Top Ten driving tips for a Brit driving in California

Before I went to America I was nervous about driving there. Although I've driven happily and safely in the UK for Over twenty years, driving in another country was something I'd never done before and I had all sorts of worries. The most obvious being the fear of forgetting which side of the road to drive in and accidentally setting off in the wrong direction on a dual carriage way killing us both!

So I searched the internet for advice and tips on driving in the US and California in particular. It turned out there were things to worry about that I hadn't even imagined!

So I'm sharing my learning and my experiences. Here are my Top Ten things you need to know about driving in California if you are British.

1. Get an automatic car. If you drive in Britain chances are you drive a gear shift car. There are lots if reasons for this, fuel economy and control being the main two. I would suggest to remove one worry of driving you get an automatic, they are more common, it's probably what you will be offered anyway, don't ask for gears. The petrol (gas) prices are way lower in the US than in the UK even though Californians will whine and tell you gas prices are high. They are not, so don't worry about the fuel saving. And if you drive in hilly San Francisco or busy Los Angeles 'stop/start traffic you'll be glad of the rest your "clutch" foot will get.

2. When you buy gas in the US you have to pay FIRST. I was slightly overwhelmed by this, how would I know how much my hire care held? How would I pay? Credit card? Cash?. Credit cards are accepted at the pump but only if you have your card registered to a US address, you don't, so you have to go in to the kiosk and pay. You can pay for more than the car will take, you go back after for your change. The same if it's cash or credit card. So you go in, ask for, say, $40 regular on pump 4, fill, find it only took $37 and pop back in for the change. Simple and you get used to it. Of course you don't have to fill up you can but just a few dollars worth, most pumps will shut off when you reach the amount you paid for. And don't forget that as with many credit card payments you may have to sign rather that use your PIN and you may need photo ID - carry it all the time, your plastic driving licence card is enough. Also Petrol (gas) pumps are different colours to the ones we have in the UK! Diesel comes from the green nozzle, regular unleaded AND super unleaded come from the black one. For petrol, you push a button on the pump to select either regular or super and it's dispensed from the same black nozzle.

3. Pedestrians have right of way. All the time. Every time. Even if they are idiots. You are not allowed to run them over (obviously) but you also have to stop for them when they are crossing the road, any road, anywhere even if they are jaywalking. There are Crosswalks on lots of intersections and pedestrians should use these, be aware that even if you have a green light the pedestrians may have a green light too! (yes really) and you still have to stop. Even though the car is king, the pedestrians win on the road. You have to wait for them. Watch out for the walkers...

4. Drivers are on the whole more aggressive than in the UK, people rarely 'let you in' or 'let you out' you have to be pushy. And no one flashes their headlights to mean 'after you'! So just keep alert and get on with driving. On the freeways people pass on either side, you can too, check everywhere before changing lanes, Californians often don't signal a lane change. (don't let that stop you doing it though!)

6. I hired a satnav (GPS in American!) and I'd recommend that, but don't think that means you don't need a paper map too. Take  a decent road map of the area you'll be in and maybe some city maps too. There are places that the GPS won't work and mine broke altogether! (I did get a refund in the hire charge) Luckily I had also downloaded a free app for my phone that uses GPS and not data to guide you, it proved very useful. I have an android phone and used NavFreeUSA , there is an Apple version, and I expect there are others out there, don't forget to check it doesn't need a data connection to work!

7. There are hardly any roundabouts so turning the wrong way is unlikely. Freeway entrances and exits are clearly marked and if you are tempted to take the wrong one they have large signs saying "WRONG WAY" so as long as you are not asleep you are unlikely to suddenly forget.

8. Probably should have started with the obvious...Californians drive on the right. It's easy to remember, even when you are turning left as the centre of each road is clearly marked with yellow markings, lane marking if there is more than one lane on your side are white. Stick to the right of the yellow and you're done. Narrow road signs in California rarely indicate a narrow road! Don't panic, the road will probably still have two lanes and will only be narrow if you are driving a huge truck. The speed limit may be reduced.

9. You can turn right on a red light if it's safe to do so (ie no cars are coming from the left ) unless there are signs to the contrary. All the road signs are pretty clear and self explanatory but there are a lot of them! Stay alert. U turns are also common unless signs say otherwise.

10. Parking spaces in car parks are bigger than here so don't panic if you have a big hire car. Some spaces are marked 'compact' and are for the smaller European style cars. Most car parks also leave spaces between the cars so you can get out! ( something the UK could learn from) I didn't park on street much but signs are clear as to where you can park. Do not park next to a fire hydrant.

And that's it! I had a fantastic time driving my Mustang Convertible, I miss it now I'm back home to my Fiat Panda. Let me know if you are going to be driving stateside, especially if it's for the first time, and if any of this has helped!

California

I don't know if I mentioned this but I just returned from a road trip with DD, in a Mustang convertible, along the Pacific Coast Highway in California.

