Get an early start today for a sightseeing drive to view Nob Hill, Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf, Coit Tower, Victorian homes, the Marina District and Lombard Street, "the crookedest street in the world" – all world-famous symbols of San Francisco – plus a visit to the California Academy of Sciences, where a world of natural wonders waits. It's the only place on earth with an aquarium, a planetarium and a natural history museum all under one roof! There's a lot to see and a lot to learn at this terrific place that houses more than 38,000 living things including penguins, but maybe one of the coolest things about the Academy is that its roof is alive! Your visit there will be a highlight of your California travel. You'll sail under the Golden Gate Bridge on a harbor cruise that also passes Alcatraz Island, the site of the first lighthouse and U.S. fort on the West Coast - and later an infamous federal prison that held some of the most notorious and dangerous criminals of the time. The rest of the day is free for your family to explore what interests you most in San Francisco.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Hyatt at Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco

Yosemite National Park is chock-full of awesome wonders and adventures, as your family will discover today. Have you ever heard of a drive-through tree? You may see one today, as well as the Grizzly Giant, a humungous sequoia tree thought to be between 1,900 and 2,400 years old! The Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias in Yosemite National Park, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, is home to about 500 of such ancient trees. Many of these trees are real "celebrities," with their own fascinating names and stories, as you'll find out during the Big Trees Tram Tour this morning. After lunch on your own, your afternoon is free; if you wish, you might visit Wawona's Pioneer Yosemite History Center on your own, learning more about life in the good old days as you investigate historic buildings brought to this living history museum from all over Yosemite. Or, head on back to the Tenaya Lodge and spend the afternoon putting your rock-wall climbing* skills to the test on the rock-climbing wall. Tonight, depart the lodge for a special evening. First up – try your luck panning for gold, just like the old prospectors – then get set for a rip-roaring evening on the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad Moonlight Special. You'll chow down at a great barbecue dinner while the Sugar Pine Singers entertain you with old-fashioned ballads and toe-tapping melodies. Then, it's ALL ABOARD The Logger steam train for a narrow-gauge rail excursion powered by a restored vintage Shay steam locomotive; ride through Sierra National Forest and back in time to the days when lumberjacks and steam locomotives ruled the woods. Gather round the campfire for a sing-along during a stopover in the canyon, and hear that lonesome whistle blow as you chug home in the moonlight!

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Accommodation: Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite, Fish Camp, CA

Visit the Mariposa Museum & History Center for a look at indoor and outdoor exhibits including an authentic Gold Rush-era saloon, a typical miner's cabin and a one-room schoolhouse. California travel wouldn't be complete without seeing the "salad bowl to the world." At least 25% of America's agricultural products come from California and the majority of them are produced in the San Joaquin Valley. You may see vineyards, nuts, citrus fruits and vegetables basking in the sun as you drive along. Hopefully they'll make you hungry because you'll want a big appetite when we stop for lunch at Big Bubba's Bad BBQ... it's "bad to the bone." While you're waiting for your lunch to arrive, check out the huge indoor tree house, ride the mechanical bull* or bring your family outside and take their pictures sitting on a big pink pig! Travel through the scenic Coast Mountains to the California coast this afternoon and tour the Monterey Peninsula along the 17-Mile Drive to the renowned Pebble Beach golf course. Spend the next two nights in seaside Monterey at the Portola Hotel & Spa, right on Fisherman's Wharf, near Cannery Row and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch

Accommodation: Portola Hotel & Spa, Monterey, CA