droseraguy
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Post by droseraguy on Jun 14, 2013 10:15:11 GMT -5
We will end up in Visalia this November and I was wondering what would be the best way to get to LAX for our Southwest flight back home. Last time we too a short plane ride which was fine but this time it will be an additional $300 for the both of us. I will have a car already so it could be dropped off at a rental place by LAX. I have never had the priveledge of driving in or around LA though. Chicago is more my speed. Does anyone see an issue with traffic and time of flight ? I've always heard the LA traffic is pretty slow so maybe we should try a bus or the train ? I'm open to ideas !
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2013 11:15:42 GMT -5
405 will be slow for traffic. But it depends on time of day/day of week. Do it on Sunday way easier than 4PM friday afternoon. Everybody should drive LA traffic once in a lifetime!
The Fastest path -
I-99 south to I-5 south to 405 south to the airport, follow the signs. It is about 2.5 hours without traffic.
The 405 can be skipped by staying on I5 and grabbing 110 south to 105 west. Prolly faster, but a few miles longer.
Now, if you want to do some sight seeing offer some insight into what seems like fun and we have plenty of friends who can help with that. Maybe me too, depending on what you decide on.
Wanna go to Hollywierd for a meal and a laugh at the freak show?
Universal studios for a day?
Museums? LA Museum of Natural History has a pretty nice rock (geology?) collection. Really quite nice, indeed.
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droseraguy
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Post by droseraguy on Jun 14, 2013 12:33:39 GMT -5
I'll stay away from any wierdness other than my own thanks. I am going to try and plan on a couple excursions this time and let momma hang with her sister. We're going to be coming up from El Centro so anything between there and Visalia I'm up for. I'll shoot you a PM sometime.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2013 12:38:05 GMT -5
El Centro is near rockpickforever so she may have advice for down there.
I-5 north all the way to the 99 to Visalia. I typo'd above. Visalia is 3.5 hours from LAX.
Wrightwood is lovely this time of year and a walk in the riverbed usually reveals some nice stuff. Fun for family too. Lot's of trips to do in SoCal.
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droseraguy
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Post by droseraguy on Jun 14, 2013 12:53:24 GMT -5
There is plenty of time to plan, We won't be going until Nov. Things should be cooling off there to the low 90's I imagine
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2013 13:13:41 GMT -5
November will be awesome even in the desert!
go ahead and PM me and I'll be happy to share what I know. Caution, tho' I am a newbie and plenty of more knowledge here than I have!
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droseraguy
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Post by droseraguy on Nov 14, 2013 8:58:37 GMT -5
We made it back in one piece and had only limited time for adventuring. I was able to find a nice spot with Jean's direction just west of El Centro. Turned off I-8 to the east towards the hills and went as far as my rented Kia would get back from. Found a bunch of neat "junk" just wandering in the desert. At the time I thought more of my skills but that was a testament to the hot sun on my head. Christopher in Bakersfield looked over my trunk pile and gave me his opinion which lightened my shipping costs greatly. We got a fantastic tutorial on fire agate working and now think I can finish the pieces that were put aside after screwing up the first one.
The highlight of the trip was bringing that 25 lb jasper in my backpack through the San Jose TSA. It got some special attention and screening after lighting up their scanners. I was hoping they would offer to cut it and save me the trouble of figuring out how to do that. I'll post a few pics when the other boxes arrive.... if they arrive !
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2013 11:24:37 GMT -5
you walked onto a plane with a 25# jasper!!!
That is EPIC!
I put a 3" sphere in wifey's bag to give as a gift to her friends in New Jersey. TSA told wifey "you know this is a 'blunt object'"? and wifey say's 'uh.. oh... kay..'. TSA puts it back in her purse and she travels nicely!
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Post by rockpickerforever on Nov 14, 2013 11:52:51 GMT -5
Chris, glad you enjoyed the trip to Painted Gorge. I was last there in Feb 2010. We parked and hiked around a hill, and up a mountain. I took a few pics at the top, looking back towards the east, where we were parked, and made a panorama- When I got home, and saw them on my computer, I noticed a couple dudes standing in front of my truck!! Nothing was missing, but it was sure disconcerting. I'm always leery of the two-legged animals. You just never know what's going to happen! Glad you were able to find some prizes. Scott, your TSA story is funny. I have all manner of blunt instruments I carry around in my purse, lol! I don't fly, so no problem. But I do need to remember to remove the small folding knife in my purse whenever I go to the courthouse or some other public building downtown. I always have it, don't even think about it.