Here are some photos you may have missed, and a few links to posts you may have missed too.

New favourite crisp flavour

Sea lions at pier 39, San Francisco

Elephant seals

My Little Pony - McDonalds....it was late, I'm lazy at finding restaurants

Venice Beach where I was chatted up a lot, thus proving the case for marijuana

Two Headed Turtle at the Freak Show

Freaks

Also on Venice Beach - a freak show, Wolf Boy Larry Gomez, nice guy, hairy

I haven't kidnapped a baby, she's the granddaughter of my Californian buddy

Californian Buddy doing selfies in the convertible with DD - I'm busy being sensible and driving

Swimming at the motel pool

Lunch at Neptune's Net

Breakfast at iHop

Driving

 And we are home. And it's raining. Already saving for our next trip.

Pop back to look at the travel blog posts I posted while I was there

The adventure Begins

Cruising along in my automobile

One Misty, Moisty Morning

San Francisco, fog, prison and sea lions

The one with lots of driving

Scream if you want to go faster in which our intrepid heroes visit Six Flags Magic Mountain

The wolf man - where we visit a freak show

We're gonna need a bigger boat - in which we go whale watching and see no whales

The happiest place on earth - Disney - where else!?

Some holiday snaps

Almost a silent sunday - some holiday snaps

A few snaps of my recent Californian Holiday for those that are interested

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The Happiest Place on Earth

After a day chilling, shopping and lazing about, we finished the day with a delicious dinner at Denny's, surprised me as much as you, I had the pot roast and it was delicious.

Then we went to bed early to prepare for a day at Disneyland.

We set off late-ish to miss the traffic around LA and arrived in time for an early lunch...brunch? So we popped into the Rainforest Cafe and had another lovely meal. M and I both had a chicken sandwich and DD had a burger, I sneaked in a Cheeta-Rita (margarita) as I wouldn't be driving for many many hours..hours of fun!

The park was busy of course but I had a disabled 'return later' pass (due to my Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease) so we didn't have to actually wait in the line, we could save the spot and return later. We started with Space Mountain and Ms screams and the look on her face in the ride photo were hilarious. We rode lots of fun rides, saw parades, looked around, I was genuinely happy...

Seeing so many happy little kids, girls and boys dressed as their favourite characters, princesses, pirates and a couple of big bearded guys with their My Little Pony themed clothing and toys....

I bought some Maleficent styled Mouse Ears and later bought a Minnie Mouse hoodie with ears...I think they put something in the water that makes you want to dress up...oh no, that's just me!

We took lots of pictures but they are all on my camera so I'll upload some later. We even went on the Small World ride again and I took a bit of video.

We ate pasta for dinner in the park, then went on Space Mountain again, did a bit more shopping and then left at about 11pm for a two hour drive on the freeway to the hotel. Finally in bed at about 1.15am. A long happy day.

Scream if you want to go faster...

After a trip to Walmart (something DD has been dreaming of, don't ask!) where I had the exciting

experience of having my credit card declined (the bank said I shopped too much so it looked suspicious! Ha!) we went to Six Flags Magic Mountain.

We rode on loads of fun rides, and used a flash pass so we didn't have to wait at all (yes we were those people you hate that walk to the front of the line and take your spot) The flash pass also allowed us to ride twice without getting off the ride, so mostly that's what we did. 

The rapids were DDs favourite ride I think, she rode them 4 times! I only went 3 times after. A huge wave went right over my head and soaked me to my underwear! So glad it was hot and we could dry off fast in the sun!

We also rode Goliath, a 255ft high drop with speeds of 85mph. Excellent fun. We tried the Ninja too, a suspended coaster that is really smooth, DD liked that enough to ride it 3 times.

The Apocolypse was a rickety fast ride past burning cars (so close you felt the heat from the flames) and great fun, though the Tidal Wave wasn't as scary as we thought it would be.

As we both love roller coasters we had a fun day trying them all out. A nice snack lunch in the park of chicken and fries, a souvenir cup full of raspberry tea (which DD was surprised to find she liked) and then after a day full of brain rattling amusement I drove to Camarillo, to our next motel and to meet up with my online friend M.

She popped round to the motel and we lay on the beds chatting and laughing and eating candy until late. DD was asleep almost before M said goodbye.

Saturdays plans include the beach....Venice Beach, and the freak show...

San Francisco, fog, prison, and sealions

So Wednesday was San Francisco. The morning dawned cool and misty, in fact it was trying to rain.

