bheinemann I just got back from a 5 day tour down the CA coast. this was my first bike packing (hotel / credit card) tour since I was 18 (1978). I was going to strap bike packing bags on my C&V race bike with a tripleizer, but since Eroica CA was cancelled, I went with my newly purchased gravel bike.
The bike is a Ridley Kanzo AL. It had pigs of wheels when i bought it and 45 mm mixed surface tires. I swapped in my HED vanquish CF wheel set with 28 mm GP5000 tires, and transformed it. See the post gugie is putting together on C&V Touroica. My bike has a 2X subcompact GRX group, and I added water carying with Wolf Tooth B-Rad adapters, so I could carry 4, 750 mL bottles. I over packed (I was teased immediately on arrival at the start point) since I was worried about clothes, extra shoes,etc. for the 3 day stay at the end of the trip... but we made it. the participants all chose differently, showing there is no right way to go...

Front to rear:
Trek 520 with brifters and mechanical disk brakes. handlebar bar and small paniers in rear.
My Ridley, overpacked... frame bag, top tube bag, handlebar bag for DSLR, saddle pack and 2 5 liter fork bags.
Centurion (C&V) with large saddle and handle bar bags, (call it 10-12 liters).
Olmo, late 70s racing bike (racing gears what a hero Thor is!) with a rack and trunk bag, along with a hydration / backpack.

So find a bike you like, that you can put a reasoable load on, and go that route... this picture shows there is not a "right " way to do this!
BTW, I had a ball , and that short segment ~ 300 miles) was almost 20,000 feet of climbing!