Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

Here the the La Brea Tar Pits are quite the sight if you can see thru the smoke of the wild fires

You hered wrong, IMO.

don't think so

maybe San Fran with a day in the redwoods, wine country, ferry ride to Tiburon to Sam's Anchor Cafe, Monterey aquarium(while I play golf)

The redwoods are great and all, but it's going to be a lot of work to go look at big trees. That said, if that's a must then I would recommend you drive from SF up that direction on Hwy 1 rather than Hwy 101. Don't get me wrong--101 is beautiful all up that direction--you should drive BACK on 101. But Hwy 1 north of SF is absolutely astounding. Every bit as gorgeous as Big Sur, but with a lot less people. The drive on Hwy 1 might be an all-day affair... But it'll be worth it. 

Coming back from there on 101 will take you through Sonoma rather than Napa--much more "low key" if you want to do wine country. Stop off in the Healdsburg area (specifically the Dry Creek Valley area) for the best Zin in the world. 

If you want to see my old stomping grounds on the motorcycle, the drive from SF to Monterey should be down I-280 rather than 101, and exit heading westbound on Hwy 92. When you get to Hwy 35 aka Skyline Blvd, turn left (south). Hwy 35 rides the top of the ridge along the Santa Cruz Mountains and is amazing. At the intersection of Hwy 92 and Hwy 84, you can stop off at Alice's Restaurant (no, not that one, a biker establishment). Staying south on Hwy 35, continue to "four corners" where Hwy 35 and Hwy 9 meet. Turn right (south) there and it'll take you down to Santa Cruz where you'll meet Hwy 1 to go the rest of the way down to Monterey. Also along Hwy 9 is a cool little place in Brookdale called the "Brookdale Lodge", which is a hotel but also has a restaurant with a creek running right through the middle of the dining room. Very quaint.

If you can arrange your trip around the same time as the Gilroy Garlic Festival, then you should check that out. Also if you're headed towards Monterey and interested in motorsports, you should check out whether there's anything going on at Laguna Seca while you're in town. Salinas is not far from Monterey. 

The redwoods are great and all, but it's going to be a lot of work to go look at big trees. That said, if that's a must then I would recommend you drive from SF up that direction on Hwy 1 rather than Hwy 101. Don't get me wrong--101 is beautiful all up that direction--you should drive BACK on 101. But Hwy 1 north of SF is absolutely astounding. Every bit as gorgeous as Big Sur, but with a lot less people. The drive on Hwy 1 might be an all-day affair... But it'll be worth it.

Coming back from there on 101 will take you through Sonoma rather than Napa--much more "low key" if you want to do wine country. Stop off in the Healdsburg area (specifically the Dry Creek Valley area) for the best Zin in the world.

If you want to see my old stomping grounds on the motorcycle, the drive from SF to Monterey should be down I-280 rather than 101, and exit heading westbound on Hwy 92. When you get to Hwy 35 aka Skyline Blvd, turn left (south). Hwy 35 rides the top of the ridge along the Santa Cruz Mountains and is amazing. At the intersection of Hwy 92 and Hwy 84, you can stop off at Alice's Restaurant (no, not that one, a biker establishment). Staying south on Hwy 35, continue to "four corners" where Hwy 35 and Hwy 9 meet. Turn right (south) there and it'll take you down to Santa Cruz where you'll meet Hwy 1 to go the rest of the way down to Monterey. Also along Hwy 9 is a cool little place in Brookdale called the "Brookdale Lodge", which is a hotel but also has a restaurant with a creek running right through the middle of the dining room. Very quaint.

If you can arrange your trip around the same time as the Gilroy Garlic Festival, then you should check that out. Also if you're headed towards Monterey and interested in motorsports, you should check out whether there's anything going on at Laguna Seca while you're in town. Salinas is not far from Monterey.

thanks for the tip..
I'll copy and paste for later

told my daughters we will wait until the COVID pandemic is over

might be next year

I love driving in and around big mountains.....it's like I'm in a car commercial.

If you'd like a scenic drive at the other end of the country, drive from West Point to Cooperstown in the early fall.  Gorgeous.

The Great Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina (not limited to that region) are extremely scenic, and fun to drive through if you have a fun-to-drive car.

So true    I just did that two weekends ago. Since my mother had passed during Covid we never got to have her funeral and since she was born in the smoky mountains she wanted her ashes distributed there so that’s where the family got together.
Driving in that area is absolutely gorgeous and I had the right vehicle.

Sorry about your mother, HB.  It was good you got to have the family together and scatter her ashes as she wished.
My brother and his wife just spent the better part of a week in and around Robbinsville, NC, at a national rally of Mazda Miata owners.  I had not been in that particular part of western North Carolina and had not heard of the Tail of the Dragon, an 11 mile stretch of road with 318 turns.

I drove the "Tail" a few times in the 70s, I'd see maybe 2-3 other cars en route, no bikes. It's a very old grade that follows (mostly) an Indian track over a low point in the mountain range.  It also doesn't "go" anywhere of note.  I was on it again a few years back and it was bikes galore, it's obviously a Think now, but slow.

There really are other more entertaining roads in the area.  I like the Blue Ridge Parkway on a nice day, though it has a 45 mph speed limit.  The stretch south of Asheville is particularly nice and crests over 6,000 feet which is a lot for the East.