We took a trip in the morning to Alcatraz. Sadly the Golden Gate Bridge was shrouded in mist/fog so no great photos of the view. But Alcatraz was all I hoped. The "rock" is actually a pretty place, but the cell block, even when full of tourists, is cold, and eery. We saw the cells where famous prisoners were held, and where some escaped from. To stand in a tiny cell knowing people lived in that bleak space for years...part of me thought how it would put you off doing time ever again, but part of me thought that when you were there for year after year after year it would destroy you, and leave you feeling hopeless or violent with no real care as to what happened next. There was a library though, and book privileges, ... very noticeable that the rules and daily routine were spookily similar to the rules and schedule we have for DD ...how she laughed

Blogger Bear (on loan from Bigfashionista) dressed the part...he's not sure if he looks cool, cute or silly. 

We stopped for lunch after the trip, sitting on pier 39 admiring the sea lions as they squabbled and basked. Looking black and sleek when wet but cuddly furry and brown when dry.

We walked along the wharf, and after spotting the simply enormous queue for the cable car ride we decided to take pictures only, and walk up to Lombard street...

We spent some time first listening to the cable, discussing how the cable cars work, no engines or motors, with the cable always moving in the street etc, so all very informative and educational, and then the stroll..

It's one five blocks, how steep can it be? ... Very! I thought I might die, but we made it, took more photos then walked back to the car to leave for the next hotel...

Unfortunately hitting "rush" hour...so that was fun, we took the top down in the car and just patiently crawled out of the city over the Bay Bridge. 

Two hours later we were at the hotel, grabbing a McD to eat in bed and watching crime shows on tv. 

Next, the long drive south down I5.

The adventure begins

Well. It's zero minus 24 hours. Soon DD and I will be jetting off to California, economy class don't get too excited, and starting the driving and the fun.

I'm still nervous of disaster but DD is being amazingly calm and we have discussed that if things go wrong we will laugh and call it a "tale to tell".

I've done all the stuff I need to do except the online check in, can't do that until another few hours have passed apparently. Disney tickets have been bought and printed out though.

Blogger Bear (via @bigfashionista's blog) arrived at lunchtime. I had almost forgotten about him! DD was very excited to get him to try on some new clothes and have is photo taken for his passport. There is currently a Bear Passport Office in operation in her bedroom, scissors, glue and appear all over the place. BB seems happy but bemused. I hope he likes the trip and isn't airsick.

I've recorded a CD for the car. It's not great but better than nothing. LMFAO feature, as do the Monkees, and Katy Perry, there might be an Eagles track...

Poor Mr TM, who is not coming as he doesn't like that sort of thing, has managed to get a cold! So now he can't even drive us to the airport. He will lay at home snivelling and coughing while we get a taxi.

More news as it happens.

The Terrifying Girls' Trip of a Lifetime

Hollywood, LA, San Francisco, Trip of a Lifetime...





Maybe I'm bigging this up too much.

Having saved for over 5 years DD and I are leaving Mr TM to fend for himself while we jet off to California, grab our convertible and drive the Pacific Coast Highway into fun and fabulous adventure.


Well that's what happens in my head. In reality I'll most likely lose my luggage, miss the flight, find I booked the wrong car or the wrong hotel or or...

So that's how it is. I am both WILDLY EXCITED to be flying to LA in only a few weeks, to meet up (for a second time) with my online friend @MitziMimiMom. Excited to be eating in IHOP and TacoBell again (that may be DD actually - she's been pining for American food , I think she has forgotten how, after only 5 days there last time she begged "buy something with veg, I miss broccoli" LOL) We are excited for beer, and curly fries, for ice cream cake and American Football....

But also nervous of driving (first time I'll have driven in the States though I've been happily driving in the UK for 20-mumble mumble years) nervous of how to fill up with gas (I have the oddest fears, honestly - apparently in the US you pay first and this is freaking me out - how will I know how much fuel the car holds? How will I know what I need? What if the unleaded pump is not green (it's not) etc) What if there is snow on the high ground? I have no snow chains will I be arrested?? What if the satnav (GPS in American apparently!) I booked doesn't work? What if the maps I bought get lost or torn or wet...what if

But I'm defeating the nerves with planning. So far Trip Advisor has been my best mate. The reviews are hilarious. "This hotel lacks all basic essentials - there was no ice in the room" etc But having stayed at hotels I know what to really look for in a review (top tip on Trip Advisor is to read reviews from people that come from your country! We tend to share expectations!) So I haven't been totally put off by the odd one star review, (our first hotel has a 1 star review as the lady says her room was haunted! ace!) nor have I been totally swayed by the 5 stars... "I slept like a log" ok then...

I've booked hotels for most nights. I have planned a route. I've left bits in between to allow for my slow driving and unexpected stops to look at elephant seals and sea otters (sea mist permitting). I've planned days at Six Flags, at Disney, Whale watching, seeing Alcatraz. I've thought about museums, movie studios...but what have I forgotten?? Oh no...now I'm worrying again...

Checks passport dates for the 46th time, checks driving licence expiry, ticket etc

Do you plan for a trip? Do you worry? Or are you a relaxed traveller? I'd love to know!