First of all ý would lýke to thank to all of you sharing your suggestions with us and taking time to give information.
We had great 2 weeks in California and it was one of our best holidays we ever had.
We spent our first 3 nights in San Francýsco and loved the city.(We would like to come back)We stayed at Canterbury Hotel(union Square).The hotel was not very clean and old but the location was great.We had no car.First day we walked starting from Powell street /Chinatown/Nob Hill/Russian Hill/Fishermans Wharf/made the Alcatraz tour and had lunch at Pier39 and then back to Unýon Square.The other 2 days it rained heavy.(2 days we had our breakfast at Espresso Cafe-powell Street).Second day we took Munis(The drivers were so funny people)
and also buses (Visited Marina,Castro and Misson)We had to leave for Carmel on the 3.day and rent a car in the afternoon ,drove to Golden Gate park and through Golden Gate and the Lambordine Street.After leaving San Fr we drove to Monterey visted Bay Aquarýum and had great lunch at Fishermans Wharf then drove to Carmel(Made the 17 Mile Drive)We stayed at Best Western Carmel Misson Inn which was great with big rooms ,free parking..etc.We drove through Big Sur and
Next Place was Santa barbara .We arrived at St Valentine's day.We had our dinner at Main Street(We had no reservations but we had no problems finding a nice place for dinner)The breakfast at Pier(Mobby Dick) and drove through city and loved the city.It is a very very nice,romantic,lovely place.(Another place to come back )Next place was San Diego.We visited Malibu,Santa Monica and Venice Beach(Took Hgwy1)on our way.
San Dieogo is another great place in California(You guys are really lucky to have such lovely places)We had 3 days and visited Balbao Park(lovely),La Jolla,Misson Valley/Fashýon Valley,Ocean Beach,Mýsson Beach,Pacific beach, Hillcrest, Oldtown, Gaslamp Quarter(Ate at Little Italy).We couldn't visit Coronado(next time)
After leaving San Diego we decided to drive to Palm Springs and have our breakfast there then spend the rest of the day at Desert Hill Outlet.(great shopping area) and then drove to our next and last stop/Los Angeles)
We stayed at Radisson Wilshire and it was the nicest hotel of our trip but personaly ý didn't like Los Angeles.It was disappointing and we stayed 3 nights.Rodeo drive,beverly hÝlls,Sunset,S.Monica Blvd,Hollywood..etc are nice places but it hurts to see that there is such a big difference between the poor and the rich..People are telling that homeless people are a big problem in San Fr
but in LA it is worser.If you take the subway you see a different side of the city(a lot of policemen)and if you drive through B.Hiils..etc you see another city.Anyway we left for our return flight last Friday but we've already missed the kind,nice people and lovely,sunny California.(It is snowing here)and we would like to return any time.

Thank you for posting a trip report and for all your kind words! Wow, you really packed a great deal into your trip. It is amazing how much ground you covered in two weeks! Glad you enjoyed it.

The homeless population is a problem for the entire state of California, not just in Los Angeles and San Francisco. We really need to do better by them. I am sure from an outsider's perspective it is shocking the difference between the haves and the have-nots in this state. My Scottish cousin visits us and asks why everyone in the US doesn't want to live in California (he particularly feels this way when it is warm and sunny here and cold and damp back home). The cost of living in CA is very high.

Great report! It's nice to hear from people who enjoy visiting our state.

My husband and I are both native Californians - grew up around Santa Cruz and Monterey. We actually went to San Diego for the first time a couple weeks ago and we loved it down there.

Unfortunately there is a large homeless population in California, but I think that has a lot to do with our weather. The temperatures are nice year round, which draws homeless people from across the country to California.

The liberal politics towards homeless issues in many CA cities also are a draw. Specifically the Peoples Republic of Santa Monica and the Willie Brown Empire of SF seem to think that there isn't much of a problem with the situation.

It is quite sad how the homeless in SF have really trashed the city. If I were visiting SF I would request a refund. I don't know about Santa Monica as I have never been there before, but from what I am hearing on this board, I guess that I am not missing much there either.