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California coast via RV10? - Follow-up

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Tim Olson

Joined: 25 Jan 2007
Posts: 2872

Posted: Mon Oct 04, 2010 7:27 pm Post subject: California coast via RV10? - Follow-up

Hey all,



Thanks for the great replies to my question about flying the

West Coast.  My trip is coming up quick now, and the info you

all gave was valuable.  Andrea called today and found out that

Whale Watching is good right now.  The hard part is that some

locations only do weekends, and some do weekdays, so we're

trying to pray for good weather and hope all the plans work

out accordingly.



I do have a follow-up couple of questions....



1) When doing our touring around San Francisco, which

airport do you locals recommend I park at...a place that's

handy enough that I can get a rental car, and nice

enough that fuel isn't gouging and the plane will be safe?



2) How about if I spend a day or three between San Francisco

and Monterey....where should I land for Monterey, or should

I just use one airport and drive to both places?



FWIW: Monterey is the most accessible for Whale Watching from

a logistical perspective as far as who's open on what days,

and they've been seeing them lately.  Wish I could see the

Orcas but I think that would require perhaps going to

the Seattle area and I'm not sure that's going to work

for sure on this trip.



3) I got good tips for where to stay if we go back by

San Diego and have to stay there, but what place to the

north of L.A. would be good and GA friendly if we need

something?



Other than the "where to stay" questions, it all seems to

be looking pretty good. I don't make hotel plans in advance,

since an RV-10 can easily take you to a whole different

location in a short time if you can't find something.

We're just doing the usual "winging it"...going to land,

get a car, use the ipad or iphone to locate a hotel,

and then start touring around.



Oh, and if we do try to go Kayaking or something in

the Monterey area, I'm guessing that 5/4mm wetsuits

isn't quite good enough, eh?  If not, we'll maybe

just leave them at home.  It's been too many cheeseburgers

since I've tried my 7mm suit. 



Looking forward to another adventure.  Thanks again, all!



Tim Olson - RV-10 N104CD

do not archive

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AirMike

Joined: 27 Feb 2007
Posts: 514
Location: Nevada

Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 3:16 am Post subject: California coast via RV10?

I fly over the hill to do business in SF frequently. I like Marin's Gnoss field that I flew out of for many years. The gas is cheaper at the self service in Petaluma just north of Gnoss, but Gnoss is closer to SF. 



Hertz (and I believe Enterprise) will pick you up to get your rental car at Gnoss. I always use Hertz. Oakland used to be great (Kaiser Air) but now VERY expensive. Gnoss has lots of tie downs. Parking is cheap $6 and is quite safe plus they have a night security guard. Be sure to park facing west. The hotels in Marin are cheaper ($100/night) and quieter than in SF. I like the Marriott Courtyard -Larkspur and the Extended Stay America San Rafael. If you book direct both have a 6:00PM free cancel policy - good if you are flying.



Things to do in Marin or on the way to SF - Muir Woods, Sausalito, Whale watching at Pt. Reyes (1.5 hr drive to the point), and Ferry ride into SF from Larkspur.



I would just fly down to Monterey rather than back-track unless you put down and stay at Reid-Hillview in San Jose

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See you OSH '18
Q/B - sold.

orchidman

Joined: 10 Jul 2006
Posts: 277
Location: Oklahoma City - KRCE

Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 3:31 am Post subject: Re: California coast via RV10? - Follow-up

Tim,

For #1 & #2, I would say Watsonville.  KWVI.  It is in the middle of Monterey Bay.

On the north side of the bay is Santa Cruz with its beaches and boardwalk and on the south side, Monterey/Carmel.

From WVI, San Francisco is  about 80 mi.  You can take the coast road (Hwy 1) for some great ocean views or up the SF bay (101 or 280) or up one and back the other.

One last item, if you were to have any maintenance issues, Dave at Air Crafters is located on WVI.

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_________________
Gary Blankenbiller
RV10 - # 40674
(N2GB Flying)

dmaib@me.com

Joined: 25 Apr 2006
Posts: 454
Location: New Smyrna Beach, Florida

Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 5:01 am Post subject: California coast via RV10? - Follow-up

Tim,

Try Camarillo for a north of LA airport. Lots of EAA ers there and lots of interesting airplanes. Friendly folks.



David Maib

40559

Flying



On Oct 4, 2010, at 10:20 PM, Tim Olson wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		   

 

 Hey all,

 

 Thanks for the great replies to my question about flying the

 West Coast.  My trip is coming up quick now, and the info you

 all gave was valuable.  Andrea called today and found out that

 Whale Watching is good right now.  The hard part is that some

 locations only do weekends, and some do weekdays, so we're

 trying to pray for good weather and hope all the plans work

 out accordingly.

 

 I do have a follow-up couple of questions....

 

 1) When doing our touring around San Francisco, which

 airport do you locals recommend I park at...a place that's

 handy enough that I can get a rental car, and nice

 enough that fuel isn't gouging and the plane will be safe?

 

 2) How about if I spend a day or three between San Francisco

 and Monterey....where should I land for Monterey, or should

 I just use one airport and drive to both places?

 

 FWIW: Monterey is the most accessible for Whale Watching from

 a logistical perspective as far as who's open on what days,

 and they've been seeing them lately.  Wish I could see the

 Orcas but I think that would require perhaps going to

 the Seattle area and I'm not sure that's going to work

 for sure on this trip.

