I just did the drive from west SJ to west LA and back again a couple months ago. I took I-5 down and Hwy 101 back home. Hwy 101 took slightly longer, but not much and it was definitely a nicer drive than I-5. It's freeway or 4 lane highway the whole way, so it goes pretty fast. I was by myself and did the drive in one shot.

The San Luis Obispo area is a nice place to stop over night if you want to, but past that, there isn't much until you get to Salinas and by then you are already almost to SJ anyway.

I kind of like Solvang - it's kischy and fun. Some people don't care for it though because it is definitely touristy.

Cambria is a cute place on the coast with lots of galleries and shops. Harmony is tiny - I believe at last count there are 18 people living there.

Neat! Its around 5 hrs drive up to LA-SJC.

I really want to explore Big Sur. I just check some neat shots and videos of Pfeiffer beach and Big Sur State Park.

What are things to do in Solvang for few hours? Is there a quick checklist/to do list for this drive?
cheers

Cambria has Moonstone Beach which is lovely. Lots of shops there, we like the Sows' Ear Cafe for dinner and the Moonstone Bar & Grill for lunch and breakfast. Cambria is very relaxed, a great place to unwind.

I've been to Solvang once, we left after a couple of hours. We went through the Hans Christian Andersen museum and there's a few shops. Lots of little Danish pastry places. I was interested in staying at the Storybook Inn which we toured. It looked very nice but I was bored after a few hours in Solvang and we went back to Cambria. ***kim*** :)