OK, Highway 1, North to South, an embarrassment of riches.
A genuine GPS is a must, as cell-phone signals can be sporadic.
September is usually our Indian Summer, so (touch CFRP) the weather should coöperate.
(I am assuming you will not be in a BEV i3, as that would be a whole new realm of endeavour. If you are, there is a DC fast charger tucked behind the Safeway in Pacifica).
Princeton, just North of Half Moon Bay is home to Mavericks, if drowning is your thing, else you can down a Mavericks Ale and a burger al fresco at Half Moon Bay Brewery, very California.
HMB is OK, and the brunch at the Ritz-Carlton is pretty swank, but be sure to fast beforehand and wander the cliffs afterward.
Just South, thumb your nose at Vinod Khosla by strolling his "private" Martins Beach.
Pescadero has Duarte's, pie heaven.
Then there's Pigeon Point lighthouse, with adjacent Youth Hostel, and a Prohibition history of smuggling, shades of Cornwall.
Four miles down, Highway 1 Brewing, a somewhat austere nano-brewery.
Then Año Nuevo has tons of stinky macho Elephant Seal blubber slapping each other silly, but not so much in September.
Santa Cruz has its funky charms, and a wooden roller-coaster.
Pretty boring till Monterey, with a very fine aquarium, plus one can kayak in the bay and commune with the life aquatic. Then Pacific Grove, just getting discovered, and, of course, 17-mile drive (beautiful coastline, trashy mansions) and super-cutesy Carmel.
The Tickle Pink Inn, just South of Carmel, would be an entertaining place to overnight, even if you are not on honeymoon.
A few miles South is Garrapata State Park, stroll down to the beach or hike 3½ strenuous miles up to Rocky Ridge overlook, quite literally breathtaking.
Never get tired of Bixby Bridge.
Then Big Sur: Post Ranch Inn is for the 1%ers, a picnic on Pfeiffer State Beach for the rest of us. I am partial to the deck at Ventana, though Nepenthe is fine.
Settle in for a long rollicking ride, with more Elephant Seals at Piedras Blancas, then Hearst Castle, that epitome of American kitsch, I can never get enough of it.
Morro Bay and Montaña de Oro State Park, worth a look-see.
Madona Inn, just because.
Now, for a special treat, try out the aptly-named Camino del Cielo, starting at Refugio Pass (by Ronald Reagan's old Western White House at Rancho del Cielo), ignore the strident warning signs and follow the very rocky ridge past a radio tower on towards Santa Barbara. Some years ago I jostled a 325i along here, and the undercarriage still has the scars to prove it. Speaking of Saint Reagan, once you are entranced by the sublime Getty Villa head inland and ascend to the ridiculous Reagan Library on a hilltop above Simi Valley, a temple straight out of Monty Python, complete with reassembled Air Force One (Casper Weinberger sat here!), a slab of the torn-down Berlin Wall (thank you, Mr. Gorbachev), and seemingly every boot and belt buckle Ronnie ever wore. It has everything but his hair dye; I tell you, Scientology's got nothing on these folks.
From Safeway to Simi, enjoy!
