Old habits die hard, I see the number 1 and something sez PCH. I hope to change my ways...

No you're not wrong, it ceases to have a name in Santa Barbara when there is no "old" road, only the 101. Then north of Gaviota State Park when the "old" road forks off it is named Cabrillo Hwy - still the one as in 1.

Then near Tomales Bay it's the Shoreline Hwy, near Bodega Bay it's the Bay Hwy, near Jenner I remember it being the Coast Hwy, near Mendocino again the Shoreline Hwy...

Dang, where's my Ritalin?

Thank you all once again! I still don't know exactly what to do, but now I definitely have a lot of helpful information to process. Leaning towards Big Sur, but one more question - are the trees in Muir Woods as impressive as the Sequoias in Mariposa at Yosemite? The redwoods are the one thing I am most looking forward to seeing.

There are two kinds of redwood trees, sort of like the Laurel and Hardy pair.

The ones at Mariposa (inland) are shorter and fatter.

The ones along the coast are taller and leaner.

Two different kinds of trees, two different experiences.

Lots of the coastal variety in Big Sur too, although Muir woods is a wonderful introduction, which is why it is so popular.

Suppose you landed at Long Beach airport and got a car at 5:30PM - at rush hour. You could be checking in to your Disneyland neighborhood hotel by 6PM, maybe 6:15PM. You'll be in the carpool lanes.

Fly into Orange County airport and probably get there sooner. From LAX, I would add 30 to 45 minutes.

There are lots of motels and hotels and restaurants around Disneyland. They attract lots of tourist families. And tour groups. Lots of kids. Your kids could make some new friends. It is a family friendly area. I think that some of the hotels have shuttles between the hotel and the park.

Have dinner, spend the night, commute 5 minutes to Disneyland and spend all day there if you want, then back to the hotel. Repeat.

I believe Pfeiffer State Park Big Sur)is currently closed and may not open this summer due to California's budget woes, so you'll want to take that into consideration.

The Pacific Coast Highway would still be a beautiful drive regardless.

A little more info on the trees. There are coastal redwood groves all up and down the coast from Big Sur north, the largest groves being well north of SF. The groves far north of SF also have the largest groves of old growth trees (never been logged - where the massive trees live). There are smaller groves of old growth trees around the SF area that were protected before the loggers got to them. Muir Woods is just the most well-known place to see the redwoods because it is so close to SF, but they really are all over. I've got a couple in my back yard and I live in San Jose.

My favorite place to go to the redwoods between Big Sur and SF is Big Basin state park, which is in the Santa Cruz mountains.

November_moon, is there a particularly good "spot" you like to visit at Big Basin (I've lived here 35 years and I hate to say it, but I've never been there) -- I'm thinking if it doesn't rain this weekend (hah!), it would be a good time to visit.

I've been to both Big Basin and Henry Cowell....both are beautiful! The things I remember most about Henry Cowell was the albino fern; Big Basin~the mosquitos! The California coastline is spectacular. Your kids might also enjoy the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk; the rides are not on par with Disney, of course, but it's a fun place that's right on the beach.