CA Coast Drive - Too ambitious?
 

Short on time, long on ambition. Does it sound like this is a killer....
Fly into LA on a Wed at 11 AM. Drive to Cambria, stopping for lunch in Santa Barbara on the way. Thursday AM up early and drive to Andrew Molera State Park in Big Sur for horseback riding. Visit the falls, lunch at Ventana Inn & poke around a bit, and then head back to Cambria in time for dinner.
Friday, check out & drive over to Hearst Castle. Do 2 tours, 1 & 1/2 hrs each, and then back to LA. We have to be in LA on Friday night.
Okay, or will I want to drive the car over the cliffs?

It will all be great until you hit the Friday evening traffic gridlock getting back into LA -- but I'm not sure how you can avoid that. I think otherwise it sounds great, although I'm not sure I'd do two tours at Hearst -- I've done several and frankly I think one is enough. I'd be anxious to get started back and have a nice lunch again enroute.

Just a guess, but it will take you beyond lunchtime just to get out of the LA area with a rental car. Santa Barbara is an easy 2 hours or straight thru a little shorter. So lunch may be a bit late. Cambria is another 2-3 hours. You can do the round trip on Thursday, assuming you really do get up early. Hearst Castle is near Cambria, but it would be advisable to book your tours in advance.
I love Robin's in Cambria for eats. They have a takeout deli case. You could stock up for your drive up the coast just in case you don't make it to the Ventana Inn for lunch..

I agree with Patrick - getting on any freeway on Friday is a crapshoot. Plan lots of extra time to get back to LA if your return time requirement is serious, or you may find yourself very stressed and with nothing you can do about it. . .

Okay, so if I go to Pasadena instead of into LA on Friday, will I avoid some of the traffic? Patrick, which tour do you suggest? I was looking at doing the garden tour and then one of the indoor tours. And by the way, did you get the playbills I sent you?
mlgb - i will check out Robins. Did you go to Linn's as well?

Fri afternoons headed north to south can be manageable unless of course there is an accident or two or three. But if you have a dinner date or something, I'd leave San Simeon by noontime. The traffic pile-up is usually on the 101 freeway between Calabasas and Glendale so no, Pasadena won't avoid anything.

Friday has been addressed - but re Wed: unless you want to eat lunch around 2 or 3 p.m. I don't think it is reasonable to try that from an 11 a.m. arrival at LAX.

The rental cars are off airport, you have to wait for a shuttle, possibly stand in line for the car. Especially if you are checking luggage and have to wait at the carousel, I would not count on getting on the road until at least 12:30.

Linn's is an overpriced, glorified coffee shop. Not really my kind of food. I think breakfast is the only meal I would consider eating there.

I would think Friday heading east on PCH all the way into Santa Monica, would do you just as well as going to Pasadena. There is always a traffic jam around Santa Barbara so count on that delay.

It sounds great! We like the to-go items at Linn's, ollalieberry bakery goods and the chicken pot pies to take home. They really are very good.

Robin's is very good, we like the fish tacos there, another favorite for dinner is the Sea Chest and the Sow's Ear Cafe. ***kim*** ((*))

I'll match a Polly's fresh ollallieberry pie to anything from Linn's. But seriously, anything ollalllieberry is worth having. I think they might still be in season.

Where is Polly's?

We figure we will be on the road from Hearst by about 1:30 and end up in Santa Barbara at 3:30. We will just take a snack/stretch break and be back on the road by 4:00. Do you think it is reasonable that we could reach LA by 6 to 6:30ish?

Polly's Bakery Cafe is not in the Central Coast, they are a local pie/coffee/bakery chain in the Long Beach-Orange County area. Great fresh fruit pies in season (strawberry, raspberry, boysenberry, ollallieberry). Hof's Hut is another pie/coffee shop chain with great fresh fruit (strawberry/peach) pies.

I would be surprised if you can make it back to LA in that time frame on a Friday night if you stop in Santa Barbara.