# Driving north from LA to Santa Cruz this Sunday. Best road: 5 or 101 ? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 28, 2009, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-north-from-la-to-santa-cruz-this-sunday-best-road-5-or-101/491060 "2009-03-28T03:08:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-north-from-la-to-santa-cruz-this-sunday-best-road-5-or-101/491060/21 "2009-03-30T01:01:39Z")
> [@Snnipe\_70E](#): > > Os 80 across the salt flatts We just made a trip east on 80, and found Nebraska even more boring than this. Much worse than 5. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-north-from-la-to-santa-cruz-this-sunday-best-road-5-or-101/491060/22 "2009-03-30T01:06:32Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Are there elephant seals there now? We saw them at Ano Nuevo one Thanksgiving, before they restricted access. Our kids never have forgiven us from having dinner a day early and dragging them there to see the pre-mating rituals. This at the time consisted of the seals laying on the beach not doing much of anything. Yep, there is a rookery at [Piedras Blancas](http://www.beachcalifornia.com/piedras.html). It’s a good thinkg they restricted access because people walking up to the seals: [list=a][li]stresses out the seals,[_]puts the people in danger from a bull protecting his harem or a cow protecting a pup, and [_]is completely unnecessary and intrusive.[/list][/li]Of course, the seals don’t do much; they lay around pretty much as you describe, occasionally flaking sand on themselves in an attempt to block the sun. But they’re still cool. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-north-from-la-to-santa-cruz-this-sunday-best-road-5-or-101/491060/23 "2009-03-30T18:54:51Z")
So, how did you go? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-north-from-la-to-santa-cruz-this-sunday-best-road-5-or-101/491060/24 "2009-03-30T19:51:47Z")
Just arrived in San Francisco, after driving up from Santa Cruz this morning. Yesterday’s trip from LA to Santa Cruz was great. We got on the road from West LA (around Santa Monica Blvd) at about 9:45 (on a Sunday, that’s pretty good for us) and took the 405 to the 101, which we followed to San Luis Obispo. That was just on 200 miles, and took just under 3 hours, which was fine. We stopped for gas and coffee in San Luis Obispo, and were back on the road at 1:15. From there, we decided to take 1 north along the coast, and it was definitely worth it. There wasn’t too much traffic, and even in areas where there were some other cars, the main restriction on speed was the terrain and the road. On some of those switchbacks, you can’t travel very fast anyway, even if you’re the only car on the road. The only place where we ran into appreciable traffic was the last 20 minutes or so before Monterey, around Carmel. But even there, it wasn’t bumper-to-bumper. We pulled into our friend’s place in Santa Cruz at 4:50, so it took just over three and a half hours from San Luis Obispo. I reckon taking 1 probably cost us less than an hour, and the scenery and the weather made it worth every minute. It was a beautiful sunny day, with a good breeze, and everything looked great. We’re looking forward to doing it again in July, when we have a wedding to attend in Carmel. This time, though, we’re going to leave enough time to tour Hearst Castle. Now all we have to look forward to is next Sunday’s drive home. Because we have to make the whole SF-SD drive in one day, we’ll be taking 5 the whole way. Thanks again for the advice, and i highly recommend 1 over any other route, if you have a bit of time and don’t mind some windy roads. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-north-from-la-to-santa-cruz-this-sunday-best-road-5-or-101/491060/25 "2009-03-30T19:54:33Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Thanks again for the advice, and i highly recommend 1 over any other route, if you have a bit of time and don’t mind some windy roads. Yay! +1 for my favorite stretch of concrete in the world 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-north-from-la-to-santa-cruz-this-sunday-best-road-5-or-101/491060/26 "2009-03-30T19:56:49Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > I HATE I-5. It is the most boring stretch of road…_in the world_. You have obviously never driven across West Texas. ---
