My wife and I are visiting California for the first time from the UK in September. We have three weeks, starting from San Francisco. We would like to see Mendicino to Santa Barbara, you know, Big Sur and all that, taking in Sonoma and maybe Yosemite. We adore US style B&B's, mostly because you guys think they are like English. Have you ever stayed in an English B&B?. Forget it!
How about some ideas and recommendations.What should we not miss?

Hi Bill. I would suggest flying to SF and spending 4-5 days there at first. Then rent your car and drive north to Sonoma and Mendocino. The town of Mendocino is nice. On the way back visit some of the Sonoma Valley wineries in Healdsburg, Russian River, Alexander Valley etc. Then I would head south, not stopping in SF to either Santa Cruz (which is a retro old hippie, Coney Island amusement park type place) which might be interesting for you coming from the UK. There are some nice B&Bs in Aptos, Capatola and the Babbling Brook Inn in Sta. Cruz. Then continue south to Monterey/Pacific Grove/Carmel where if you want B&Bs I would recommend the Green Gables,Seven Gables, Gosby House Inn in Pacific Grove. Drive down to Carmel via the Seventeen Mile Drive and either stay in Carmel or continue down to Big Sur (depends on the weather, but should be ideal in September). From there go down to Cambria and Hearst Castle and finally down to Sta. Barbara. Lots of B&Bs in all those areas. You could try to go to Yosemite on the return north to SF, but it's a bit out of the way and involves quite a bit of driving. There probably won't be any accomodations in the park by this time so you will need to stay outside the park in a motel. Don't know any B&Bs there, maybe others do.There are several books about "driving the California Coast" and lots and lots of info if you search the archives here. Good luck.

As a native Northern Californian, first let me say welcome!
I grew up on the Mendocino coast in a very small town called Point Arena (in fact one of my earliest memories is of an older English bike touring couple -- Colin and Veronica! -- who asked to camp in our yard since there weren't many campgrounds in the immediate vicinity. They pitched a tent and I remember seeing the glow of their light from inside the tent. And they spoke with an accent, which I was unfamiliar with.)
The Sonoma/Mendocino coast is absolutely breathtaking. Better than Big Sur in my opinion! (More views and cliffhanger, hairpin turns that are fun to drive.) But do both so you don't feel you've missed anything.
Anyway, here's some driving times and recommendations.
San Francisco north to Petaluma. Drive west to town of Bodega Bay. (SF-Bodega 2.5 hours)
Continue on Highway 1 north to Mendocino (2.5 -3 hours)
Return to the Bay Area via the inland route (Hwy 101) to Boonville/Cloverdale/Geyserville. This is Sonoma County wine country. These are right on the way. Napa is off on another highway, but worth the drive.
There are a couple good little B&B's in Point Arena, some at the harbor and one on Main Street; the charming town of Elk is sweet. Mendocino is purposefully quaint and full of other tourists, but nice to visit. Beautiful views of the ocean everywhere.

Finally, Santa Cruz (my current home) is a great little seaside town. Very good restaurants, nice beaches. Near redwood forests. We love it here. (We're in our mid-late 30s.)
I might recommend the Cliff Crest B&B I looked into it for guests when my husband and I got married. Nice old Victorian home between the beach and downtown. For a true American experience check out the Santa Cruz Mystery Spot. Very hokey, but loads of Japanese tourists come everyday.

Anyway, have a great trip. There's a lot to see and this is a big state.

Bill:
Hope I'm not too late... you may already have your trip well-planned. The north coast of California is wonderful... all the way from San Francisco to the Oregon border. I suggest you take a look at www.redwoodempire.com for a wealth of information about this area. For the Mendocino area, look at www.mendocinocoast.com - there's a great deal of information on lodging, dining, things to do on the coast and a calendar of events.
Have a great trip!

What does Ft. Bragg have to do with this?