Every part of this trip was planned by using reviews from TripAdvisor so I feel obligated to post. All of our hotel accommodations exceeded our expectations; we would definitely stay at each of them again. We had excellent food everywhere we dined whether it was a complementary breakfast in our hotel, lunch on the run or a sit down dinner. The only negative part of our trip was the weather which unfortunately tainted some of our impressions of the cities/attractions we visited. With good weather, we would have rated this trip a 10 out of 10.

San Francisco
Unfortunately bad weather conditions initially tainted my opinion of the city. It wasn’t until the sun came out on our second day that was I able to understand the attraction of this beautiful city. We stayed the White Swan which was 1.5 blocks from the Powell Street cable car. Accommodations, service and location were excellent. We would definitely stay there again. Nearby, Uncle Vito’s on the corner of Powell and Bush was a great stop for lunch and a late night pizza. We walked most everywhere the first day (with umbrella) through Chinatown, visited Sts Peter and Paul Church and Coit Tower. Pier 39 was a mess in the rain; Boudin Bakery was a great place to rest, dry off and grab a bite to eat. After waiting an hour in the rain at the Hyde Street turntable, we realized that all we needed to do was walk one block (south) and hop on the cable car at the first intersection. The second day we returned to Pier 39 for a Bay Cruise under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz followed by a delicious lunch at Scoma’s. Walked to Ghirardelli Square for some ice cream then back on the cable car at Hyde & North Point Sts to Union Square. Didn’t spend too much time here since just about all the stores here are readily available back home. We were able to walk back to our hotel on Bush Street. Next morning we were able to walk to pick up our rental car at Avis and head to Sausalito. Got some great pictures of the city and the Golden Gate Bridge from the viewing area just over the bridge. Walked around for awhile pretending like we could afford some of the expensive art, admired everyone’s dogs, got a Starbucks and a t-shirt at Crazy Shirts and headed to Twin Peaks for more great views of the city.

Monterey Peninsula
Followed CA-1 along the coast to Monterey. Stopped for more pictures along the way. Traffic through Santa Cruz was a pain. Checked into Seven Gables Inn and headed off for a French dinner at La Normandie up the street. The restaurant was recommended by the front desk at Seven Gables. It is family-owned and run; they have been open since Feb. 2010. Our meal was delicious and served by the wife of the chef. Most tables were reserved for the evening even though their phone service had been down for the day due to earlier high winds. Seven Gables is dreamy and I wished we could have spent more time here to really enjoy it. Breakfast was delicious; the best of our trip. We checked out by 10:00 AM and headed to Pebble Beach via the 17-mile drive. Spent way too much money there on souvenirs and made our way to Carmel. Walked, shopped, pretended (again) like we could afford the expensive art, admired everyone’s dogs (again) and stopped for lunch at the Village Corner Bistro. A little chilly sitting outside but the food was very good. The next hour of the day was like Groundhog’s Day as we found ourselves on Carmel Valley Road (G16) to US -101 instead of CA-68. Our destination was Los Angeles and we weren’t in the mood for a 45 minute excursion along a winding, sometimes one lane, road. Once we got to US-101 our nerves were shot and we argued about the best route to take opting for US-101 to CA-46 to I-5. Unfortunately it was dark by the time we got over the Grapevine which I would like to drive again in the daylight. We arrived at the Elan Hotel in West Hollywood too tired to eat.

Pasadena – Rose Parade
We woke early as we had tickets to the Rose Parade. Valet quickly brought our car around and we drove to Union Station. Attendants were present to point us in the right direction. A $6 ticket provided round trip rail service to Pasadena. This was the way to go! We got off at Del Mar and walked to our seats in the Orange Grove grandstand. Rose Parade attendants were present to help with directions. They were polite and very helpful. Luckily this was the best weather day of our trip. After the parade we walked down and checked out the Rose Bowl tempted to buy game tickets from the scalpers. By the time we made it back to downtown Pasadena, the parade route had been cleared and workers were already breaking down the stands. A quick burger at Jake’s and we were back on the train to Union Station.

Palos Verdes
We met family members for a beautiful sunset at Nelson’s at Terrenae Resort on the Palos Verdes coast. Food was good and staff was accommodating to our large party. Passed Trump National Golf Club on the way.

Los Angeles
Elan Hotel turned out to be everything we hoped. Excellent proximity to LAX. Front desk was very helpful. Breakfast was sufficient. Our room was small but well appointed. We were initially concerned since we were located right above the front door facing the street on New Year’s Eve but never heard a sound. Many guests in the hotel were attending the Rose Parade/Game and being on East Coast time had turned in early for the night. The weather on the days following the parade was rainy and overcast so we took the car whenever we left the hotel. I can’t say I saw any attractions that were within walking distance. We attended Sunday mass at Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. We made our way down Sunset Blvd to the Getty Villa in Malibu. Definitely could have / should have passed on this attraction as it was a rainy day and we couldn’t enjoy the grounds as we would have liked. We made our way back up Santa Monica Blvd with a stop at UCLA to pick up a sweatshirt for our son. We tried desperately to get a live shot of the Hollywood sign for our daughter but the rain and that fact that we ran out of daylight put an end to that request. Luckily they sell plenty of Hollywood sign postcards nearby Tired from driving around in the rain all day and not really getting a chance to see the beauty of LA we wandered into Café Med in West Hollywood. Pasta was fresh and delicious; service was excellent (from a Johnny Depp look-a-like). It was a great last meal before an early flight in the morning.

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Why? (Sounds like a great, if tiring, trip, but there's really nothing to see going over the Grapevine...it's just a way to get from one side to the other)

It is family-owned and run; they have been open since Feb. 2010.

Do you mean that there are NEW owners? The Inn has been open much longer, we stayed there in 2008. We also loved it.

DebitNM, I think she was referring to the restaurant being new, not the Inn.

duh, of course.

Phew, I love Seven Gables and hated to think that there might be new owners. I could live forever in the room we had there, overlooking the bay and listening to the waves crash on the rocks. The breakfast was amazing, as were the snacks, cookies and milk etc. Great people staying there - we had several lovely conversations with other guests.

I'm surprised you were able to get on a cable car a block from the turnaround - generally they pack the cable car at the end and leave no space for anyone to board along the route, unless you're lucky enough to have people disembark mid-route (which rarely happens now that cable cars have become another tourist ride, and not a mode of public transportation)

Glad you enjoyed the Elan Hotel. I stayed there two years ago (on the recco of Fodorite filmwil) and really thought it was a great find.

The Grapevine has some sections that are worth seeing, especially if they're snow covered (or flower covered).

In reference to the Grapevine comment by sf7307, there are 3 things that I'm aware of to see on the Grapevine during daylight.

1. The roadside scenery. I give it an "attractive", 5 on my private 1-10 scale. Rolling hills and no development. In 1991, Christo thought it nice enough for his "Umbrellas" artwork.

2. Fort Tejon State Historic Park.
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=585

3. Pyramid Lake "Vista del Lago" visitors center.
http://www.water.ca.gov/recreation/l...idvisitors.cfm

None of which I'd make a special trip for