**Author:** ![Hedda\_Rosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hedda_rosa/32/1204_2.png) [@Hedda\_Rosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hedda_Rosa)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-north-from-la-to-santa-cruz-this-sunday-best-road-5-or-101/491060/27 "2009-03-30T19:57:11Z")
mhendo did you get to feel the earthquake here this morning? It was centered in the South Bay but could be felt in the city. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-north-from-la-to-santa-cruz-this-sunday-best-road-5-or-101/491060/28 "2009-03-30T20:25:23Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > You have obviously never driven across West Texas. …or Kansas in its entirety. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-north-from-la-to-santa-cruz-this-sunday-best-road-5-or-101/491060/29 "2009-03-30T20:40:19Z")
[QUOTE=Voyager] . Plus, though 152/156 from 5 to 101 is better than it used to be, it is still a miserable drive, especially on a weekend. [/QUOTE] 152 is \*\*vastly \*\*improved now that there’s an actual junction at 152/156 at Casa de Fruta instead of a stop sign and a miles-long line of cars all doing illegal “courtesy” stops as if it was a 4-way stop. However, it is still only a meandering two-lane road between the junction and 101. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-north-from-la-to-santa-cruz-this-sunday-best-road-5-or-101/491060/30 "2009-03-30T23:58:26Z")
> [@Hedda\_Rosa](#): > > mhendo did you get to feel the earthquake here this morning? It was centered in the South Bay but could be felt in the city. No, didn’t feel a thing. A search of the web says that it occurred at 10:40 am. At that time, we were on 17 between Santa Cruz and San Jose, on the way to drop a friend at San Jose airport. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-north-from-la-to-santa-cruz-this-sunday-best-road-5-or-101/491060/31 "2009-03-31T00:04:32Z")
Actually, having just spoken with my wife, i suspect that we may have felt the effects of the earthquake without realizing it. Right about the time it happened, we had just come down the mountain from Santa Cruz and were about 10 miles from San Jose Airport, on 17. The trees were whipping around in the wind, and i commented to my wife and my friend that the wind was quite strong. A few minutes later, i felt the steering wheel and the car move sideways, and i had to grip the wheel to prevent us moving into the adjacent lane. At the time, i assumed it was a particularly strong gust of wind, but i guess it might have been the earthquake. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-north-from-la-to-santa-cruz-this-sunday-best-road-5-or-101/491060/32 "2009-03-31T06:26:34Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > We just made a trip east on 80, and found Nebraska even more boring than this. Much worse than 5. Oh thats bad. I found the first 5 minutes interesting. but the same thing for what felt like hours. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-north-from-la-to-santa-cruz-this-sunday-best-road-5-or-101/491060/33 "2009-03-31T07:31:31Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > 152 is \*\*vastly \*\*improved now that there’s an actual junction at 152/156 at Casa de Fruta instead of a stop sign and a miles-long line of cars all doing illegal “courtesy” stops as if it was a 4-way stop. However, it is still only a meandering two-lane road between the junction and 101. I read Mr. Roadshow devotedly. I’ve never been stuck in the real jams, but it is a rotten road even at the best of times. Best thing about 5 - we stopped at a restaurant which had hundreds of old lunchboxes around the walls. Food wasn’t bad either. I forget the exit, though. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-north-from-la-to-santa-cruz-this-sunday-best-road-5-or-101/491060/34 "2009-03-31T17:47:32Z")
1. People keep saying it takes way longer than 5 but that’s not been my experience, and 101 is way, way, way nicer a drive. I’m never taking 5 anywhere south ever again. Plus 101 skips the Grapevine, so I can get between SF and LA on one tank. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-north-from-la-to-santa-cruz-this-sunday-best-road-5-or-101/491060/35 "2009-04-01T01:57:33Z")
> [@Snnipe\_70E](#): > > 101 most of the way you will be safe traveling around 70. Trafic should not be a problem. It is possable that it will drop down to 60 outside of Salinas. But if you switch use San Maguel Road to go to Watsonville that is about 5 miles out of Salinas. Holy crap someone else knows where Watsonville is, I grew up there. Oh and its San Miguel Road ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-north-from-la-to-santa-cruz-this-sunday-best-road-5-or-101/491060/36 "2009-04-01T05:19:32Z")
I know where Watsonville is! It’s the other place where strawberries come from before the stands open here. I used to love to read Mr. Roadshow when we lived in San Jose…sometimes I wish we had one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-north-from-la-to-santa-cruz-this-sunday-best-road-5-or-101/491060.md?page=1)