So. California question/advice

[fivi2]

We arrive at LAX around 9:00 (am) on a Saturday in August. We are headed down to San Diego (then to Anaheim later in the week).

Any recs on a place to stop on the way down to San Diego? We will want to eat something and probably get out and walk around, but nothing too crazy - we will have been up for a while. I imagine we will want to get away from LAX and head down the coast toward San Diego.

Any restaurant recs? Or beach (or other) recs? (eta: dds are 5.5 yo)

I hate driving without a plan trying to read a map when everyone is tired and hungry! I would love a plan (and a couple of back up plans).

I realize it will be crowded on a Sat in August near the beaches, so any tips on avoiding crowds would be lovely! I had thought maybe Crystal Cove SP with the restaurant there might work, but then it started to sound like a pain to get to, so I would appreciate any other ideas... We could push through to San Diego, but we will at least need to stop and eat somewhere!

eta: and dd was stung by a jellyfish last weekend on the gulf coast, so we may not be doing much ocean time... We will see. So any other thoughts would work also! She is worried about even going to the lake today! stupid jelly fish...

TIA!

[elektra]

My first thoughts are all my taco and burger joints I know.
But they are not in scenic areas and some are in parts of town that well, aren't so great.

I think I might scope out all the In N Out locations from LAX to San Diego. Many are very close to the freeway and it's a good fast stop and everyone wants some In N Out when they are in CA right?

And then as another plan you could always plan a stop at the Irvine Spectrum. It's right off the freeway, and roughly half way between LAX and San Diego. A nice outdoor mall with shopping choices, several food choices a carousel. Not sure if that's "too crazy" but you could stay as long as you want or take off.

OR if you want a beachy restaurant, and nobody is hungry between LAX and Irvine, I would look for places starting in San Clemente. That is where the freeway starts running right along the ocean. You can probably find something along that stretch but I am not too familiar with specific places.

[BabyDahl]

There's a little beach town called Sunset Beach. It's south of Seal Beach (which is a good option, too) and just north of Huntington Beach in Orange County. There's a place called Taco Surf (they have 4 or 5 restaurants locally)--it's noisy (i.e. good for kids), relatively inexpensive (+free chips/salsa) and you can either valet or park for free in the beach parking. It's a quiet beach with no fire pits, but it's a long, deep beach that's not too crowded in the afternoon/evening. PM me if you want directions/details.

[fivi2]

Thanks for the suggestions! Really, I just want the least amount of stress to get us decent food and a chance to stretch our legs a bit.

[Tondi G]

closer to SD in Carlsbad (near Legoland) there is a great pizza place called Pizza Port. Highly recommend it!

http://www.pizzaport.com/locations/carlsbad/

very close to LAX is Marina Del Rey .... lots of restaurants in the area Cheesecake factory, California Pizza Kitchen, Islands all come to mind .... here is a listing I found.

http://www.visitmarinadelrey.com/din...nts/A/Z/page:1

I am sure there are plenty of places along the way ... you go through Orange County ... Irvine might be an ok place to stop right off the freeway but it is probably a good 45 minutes from LAX I think it's around 40+ miles away. not sure how hungry you think you'll be and how soon you would want out of the car and to be eating.

[AnnieW625]

I think I might scope out all the In N Out locations from LAX to San Diego. Many are very close to the freeway and it's a good fast stop and everyone wants some In N Out when they are in CA right?

The BEST In N Out (IMHO) is the In N Out Burger off of the 405 and Westminster Blvd in Westminster. You exit at Springdale (east--stay in the left hand lane, go under the overpass, and then make right onto Westminer) and go over the freeway and it's on your right hand side. It's a drive thru only location, but there is a walk up window, and some seats outside. Plus they have bathrooms.

Another yummy place is The Habit and it looks like they have one right off I-5 (just south of the 405-I-5 junction; however I would stay out of the carpool lane on the 405-South because I can't remember if it lets you off before El Toro Road). I have been to the other locations in Torrance, and Santa Ana, but neither of those would be very convenient (although Torrance could be and option if you are really hungry, but I am afraid you'd get lost because it's not directly off the freeway).

If you can make it all of the way to Carlsbad (and you will hit traffic between here and The Golden Triangle area of San Diego, (where I-5/I-805/Route 52 come together) there is an Islands off of I-5 and Palomar Airport Road (one of the Legoland exits). I have never been to Pizza Port either, but am hoping to try it because it's gotten many rave reviews here the next time we find ourselves in the SD area.

[echoesofspring]

2nd-ing San Clemente/Dana Point I don't have any specific recs, but it's a cute little beach town. I remember a good coffee shop, little shops, etc.

[sariana]

Irvine Spectrum is a good suggestion. They have a Red Robin and a Johnny Rockets, among other things.

But you might get there too early for lunch, depending on whether your flight gets in on time.

If you can make it down to Carlsbad, you can go to the outlet center there. It is near the Islands PP mentioned. It has a Ruby's (diner-type restaurant--good for kids--has a train that runs around the ceiling) and some other places. And shopping. It's not usually too crowded (though parking can be tough), and it's not huge. It really is more like a regular outdoor mall but with the outlet versions of the stores.

http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=66

There also are places you can access the beach in Carlsbad. I'm not sure how to get there from the outlets, but I can find out. There is a paved path along the beach that makes a nice walk.

There is a nice In 'N' Out in Laguna Hills. You take the El Toro exit off the I-5 (a couple of exits after the merge with the 405), go straight through the intersection toward the mall, and it will be on the right. It has a large indoor seating area. I can't compare its food or anything else to other locations because I don't go to I n O much, but I have been to this one, and it is spacious and good. (That exit is confusing; you have to be in the left lane to turn left onto Avenida de Carlota, then make sure you are in the center lane to go across El Toro. Try to look at a map first if you think you want to go to the In 'N' Out there. Worst case, you have to make the left turn onto El Toro and make a U-turn to get back to the mall.)

Really, the PPs all are good suggestions and really depend on your timing. If your flight is late, and/or you want an early lunch, go for Westminster or Irvine (or Sunset Beach--I just don't know that area). If you get in early and/or can hold out for lunch, Carlsbad is a better bet. It still is an hour (more in traffic) from San Diego proper, so it makes a good stopping point.

Annie, you CAN get to El Toro from the carpool lane, but you have to get across all the lanes of traffic as soon as possible. We take the Alicia exit (the next one), but we usually are over to the far right before we get to the El Toro exit.

[fivi2]

Thanks!

I guess I was thinking somewhere brunch-y where we could maybe walk around near a park or the beach or something. We leave texas at like 7 am (central time)to arrive in LA at 9:00(pacific time), so we will have been up for ages. We will eat snacks on the plane, but probably won't make i to Carlsbad before stopping.
We aren't really big shoppers.

I was thinking we'd stop somewhere in orange county. Only because we probably won't stop that way any other time on our trip (by that way, I mean along the coast. I get that DLR is in orange county... ). So I guess I was thinking one of the beach towns - Laguna, Carona del mar, san clemente, dana point, etc, etc. But I get that most of those places will be crowded...

But I do appreciate all of the other suggestions. I will have to look up In n out and see if my girls will eat there! It is certainly getting a lot of votes!

[sariana]

Well, you could go to Sugar Shack on Main Street in Huntington Beach. It is great for breakfast and/or lunch. (They close in the early afternoon.) Then you could walk along the beach; there is a paved path, and also the famous pier. I would have suggested it before, but parking is terrible. There is a garage, but it can be spendy.

There also is a Ruby's Diner at the end of the pier. It doesn't have a train (like in Carlsbad), but it still is good for kids.