CA coast driving ?'s

[disykat]

I'm trying to get an idea of how long it takes to drive down 101. Would I be able to do Eureka to SanFrancisco in one day? How about Monterey to Ventura? Both are about 275 miles in distance. Obviously we'd be making a few stops for scenery, but probably very few due to the distance.

The way I have my trip laid out, I'm trying to spend most of our days in San Francisco, San Diego, and Anaheim - but still try to get in a little bit of the coastline, seeing the CA redwoods and Monterey area. It works on paper, but I know the reality of slow driving along the coast may be different.

Any help is appreciated!

 

[disykat]

Okay, I changed my mind. I think we'll try to do a day from Monterey to Solvang instead. Then we were have to make it from Solvang to San Diego in one shot. We won't be stopping in LA though, we'll do that on our way back up north. Does that sound workable?

 

[honeymom]

It's definitely doable, but I'd opt for Santa Barbara instead. Further from Solvang, but more interesting/nicer IMHO.

 

[Lissete]

We haven't been to Santa Barbara but we did go to Solvang. Only as a pit stop though. We drove from SF to Yosemite then to Monerey, Cambria, Anaheim, LA. I agree that there is not much to do in Solvang but it does have clean public restrooms everywhere! We walked around for a bit & bought some sweets then were back on the road.

If you are interested, my full trip report is on my blog. You need to click on July 2006 on the side bar then scroll all the way down to I think July 1st or so.

Have fun!

 

[disykat]

Thanks, both of you, for your help! The only reason we thought of Solvang was because we were looking for something in the area and it was way cheaper than continuing on to Santa Barbara! We may stick with it because I think we'll be tired and ready for an early night. We're kind of curious too, because Solvang is often compared to the "Norwegian style" town where we live.

I'm off to look for Lissete's blog!

 

[Judy from Boise]

San Luis Obispo is another nice choice to overnight.The Madonna Inn is a crack up!

 

[tracys2cents]

Marinabeachmotel or MasonBeachInn for Santa Barbara........I agree not to waste time in Solvang if you're already pressed for time. Neat little bakeries & gift stores but that's about it.