that might help me plan a trip from San Fran down the coast, eventually ending up in Las Vegas for the Off-Topic get together. I'm looking for something oriented to a driving enthusiast that won't ignore "must-sees." I've been to San Fran but to nowhere else. Thanks.

Start by going north on 101 to San Rafael. Cut over to Fairfax and San Anselmo to pick up Sir Francis Drake Blvd and go out to the coast at Olema. Turn north for a mile and then left to Inverness. Check out Point Reyes for the day and stay in a B&B in Inverness. Eat in Point Reyes Station.

Next day take Route 1 south through Stinson Beach and stop at Muir Woods for a short hike. Just before crossing the Golden ate, take the last exit and go up the road that is in all those car commercials. great view of the bridge and the city behind it. Down 19th Ave through the city and follow route 1 back to the coast at Pacifica. Follow route 1 stopping at beaches as needed. Eat at 3 Amigos in Half Moon Bay for cheap good Mexican food or Mezzaluna for pretty good Italian. There are other good restaurants in downtown HMB. More beach walks on the way to Santa Cruz. Try Pescadero State Beach or Gazos Creek. Some of the beaches will be shrunken by the winter storms. In Santa Cruz, get a quick taste of the local flavor with a walk up and down the Pacific St mall. Excellent Chinese food at O'Mei, just as you enter town from the north. Excellent Spanish/Argentine food at Costa Brava on Pacific. Beaches get broad and sandy south of SC. Check 'em out. Stay in Monterey and be sure to go to the Aquarium. Worth two hours easy.

Next day, get an early start on the Big Sur drive. Stop for a walk at Point Lobos State Park. Maybe have breakfast in Carmel(-by-the-Sea), a quaint town where you can smell the money. Big Sur is about a four hour drive if you take your time. Probably six hours with photo stops and walks. It's been a while so I could be wrong about the time. Stop at San Simeon (Hearst Castle) and take the afternoon tour you've previously reserved. Drive right the fvck through Morro Bay, which I dislike, and go to San Luis Obispo. Great college town. Eat at the Big Sky Cafe for healthy, tasty, fresh food. Maybe check out the Mission. Sleep at the Madonna Inn, where every room is decorated in a different theme. Supposed to be bizarre but fun.

Next day take route 1 down to Lompoc and then go out to Jalama Beach if you want a great windswept, remote beach thang. Or take 101 down to Los Olivos and Santa Ynez for some wine tasting. Avoid Solvang. Find your way to Santa Barbara. Check out downtown and the beach and the Museum of Natural History (or the Historical Museum) and the Mission. Eat at Taqueria Super Rica on Milpas St. No sign , so find the street number in the phone book. Really, really good authentic Mexican food. Reputed to be Julia Child's favorite local restaurant. When you're ordering, check out the tortillas being made fresh right there.....mmmm. Also good are Brophy Bros on Stearns Wharf for fish and chowder and Tupelo Junction Cafe for breakfasty dinery fare. Leave town on route 192, winding slowly through an amazing number of fancy homes. Take 150 over to Ojai and stay at the Green Iguana Inn. Ojai Valley Inn and Spa is great, but will be under renovation by then. Eat dinner at Suzanne's for top-notch fancy food. Very good fish. Ojai is in an amazing setting. It's at 700 feet and the Topa Topa Mountains, which surround it, go up to 7000 feet. Sort of an artist colony with lots of nice shops for ceramics, etc.

Next day, after your morning shopping, take 150 to Santa Paula, then 126 through Fillmore (where there's a dinky municipal museum) to Castaic Junction. You have several ways to get to Vegas from there, but I don't know that area. The key point about going through Fillmore is to avoid the LA area and it's traffic. I'd probably go through Palmdale to Victorville and pick up I-15 there.

Of course, that's the slow-boat check-it-all-out trip. The hammer-down two-day trip would be the same route, but skipping Point Ryes. I'd leave SF early and get to the Monterey Bay Aquarium when they opened, followed by a brisk drive through Big Sur to get to the last tour at San Simeon. Leaving San Luis Obispo, the next morning, I'd make quick stops in Santa Barbara and Ojai and keep on truckin' till I got to Vegas.

HTH-
-df

Thinking that a lot of time in the car may need to be off-set by moving my butt around a bit.