Thanks for all your comments/posts!
Thank you everyone for your rich comments. Very very helpful, I have to say, you folks sharing your thoughts, I'm learning a lot about an area I know not too much about (I am much more familiar about the desert than the coast).
For example, I haven't even thought about the view aspect prathmann or valygrl was mentioning (that you see only the Ocean in the far when you go south north) or the left turn back into traffic going north from the view points. In hindsight, it makes a lot of sense.
@Cyclesafe: Are you sure about some campsites closing for good? I was actually planning to camp along the trip, e.g. Morro Bay, perhaps camping is a bad idea now.
@valygrl: Did you also notice that the shoulder going south north direction is thinner than the opposite direction? I have a friend of mine who said he vaguely remember reading an article somewhere in a magazine/paper that mentioned that not all bike lanes/shoulders are created equal, that the south-north has far wider shoulders (bc everyone is going that direction).
@sstorkel: I had exactly the same concern going after Labor Day that I might get caught up in the fog (I have seen many ppl post pix of their foggy trips). I thought the key might be to time it just right -- not too late after Labor Day, but not too close to Thanksgiving. When did you go? Was it already in October?
@Booger1: I'm not sure you where you started your trip (maybe LA)? So the strong 35++mph winds you encountered to get to the campsite, assuming you started from LA, that was you heading north facing southwind, right? 35mph is really strong.
@Pat from CA: Thank you very much for your insights about the route, esp your insights re Salinas Valley. I had a strong suspicion that this was an uninteresting route from looking googlemaps, but you definitely confirmed this and I will head that advice.
@Carbonfiberboy: I was thinking for some time about getting aerobars, regardless of going headwind, thanks for reviving the idea. Obviously, I never used one. One concern I have is about how quickly you can react, change position to get to the brakes. At the same time, aerobars must be much more comfortable and help you attain a far more streamlined position. Is you changing position to reach to the brakes quickly something you just got used to quickly or did it take some time?