<p>Really wis75 is right. I forget that the first time I did this trip (south to north) we were in San Diego mid-February and didn’t get to Seattle until early April. I also have done the LA to SF (plus Sonoma Valley) leg in about 10 days. I do recommend at least the SF to LA part of the coastal highway though, gorgeous drive. Second or third or fourth the recommendation to see the Hearst castle.</p>
<p>Also no matter what DO NOT TRY TO DRIVE FROM SB TO LA on Sunday afternoon. Or from LA to SB on Friday afternoon unless you want to sit in traffic.</p>
<p>There is a lot to see on this trip, but it is doable. You will have to limit what you will do. Obviously you won’t be able to do the whole state of Washington, just Seattle. </p>
<p>I visited San Fran three times before going to Berekely. Really a smelly old college town, though the drive back in the hills is nice. Stanford has the Cantor Museum, at most two hours - it has a nice traveling exhibit now about a Bedouin tribe in the Sahara that makes leather items for Hermes and other crafts. There is the Hoover Tower if you are a history buff and some science things, but you didn’t say it was a college tour. Palo Alto has nothing else. San Jose is yucky.</p>
<p>Carmel and Santa Barbara are pretty towns for rich people. You could just drive through them, especially if you stop at Monterey. Malibu is also worth a drive through. Traffic around Santa Cruz at the wrong time can also be a disaster.</p>
<p>LA - yuck. Other than Huntington’s, there isn’t much there, unless you like phony glitz and traffic. Maybe some disco hopping with Paris? Rodeo Drive if you like high end shopping, and I do admit Beverly Hills is worth a drive through to be awed by the mansions. Maybe Santa Monica for a couple hours to watch the bodies.</p>
<p>You will be in the car a lot. There are all kinds of things to do in SD and La Jolla. You won’t have time to do everything in each locale.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice, mom60 - I will print it all out! Thanks for the warning about Sunday afternoon traffic. We were going to go to LA Sunday morning and drive back to SB in the evening. Do you think we’ll be okay with that? We actually leave from LAX Monday noonish, so we’ll have to drive back down early Monday, but we have to take S2 back to SB Sunday, so will stay there again that night.</p>
<p>I looked at some online tourist sites. I love the idea of whale watching, but I’m not sure we can afford $88 x 3. I did see that the French Festival is in SB the weekend we’re there, so we’ll plan on spending Saturday at that.</p>
<p>We spent a week each in the Seattle and Portland areas, so you’re going to have a lot of ground to cover.</p>
<p>Just a few bits to add to all the advice you’ve been given so far.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I prefer Sonoma to Napa for the wine country in this area. </p></li>
<li><p>You can also see many small good wineries around San Luis Obispo when you visit the Madonna Inn (I don’t know of any other place like it). Great zinfandels and other reds; Peachy Canyon is an excellent winery in that area.</p></li>
<li><p>If you can’t get a great hotel price via Priceline, I recommend looking at a number of good motels on Lombard Ave. not far from the Golden Gate bridge. They’ll have parking (you’ll need a car for the wine country and/or Marin trips).</p></li>
<li><p>A great short drive is to go over the Golden Gate Bridge and drive along the Marin Headlands. Take the first exit after the Vista Point (Alexander Ave.), turn left under the highway, get back on the highway towards the bridge and take a right just before you go onto the bridge (look for the brown sign). The road takes you along the hills, across from San Francisco, with the best views of the city and old WWII fortifications (stop at various spots). At the top of the road, park and walk around for more views. You can then either return the way you came or continue along that road (great views of the ocean, but a knuckle-grabber) and follow the signs to Rodeo Beach. Then head back along the main road down the middle of the valley.</p></li>
<li><p>It may sound kitschy but I recommend a Gray Line bus tour of San Francisco. Hits a few high spots, no problem trying to park in popular areas.</p></li>
<li><p>You might find it cheaper to rent a car in the city than at the airport.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Highway 1 going southbound puts you on the cliff side of the road. Gorgeous, but if you’re squeamish, take a deep breath. Especially if it’s foggy. The view is worth it. Big Sur is a must stop. The Apple Farm in San Luis Obispo is a pleasant place to stop for a lunch or dinner break.</p>
<p>Highway 154 is a short cut off 101 into Santa Barbara; I think you hit it around the Buellton area. Don’t take it on weekend evenings, however, as there have been a number of tragic accidents due to people leaving the Cold Spring Tavern (a great place to stop for lunch!) intoxicated and killing themselves and/or others on the way down the hill.</p>
<p>Binx, you won’t be disappointed in the Music Academy. The grounds alone are so lovely and the summer concerts get good reviews. If possible, avoid coming the first week of August. Many locals actually leave town that week to avoid the crush of tourists and uninhibited locals who get carried away by the annual “Fiesta” celebration. </p>
<p>If you must drive to LA on a Sunday, leave by 10 am or after 7 pm. And if you’re going to be on the 405, God help you, because nothing else will.</p>
<p>Also, I think it’s a bit out of season for whale-watching, but if you go to Arroyo Burro (Hendry’s) beach which was previously mentioned for the Brown Pelican restaurant or Butterfly beach across from the Four Seasons in Montecito or maybe even any of the beaches, you may see dolphins frolicking no more than 100 yards from the sand.</p>
<p>Binx—the nicest place on a Sunday afternoon in LA is the Getty Museum.
