Expert: Ernest Tufft - 10/14/2006

Question
Do you think driving down the coast is better than driving up the coast?  I am going to try the coastal drive, but I was thinking driving up the coast would be better.  Let me know you thoughts.

Thanks,
Tom
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Followup To

Question -
Hi,
I recently retired eventhough I am only 55. I am planning to possibly relocate from San Francisco to Southern California as it is a little to cool for me in San Francisco.  I am originally from Atlanta, Georgia.  So, I wanted to do a driving trip to see parts of the state.  I want to drive the coast in one direction and then return another way.  I have been told that it might be better driving back to San Francisco via the coast highway as I have a passenger that is afraid of heights.  I don't want to drive more than 4 to 5 hours at one time if possible.  The places that I am considering for relocation are San Diego, Palm Springs, Laguna Beach and maybe Santa Barbera.  So, I would like you suggestions as to the highways to take, suggest places to stay and good restaurants to try.  I am planning this trip to take about 10 days.  Oh, I am also planning to leave on Monday 10/16/2006.

Thanks,
Tom

Answer -
Hi Tom,

Thank you for the question and congradulations on your retirement.  Bear in mind that by moving from SF you will lose great access to entertainment, but I can understand the desire to move to a warmer climate.  San Diego, Santa Barbara, and any of the cities between LA and San Diego, with Laguna Beach being just one, and all great places to live.  Palm Springs has promise for a winter retreat, but you will probably find it too hot in summer.  The newer option in this area is Palm Desert, a place my retired parents frequent in winter.

If you have a passenger whose afraid of heights, the coast highway will be terrifying in places as the coastal road hugs the pacific cliff.  This is a beautiful drivce though.  Hwy 101 is the alternative route, with several stops to visit missions along the way.  The Inland valleys between Salinas and Paso Robles appears much as they did when the padres walked the route, and so these missions are among the best in terms of authentic setting.  Most tourists traveling south along this route from SF will stay for a night in the Monterey Bay area.  A room in a Pacific Grove B&B is recommended, but you'll have to browse on-line to see what's available.  There are many great restaurants in the Monterey-Pacific Grove-Carmel area, and several are described at my Virtualtourist.com pages (atufft is my member name for search purposes).  From there, I'd drive to Paso Robles/San Luis Obispo area, where the wine country setting was made famous by the movie "Sideways".  There are also several very nice B&B's in this area, and though I'm less familiar with the restaurant scene, both Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo have no doubt several good restaurants in their small angle parking style downtowns.  Next stop, is Santa Barbara.  I don't have current hotel and restaurant information for this city, but there is certainly plenty to do for both college students and retired folks.  If you continue south through the LA madhouse, not particularly a good region for retirement although such was an original spur for the city's growth.  Laguna Beach is a good place to look for a house, if one has deep pockets or is selling one from SF, but again, I don't have specific recommendations for hotels and restaurants.  From Carlsbad south to San Diego, I'd stop and visit many towns, such as San Juan Capistrano, and look around.  All of these cities are growing fast, and all have plenty to do, and of course very pleasant weather most of the year.

In San Diego, the Mission Valley area is where the budget motels are, but this area is also crisscrossed by freeways and high speed boulevards, and so if you can afford it, I'd stay in the downtown area.  In recent years, San Diego's gaslamp quarter has revived the once sleezy Navy town, turning this into the best place to find the kind of restaurants that are commonplace in San Francisco.  Take a ride on the trolley, and consider a condo in the highrise buildings that have a view of the San Diego Bay.  Just like SF, San Diego does have fog most of June to July, at least in the mornings, while year-round temperatures average about 10F warmer than the Bay Area.  To avoid the late spring fog, I recommend looking for a house a little further inland.  San Diego is a beautiful city with communities divided by steep canyons where sage brush and coyotes still live.  Houses on the rim have great views.  I recommend looking for a good retirement home in La Jolla and Mission Hills communities, with the latter being above the fog line and conveniently close to downtown.  Even in the dead of winter, San Diego frequently averages in the high 60'sF, which isn't bad for North America.  When I was a student at San Diego State University, I used to wear thongs through the winter, although a sweater was required to beat the winter chills, particulary at night or in the morning.  In contrast to Atlanta or anywhere in Florida though, this dry climate is generally quite comfortable in hot part of summer, and so like San Francisco, few homes have A/C.

For the return trip, you may want to drive up highway 15 with a stop in Rancho Bernardo, before heading to toward Palm Springs/Palm Desert.  If your passenger is afraid of high altitudes, then the mountains dividing LA from the central valley are really not to worry about.  The freeway over the Grapevine is a terrific experience, but the absolute altitude is only a few thousand feet at most.  An alternative route, which also requires going over this low range of mountains, is 395 through Lake Arrowhead.  I'm rather fond of Hwy 58 between Barstow and Bakersfield.  Driving north on I-5, you can cross back over to Hwy 101 either by Hwy 46 (Wasco), which is mundane desert but not too mountainous. or by Hwy 152, which takes you from Gustine through the Pacheco Pass to Gilroy.  To avoid mountains altogether, you'll need to drive north on I-5 to I-580.

That's about all the information I can give you right now.  I recommend browsing Virtualtourist.com for additional information about all of the issues your are interested in...

Have fun,

Alan

Answer
Hi Tom, if you drive south on coastal highway 1 you will be in the lane closest to the coastal cliff, whereas if you drive north, you will be on the side away from the cliff.  Otherwise, I don't see much difference between the drive north versus south.  The coastal route from Carmel, past Big Sur to Pismo Beach will take awhile, turning and twisting the way south.  If you would rather do this on the return portion of the trip, I recommend arriving at the south end relatively early in the day.