Okay, we leave Saturday to do the famed central coast drive (San Diego to Santa Cruz)and the forecast is for rain storms all week long. Are we nuts to still plan on doing it? Any suggestions for indoor activities in Santa Barbara and Monterey with two kids? I'm tempted to just head towards Arizonia for the week instead. Thanks!

Well, the drive shouldn't be bad unless you were driving down Hwy 1 and then it would be pretty slow with the fog.

The Aquarium in Monterey is worth visiting ..

The SB Zoo is quite cool (I'm a univ student and I love it!) even though it is outdoors. However, the animals are generally more "alive" when it is raining. I visited a zoo while it rained and the animals were really enjoying themselves.

No, you're not nuts! The road will be fine in all but the most biblical of downpours, and the coast shrouded in mist is very beautiful. As long as it's not actually pouring at the moment, you'll still be able to walk along the beach, explore tidepools in Asilomar (which will be great after a rain), look for otters, wtc. As for indoor activities, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is the biggie, you can easily while away a day in there.(Btw, did you see the post about Sedona in the rain--it rains in AZ, too!)Good luck!

I'd make the drive, like E said, unless it's a rainstorm of biblical proportions, the road will be fine. It rarely rains all day long on the coast, usually for an hour here, 30 mintutes there, clears up for a little while, rains again for another hour. The scenery should be beautiful with all those cloud formations and different lighting.

I definitely wouldn't consider switching to AZ either...we were there last month and had 5 straight days of rain and cold in Tucson!

The weather forecast is for showers/possible showers which is somewhat different than winter rain storms, so the coastal drive will be OK. It is quite likely that there will be clear periods -- in the Bay Area recently when there has been forecasts for showers they have been very light and mild.

Definitely do the drive. I would not let some potential rain discourage you. As already mentioned, in Monterey the aquarium is a must see. The Carmel Mission is also nice.

Regarding the weather forcasts---
In the past 6 weeks we (northern California) have had several predictions of "rain showers next 3-4 days" What really happened was rain showers for 1-2 hrs with periods overcast or sunshine off and on during days.
Don't let predictions chage your plans...

Thanks for the encouragement guys! I admit I panicked, when I heard a weather report last night and then confirmed it on weather.com. However, the forecast has already changed for less rain. Some rain I can deal with, I just don't want a whole week of it. I guess I am spoiled living in sunny San Diego.

If anything, some cloud cover will make the drive easier on the driver.

Less glare from the pacific = less eyestrain & fatigue for the driver.

Wonder how this went. It poured in Northern CA all weekend starting Friday night. Not typical April showers. Both 80 & 50 were snowed in and required chains for travel. Lots of new snow in the Sierras.