We stayed at Hotel Solamar in San Diego. Super swanky. It's right next to the gaslamp district so you can go bar hopping at night. Then during the day we went to the beach and the San Diego zoo.
http://www.hotelsolamar.com

And we also went to Palm Desert and stayed at the La Quinta Resort. Reeeeally romantic spot. The rooms have fireplaces, and there are tons of pools you can lounge at. We went to Downtown Palm Springs one night for dinner and bar hopping.
http://www.laquintaresort.com
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Go to a comedy show in Hollywood. Eat dinner at a restuarant overlooking the Ocean in Santa Monica or Malibu. Have coffee in Beverly Hills and watch for Stars (although I live in LA and VERY rarely see any stars – they keep a low profle and you often wouldn't even recognize them if you ran into them without their makeup and fancy clothes). Walk along the board walk in Venice Beach and check out the crazies and street perfomers (and buy cheap souveniers).

. . .and of course there's Disneyland and Universal Studios (neither give you any sense of LA culture though – they're their own little cities).
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Disneyland Resort – be kids again and have a grea time!

Hearst Castle in San Simeon. Take the tour of the huge mansion (which is breathtaking) and enjoy great food at nearby eateries

Visit Carmel or Monterey Bay! Monterey's Cannery Row features their world famous aquarium and 17 mile drive leads right into the heart of Carmel

Visit Knotts Berry Farm in Buena Park. It is about 20 minutes from Disneyland, has great coasters and rides and is MUCH cleaner and nicer than Magic Mountain. I DO NOT recommend going there

I help folks plan vacations in southern california and orlando. Most of my planning involves Disney, but I do research and help plan vacations for other places as well. If you're interested, visit my Vacation Services Website, I'm All Ears at:

http://im-all-ears-disney-vacation-services.blogspot.com/

Have a great time!
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California Native
Former Disney Cast Member

http://im-all-ears-disney-vacation-services.blogspot.com/

northern cali: San Francisco! plenty to do there
Monterrey is always good too.
Carmel, it is about 10-15 minute drive from Monterrey. i LOVE Carmel
Santa Cruz

So cal: San Diego- wonderful weather
L.A (los angeles)
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lived in Cali all my life.

In San Francisco some of the fun things to do include walking across the Golden Gate Bridge, taking the ferry from the downtown ferry building across to Sausilito, and watching the play Beach Blanket Babylon . (http://www.beachblanketbabylon.com/)

Drive south from San Francisco on Highway 1 and/or 101. This drive will take you along the beautiful coast of California. You can enjoy wine tasting at some of the great wineries in this area. (http://www.cheers2wine.com/central-coast-wine-tasting.html – you will find restaurant and hotel suggestions on this website as well as info on wineries.)

Along the Central Coast you can also visit Hearst Castle, explore the shops of Cambria, and rent ATVs and ride the sand dunes in Pismo. You can explore the antique shops in Morro Bay and the aquarium in Monterey. I'd recommend the 17 mile Drive along the coast in Monterey as well.

Los Angeles is a large urban city….try to avoid the freeways during rush hour. You could see a play, attend a concert, or visit Disneyland, Universal Studios, Knotts Berry Farm, or Magic Mountain if those sound appealing.

San Diego is a clean, large city with lots of things to do. (Visit http://www.sandiego-romantics.com for ideas.)

Have a wonderful time!
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