The responses to the PCH planning have been fantastic. I saved a few myself and we head out that way yearly.

A couple questions I didn't see answered.

While Trip One at Hearst Castle is recommended for first timers, and you can't go wrong with any of them, we liked Trip Two better. We've done one, two and three and I think there is a fourth during the summer that is a night tour.

Yosemite is probably the most hauntingly beautiful place we've ever seen. I'm not sure where Sunnyvale is, but it's about four hours from Monterey to Yosemite. Four hours from Yosemite to San Francisco. But, is Yosemite doable in December?

Driving Rt 1 between San Simeon and Carmel is absolutely breath taking. You're also going in the right direction, north! We did south once and you have the sensation of hanging over the Pacific Ocean in a few spots. Heart stopping curves are not high on my list of fun things to do, so we've driven north ever since by going south on 101, west to Cambria/San Simeon, spend a night or two (two is good!) and then north on 1.

Best wishes for a wonderful trip,

Peggy