I have been driving to Disneyland since I was a little kid. The places I remember most on that I-5 route (or close to it) are:

Pea Soup Andersens in Santa Nella - ok food but the kids like to stop there

Grandma's House in Yreka - great food, homey atmosphere

Any In-N-Out Burger we can find :) Especially if they have a good shirt on sale

Not truly exciting is the Olive Pit in Corning California. It sells lots of kinds of olives, which I don't really care about, but it's a place to get out and stretch your legs - even better if you like olives!

Outlet malls - can't remember exactly where, but off I-5

Also, if you want to stray off I-5
- the Redwoods
- Hwy 101 - very scenic but be careful if you get car sick!
- a really cool place to go is Lassen Park in Northeastern California - it's beautiful, and there is geothermal activity there.

Any other suggestions? Especially for 24 hour restaurants?

I haven't driven to SoCal as an adult but will be driving to DL for an upcoming trip. Thanks for the ideas!

Hey Shannen! :)



Back to thread, we love to stop in Vegas for the night. We do dinner and hit the Strip hot spots; the M n M factory and the Coca Cola outlet. ;) We are with the kids after all.

Johnnie's Pastrami in Culver City or right next store the overrated, but always packed--Tito's Tacos.

for I-5 trip Harris Ranch good cafe, great bathrooms.:D good pit stop.

Hi, Jenny! How are the kidlets?

I wish there was an M n M factory on the I-5 corridor! YUM!

It sounds like the perfect new place to stop for breakfast. Does anyone know what kind of wait we might have on a Sunday morning, since they don't accept reservations?

Thanks for the idea :)

Another vote for The Olive Pit. I usually get some gifts there and a
Macadamia Nut Milkshake for me. :D

As long as it is not a hoilday Sunday is not tooo busy. Mother's day is bad.
Mostly the local farmers in the morning! Might spot my FIL and Dh there if they have a westlands meeting!

They have a really nice hotel too! My cousin from Oregan just love to stay there and hide from her DH's family when they come down.... and they are very picky people!


Just radioed the boys and they said eat in the cafe and breakfast is still good and the buffet one is too. And sunday is light unless it's a hoilday weekend ...but then is still not too bad. Farmers always know the good spots.:D FIL put in that the steak and eggs is gooood.;) (harris is 25min from FIl's side of the farm, and 45 from our side of the farm)

Oh and there is a good Gas/station pit stop on lassen ave (45min north of Kettleman)too. rt hand side new easy on off freeway with really nice bathrooms and snacks.

hope this helps!
kat

wow totally could have written your post. I also have been driving since I was a little girl.

Some of our favorties to stop:
The rest area right before Mt. Shasta, after you have crossed the border. Its nice and has enough places to strech your legs and you get to see the Mt.

Corning, Olive Pit. This is a must for us. My dh loves olives so he stocks up.

In and Out, my dh wants to stop at as many as we can.

We use to stop at Grandmas in Yreka every year, but we never pass Yreka at the right time anymore. Same with the Pea Soup Place, use to stop there a bunch.

The last few trips we have gone the coast and stopped at Hearst Castle and had a meal at Pismo Beach at the Marie Calendars.

If we are coming from Vegas (I-15), we make a stop at the Gyro place.

Hi, Jenny! How are the kidlets?

I wish there was an M n M factory on the I-5 corridor! YUM!




They are really good, growing up too fast. How are you, hubby, kids?

They are really good, growing up too fast. How are you, hubby, kids?

Well, to hijack this thread even further...

Oldest DS graduated last June, youngest DS started high school and DH is great. And yes, you are right, they grow up WAY too fast!

How is your youngest DD?

My favorite place to stop on the way to Disneyland is Disneyland!!! I prefer us to long-haul-truck until we get there.

However, I do like Pea Soup Andersen's. I actually like the soup and it's a good midway point from Sacramento.

