Hi, My husband and I will be in Paso Robles for 5 days and will be spending 2 nights in San Francisco before flying home. We have done this before and took the highway. Should we take the extra couple of hours and do the scenic route this time? Also, I am 5 months pregnant, will we be able to find bathrooms on this route? Thanks

Take Highway 1, which happens to be one of the most scenic drives in the U.S.A.

We have never had a problem with finding a rest room. You will find one in Cambria, at the shops in Gorda, at the Ranger Station south of Big Sur, at parks, etc.

Highway 1.

If you have to, take a mason jar.

I meant to mention that if you take Highway 1 from Santa Cruz through Half Moon Bay, look for the Starbucks in a strip mall on the ocean side of the road in Half Moon Bay.

We did have a problem. Our driver had to run off behind a rock. But he knew that the area is usually deserted. I was kind enough not to use the camera

It was somewhere between San Luis Obispo and Cambria, I think. Some stretches of Hwy 1 are long with no stopping areas.

Your driver apparently didn't--like me--descend from a line with a nose for where the rest rooms are.

The basic strategy is to go every time you spot a rest room rather than wait until you need a rest room and there isn't one to be had.

CAAA: Get a map of the shoreline between Paso Robles and San Francisco. Then mark off every restaurant and every state park along the strip from Cambria to Carmel.

There are restrooms in every single one of those locations. Some are nicer than others.

Have a great trip! It's a beautiful part of the country and try to avoid the morning fog.

thank you all! I am having AAA put together a triptik with stops to make. We are going to wake up that morning, see how I am feeling, and take it from there...

This site lists Hwy One spots in order, south to north, with distances if you click on the individual links.
http://jrabold.net/bigsur/roadb.htm

Congratulations on your pregnancy! Hwy 1 is definitely a must-see, but you also need to think of your comfort level. It's a loooong, curvy drive. You may want to do just part of it and then cut over to 101 for the rest of the trip.

Another thing to remember is that in the summer, 101 can get very hot and therefore uncomfortable for a pregnant woman. My husband and I took 101 one summer and it was over 100 degrees. With our dog in the car and no air conditioning, we quickly exited at Salinas and took 1 the remainder of the way to his folks house. One of the smartest moves we've ever made as it was at least 20 degrees cooler.