We usually drive down every summer, going all the way to San Diego to visit friends who live in Carlsbad. The drive is great if you have a considerable amount of time for vacation. It's not recommended if you only have about 1 or 1 1/2 weeks. We usually do a 2 to 3 week vacation in the summer.
When we want to do the quick, aggressive drive, we usually do the I-5 with this schedule:
Saturday
5:30am...Get up and cross the border.
8:30am...Have breakfast in Tacoma.
11:30am...Have lunch in Portland, Oregon.
5:30pm...Arrive in Redding, CA, and check into Hampton Inn Redding.
6pm...Dinner at Red Robin in Redding.
Sunday
7:30am...Have breakfast (included at the Hampton Inn) and check out.
6pm...Arrive in Anaheim.
We usually stay in Anaheim for 4 nights, stay in Huntington Beach for 2 nights, and then head to Carlsbad for 5 days. On our way home, we stop in L.A. to shop at the Grove, Long Beach to visit the Aquarium of the Pacific, Sacramento for lunch at Mimi's Cafe and a brief tour, Corona for an hour to visit the Olive Pit, then off to Portland for a night or 2 to visit Powell's bookstore and Cannon Beach.
We have also done the leisurely drive using Hwy 101 where we stayed at various points on the Oregon Coast, stopped in at the Hearst Castle in San Simeon, Pismo Beach, Monterey, Santa Barbara, etc.
Lots of options, depending on how fast or slow you want to get there. Let me know if you want more specific info.