West coast drive
 

My family of 4 is planning a two-week driving trip from San Diego to Seattle. What are the "Must Sees" and best places to stay along the way?

The costal drive on Highway 1 From Morro Bay to Monterey is nice. Stop at Pt Lobos. I think it is one of the top 3 places on the California coast. I would make a stop in the redwoods for a hike. The entire coast of Oregon is fun. Have not traveled much in Washington. It is a long ways to go in 14 days. Have Fun!

San Diego zoo and the redwoods are definate "must sees" for your journey

Stop in Cambria, CA, take the coastal drive and have lunch at the Moonstone Cafe. They have outdoor dining overlooking the ocean. Then take a walk along the fairly-long boardwalk along the shore.

Make Pt. Reyes National Seashore one of your overnight stops and take a day or so to hike and explore. There are quite a few B&B type accommodations in the area. The towns where you'd want to check for lodgings are Pt. Reyes Station, Inverness and Olema.

The whole route is pretty much a nonstop &quot;must see&quot; for everybody. Aside from the big cities (each of which will have dozens of &quot;must sees&quot; on their own), the not-to-miss highlights IMO include the Hotel Del in Coronado; the SD Zoo; Balboa Island/Peninsula (for a glimpse of the luxe life in SoCal); Disneyland etc. if you must; something around Hollywood; Beverly Hills; Santa Monica-Malibu; Santa Barbara (downtown and especially the Mission); Highway 1, both the southern and northern (N. of San Francisco) portions, including stops at Hearst Castle, Big Sur, Point Lobos State Park (near Carmel), then Mendocino on the northern portion; cable cars, Chinatown, Fort Point and the Golden Gate Bridge in SF; the Redwoods; the southern and central Oregon coast (State line to Newport, roughly); either the Olympic Peninsula or the Columbia Gorge (both is better); and some of the islands in Puget Sound. Detours or alternates could include the Shakespeare festival in Ashland, OR, Mts. Rainier and St. Helens; Napa/Sonoma valleys; and on and on...<BR><BR>Two weeks will barely scratch the surface.

hwy 101 &amp; the Redwoods. Golden Gate Bridge

Sea lion Caves in north of Florence, OR (west of Salem). Natural caves with hundreds of the critters.

Monterey Bay Aquarium to see the jellies. Fantastic. The kids will really get a kick out of them. Hearst Castle. Santa Cruz Boardwalk and Pier. Stay on Highway 1 exclusively. All 14 days will be a blast. Astoria/Fort Clapsop and then Long Island in WA. Can I join you?

14 days is not enough time to do this trip. All you will be doing is driving. It took us 14 days just to get from San Francisco to San Diego and we didn't even stop in LA. While doing all that driving you WILL see some great scenery and if you can find the time, here are the other highlights for a trip with kids: San Diego Wild Life Park, Disney Land (if you've not been to Disney World), Hearst Castle (reserve tour 1 in advance), SF (cable cars, Alcatraz and Golden Gate Bridge), redwoods, haystack rocks at Cannon Beach in Oregon, Mount St. Helens and Seattle (Pike Place Fish Market, Space Needle and Underground Tour). Have Fun!