Need Help From Northern CA Experts!
 

I've lived my entire life in CAlifornai, but have traveled mostly in Central and Southern California. I want to drive to Ashland, OR to visit some relatives and make it fun for the whole family. (Sweet husband and boys ages 5,3, and 1 month!) So... driving from Pismo Beach... where should we stop to spend the night? Should we zip up the 5 or go the coastal scenic route north of the Bay Area? What would you do?

I live in Santa Cruz and have traveled the coast extensively. Much of my decision would depend on how the kids handle the ride. Driving up hwy 1 is spectacular, but the curvy road can be hard on some people. You may want to stop in Santa Cruz and spend a couple hours at the Boardwalk. The two older kids would enjoy it. Hwy 1 north of SF is beautiful, but will definitely take you a long time. Mendocino may be your cup of tea, but it's become much more commercialized in the past few years: Carmel north. Driving north from there to Eureka is also beautiful, but the kids and you may tire of the drive before long. We drove the other direction from Yreka to Eureka through the Trinity Alps, which is also a beautiful drive.

With children, you might just want to get to Ashland quickly and spend some time relaxing and exploring there. It's a charming town.

Thanks, you are probably being very realistic! I'll save the coastal trip for a time without the babies!

Next Wednesday, we'll be driving from San Francisco up to Ashland. I'm not excited about another trip up I-5, so did some research on times going up the coast instead. After realizing it just wasn't realistic to plan on doing the trip in one day along the coast, we're giving in to the trip up I-5, which should take about 5 and a half hours.
On the other hand, I'd include the drive up along the coast south of San Francisco, it's worth it, and really not that much longer in my opinion.

If it's between May and October, I'd frankly stick to the coast as much as I could conveniently. Especially starting from Pismo, I'd head up 101 all the way to Crescent City, then take US 199 over into Grants Pass, then south 30 mi. or so (okay, doubling back. So what?) to Ashland. You probably know this, but the central valley in summer is like the devil's anvil, and it gets no better north of the state line; Medford can be hotter than a pistol in summer. If you don't use SR 1 on either the northern or southern legs, 101 can be very fast, plus the redwoods will impress all in your car except the baby. If you want to spend one overnight en route, I'd pick someplace like Willits or Ukiah, from which the drive into Ashland the next day will take around 6 or 7 hours tops.