I have really little kids still and have only made the 15 hour drive south once before, but I have to say that I like to haul *%!# and get there as soon as we can. :p I hate prolonging any car trip. Perhaps when they are older maybe we will stop to explore more, but then again, maybe not :D

I like the Jelly Belly factory.

and Disneyland, of course.

We used to stop at the Samoa Cookhouse in Eureka, but haven't been there in years. Other then that, we usually hate to even have to stop at rest stops. Then I have to pass the same cars again and they all get ahead of us!!

Then I have to pass the same cars again and they all get ahead of us!!

That is exactly what I say every time! :D

I really don't like to stop anywhere when we're on the road to DL....just the necessities like rest areas, gas stations, and drive-thru restaurants! One thing we do like, though, is our choice for our overnight stop on every trip....the Comfort Suites in Elk Grove, CA. It is a really nice, clean, quiet motel right off I-5 with a fresh early continental breakfast!

We love the drive to southern CA, so relaxing and lots of fun to see the sights along the way as we cruise by. But it's not the kind of trip to stop and explore....it is the kind with an "endpoint"....in other words, no time to waste, the magic awaits! :)

OK, I can't resist any more.

My favorite stop on a long trip to DL - the nearest airport! Even when I lived in Portland, OR, it was never a consideration to drive. But I've only ever met people at the park or traveled with one other person, I maybe would think differently if I had a bigger crew to get through the airport.

That is exactly what I say every time! :D

I really don't like to stop anywhere when we're on the road to DL....just the necessities like rest areas, gas stations, and drive-thru restaurants! One thing we do like, though, is our choice for our overnight stop on every trip....the Comfort Suites in Elk Grove, CA. It is a really nice, clean, quiet motel right off I-5 with a fresh early continental breakfast!

We love the drive to southern CA, so relaxing and lots of fun to see the sights along the way as we cruise by. But it's not the kind of trip to stop and explore....it is the kind with an "endpoint"....in other words, no time to waste, the magic awaits! :)

Yeah, I couldn't see us stopping anywhere for the night. The morning we leave, we know at the end of our mission, is Disneyland and the wonderful feeling of Harbor Blvd when we finally get off the freeway. The relaxing dinner and drinks at the Rainforest. The hotel that we get to pass out it, and then wake up the next morning and hit the park! Not to mention, we want to conserve our money supplies for use in DL, not another hotel on the way. Don't get me wrong, there certainly have been drives where a nice bed to lay in for the night would have been great, but, we push on!

I have been driving to Disneyland since I was a little kid.

wow totally could have written your post. I also have been driving since I was a little girl.

Wow...I didn't start driving until I was 15 1/2...let alone even get to drive to Disneyland at that age. ;)

Having just did this last week I can say that Harris Ranch is a beautiful hotel if you can put up with the smell. It is OVERWHELMING! We stayed there on Tuesday night on the way home from Dland because our trailer had lost its lights and the coffee shop restaurant of the hotel was wonderful and the hotel was great but honestly, you would not want to spend much time out of your room there. Our room had a great little balcony with a table and wine glasses but the smell kept us indoors.

We don't generallly have favorite stops along I-5 and most of the times we have driven straight through with the exception of this last time.

Where is the m and m's factory in Las Vegas and does anyone know the hours ??
Thanks

Its on the strip opposite the New York, New York hotel. I assume its open until about 10pm or so.

Harris ranch! Sorry about the smell. 90% of the time you can't smell the feed lot as it is up the road a fair piece.
With the dirrection of the wind this last 2 weeks I wouldn't go outside either!:eek:;) the wind was coming right from that way!:eek: ewwww
I guess I'm just used to country smells because I really don't think it is all that bad.

I guess it's all what you are used to.
The pine smell in Wash. and Oregan covers up any smells. Which I love when we go visit my aunt in Medfrod.

Its on the strip opposite the New York, New York hotel. I assume its open until about 10pm or so.
Thank you it sounds cool , i never knew where it was lol , Do you kow what is all there and how long it takes to go through? or any other info for here ?
Thank you again