[culdad]

as mark twain said..."the coldest winter i ever spent was a summer day in san francisco"...it is cold on the coast sometimes...sometimes not...it is a crapshoot...i would recommend going from north coast (s f) to south...that way you go from a probable cold climate to a warm one (l a)...i have done the ride many times in various kinds of open top cars...there are elephant seals roaming the coast almost year round now and they tend to come ashore randomly in the north...the best part of the ride is from monterey to moro bay...two lane twisties that are the most beautiful scenery in the world...san luis obispo area is a fun place to stay...take at least three driving days to see everything...monterey is great also but that is only a two hour ride from s f...monterey to san luis is about two more hours depending on driving style...san luis to santa barbara is another two + hours and into malibu and santa monica is another two + hours...but there is so much to see it is worth driving and stopping a lot...summer is the only way to go because you will run into more fun cars going both ways and the weather is way better...hitting the coast in the winter is brutal...cold and windy...i am in your demographics as well (62) and enjoy comfortable weather... i personally would skip the s f to half moon bay section...bay areans tend to clog highway 1 on weekdays with commuters...stay in half moon bay at the half moon bay inn on the first night...my grandfather built it in 1933 and it has been newly renovated..drive early to santa cruz and eat breakfast at the yacht harbor at aldos and ask for walter...he owns it and tell him two teachers jack and sally told you to eat there...going south on 1 from santa cruz to monterey is kind of uneventful but certainly beautiful...stop in castroville ( the artichoke capital of the world)...french fried artichoke hearts are amazing...if you stay in monterey the 7 gables inn is incredible view of lovers point...going past monterey there is the highlands inn in carmel...beautiful view of the ocean...if you stay in monterey have dinner at rocky point about 15 miles south on 1 at sunset...you wont regret it...watch for elephant seals along the part between monterey and san luis obispo...lunch in morro bay if you like fresh fish...shell beach past san luis is a great place to stay...good happy hour...next section is ok but nothing compared to the previous section of 1...until you get to santa barbara...all kinds of restaurants and shops on the main street of s b...follow 1 into malibu and on the left going south there is a little burger joint just north of malibu...name escapes me but the food and view are great...groopie hangout as well...if you have time you have to get to the rock store restaurant in the cobras...all kinds of cars show up and the road from the coast into the mountains is great and the view is spectacular...leno hangs out there on weekends and great place to run into wannabeespast malibu you are doing the l a thing and traffic on weekends becomes bad at times...not much to see either...just lots of water and traffic...i would recommend putting the cars back on the trailer and driving past long beach and getting back in going along 1 through newport, laguna beach, carlsbad, san clemente, and on into san diego if you have the time...the weather is outstanding and the sights and sounds of socal are incredible...shoppping is great to and the eating is wonderful...stop at charlies for lunch...any closer to the beach and you would be on it...kite surfers are unbelieveble...

keep us posted on your plans...i might join you for part of it...sorry for the long winded description but i guess you can tell it is my favorite part of the world