacation we could do driving where he would have fun. we were thinking sometime in october

So...

CA has just a tiny bit of coastline. Did you have an area in mind?

 

[Rogers Hopeful]

Ca, AZ, UT, WY. So more western states. We dont have any off-road toys and we are waiting to do National/state parks until we got a camping trailer

 

[Angler]

Take him on the train tour thru the Grand Canyon.

 

[HNL2LHC]

With the way things are these days. I‘d do the national park somewhere. You can find fun things for kids to do in addition to just the natural beauty and ability for them to run wild. I’d hate to be in a large populate city like LA at this point. Tempers are not the best these days. If you are not familiar with the area, which it shounds like, things could go sideways quickly.

Bice, Zion, Monument valley, Yosemite, Grand Canyon,

Check out Roadside America website to find fun things for the kids. Some silly but you can fill your day with small things in the middle of nowhere on a drive.

 

[TPC]

3 year old:
Camp Snoopy and Legoland.
Camp Snoopy at Knotts.

Legoland in Carlsbad on the former site of Miss Strict’s Lock in School for Incorrigible boys. It’s where RD and Billdo served a stretch, err,, ahh,, I mean attended.

 

[Mrs. Riley1]

I have this 4 day trip that I want to take my son on in Arizona. The first stop is Seligman which was the inspiration for the Cars movie. There’s also the Grand Canyon Caverns near there. From there go to Williams and take the train to the Grand Canyon. There’s also Bearizona in Williams and Keepers of the Wild by Seligman which are both supposed to be really cool.

 

[riverroyal]

Carlsbad. Stay by the village and 101. Hit lego land. If you want aquarium la jolla is 30 minutes. If you wand disney its a hour north.

You have great beaches. Great eats right in the village to walk to
Look at boutique hotels, not the bigger names.

 

[termiteguy]

Btw rogershopeful lives in socal I know this because I coached him in little leage baseball a long as time ago. Maybe check out the Grand Canyon or the petrified forest and Carlsbad canyon in new mexico I believe my grandparents took me there as a small child

 

[Meaney77]

Palm Springs

 

[mash on it]

From Lakewood, Ca, what about Big Bear? Or maybe Solvang?
Cruise up to Santa Barbara?
Day trips or even overnighters.
Traveling with a 3 year old can be challenging.

Williams is 6.5 hours without traffic.

Towards San Diego could be an adventure too. There's always Las Vegas.

I clearly remember learning how to swim at 2, in Idlewild... that was summer of '72.

Went tent camping in an old Dodge power wagon, 30 miles outside of Flagstaff, on a lake, daughter was 3 or 4, she's 29 now. Oh, the memories.

Granddaughter is that age now. The cycle continues.

Dan'l

 

[VooDooChildZ28]

San Diego is the finest city on the west coast. Plenty of fun for you and your son, sea world, zoo, etc, and if you want to expedite his journey into manhood, beautiful Tijuana is a short drive