California, Here We Come

This morning, as I was surfing through the waves of airfares that rise and fall across the Internet, the West Coast emerged as a particularly well-priced destination at the moment. Southwest is currently offering one-way fares on select dates in January that start at $64 each way to Los Angeles from New Orleans. Frontier has one-way fares each way to San Francisco from New Orleans starting at $130 in January. Which means that for less than $200 in airfare, you could start burning up the vacation days that come with the new year by flying in to one of those cities, driving the legendary California coastal road, and flying back from the other. If you’ve never made this drive, it should be on your bucket list. On one such trip I still vividly remember my then pre-teen daughter repeatedly screaming “Keep your eyes on the road!” as we careened along the cliff tops over the ocean in a convertible. Keeping your eyes on the road amidst all this spectacular scenery is a challenge. Fortunately there are lots of roadside scenic view pull-offs en route. Be warned, these great fares come and go as elusively as the great waves sought by surfers, so don’t dawdle. Or if you miss it, wait watchfully like a surfer (I can’t help myself, I love this analogy) and another will be along. Both southwest.com and flyfrontier.com have helpful month view calendars to assist you in finding the best dates.