There is no ocean view (except for the Golden Gate) from St Helena/Napa until you get near Pacifica. That's about a 2 1/4 hr drive.

Then from Pacifica to north Santa Cruz it is a 1 1/4 hr drive with 90% very nice ocean views.

From north Santa Cruz to Carmel it is a 1 hr drive with about 15% ocean views (not very good ones, either, IMO).

So it's a 4 1/2 hr drive in no traffic - perhaps 5 1/2 hrs during weekday rush hours. Perhaps 25% ocean views.

Driving on 19th ave in SF and through Santa Cruz is not fun!!!

Stu Dudley

"...no ocean view (except for the Golden Gate) from St Helena/Napa until you get near Pacifica..."

Did someone say there was?

"...Pacifica to north Santa Cruz it is a 1 1/4 hr drive with 90% very nice ocean views."

Great views and by the time you get to Santa Cruz your eyes need a rest from the beauty.

"Driving on 19th ave in SF and through Santa Cruz is not fun!!!"

I don't mind either and certainly better than in & out of downtown

Now, nits thoroughly picked, it seems to be irrelevant anyway.

>> Drive with an ocean view almost all the way to Monterey & parts south.

Read in sequence, "...cut over to Hwy 1. Drive with an ocean view...".

Do you just enjoy arguing or are you really that (fill in the blank).

Stu, may I come look at the trees in your yard? Should be a highlight!

����

>>Read in sequence, "...cut over to Hwy 1. Drive with an ocean view...".

Those were supposed to be winks

I've been to NoCal and even if I haven't I think I can figure out where the ocean is!

Besides I'm more likely to consult a map than fodors when I'm actually behind the wheel.

"...someone without a map might be misled..."

Anyone asking a question here, if I may be so bold as to point out, has a map.

Good coffee: http://www.peets.com/stores/peets-st...tore-list.html

I was a regular customer at their first store on Santa Cruz Ave in Menlo Park, 40 years ago. Then there was Berkeley and now look! And the coffee is still good. There are, if I counted correctly, 25 locations in San Francisco and more in about every place you've mentioned so keep an eye out.

I started working in Menlo Park nearly 40 years ago - Peet's used to have roasting days, and the aromas from that location were so good!

So you know. I like my coffee strong but their coffee-of-the-day from the urn was brewed so strong they'd ask if you wanted room for milk, or hot water which I always did. I had a business on the Peninsula and on my rounds would contrive to regularly route myself past Peet's. Ah, the good ol' (very hard-working) days.

re: coffee: I'm actually not a coffee drinker myself, but many people here in SF are big fans of Blue Bottle coffee. They have a few cafes around the city, including one at the Ferry Building and one or two others downtown:
https://bluebottlecoffee.com/cafes

About 6 or 7 years ago when Blue Bottle hype was still sort of new (see http://fortune.com/2011/09/23/blue-b...ay-ever-drink/ ), I was at my tech start-up job one morning just when everybody was sitting down to their morning emails. I heard a collective gasp go around the room from just about every desk and a lot of excited buzz. I said, "What's happened? What's happened?? Did Google acquire us? Did we acquire Google?" Turns out the news was even more exciting, for the coffee drinkers anyway: our company had just sent us all an email saying we were henceforth going to have Blue Bottle coffee delivered to our office.

Dueling coffee! Peet's & Blue Bottle, both in the Ferry Building. Having never heard of Blue Bottle (I was out of the state for years and might be forgiven), I guess I'll just have to head over for a taste test. Then noodles at Imperial Tea for lunch. Between coffee & noodles I'll be "Sittin' on the dock of the bay
wastin' time".

I still want to see Stu's trees.

I had the Best coffee in NYC last month. I thought it was Blue Bottle but I can't recall. It was around the corner from Wall Street and at least I thought it began with a B.

Oh! Bluestone Lane coffee in NYC.

Soooo gooood.

Blue Bottle now has two locations in the Ferry Building - one inside and one outside.

>>I still want to see Stu's trees

Hi Flygirl, hope you don't mind me tagging on to your thread!

So what is the best way to drive out of SF towards Monterey, on a weekday? We are driving to Pismo Beach, stops along the way depending on weather (that fog that everyone has mentioned) and traffic. Would like to stop in Monterey for lunch, then in Big Sur, then onto Pismo. We don't mind getting to Pismo late, as we are staying for 2 nights.

And thanks for recommendations for coffee, have made a note of those!

To Monterey:

Take Hwy 280 south to Hwy 85. Once past Serramonte - 280 is a scenic hwy. Then when 85 south to Hwy 101 (not scenic). Then take Hwy 152 to Hwy 1 to Monterey & south to Big Sur/Pismo.

Stu Dudley