It seems to me I heard somewhere that Bert Hyman wrote in article
:

In oups.com "Richard
Fangnail" wrote:

Is I-5 devoid of sights by design?

It is an Interstate, after all.

If there were interesting sights and family places, traffic would be
slower. Is that why there is nothing on it except gas stations, rest
stops and drizzly weather?

If you want scenery, look to the west and take Route 1, but be prepared
for a much, much longer trip. Maybe US 101 is a compromise; I've never
driven it.

I'd consider US 101 a reasonable compromise, though we don't know
Richard's starting and ending points. It has always seemed to me to
allow roughly the same speeds as I-5, but because of the layout is
probably enough longer to affect the traveling time. There is fairly
good scenery in some areas, and the route passes some places with
history as well as the Salinas Valley agricultural areas.

The mountain stretch between Paso Robles and Santa Maria always seems
longer to me than the equivalent stretch over the mountains on the I-5,
FWIW.
--
Don Kirkman