 

 3) I got good tips for where to stay if we go back by

 San Diego and have to stay there, but what place to the

 north of L.A. would be good and GA friendly if we need

 something?

 

 Other than the "where to stay" questions, it all seems to

 be looking pretty good. I don't make hotel plans in advance,

 since an RV-10 can easily take you to a whole different

 location in a short time if you can't find something.

 We're just doing the usual "winging it"...going to land,

 get a car, use the ipad or iphone to locate a hotel,

 and then start touring around.

 

 Oh, and if we do try to go Kayaking or something in

 the Monterey area, I'm guessing that 5/4mm wetsuits

 isn't quite good enough, eh?  If not, we'll maybe

 just leave them at home.  It's been too many cheeseburgers

 since I've tried my 7mm suit. 

 

 Looking forward to another adventure.  Thanks again, all!

 

 Tim Olson - RV-10 N104CD

 do not archive

- The Matronics RV10-List Email Forum -

Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:

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_________________
David Maib
RV-10 #40559
New Smyrna Beach, FL

rv10(at)colohan.com
Guest

Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 7:00 am Post subject: California coast via RV10? - Follow-up

On Mon, Oct 4, 2010 at 8:20 PM, Tim Olson <Tim(at)myrv10.com (Tim(at)myrv10.com)>  wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		   --> RV10-List message posted by: Tim Olson <Tim(at)myrv10.com (Tim(at)myrv10.com)>

 

 Hey all,

 

 Thanks for the great replies to my question about flying the

 West Coast.  My trip is coming up quick now, and the info you

 all gave was valuable.  Andrea called today and found out that

 Whale Watching is good right now.  The hard part is that some

 locations only do weekends, and some do weekdays, so we're

 trying to pray for good weather and hope all the plans work

 out accordingly.

 

 I do have a follow-up couple of questions....

 

 1) When doing our touring around San Francisco, which

 airport do you locals recommend I park at...a place that's

 handy enough that I can get a rental car, and nice

 enough that fuel isn't gouging and the plane will be safe?

	




I  am _far_ from an expert on this, but...  SJC (at Atlantic Aviation) is  probably the most expensive, but also probably the easiest to get a  rental car and "safest".  They are used to serving the folks in jets, so  you get high service at high prices.  They can also put your plane in a  hangar for a fee.  PAO is nice and centrally located, but I think fuel  prices are not cheap.  I'd guess that RHV is probably the cheapest  option in the area, don't know about rental cars there.  Other choices I  know less about: SQL, OAK, HWD.

 



 	  Quote: 	
		   

 2) How about if I spend a day or three between San Francisco

 and Monterey....where should I land for Monterey, or should

 I just use one airport and drive to both places?

	




I've  been to Monterey airport, and it is pretty nice.  Not the cheapest  option for fuel 'tho.

 



 	  Quote: 	
		    

 FWIW: Monterey is the most accessible for Whale Watching from

 a logistical perspective as far as who's open on what days,

 and they've been seeing them lately.  Wish I could see the

 Orcas but I think that would require perhaps going to

 the Seattle area and I'm not sure that's going to work

 for sure on this trip.

 

 3) I got good tips for where to stay if we go back by

 San Diego and have to stay there, but what place to the

 north of L.A. would be good and GA friendly if we need

 something?

 

 Other than the "where to stay" questions, it all seems to

 be looking pretty good. I don't make hotel plans in advance,

 since an RV-10 can easily take you to a whole different

 location in a short time if you can't find something.

 We're just doing the usual "winging it"...going to land,

 get a car, use the ipad or iphone to locate a hotel,

 and then start touring around.

 

 Oh, and if we do try to go Kayaking or something in

 the Monterey area, I'm guessing that 5/4mm wetsuits

 isn't quite good enough, eh?  If not, we'll maybe

 just leave them at home.  It's been too many cheeseburgers

 since I've tried my 7mm suit. 

	




I went  kayaking recently in the Elkhorn Slough.  It seems that all of the  rental companies around there will rent you full jackets, skirts, etc.  as a part of the package.  So no need to bring a wetsuit.  (I went with www.montereybaykayaks.com.)

 

Chris  [quote][b]

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Bob Turner

Joined: 03 Jan 2009
Posts: 885
Location: Castro Valley, CA

Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 9:29 am Post subject: Re: California coast via RV10? - Follow-up

I'm based at Livermore (KLVK). Tie downs are inexpensive; self serve fuel average ($4.50 or so); you need to call Enterprise in advance for a car. Several hotels/motels within a mile. Wx usually is vfr, and if not there's a good ILS and an LPV gps approach. You'll want a car but I recommend taking BART to see San Francisco.



KMRY is a bit pricey, but convenient, and both FBO's have rental cars.

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_________________
Bob Turner
RV-10 QB

robin(at)PaintTheWeb.com
Guest

Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 9:58 am Post subject: California coast via RV10? - Follow-up

At LVK Enterprise is way far from the airport (got me last month when I

flew in) plan on an additional 60 minutes there/back & check in/out. I

think Hertz is on the airport or much closer. Generally low fuel prices at

LVK. Plus you can visit Matt, his hangar is the one glowing with all the

electronics.

At MRY Del Monte is nicer but Monterey Bay Aviation is less expensive and

faster in/out.

I personally prefer OAR (Marina) when flying into the Monterey area. No

tower, no hassle. 3rd party rent-a-car about 2 blocks away. Fuel is

between $0.50 & $1.10 less than MRY.



Robin

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