Take 1 south via half moon bay to san luis obispo, after slo take 101s... if you just take 1 than that will take you about 10 hrs but if you mix it up than you will spend around 6-8hrs... this is a very scenic route, u will see santa cruz, monterey bay, big sur, san luis obispo, beach towns, and etc... just an awesome scenic route... things to do in LA... getty museum!!! awesome view of l.a and santa monica... admission is free but you havta pay for parkin ($8), universal city (parkin $10 and dont forget your id because after 10pm there's a curfew), PASADENA!!! (check out the nepalese/tibetan restaurant, if not there r plenty of good places to eat at and stores to shop at), VENICE BEACH (you get the vibe of the early 90s), don't forget to eat at PINK'S HOT DOG!!!, sunset blvd, and other places the guys above recommended... well have fun in the trip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! for sf, go to marine county and check out muir woods... I5 takes 5 hrs --- i have driven this freeway 10000000000 times and it pretty much sucks... close to kettlemen city, you will see 10000000000 cows and u will probably smell their shit from miles... but ofcourse it's a good route if you have no time but the semi trucks will annoy the shit out of you... 101s takes 6 hrs --- you catch the traffic after you hit santa barbara... 1 takes 10 HRS --- you won't have a constant speed and after a while it gets annoying but this only applies if you're the only driver...