Critique my California Road Trip/San Francisco Visit Itinerary!

I would suggest you consider stopping at SFO to ditch the car and take a Super Shuttle to your place in North Beach. Parking in North Beach is a huge pain, and the traffic between SFO and North Beach is no picnic. This will give you more of your afternoon to enjoy being in San Francisco. Hearst Castle is a tough call. Overall, it is kind of terrible, but it is useful to see that having more money than God doesn't save you from having terrible taste, and it's a good way to bring out one's inner Socialist. I'm glad I've been, but I don't need to go back.

Things we like: ... walking/not-too-long hikes (especially in parks/gardens) Between SLO and Monterey, if you're driving up Hwy 1, take 30 minutes and stop at Julia Pfeiffer Burns state park. Quick walk out to the ocean and unusually beautiful.

I also think Santa Cruz is totally worth a stop between Monterey and SF. For a quick visit (say 2-3 hours) I'd recommend taking a walk down Pacific Ave (the main street, great for people-watching, food, coffee, there are a few indie bookstores and other cool things), walking over to the boardwalk, and continuing your walk up West Cliff. On West Cliff, http://magicseaweed.com/Steamer-Lane-Surf-Report/163/, check out the surfers at Steamer Lane.

In the Monterey/Carmel area, you can't miss http://www.pointlobos.org/. It's right off Highway 1, just south of Carmel, so you'll literally drive right past it on your way north from Big Sur. It's exactly the kind of walking-around-in-a-park thing you're looking for, with the added benefit of seeing endangered California sea otters hanging out in the kelp. They are problematically cute and entrancing. If you're a sucker for cute marine mammals, plan to spend a few hours here. Also seconding http://ask.metafilter.com/238585/Critique-my-California-Road-TripSan-Francisco-Visit-Itinerary#3459661's mention of Moss Landing, another little town you'll drive through on Highway 1. It's dead center between Monterey and Santa Cruz, at the mouth of the Salinas River where it flows into Monterey Bay. If you're a birder, a lover of marine mammals, or a kayaker, the Elkhorn Slough kayaking experience is not to be missed. We were there at the beginning of March and a sea otter mama and pup kept pace with our kayak for about a mile. I am not ashamed to say that I cried.

SFMOMA is http://www.sfmoma.org/our_expansion/expansion_project/expansion_project_faq for expansion construction starting June 2, so see it while you can! Make sure to visit the men's room off the lobby at the Madonna Inn.

Oh -- ProTip regarding Monterey Bay Aquarium tickets: Buy them at the front desk or concierge of a big hotel, rather than the Aquarium. The tickets cost the same, but they're good for two consecutive days' admission, you don't have to stand in line to get them, and they allow you to enter through the members' entrance -- thus bypassing another line if it's a busy day. And go early for best crowd avoidance.

Is there anything else we shouldn’t miss in Monterey/Carmel? Absolutely follow the advice to take a short drive to Moss Landing. You'll see more otters/sea lions there than anywhere else on the coast -- and without the tourists. It's one of my favorite spots in CA. You want to drive past the main exit for town, cross the bridge over the slough, and turn into the public parking lot (or continue up the road slightly to the turnoff for the state beach). Both areas have great, close-up views of wildlife. Also check out the great tide pool between Pacific Grove and Carmel at low tide. (If you get to Asilomar State Beach, you've gone too far.) Bonus points: Read Steinbeck's Cannery Row before you go so you can have that image of Doc Ricketts plucking tiny octopi out of those same tide pools. In Santa Barbara, you should eat at La Super-Rica Taqueria. It was one of Julia Child's favorites.

Oh, if you're going to be in SF on a Thursday, you can go to the Cal Academy in the evening for one of their http://www.calacademy.org/events/nightlife/ events. The advantages over going during the day are many: Cocktails! Dancing! Smaller crowds (and no kids in strollers)! Penis bone cart with explainy docents! Much, much cheaper than daytime tickets! Definitely buy tickets in advance. Get there on the early side if you want to go to any of the special lectures or presentations that are happening that night, since those are usually first-come, first-serve.

The thing that really made going to Alcatraz worthwhile for me was the http://www.alcatrazcruises.com/website/pprog-ranger-tours.aspx, where you go round parts that are otherwise closed off. There's an audio tour for the cell block, but, while good, it pales in comparison to the ranger tour. The problem is that there seems to be no way of knowing what times the tours are until you get there. We went on the first boat of the morning (I don't remember why--maybe you saved a few dollars) and there was a tour that started right when we arrived and the next one was after lunch or something. http://www.citylights.com/ is worth a stop.