Driving HWY 1 from SanFran>LA
 

And what's the drivetime like?

The wife and I decided to do this in sometime in September.

Any places we should stop and see along the way that aren't that obvious?

where are you coming from? and where are you starting at?

Flying into SFO from Dallas (not driving the S, unfortunately). Staying with a friend for a day or 2 in Monterey ... then doing the drive down to LA. I figured we would stay the night somewhere along the way, but not sure where yet (suggestions?). I was thinking Santa Barbara, but perhaps that's to far for an endpoint.

Also, I was planning on taking HWY 1 the entire way. But is it worth it during certain stretches? For example, should I hop on the 101 around Santa Maria and avoid Lompoc?

If your in Monterey then should check out the aquarium there. Its too bad you've missed the great white shark but its still pretty good.
If you get the chance to go wine tasting...the Santa Barbara area has a lot to offer.

I definitely plan on checking out the aquarium in Monterey and the wineries in Santa Barbara.

The wife is trying to talk me into driving up to Napa or Sonoma for a day or two to check out the wineries there. I realize that it's "wine country", but does Santa Barbara offer the same experience, or is a trip north a must-do?

Maybe some one else can chime in....

I'm not really a wine drinker...I'm just a booze hound. Anything goes down the hatch. There is excellent wineries through out CA. I was not really impressed with Napa. However...a real surprise was Kendal Jackson. They have a small vineyard there that contains all of the various types of grapes. They encourage you to taste them all right off of the vine and they explain the process from beginning to end. It really is cool :thumbup:

If you want I could get you some suggestions on which wineries to visit in either location. The girls go at least every other weekend.

Oh yeah expect to see some crazy drunks :LOL: Your either an enthuses or a booze hound. In fact my girl friends car is filled with wine glasses. Just pop it open, grab the right glass and your in for free. There is a million scams to get free wine out there.

You can try this one too. If you have to pay at the door, just blow by and when they yell at you just tell them you have to use the restroom. "Its an emergency!" and there you go your in.

Rob, I would love some suggestions.

... and that's hilarious :D

No problem. I'll get some for you soon. Just tell me where you guys want to go.

It looks like if we do head north to wine country, Sonoma is our first choice -- Napa is our second.

the aquarium is kind of lame. go to santa cruz beach its much better.