Expert: Steve Summers - 11/29/2001

Question
My daughter and I are planning our first trip to California.  We are landing and staying in Ontario.  Our trip dates are from 12/7 to 12/12.
We will have a car.

The tenative itinerary is:
12/7  See Newport Beach & Balboa Island
12/8  See Palm Springs
12/9  Bike trip along beaches
12/10 Universal Studios & Beverly Hills
12/11 San Diego Zoo

I would appreciate any restaurant or 'must see' ideas in any of these cities.  I came up with these travel destinations on my own and I'm open to other ideas.  Also we are tennis enthusiasts.

Thanks for your help.

John Nicky  

Answer
Nice itinerary. I do have a couple of suggestions, though. I think that you can kill two birds with one stone, however, when you visit Newport Beach and Balboa Island. You can ride the bike paths from the Newport Beach Pier to world famous Huntington Beach "Surf City" and back. Most of the ride is on a bike path. You can start at either end, and there are lots of places to eat. I love the Balboa Amusement area at the end of the Balboa Peninsula. It's like a small version of Coney Island. Check out www.octa.net/streets/images/bikewaysmap.pdf for a great map of bike paths. You will need to have Adobe Acrobat reader installed on your PC, which you can download for free from www.adobe.com.

In Palm Springs, the restaurant is not so important as remembering to bring shorts. Weather in Palm Springs can be quite balmy, but it can be windy, too. So bring a pair of shorts in case it's nice. You can get into just about any restaurant in a clean pair of shorts, which makes for a very relaxing meal. On the way to Palm Springs, stop by Cabazon. There is a pair of dinosaurs that has been there forever. They are behind the A&W restaurant, near the big Morongo Casino. The Outlet malls are OK, too, if you are into that.

Universal Studios itself can be a full day trip. In addition to the Studio tour, you should visit City Walk, which has many fine and fun restaurants. My favorite is Gladstone's, but my kids prefer Buca Di Beppo, Cafe Tu Tu Tango, and Hard Rock Cafe. Or, for something truly LA, go to Tommy's hamburgers (there's a new one at City Walk). I would also recommend a fun Italian restaurant just down the hill called Miceli's (it has singing waiters), but I think that you will be busy enough and probably want to stay in one spot.

As for Beverly Hills, you can go down Rodeo Drive. It's not really my cup of tea, but most visitors like to see it.

Better yet, visit the famous Chinese Theater in Hollywood, and the new Hollywood & Highland complex. It is the permanent home of the Academy Awards, and very nice. Even better, you can take the new subway there from Universal!

In San Diego, I can recommend a restaurant called Anthony's right on the water's edge. They serve decent seafood at reasonable prices. It is one of those institutions that has been run by the same (Italian) family for a million years. Get there early or be prepared to wait. Take I-15 south, then take I-8 west to I-5 south. Take the airport exit and head towards the water. Turn left on Harbor Drive, and watch for it on the right. It's right next to the Star of India, a 19th century sailing ship. Even on a stormy rainy day, it's a nice view. For the best San Diego info, check out my buddy Local Wally at www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Shores/6242 or do a Yahoo search for Local Wally. Great advice on this site.

Have fun,

Steve


Hope this helps,