My boyfriend and I will be driving from San Francisco to Big Sur in August and would like to know if there are any interesting places to stop and see in between. I am thinking about the Winchester Mystery House and the Monterey Aquarium. Are these places too out of the way? Thank You so much for the help!

Skip the Mystery House (very ho-hum) in favor of the aquarium (http://www.mbayaq.org/).

Click on this URL to see a current thread about using Priceline to bid on a hotel in Monterey.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34417979

The Monterey/Carmel/Pacific Grove area is definitely worth at least one overnight--and you should spend a couple. Different orientations and things to see--you'll find it quite rewarding to spend some time there.

Personally, we love driving and stopping along the coast. It's pretty hard to beat that coastal geography between Santa Barbara and San Francisco, and it'w worth every bit of time you can give it. Got some pictures up at http://community.webshots.com/user/bookhall . I'm sure you'll have a great time--it's hard to go wrong....

The Winchester Mystery House is an interesting place to see. I would not say that it is "ho-hum." Of course, there are other attractions in San Jose that merit a visit, like the Tech Museum and Rosicrucian Egytiam Museum to name a couple of things. There's alot to do in Downtown San Jose, which is where the Tech is located. I also like the Monterey Bay Aquarium as well. None of these places are too out of the way.

Look at the following URLs for more information

www.sjdowntown.com

www.sanjose.org

www.monterey.com

Another vote for skipping the Winchester Mystery House. I went once, very boring, over priced odd ball house. The Monterey Acquarium is wonderful, my favorite is the jellyfish exhibit. IF you like techy stuff or IMAX theatre presentations, the Tech Museum in San Jose is a good one. If you go to the Tech museum, have lunch at E&O Trading Company an Asian Fusion type place on 2nd street, near the Fairmont Hotel. Los Gatos, a bit farther south of San Jose is a great place for unique shops and great restaurants. Also, there is a wonderful park there, Vasona, near Lark Avenue that is a great place for walking - walk around the Lake, lots of trails, etc. Kind of refreshing after a long drive.

If you take Hwy 1 all the way down, there are many coastal communities and beaches worth a stop.

* Half Moon Bay is a great town, nice little downtown with shops and restaurants. Also there are some nice beaches.
* Pescadero is very small, but Duarte's Tavern has great food - the ollaliberry pie is worth a stop all by itself. Butano State Park is just outside of town and has some really nice short hikes.
* Ano Nuevo State Preserve is just south of there.
* There are many great beaches along the way.
* Santa Cruz has a lot to do - the wharf, the Boardwalk, surf museum at Steamers Lane, a really funky downtown, more beaches.
* Capitola Village is really cute - it's several blocks of shops and casual restaurants right on the water.
* Seacliff State Beach in Aptos is nice. There is an old, half sunken cement ship off the pier. You can't go onto it or anything, but you can see it from the beach.
* Moss Landing has a bunch of antique shops as well as the Whole Enchilada restaurant and Phil's Fish Market which is very famous for their clam chowder. It used to be a little hole in the wall place, but they have expanded due to demand.
* Monterey - lots of stuff to do there - the aquarium, the wharf, museums, etc.

If you don't want to take the coast route all the way down, you can go through the Santa Cruz mountains instead. You could take Hwy 280 south to 85 south. From there you have a couple options.
* The longer more scenic route would be taking Hwy 9 through Saratoga and then over the mountians to Santa Cruz where you can pick up Hwy 1 and head south. You will go past Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Henry Cowell State Park, and several small towns along Hwy 9.
* The shorter route would be from Hwy 85, take 17 south and connect with Hwy 1 in Santa Cruz. If you want to take this route and still see some nice redwoods, you can take a short detour at Scotts Valley over to Felton to Henry Cowell State Park.

Which ever way you go, there are plenty of great things to see between SF and Big Sur.

Q would say that the Winchester Mystery House is a worthwhile stop. I guess that everyone has different tastes. When I lived in San Jose I would drive by the Winchester House almost every day on my way to and from work and always would see lots of tourists going to visit. It can't be all that bad. I 've been there a couple of times and I would recommend it.

The Tech is a great, as is the San Jose Museum of Art. I second Ellenbw's recommendation of E&O Trading Comapny. Other restaurants in SJ to consider would be A.P Stumps(American/Continental), Spiedo(Italian), and Scott's Seafood.

Just south of downtown SJ the Willow Glen area is a unique neighborhood with its own quaint "downtown" area along Lincoln Avenue with shops, cafes, adn antique stores. There are alot of cute cottage type homes in this area also. The Old Town area of Los Gatos is also nice.

I would not recommend taking highway 1 all the way down from SF to Big Sur. For one thing it is a very long drive (at least 5 hours without stopping along the way). In addition, the scenary along highway 1 north of the Monterey area pales in comparison to what you will see in Monterey and Big Sur.

I live in the area. My office is about 1 mile from Winchester Mystery House. Never been there. Have to do it sometime.

If you like the ocean, the drive down 1 from SF would be what you want to do. There is a new (2 years old) Ritz Carlton Hotel at Half Moon Bay with outstanding vistas of the ocean. Great place to stop for lunch.

Manterey Aquarium is worth the time. My favorite town in the area is Pacific Grove. They have some great Bed and Breakfast spots that overlook the Monterey Bay and Carmel is not that far away. Check out www.pacificgrove.org for info on hotels, restaurants, etc.

Another vote for taking the time to visit the Monterey Bay aquarium. Eat at the restaurant that is right next to it - great food. Also, I can't remember the name of it (or if it's even still there), but about 2 blocks in and a few down (or up!) from the aquarium, there was an Irish pub-like place that hubby and I really enjoyed.

Have fun! You're visiting a beautiful area of the country.

If you like nature would suggest stops at Big Basin Redwoods State Park and Bean Hollow State Beach just south of Pescadero. If you want more redwoods Howard Cowell Redwoods State Park just north of Santa Cruz. Just south of Carmel is a beautiful area, Point Lobos State Reserve. Unfortunately it closes before sunset.