Originally posted by sassinak Ooh, in 3 weeks I will be making the opposite journey over to the US. 24 days travelling in California (although we'll be sneaking over the border into Nevada and Arizona). My K-S2 will be coming!
Glad you enjoyed your trip to the UK, some beautiful scenery especially up in Scotland.
Twenty Four days in California is a good start. In my youth I spent vacations traveling from one obscure parent cousin/aunt/acquaintance resident to another. I have also spent another vacation sitting in the forests of Northern California and fishing, going to the beach north of San Francisco and driving down to LA on Highway One. All in all, California is big and now, as opposed to the 60's and 70's, crowded with cars.
In Europe we used Public Transportation to get around the cities or we walked. In California, speaking generally here, Public Transportation is pretty minimal getting around can be quite a hassle. However, to be honest, on our last trip to San Francisco we did use Public Transportation a few times to get from the rented apartment (three couples near the zoo) to the port.
If you are going to drive just be sure to remember which side of the road to drive on, get an automatic transmission, cars on the right have the right of way, roundabouts are counter clockwise and remember that the single digit salute could get you shot. Give the driver a rest once in a while so they can look around too. The best advice I can give is to take a day or two to just sit and soak it in. Remember to not tell "jokes" to the TSA and be ready to take your shoes off to get on an airplane.