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Post by jakesrocks on Nov 14, 2013 12:51:14 GMT -5
Put a sign in your window. (Truck owner has rifle with scope. Don't even think of messing with my truck). It would help nearer the border to have the sign in Spanish and English. It'll give would be thieves or vandals something to think about.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2013 12:55:14 GMT -5
I flew with a shotgun shell round trip to LAX/daytona/LAX once. Nobody said a word. Broke a strap on my daypack getting offf the plane in LAX. I found the shell when I migrated stuff to a new daypack later that day. Awesome panorama. Those were probably cops! Incredible to be able to pixel peep from so far away and get the evidence! droseraguy - any pics of the big jasper?
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Post by rockpickerforever on Nov 14, 2013 15:02:47 GMT -5
Don, I think you've got something there. Maybe not even have to write anything, just put a pic of a scoped rifle in the window! Couldn't hurt, right?
Like I said, it was disconcerning to see them standing there, after I got home (could not see them in LCD screen). But probably wouldn't have done me any good to have seen them when out there, as I was a good 1/2 hour away!
Scott, not cops. Illegals or drug runners. They probably could've put my truck to good use! This area is known for smuggling/illegals, as it is only 11 miles from the border.
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Nov 14, 2013 15:24:13 GMT -5
7 I'm always leery of the two-legged animals. You just never know what's going to happen! That's really true. It reminds me of a long-ago California desert adventure of mine. Long story short, I found myself stranded in the Mojave near the road to Wiley Wells. My wife and three small children were with me when the trouble light on my brand new station wagon lit up. I figured it was probably a bad electrical connection but didn't dare take the chance it was something serious (I'm no mechanic.) So I parked and hoped someone would come along to take my family back to our camp where we had a tent for shade and plenty of food and water. I planned to head for Blythe alone and hoof it out to the main highway to get help if the car broke down. After half an hour or so I saw a dust plume heading our way and shortly a Jeep with two really rough-looking bewhiskered guys inside pulled up. I explained my situation and they agreed to help out but I couldn't keep my eyes off what appeared to be a .44-mag revolver in a holster attached to the Jeep's passenger-side door. So while my wife was getting her personal items from our car I slipped the little Llama .380 auto pop-gun I owned at the time into her purse for whatever protection it might give her. The family got into the Jeep which headed for our camp while I drove to Blythe with no problem. As I'd guessed it was an electrical problem that was fixed in minutes. I got back to our camp and everything was fine. In fact the Jeep crew came by after I'd arrived back to check on everyone. I exchanged mailing addresses with the driver and that was the end of that. Nearly. At the time I was writing a daily column for a newspaper located two states to the east. I wrote a "Thank you" letter to our desert benefactor on the paper's letterhead. A few days later I got a reply from our helpful friend. His signature was below the letterhead of the Police Chief of Huntington Beach, CA. Not everyone with a gun in the desert is a bad guy!
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Post by rockpickerforever on Nov 14, 2013 16:19:58 GMT -5
Great story, Rick. How could you have known that the two scruffy guys with a gun were cops? LOL! Glad evrything turned out the way it did. Like I said, you just never know. (I think I've seen too many of those "hitchhiker" movies...)
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droseraguy
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Post by droseraguy on Nov 14, 2013 16:29:36 GMT -5
Wait a minute Jean, you didn't tell me THAT was the place I was wondering around alone in. Albeit only 200 feet from my Kia-Rio (worthless but rented car),only made it a mile or so up the road though. It was trippy seeing sand blowing on the road like we have snow blowing across here. The family didn't want any part of desert wandering and almost left for the fish taco truck in Calexico without me.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Nov 14, 2013 16:50:27 GMT -5
Wait a minute, I know I told you about that! Of all the times I've been out there, it only happened that one time.
So, tell me, is it snowing at home right now?
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droseraguy
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Member since April 2012
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Post by droseraguy on Nov 14, 2013 20:37:54 GMT -5
It was when we got back, should be gone tomorrow. Rain and in the 60's this weekend. The boxes arrived so I will hopefully get some pics up in the next couple of days.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2013 23:49:29 GMT -5
It was when we got back, should be gone tomorrow. Rain and in the 60's this weekend. The boxes arrived so I will hopefully get some pics up in the next couple of days. successful trip! Photos to share. All is good in the universe!
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droseraguy
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Posts: 426
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Post by droseraguy on Nov 17, 2013 9:58:50 GMT -5
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