Itinerant Air-Cooled

Hi Gang, especially y'all who hail or have hailed from The Golden State. Me and my wonderful family are going to Disneyland this summer... in the bus! Woo-freakin'-hoo! This will be one of those epic journeys that will be forever burned in our psyche. Hopefully for all good reasons. So anyway, I think I have a route planned that is family friendly (each leg not too long) and will allow us to take in the best scenery. If you will, take a look at my itinerary and if you're familiar with the areas, let me know if I've made good choices. Please note, all driving times are provided by Google Maps and are likely to be a tad longer given we're in a VW bus (albeit with a bitchin' freshly built 2.0L Type 4!).

• Day 1: Mill Creek, WA to Roseburg, OR. Driving time 6 hours.
  
  Day 2: Roseburg, OR to Vallejo, CA. Driving time 6 hours 30 minutes.
  
  Day 3: Vallejo, CA to San Luis Obispo, CA via CA-1 (Golden Gate Bridge) with lunch in Monterrey (aquarium, etc.) Driving time 6 hours.
  
  Day 4: San Luis Obispo, CA to Anaheim, CA. Driving time 3 hours 30 minutes.

So my specific question is CA-1? On paper (aka map) it looks like it would be a beautiful drive (redwoods, etc.). For those who have been, are there any pitfalls to this and is it just simply not worth it? I'm not categorically opposed to the Federal Interstate Highway System, but again, this is a family trip with the kids and I want to provide as many memories (again, hopefully positive) as possible. It's not the destination, but the journey!

Thanks in advance for your comments and suggestions.

dtrumbo wrote:this is a family trip with the kids and I want to provide as many memories (again, hopefully positive) as possible.

Route 1 is nice . . . :




. . . a little more challenging for the driver and the transaxle and the brakes and carsick children.

Interstates are nice too, smooth straight road at dusk while the kids lull to sleep:

The little bit of Highway 1 that I experienced was fantastic. Through La Honda, down to Santa Cruz then back to the bay area.


neal

Hyw 1 is magical don't miss the Big Sur coast line then cut inland to San Luis Obispo.

Redwoods are great. I spent most of my life living under them.

Born and Raised in Monterey :) I have done the Trip from the south (LA) to Monterey once. It took me twice as long. It was a beautiful drive though. Carmel has a "17 Mile Drive" Route you can take. They charge you but the scenery is beautiful along with the homes overlooking.

Sounds like a great trip. Everything except the part about Disneyland - I still have PTSD and flashbacks from the "It's a Small World After All" ride. The song will never leave your head.

Anyway, that is beside the point of where to drive. Hwy 1 south of Monterrey to SLO is fantastically beautiful. It is made for driving in a bus, but it takes longer than your estimate as you will rarely be going over 40 mph. Sharp turn, head down into the draw/valley, hit the brakes, downshift, sharp turn again and slowly accelerate up the other side, repeat. I haven't done the stretch from San Fran to Monterrey along Hwy 1, but I have it on good authority that it isn't as nice as the drive along the Big Sur coast. You might want to pick one or the other. The 101 is a good alternative to Hwy 1.

If you want a pit stop on your way with a shower and real bed, you could stop in Cambria instead of SLO. I have a little place there.

Tim

That sounds like a wonderful trip, and I hope you and your family have an experience to treasure for a long time to come. If I was in Vallejo and wanted to cross the Golden Gate Bridge, I would head out on Hwy 37 (Sears Point Road) and hook up with Hwy 101 in Marin. That way you go around San Pablo Bay and can avoid getting off the Fwy in Richmond to get to the GGB.

Hwy 1 is an amazing drive, but it is a long and twisty one. You do have some options on how much Hwy 1 you want to tackle. You could cross the bridge and stay on Hwy 101 to Hwy 156 to Monterey. Then take a break to have lunch and check out the Aquarium. Then you could hit Hwy 1 through the best parts of Big Sur and take your time. If you try to hook up with Hwy 1 right after the GGB, it could take up to 3 hours just to get to Monterey with traffic. And I think the drive is nicer south of Monterey, but there is very little of Hwy 1 that sucks....it really is a beautiful ride.

Coming home I would definitely take 101 as far north as you can. I5 is 2 lanes of nastiness from the bottom of the Grapevine and really doesn't get nice again until you get to Mt. Shasta.

I hope you and yours have many miles of smiles this summer!

bajaman72 wrote:"17 Mile Drive" Route you can take. They charge you.

Who charges you?
Coilin

This is all good stuff. Keep it comin'. I will duly consider modifying the route from SF to Monterrey to be via US-101/CA-156. I'm a little concerned about time on that day anyway so if I can gain some time on the front end, that will buy me some time for route 1 through Big Sur on the back end.

I sheepishly admit that this will be a VW bus trip, but not a VW bus CAMPING trip. We will be staying in modest motels each evening while on the road but the offer of civilization is greatly appreciated, Satchmo.

Sounds like a fun trip! Ten years ago, my then fiance and I flew out to San Fran, got married in Sonoma County, then drove along the coast all the way to Olympic NP. We took Highway 1 for a good chunk of the trip. Views were breathtaking, but man that road beat me up (and I was driving a spiffy new Subaru Forester - can't imagine how I would have felt in the bus). Tons of twists and turns - REAL driving!!! Just take your time and you will do fine - I think that was part of my problem - I was kind of in a hurry. It is NOT the road to take if you have an agenda!!!

Have FUN!!!

Amskeptic wrote:

bajaman72 wrote:"17 Mile Drive" Route you can take. They charge you.

Who charges you?
Coilin

They have a security gate there where you pay. Not sure if it's city, county, or park, or privately owned.

Off Wikipedia :" Part of it serves as the main road through the gated community of Pebble Beach. Inside this community, nonresidents have to pay a toll to use the road.

Like the community, the majority of 17-Mile Drive is owned and operated by the Pebble Beach Corporation"

bajaman72 wrote:Off Wikipedia :" Part of it serves as the main road through the gated community of Pebble Beach. Inside this community, nonresidents have to pay a toll to use the road.

Like the community, the majority of 17-Mile Drive is owned and operated by the Pebble Beach Corporation"

Man it must really suck being so hard up that you have to charge people to drive through your community.
Don't understand the attraction, really. A beach full of pebbles? C'mon.

On my trip down the coast last year, I veered off Hwy 101 to take Hwy 1 at the charming town of Legget. Although an awesomely beautiful drive, Hwy 1 took forever, for precisely the reasons others have pointed out. If you are at all considering taking Hwy 1 north of SF, plan to spend another day for travelling.

Unless you're in a hurry or have a specific reason to go that way, I'd skip most of that I-5 stretch between Roseburg and Vallejo. Hop off in Grants Pass and take Highway 199 from there to Crescent City and Highway 101 from there to San Francisco. Heck, maybe do your first night stop in Grants Pass and look up Barry ( justgimmiecoffee) since he lives there these days...

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