Portland, OR to San Diego, CA via Hwy 1/101

Hello

My husband and I are planing a road trip from Portland, Oregon to San Diego and want to drive as much of the Pacific Coast Highway as possible. We have 1 week, from Aug 30 (afternoon) to September 6 (AM).

With the exeption of the first night in Portland and the last night or two in San Diego, we pretty much want to avoid staying in the big cities. I've been to San Francisco before, and with the exception of a couple places in LA, I would rather spend my time near the Ocean.

I am looking advice on realistic travel times, road conditions, and things to see and do along the route. Also what kind of traffic can we expect? I've heard Oregon coast is horrible for traffic, but has this went down at all recently w/high fuel prices?

My initial stab at a rough time table is to drive from Portland to near San Francisco in about 2 days, with driving about 8 hours a day. Then drive to San Diego in 2 days, with driving about 4-5 hours a day. does this seem reasonable?

Things that that we enjoy are
1. Photo ops - I am big into photography, so if there is a part of the drive that is really beautiful, please share so we can be sure we are there during the daylight and/or don't skip it.
2. Eating - Amazing Resturant recommendations along the route will be much appreociated.
3. Breweries/wineries/food factories
4. Less-crowed beaches and places.
5. Shopping, but not cheap tourist souviner type of shopping.

Thanks a lot for any input. I look forward from hearing what everyone has to say.

LAURA

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Following the coast all the way south will be rewarding, but slow. These are not roads that are about getting anywhere in a hurry. It's around 1300 miles of two-lane road, often with speed limits in the 25-35 range. So I'd budget at least 3 to 3½ days for the driving, which would still leave you 2 days worth of time to spread out among your stops. Traffic in early September shouldn't be that bad as most tourists will already have returned home.

As for the rest, this drive will be one photo-op after another, but one that should not be missed (and easily can be) is this one. The only thing I can tell you about shopping are the places where my wife (God bless her) tells me to go entertain myself for hours on end, and on this trek that includes Carmel-by-the-Sea.

AZBuck