Dear Delegator,
The drive from LV to SD isn't really all that long - about half a day.
So having several days to complete the trip really does leave you open
to some fun excursions. The main road towards California is I-15 West
from Las Vegas. There's not much between Las Vegas and Barstow but
desert, and Baker, CA.
http://www.schweich.com/imagehtml/2907-21.html
Although, these days, several communities have sprung up between LV
and the California border to house the employees at the
casino/entertainment complexes at Jean, NV and Stateline, NV.
Each of those may be fun places to stop for about an hour or so. And
since casinos all deal extensively with money, you may want to speak
to their human resources folks about job openings.
In fact, you might consider contacting them before you start your
trip.
Here are links to casinos near the California and Arizona stateline.
http://www.statelinecasinos.com/search.php
You may want to consider taking a detour for a day, and going towards
Laughlin and the Arizona border. That area has grown tremendously in
the past 15 years.
http://www.visitlaughlin.com/ http://www.laughlinchamber.com/
Interestinhly enough, most people working in Laughlin, NV live across
the Colorado River in Bullhead City, Arizona, in a different time
zone.
To get there, take either Highway 93 or 95 South out of Las Vegas.
Then, you'd get on Interstate 40 West to get back to Barstow, CA.
http://www.harrahs.com/our_casinos/lau/images/Property/laughlin_map.gif
This is a great place if you like boating, river sports, fishing, a
night life, bowling, hiking, camping, wind,...a pretty balanced life,
actually. But, as desert - it's very hot and very cold.
Primary employers are casinos and tourist industries.
http://www.laughlinchamber.com/economy.htm
Going back to California,... along I-15... For years, we drove right
past the Calico Ghost Town exit. (about two hours from Las Vegas, just
past the agricultural inspection station, and just before
Barstow)http://www.calicotown.com/ Finally, one trip, we had company
and decided to make the detour. It's charming place, with a gold
mines, a train, food, even a place to camp.
http://www.calicotown.com/tours_map.html
(Incidentally, plan to stop at the agricultural checkpoint and pick up
some of their California maps
http://gocalif.ca.gov/state/tourism/tour_inc_navigation.jsp?PrimaryCat=Maps+%26+Getting+Around
)
If you could possibly leave Las Vegas just a little earlier, the
morning before, in fact, you could make it to the Barstow Rodeo
Stampede
http://www.barstowrodeo.com/index%20menu.html In fact, the directions
on the site say to get off at the Ghost Town exit.
Barstow is a pivotal point on your trip. From Barstow, you can go West
towards Los Angeles, Orange County, San Bernardino (not necessarily in
that order), or you can go Southwest towards San Diego and all points
in between.
Without going into great detail about each stop on a potential trip,
let me just list some places along the way:
The Temecula Valley - vineyards, wine tasting, ballon rides
http://www.temecula.com/temvalley/tourism/index.asp
Riverside County - which includes
Palm Springs http://www.pschamber.org/retail.htm
Banning http://www.banningchamber.org/linksindex.htm
Blythe http://www.blythecoc.com/about.htm
San Bernardino County http://www.co.san-bernardino.ca.us/maps.htm
which includes
Victorville http://vvchamber.com/
Lake Elsinore http://www.lake-elsinore.org/citycouncil.asp
Apple Valley http://www.applevalley.org/
San Diego County http://www.co.san-diego.ca.us/ which includes
Carlsbad http://www.carlsbad.ca.us/
Oceanside http://www.ci.oceanside.ca.us/
La Jolla http://www.lajollabythesea.com/
This should get you started and give you enough ideas on mapping out a
trip. If you're a member of AAA, see about picking up one of their
California-Nevada books. They are one of the best resources for hotel
rates, points of interest and maps for your trip.
http://www.aaa-calif.com/travel/mem/search.asp
Coincidentally a friend from San Diego was just visiting yesterday.
She remarked that housing prices are out of sight (her house has
doubled in value in the last two years) and that employment
opportunities abound. It has become Silicon Valley South. So you'll
have plenty of opportunity to find work there.
Have a great trip!
Your TaxMama-ga |
Clarification of Answer by
taxmama-ga
on
17 Sep 2002 04:54 PDT
Oh yes, pinkfreud-ga reminded me about the San Diego Zoo - wonderful!
And in Balboa Park (where the zoo is) you'll find a Space Museum, at
least two art museums and a theater or two. Great place to spend
another day.
Near San Diego, you will find Wild Animal Park (yes, it says it's part
of the zoo, but it's really out of town)
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wap/homepage.php3
and LegoLand http://www.lego.com/eng/legoland/california/ and if
you've never been to Pea-Soup Andersen's, well, at least once in a
lifetime, you really must go there.
And if you like to explore beautiful old sailing ships, visit the Star
of India http://www.sdmaritime.com/
As a movie fan, you've seen the Del Coronado Hotel in many films
http://www.hoteldel.com/
I was so busy concentrating on getting you to San Diego, I forgot
about San Diego itself.
Incidentally, another great area to find work is the Irvine/Costa Mesa
area of Southern Orange County. This is about an hour or two up the
coast, north of San Diego. http://www.destinationirvine.com/ I lived
there, in Paradise, for about 10 years. A most wonderful, diverse,
educated community with lots of energy to get involved and shape their
own lives.
Oh, if you do go up this way, along the way, stop at Ritz Carlton in
Laguna Niguel - http://www.ritzcarlton.com/resorts/laguna_niguel/
Stunning and opulent!
And of course, world famous Laguna Beach
http://www.lagunabeachinfo.org/ Too bad you've just missed the big,
summer art fairs and the Pageant of the Masters.
But if you move into the area (SD or Orange County), you'll have
plenty of opportunity.
You'll meet some of the nicest people in these towns.
Explore as much as you can. You'll have a wonderful experience.
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