With a elementary age child, the airports are akin to a root canal. SNA airport still literally is bribing passengers off almost any flight. LAX is LAX.
The Train is a pipe dream making air travel look cheap, not to mention timely. Not really interested in going to the grand canyon and having to disembark at 4AM.
Which leaves the car… and California seems to be the land of perpetual traffic jam anywhere were the population exceeds 12.