janisj

HTtY's whole list is terrific - but would take more than a week. That is the problem, you want to drive the entire length of the west coast . . . and over a major travel weekend.

So while all of those are 'musts' -- it would take 10+ days and two weeks would be even better. So some cutting needs to be done. Use the first part of HTtY's list and break it off at >>if time permits . . .

starrs

"I think HTtY has good ideas for our trip."

It IS a great list!

Pick and choose from it and you'll have a great trip.

Bobmrg

Have to disagree with janisj. My son lives in Suisun City, home of the Jelly Belly factory, and he commutes into San Francisco every work day. JB is not in Vacaville. From I-80, take the CA-12 east and JB will be on your right as you enter Suisun City....if indeed you want to spend any time there.

janisj

OOPS -- meant Fairfield -- while I was posting I was thinking about dearly missed Fodorite LoveItaly (who lived in Vacaville - and I often visited on my drive back from the JB factory).

Just had a moment of brain fade and typed Vacaville and didn't preview (would have caught the mistake immediately)

Sorry for the confusion - but the detour would still take quite a long time.

starrs

"but the detour would still take quite a long time."

I don't understand that.
Seattle -> Oceanside = 1,218 mi, 18 hours 12 mins
Seattle -> Suisin -> Oceanside = 1,241 mi, 18 hours 41 mins
*per Google maps

Add in Napa to the route (as recommended above) and it's a 17.3 mile detour. Google estimates 23 minute (at current time and traffic conditions).

I've detoured far more than 17 miles and a 1/2 hour to see something of interest, particularly along a 1200 mile route. 23 minutes seems insignificant. We detoured to Petaluma on a trip from Oakland airport to Glen Ellen to San Francisco trip because a crafting friend wanted to stop at a store she'd heard of. We enjoyed the detour and an unexpected parade in Petaluma. That's the beauty of road trips, seeing new places and fun things!

Jelly Belly Candy Co
1 Jelly Belly Lane
Fairfield, CA 94534

margotheangel

If I were doing this trip, I'd do Cannon Beach, Portland (Powell’s Books!), and the Redwoods but would skip Napa (ymmv - I grew up in a family full of wine fans and am not one myself). Since you said you didn't want to see San Francisco, I'd take one of the many routes around it and take Hwy 101 to Monterey (stopping at the aquarium there if I had time), Hwy 1 to San Luis Obispo (with a stop at Hearst Castle near San Simeon if I had time), and pick up Hwy 101 again there.

Possible timeline:
May 22: Drive to Cannon Beach (~4 hours driving)
May 23: Lunch near Multnomah Falls, drive to Portland (~3 hours driving)
May 24: Drive to Ashland, OR (~5 hours driving)
May 25: Memorial Day. Drive through Redwoods (~2 hours driving) and then on to Santa Rosa
May 26: Drive to Monterey, tour aquarium (~3 hours driving)
May 27: Drive to San Simeon, tour Hearst Castle, drive to San Luis Obispo (~3 hours driving)
May 28: Lunch in Santa Barbara, drive to Oceanside (~5 hours driving)

margotheangel

Oops, I gave the drive time to the Redwoods rather than the total time for May 25 - it's actually 7.5 hours, so I might stay a little further north than Santa Rosa - Ukiah, maybe? That'd give you 6.5 hours of driving on Memorial Day and 4 hours the next day.