We take the same route you do coming back from Sacramento. Hardly ever drive straight home on the 5 unless we need to save time. Stop over along the coast for a night and running Pepper on the beach late in the afternoon and early the next A.M. Just last week we we spent a few days near Moss Landing. Actually in a small house in Watsonville where you could walk down a farm path to a wide open beach with no one around. Dog heaven.