Thanks for all the great ideas. Is there anything interesting to do or see in Las Vegas during the day time? Can you suggest any websites for hotels deals in Las Vegas, San Francisco and LA?

Las Vegas has tons to do in during the day. Each casino is like an amusement park. You will want to walk the entire strip going into each hotel. The lobbies are amazing, and each of them usually have at least one family attraction to see. BRING COMFY SHOES. The thing about Vegas is that your brain says, "well it is only three hotels away", but your legs will tell you that it is actually three miles away.

And the pools in Vegas tend to only be open during the day. They want people gambling at night, not hanging out in the hot tub.

Go on the hotel's website and see what they each have to offer. It is the only place I know of where the hotel is an attraction by itself.

Consider Columbus Motor Inn for San Francisco, great neighborhood and no extra charge for parking (other hotels charge $15 to $40 per night).

In Vegas, April can be tricky as there are conventions so book soon. Sun - Thurs are generally bargains if you can arrange your dates accordingly, rates on Fri and Sat will triple.

For L.A. it totally depends on what you plan to see and do. You don't want a hotel that is all the way across the city from your planned attractions, especially if your time there is only a day or two.

I know you won't be coming to the US every year, but I would really save Vegas/Grand Canyon/Sedona for a seperate trip as there is much to see and enjoy in Arizona/Nevada.

If you stick to California, which is huge and varied you could go to:

San Francisco
Napa Valley
Monterey
Tahoe
Yosemite
Death Valley
Santa Barbara
Los Angeles

All these places are worth seeing and I would shave off a couple to make the most of my trip.

Yosemite is awesome in April and I think you would not want to miss it.

As awesome as the coastal drive in California is, you can get a wonderful taste of it between San Francisco and Pescadero on a day trip, or enjoy one of the most scenic sections in Monterey/Pacific Grove area.

Also if you cut out Grand Canyon side trip you could potentially go down to San Diego.

I would strongly recommend planning your trip around California alone, just so that you can spend a little less time on the road.

If you want to gamble, spend one night up at Lake Tahoe.

Enjoy!