Help Me Fix my Road Trip
 

I need advice on a road trip departing LA on 7/29/10.I have a reservation at Treebones in Big Sur on 8/3 and then Venice Beach on 8/6,7 and 8th.I know the dates are random but these are the dates that were available to book.My problem is putting together a road trip that hits the following sights :Sequoia N.P.,Big Sur,Hollywood ,Venice Beach and Ending in Huntington Beach for US SUrf Open and depart back to Texas on 8/11.Is this a salvagable trip that can flow comfortably?I am traveling with my adult daughter and nephew- any advice would be appreciated-imm running out of time and most VRBO are booked!We have high dollar tastes on a low dollar budget !Peace-lizbeth

I'm sure it can be "salvaged", but you haven't told us what exactly you want to include. San Francisco? Monterey/Carmel? Santa Barbara? Los Angeles/Hollywood?

For one and two night stays, hotels are going to be much easier to book and update/change than vacation rentals. Coastal accomodations are going to be all booked up if you don't finalize some plans in the next week or so.

So I see you have open nights for July 29th, 30th, 31st and Aug 1st & 2nd before you must be in Big Sur for your lodging on the 3rd. After that you have the 4th & 5th open until you must be in Venice Beach for the 6th, 7th & 8th then departing on the 11th leaving the 9th & 10th still unplanned.

I'd leave LA on the 29th and head for Hollywood staying for 2 nights if you wish. Then to Sequoia NP for the 31st, 1st & 2nd. On the morning of the 3rd you could head out to Big Sur for your accomodations at Treebones. If that's too much time in SNP you could always leave late on teh 2nd and drive to Monterey and spend some time there so that you get an early start to you day in Big Sur.

Now you have 2 nights to travel to Venice. So you can do that part pretty slow like visit Cambria nd see the Hearst Castle or stay in a place like Santa Barbara for the 2 nights before going on to Venice. After that you have the last 2 nights. Did you want to see San Diego or just hang around the Huntington Beach area?

Suzie has good suggestions, do SNP before heading over to the coast. Add Morro Bay to your list of places to visit.
If you are interested in history there are several historic missions along 101. If you like wine, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria and Santa Barbara all over many wine tasting/visit oppoprtunities.

So many great suggestions!I like the thought of going to San Francisco.Will I encounter heavy traffic?How long will it realistically take to get there?and is it worth the time to get there if I need to be in Big Sur on the 3rd.I know I shoulda just flown to S.F. And driven leisurly to LA but I got a great airfare without having to wake up at the crack of dawn:)Will I have difficulty finding accomodations w/o reservations and will I end up paying more if I try the Mom and Pop Motels?Are the roads difficult to manuever for a not so experienced 21 year old who hasn't seen anything beyond his Texas backyard?peace ya'll,lizbeth