Triangle Trip

Following my previous post in regards to SPG Free Weekend Night promotion status, I emailed SPG to reconfirm my phone conversation. For the record, Starwood’s customer service center is truly world class. You are almost guaranteed to get an email response from a native English writer in 12 hours or less. Below is SPG’s standard response:

“I would like to inform you that you will not be able to see your free weekend online. To redeem a Free Weekend Night Award, Preferred Guest members in the U.S. or Canada should call 866-539-0059. Elite members should call their dedicated Gold or Platinum Members residing outside the U.S. and Canada should contact the Starwood Preferred Guest Customer Contact Center for your region. Advanced reservations are required and all members please mention Award ID 9FWFN when you call to book your reservation.”

In summary, here are our findings:

• The entire SPG Free Weekend Night promotion is done offline.
• You will have to keep track of your own stays to make sure you get free weekend night credit.
• You will have to ring customer service directly to make each booking.

SPG could have saved a lot of money and hassle (dealing with customer calls and emails) had they listed the above bulletpoints on their FAQ site.

Given our 6+ months of experience dealing with Los Angeles traffic on a weekly basis, we would like to share with you a key route to avoid rush hour traffic traveling from the Valley to Los Angeles International (LAX). There are plenty options that takes you from the San Fernando Valley (Burbank, Glendale, Hollywood, etc.) to LAX. The options are:

1. CA-134 West to the US-101 North to the I-405 South — This is the worst option because the US-101 to I-405 merge is the worst traffic junction in the US. The 405 South is a disaster from the hill to the I-10 connection (probably a top 5 worst traffic bottleneck in the US).  Going through two of the top five worst traffic junctions is not a good idea.

2. US-101 South to I-110 South — US-101 South is generally bad when heading downtown. The merge from US-101 to I110 is located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles which is one of the worst connectors in the US.

3.  I5 South to I-110 South to the I-105 — You will need to merge twice with downtown traffic. The first merge is the I-5 to the I-110. The second merge is the I-110 with US-101.

ALL the options listed has its major bottlenecks. We have figured a way to modify Option 3 and cut our commute time from the Valley to LAX by 30 minutes compared to the normal bumper to bumper route.

Here are the step by step directions:

1.  Take Interstate 5 South which is normally clear until you get to Los Feliz Exit (Griffith Park).  Right as traffic is building up, you will see CA-2 the Glendale Freeway.

2.  Get on CA-2 (Glendale Freeway) South. CA-2 South ends in about a mile and turns into Glendale Blvd. Stay on your left when you hit Glendale Blvd (after the freeway ends). Go on Glendale Blvd for about 1.2 miles through local streets (passing Echo Park which is to your right) until Glendale Blvd ends.

3. When Glendale Blvd ends, you will see West 1st and West 2nd Street (see map). Make sure you bare left and go onto W2nd Street.

4.  Stay on West 2nd Street until you have passed an underpass (which is I-110) and make a right at the light onto Figueroa Street.

5.  Once you’re on Figueroa, make a right on the next light which is West 3rd Street.

6.  On West 3rd Street, you will see the on-ramp for I-110 (Harbor Freeway) South.

7.  Take I-110 Harbor Freeway South until you see I-105. There will be plenty of signs pointing you to LAX. The I-110 Harbor Freeway also has a bonus: the carpool lane.

8.  Take I-105 West and exit Sepulveda which will take you straight to LAX, rental car return facilities and long term parking garages.

The above driving directions help you avoid the I-5 to I-110 merge as well as the I-110 and US-101 merge in downtown Los Angeles. These two junctions are one of the worst in America.

We hope you find these directions to be helpful. Feel free to leave us your comment or suggestions of better routes.

Captain G & Statusmonger

San Diego is the second largest city in California and one of my favorite destinations. The weather is great all year round in San Diego. If you are ever in the Greater Los Angeles area and have two days to spare, I highly recommend you take a drive down to San Diego. Below are my suggestions (with a map for reference):

Day 1

1.  From LA, take the 405 South and pass Orange County. Exit La Jolla to check out downtown and the cove. La Jolla is a beautiful place to grab lunch before you continue your drive down to downtown San Diego. Go to one of the restaurants located along the cove (Prospect Street) for a great view while you dine.

2.  After lunch, continue south on Interstate 5 and go past downtown. I recommend you make a stop at Coronado which is an island across the strait of downtown San Diego. Take exit 13B on Interstate 5 which is the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge. Once you are on Coronado island, go by Hotel Del Coronado which is on the southwest side of the island. Grab a drink at the hotel and walk along the shores where you can watch the sunset at Coronado.

3.  After the sunset, you will be ready for some fine dining in the Gaslamp Quarter. Cross the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge and get back on Interstate 5 North. Get off on Market Street and head west. Instead of looking for meter parking around Gaslamp, I recommend you park at Horton Plaza where you can get 2 hours of free parking before 9PM. For Horton Plaza free parking, you will need to get your parking ticket stamped at a validation machine inside the mall. The downtown Gaslamp area has plenty of food options spanning from Sushi to Mexican to traditional American bars.

Day 2

1.  To start Day 2, I recommend you start breakfast at the Seaport Village located by Harbor Drive and Kettner. Grab breakfast or brunch at one of Seaport Village’s restaurants. You can park in the lot as all restaurants and shops will validate your parking. After breakfast or brunch, take a stroll along the boardwalk for a view of the marina.

2.  After breakfast/brunch, swing by Balboa Park for a mid-morning walk. There are museums, gardens, carousel inside Balboa Park. It is a very nice park to walk in. The San Diego Zoo is also inside Balboa Park.

3.  While you are at Balboa Park, I highly recommend you go visit the San Diego Zoo. The San Diego Zoo is one of the largest zoos in the US and has tons of animals including pandas from China. I personally think the San Diego Zoo is the best zoo in the US.

4.  Wrap up your day in Old Town after a day in the park and zoo. You can get to Old Town from the Zoo by taking I5 North to Exit 19. Old Town is a historic park with tons of Mexican restaurants and shops. You can have dinner at one of the restaurants or grab street food from vendors. There are also handcraft shops where you can buy a nice souvenir.

Day 3, 4, 5 (if you have the time)

If you have time to extend your stay in San Diego, consider the following attractions:

1.  SeaWorld – great amusement aquarium.

2.  Legoland – where you can recapture your youth or bring your kids 🙂

3.  Wild Animal Park – the San Diego Zoo’s sister… this is where you can see animals live in the habitat.