Down the CA coast

We will be in san Francisco March 16th. I think we will go on the shuttle tour on the 17th then spend a day on our own. Looking at going down the coast Mar 19th. Thinking about taking 2.5 days to arrive in Hollywood on the 22nd or maybe night of the 21st?? I thought I would leave accomodation open on the way down the coast so we can poke around. Is this a good idea??; if not where should we aim to stay on the nights of 19, 20, 21. What should we try to see on the way down! Thanks Corbetts

Down the CA coast

Since you%26#39;re traveling on 19,20,21 (which is Sunday, Monday, Tuesday) on the way down you%26#39;ll be fine with finding lodging. You may or may not get the best rates that way....but there is usually plenty of lodging to be found.

There are several excellent posts on this trip from San Francisco to Hollywood....so look for those in the forums. In general here is a list of the highlights:

Santa Cruz (Nice area to walk out on; since you%26#39;re driving on the week-end, the boardwalk will be open during the day and worth a walk through . No charge to walk through.

beachboardwalk.com/01_hours_directions.html

Continue down the coast to Monterey.

Top attractions there:

1) Fisherman Wharf

2) Perhaps a boat ride

http://www.montereywhalewatching.com/

3) Aquarium

4) Ocean area by Pacific Grove (pretty drive)

Carmel/Pebble Beach

1) 17 mile drive (note: there is a charge for this)

2) Carmel stores, art gallery, and beach

3) South of Carmel - Pt. Lobos (do stop here)

http://pt-lobos.parks.state.ca.us/

Continue south from Carmel to San Simeon/ Cambria

(Note: You will want to have 3-4 hours of daylight before driving this stretch if you do not already have reservations. There is a lodge at Jules Pfeiffer State Park if you want to reserve a spot for the night.)

1) Big Sur Area - gorgeous if its clear and sunny

2) Jules Pfeiffer State Park (do plan on taking some of the walks here - there is a lodge where you can pick up additional information

San Simeon

1) A few miles north of Hearst Castle there are elephant seals - do stop here and watch for a while

hearstcastle.org/visitors_center/elephant_se鈥?/a>

2) Hearst Castle - If you have not seen it before do go on the tour. Tour 1 (Tour and Movie) is good to see.

3) Continue down the coast (a few miles) to Cambria...Restaurants, places to stay, art shops in this area. (Note: There are also Paso Robles wineries if you drive the road between Cambria and Paso Robles...

winecountrygetaways.com/paso-robles-wineries鈥?/a>

4) Continue down the coast to Morro Bay....lots of motels here so also a good place to stay for the night if late in the day. Morro Rock is fun to see; there are some shops, Dorn%26#39;s for lunch or dinner is a good way to enjoy the views of Morro Bay.

http://www.morrobay.org/

5) Continue down the coast to Pismo Beach...

Fun fishing pier to walk out on; shop; places to eat (also lodging here.)

http://www.classiccalifornia.com/

6) Continue down the road until you see the turn off for Solvang. This will allow you to see the pretty area here and still make your way to the road again to go to Santa Barbara.

http://www.solvangusa.com/

There are also wineries in the Santa Ynez Valley. http://www.syvva.com/

7) Santa Barbara:

a) Beaches

b) Downtown area (museums, stores, restaurant)

c) Stern%26#39;s Wharf (santabarbara.com/points_of_interest/鈥?/a>

d) Santa Barbara Mission

santabarbara.com/points_of_interest/mission/

Have fun planning your trip!

(Note: for the 2 nights....I%26#39;d plan to get at least to Montery or Jules Pfeiffer State Park (reserve lodging in advance if you stay here)

www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=570

and as far as Cambria/San Simeon/Morro Bay/

or Pismo Beach area on the 2nd night.

Note: It really will depend how much time you spend on each place..so you might get further down the coast. This is just the minimum place you should stop at for the night....

to see most things.

Have fun planning your trip.

Down the CA coast

WOW!!! Mini REALLY gives a FANTASTIC line up of the coast drive!!!! But forgot San Luis Obispo (where I live). We will be the connecting city between Morro Bay and Pismo. We boast a GREAT university and a GREAT downtown area!!! Lots of cute boutiques and tons of great resaurants--everything from sushi to pizza.

Since you will be going through it on your way south regardless of HOW you go, it%26#39;s worth a peek, at least to drive through downtown. Besides, we have bubble gum alley--the only one in the world!!! I also hear it%26#39;s going to be partially destroyed due to earthquake retrofitting, so you had better see it while it%26#39;s still here!!! (On Higuera Street between Garden and Broad Streets in downtown SLO. ) ESPECIALLY cool for any kids in your family.

As you%26#39;re coming in from Morro Bay if you decide to drive through, continue on HWY 1, which becomes Santa Rosa street. Then turn right onto Higuera Street--a beautiful tree lined streets with all kinds of cute boutiques--truly one of the few citys that still has a healthy downtown. As you pass THROUGH the downtown area, it%26#39;s easy to hop back onto the 101 to continue South.

The Madonna Inn will be on your right AND if you haven%26#39;t seen that it%26#39;s quite a historical monument, complete with Madonna Pink (you%26#39;ll get what I mean when you see it), but they have a FABULOUS bakery and the men%26#39;s room downstairs is WELL worth the stop. I%26#39;m pretty sure they have a website for the Madonna Inn, so check it out.

Enjoy our beautiful California. We were in Nova Scotia last Oct and it was beautiful and VERY welcoming people too!!! (San Luis Obispo has welcoming people too!!)

鈥?and have a pastry in Solvang for me!!!

sloduck :-)

Oh!!!! This is just incredible - THANK YOU! If you want to keep going - we are then going to Hollywood - what should we see there for sure? Only for a day or 2 - then over to Grand canyon and Zion NPs then back to Vegas.

I personally don%26#39;t think Hollywood is that big a deal. The walk of fame is there but I%26#39;m not sure what else there is to do or see. Universal Studios theme park is nearby. They have several rides, a tour of their backlot sets, stunt show, animal show, a quick course on special effects, etc. It%26#39;s a lot of fun. Warner Brothers is also close by and offers a tour of their studios. Its a little more intimate then the tour at Universal as the groups are smaller. No rides just the tour. If you%26#39;re there during the week you might see a few actors. (Gilmore Girls and Joey are filmed there). Call ahead for reservations. You can find out more about both these places at their websites. Have fun.

Hollywood for a day:

1) Universal Studios and City Walk

2) Catch a movie at Grauman%26#39;s Chinese Theater...

Grauman%26#39;s Chinese Theatre,聽Hollywood -this is really pretty theater and is the place where Hollywood has seveal of their movie premiers...

3) Hollywood walk of the stars (its several blocks - usually a 10 minute walk is fine unless you%26#39;re really into this type of thing.)

4) Hollywood Entertainment Museum

Not in Hollywood but an equally fine way to see some really wonderful Hollywood nostalagia about Westerns is the Gene Autry Western Museum (across from the Los Angeles Zoo.). This place is quite fun for a couple of hours....

If you don%26#39;t go to Universal, take another studio tour such as Sony or Warner Brothers.

Enjoy one of the fine restaurants there and if you want to see the lights of Hollywood have a drink at Yamashiro (Pricey but the view is nice.) (Note: Its touristy).