totally OT LA car show question... [Archive]

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Tickdoc

11-12-2019, 01:58 PM

So I will be in San Diego this week for a work thing. It ends saturday afternoon and I am staying overnight and flying out the next morning.

I got an invite to a VIP event to see a new electric truck in LA Sat night. (Bollinger)

How much of a waste of time pain in the butt would it be to rent a car and trudge up to LA for the event? (Torrey Pines to Marina Del Rey )It maps to a 2hr drive, but is it really on a Saturday?

I'm tempted to go as I have nothing planned Saturday afternoon and evening, but could just as easily decline the invite and stay in SD.

Ken Robb

11-12-2019, 02:06 PM

I wouldn't do it. Too much driving for too little fun. How much Bollinger can you enjoy and still enjoy driving the freeway with other party-goers on a Saturday night?
If you like acoustic guitar music and wine Bruce Robbins is playing (local guy who's excellent) at a small wine bar ( Mission Hills Wine Bar) at 1624 West Lewis St. in the Mission Hills neighborhood. The setting is like someone's living room and there is casual food available. Bruce draws a good crowd and has a huge repertoire so he can respond to almost any request. The food comes from an adjacent deli. Charcuterie plate and their pastrami sandwich were both excellent. Go early, hang and listen for a couple of hours, get to bed early so you're perky for your flight in the morning. :-)

Tickdoc

11-12-2019, 02:08 PM

sage advice and that does sound fun.

cgolvin

11-12-2019, 02:34 PM

I wouldn't do it either…but if the Bolly is unlimited and you would like to get hammered, there's always the option of the train and a rideshare. More predictable than driving but definitely a lot longer than 2 hours.

And FWIW, a colleague of mine took a rideshare for roughly that route earlier this year and said it cost her $80 (but maybe it was $160 and her share was half that, can't recall).

Gummee

11-12-2019, 03:02 PM

Rent a moto instead of a car and share lanes up and back.

/problem

...course that assumes a few things...

While it doesn't sound like it's all that far, traffic will kill ya when sitting in a car waiting for the freeway to open up. Sundays are 'back from the desert/Baja' days.

M

Tickdoc

11-12-2019, 03:10 PM

None of my freeway experiences in sunny cali have ever been good, I just hate the thought of being so close....yet so far.

vqdriver

11-12-2019, 05:04 PM

neat trick i recently learned. if you go to google maps and select the traffic, you will see an option at the very bottom of the page that says "live traffic". it's very small and right next to color codes for slow to fast traffic. if you click 'live traffic' you have the option to select 'typical traffic' and you can see traffic for specific days and times

Gummee

11-12-2019, 06:14 PM

Lanternrouge

11-12-2019, 06:20 PM

I think the time is much better enjoyed staying local. Heading North is a bit unpredictable. If you're staying at the Lodge, it's a great place to hang out, though I realize there are more "exciting" places depending on how far you want to go and what's your scene.

Ken Robb

11-12-2019, 06:26 PM

I added better info to my earlier post re: wine bar.

AngryScientist

11-12-2019, 06:50 PM

oh hell no.

particularly since you need to fly out of SD in the morning.

if you can swap your flight out of LAX on Sunday morning, maybe, but there is no way i'd drive from SD to LA and back in one night, unless there was something really good involved.

plus, as the locals mentioned, it's winter where you live and you'll be in paradise. i'd go with ken's advice, relax and enjoy the beachy vibes. take an uber back to the hotel, smoke a good cigar, have a nice scotch, and go to bed :)

tctyres

11-12-2019, 06:58 PM

If you were in LA, you might not want to go, depending on traffic :(

Tickdoc

11-12-2019, 07:07 PM

Good advice all and thanks. Been a few years since I have visited San Diego and it should just be enjoyed for the last night. Sad this trip is so short and I don’t get to ride this time.

Ken Robb

11-12-2019, 09:35 PM

Good advice all and thanks. Been a few years since I have visited San Diego and it should just be enjoyed for the last night. Sad this trip is so short and I don’t get to ride this time.
What size do you ride?

jm714

11-12-2019, 09:38 PM

The 405 is a mess through Orange County right now with construction. It recently took me 2 hours and 45 min to get from south OC to UCLA. When we left home waze said 90 min for 75 miles. And then it just got worse as we went along.

Lanternrouge

11-12-2019, 10:23 PM

Good advice all and thanks. Been a few years since I have visited San Diego and it should just be enjoyed for the last night. Sad this trip is so short and I don’t get to ride this time.

Some people are know for taking vacations here and even riding on said vacations. This message is courtesy of the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau.:banana::banana:

Tickdoc

11-13-2019, 05:15 AM

what size do you ride?

54-56

Ken Robb

11-13-2019, 09:01 AM

54-56

I guess my 62cm might be a stretch. :-)

KarlC

11-13-2019, 09:57 AM

You might enjoy doing something off this, its just a bit of what San Diego has to offer ......
.

https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/san-diego/things-to-do-in-san-diego

https://www.thrillist.com/san-diego

.

Ken Robb

11-18-2019, 10:48 PM

So, what did you do?

Tickdoc

11-19-2019, 05:49 AM

So, what did you do?

Spent the evening at Del Mar....little shops and a fun bar on the beach. Jake's?

Turns out three of the guys in the course I was taking from Montana showed up and we all had a good time together.

As much as I wanted to see the trucks up close and personal, the drive would've been horrific and I would've most likely missed the whole event.

Besides that, the trucks pricing has been revealed and it is more than double the initial target, making them anything but the attainable electric trucks that were promised a few years ago at startup.

Always fun to visit a new California Beach town. They all have the same vibe but are different at the same time.

Ken Robb

11-19-2019, 11:08 AM

Spent the evening at Del Mar....little shops and a fun bar on the beach. Jake's?

Turns out three of the guys in the course I was taking from Montana showed up and we all had a good time together.

As much as I wanted to see the trucks up close and personal, the drive would've been horrific and I would've most likely missed the whole event.

Besides that, the trucks pricing has been revealed and it is more than double the initial target, making them anything but the attainable electric trucks that were promised a few years ago at startup.

Always fun to visit a new California Beach town. They all have the same vibe but are different at the same time.

I managed a real estate office in the 1400 block of Camino Del Mar 1985-92 and have enjoyed MANY Happy Hours at Jakes since then. Their small plates during HR are wonderful and 2 or 3 of them are a nice dinner for me. Glad you had fun.

tylercheung

11-19-2019, 12:09 PM

Of note, if you do not want to drive, you can catch the Pacific Surfliner train that runs pretty regularly from San Diego to Union Station in DTLA. There are plenty of public transportation options from Union Station to the LA Convention Center/Staples Center from there (Bus, metro, Uber/Lyft).

Ken Robb

11-19-2019, 02:00 PM

cgolvin

11-19-2019, 02:28 PM

How would you get to Marina del Ray from Union Station? My wife took the subway a meeting in North Hollywood.

It really depends on your priorities.

Probably the most eco-friendly way would be to take the light rail (red or purple line from Union Station to Metro Center, change to the Expo line and get off at its end at 4th St in Santa Monica), then use scooter/bike rental or Lyft/Uber the ~5 miles to Marina del Rey. That would take just under an hour.

The fastest way would probably be Lyft/Uber direct from Union Station (depending on time of day, of course).