(The new Getty not the Villa). Make a reservation for lunch (online) and request a window seat. Not only will you enjoy a fantastic lunch, but the view
is one of the best in Southern Calif. Richard Meiers architecture is splendid and the museum is worth the trip just to take in Manets “Bar at the Folies Bergere’” (visiting for a special show)</p>
<p>Looks like we can avoid 405 to get to Anaheim. But to get to the airport Monday morning, Mapquest says to take 101 most of the way, but then 405 for 13 miles. Looks like we could also take 1 from Oxnard, or from several other points along the way. Would this be better? Or do you think Monday morning will be okay?</p>
<p>Binx. The dreaded 405. Ugh. It completely depends on the time of morning. If you hit it at around 9 a.m., you should be fine, and you can take far left-hand carpool lane. If you need to be on the road earlier than that, plan for at least 3 hours from Carp. to LAX, minimum. Actually, I think you should get a hotel near Disneyland for Sunday night and go to the airport from there. It’s way too much driving to go from Anaheim to Carp and back to LAX in 24 hours. Trust me on this one. We live near Carpinteria and H’s parents live minutes from Anaheim. That will be 3 hours.</p>
<p>Oh, and I forgot to mention. Taking Highway 1 from Oxnard down to LA is a good idea. It’s a gorgeous ride along the beach, but traffic can be stop and go… lots of stoplights through Malibu.</p>
<p>twinmom, if you can swing it, rent a convertable! Take the coastal routes from SF down to Santa Barbara and then from Santa Barbara to Malibu. Gorgeous. (Takes longer than the Highway 101, but probably worth it if you can find the time.)</p>
<p>Oh, and bring sweatshirts. All along the coast, the fog does tend to roll in during the summer mornings and evenings.</p>
<p>Definitely drive around the Olympic Peninsula! It’s a “temperate” rain forest, and is so green and beautiful–huuuge trees you can walk inside, moss hanging from them like fairytale trees. When we saw the brochure for the area, we ditched Seattle and took the ferry over the next day. </p>
<p>Newport, OR has a great aquarium. See all sorts of sea life (fish, mammals, & birds) in its natural habitat.</p>
<p>You could drive up Mt. Hood to the lodge at the tree line, tho that has probably receded along with the other glaciers. Layers of sweatshirts definitely needed!</p>
<p>Woah … so many ideas and so much to think about. We will go over this thread carefully tomorrow to make a decision. It does sound like we need to zero in on what we really want to see on this trip.</p>
<p>I don’t mind the chill at all - nice to escape from the humid, sticky east coast … especially after this week.</p>
<p>We did see Sideways a while back. It would be fun to do the wine country and eat at the restaurant featured in the film.</p>
<p>Momof2inca - We did contemplate renting a convertible! Have to look into that …</p>
<p>Now if I didn’t have two in college and three years to go, I would contemplate just taking a much longer trip and seeing it all. (Oh, wait …that’s what they call retirement, right?)</p>
<p>I’ve driven the length of New York State so many times (and the length of Maine) that I figured California would be doable in a week. However, there’s apparently a lot less to see in upstate New York than up and down the California coast. </p>
<p>No theme parks on this trip - no kids - have done Disney World in Florida so we can skip Disney in CA. And after twenty-something college tours two years ago … there won’t be any of those. (I’d be tempted to peak at Stanford and UCLA just for the heck of it, but my husband would definitely not consider that vacation material!)</p>
<p>I think that the majority of CCers really are on the west coast. I wonder why.</p>
<p>You folks are all great … please keep the suggestions coming.</p>
<p>Twinmom, I don’t know about all the others who posted here with advice but I’m not on the west coast. We’ve just visited many times! :)</p>
<p>Midwest mom here…we just visited once and had a lovely drive down from Seattle to San Francisco. I’d love to go back.</p>
<p>Nobody mentioned the Giant Redwood forest, actually, Redwood National Park in northern Cal near the Oregon border so I thought I do. You will pass through it on drive down from Seatle. It is so awesome and puts you in a different state of mind. </p>
<p>And while you are staying in San Francisco, how about a side trip to Yosemite ? It is unforgettable. One of the wonders in the world.</p>
<p>Carmel/Monterrey/17 Mile drive are must see.</p>
<p>Nothing much in LA unless you like the hollywood glitz. You can take a star tour I think they have tour starts in front of the Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. After that do, how about drive west and visit UCLA. </p>
<p>Tip: the exit to the Marin Headlands that gives you gorgeous SF bay view is called “The Golden Gate Recreation Area”. First exit after the bridge going toward Sausalito (nice town too), turn left and look for the Golden Gate Recreation Area.</p>
<p>Enjoy!</p>
<p>CLASSIC! San francisco ethocentric.“nothing much in LA unless you like the hollywood glitz”
jeeeeeeeeeesh. Patsy in LA.</p>
<p>Binx: this is not the best whale watching season (February-March is best).</p>
<p>twinmom: 50+ year resident of the westcoast here (born and raised in the LA area, college at UCSB, grad school at UW) so I’ve seen it all. </p>
<p>Tell me: are you into outdoorsy things (big trees, hikes, views?) quaint towns with little shops, “attractions” in the city? </p>
<p>That will help us narrow down the recommendations for you :)</p>
<p>I love to plan road trips, so give me some guidelines…</p>