Here’s the detailed itinerary:
Day 1: Depart from Orly for San Francisco (flight at 6:30 PM) with French Bee, arrive in the evening so spend the night at the airport
Day 2: Flight to Los Angeles at 6:00 AM, arrive around 9:00 AM, pick up the car in Santa Monica, morning at Venice Beach, then lunch, and in the early afternoon head to the hotel in Buena Park. Either relax by the pool or go grocery shopping. In the evening, take a walk in Hollywood
Day 3: Visit the Getty Villa, Malibu, Point Dume, downtown Santa Monica, lunch at New Panda, then the art museum, Original Farmers Market, Central Market, and in the evening, Santa Monica Pier and a good burger at In-N-Out Burger
Day 4: Depart for San José, and on the way, visit Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood Sign, then a 5-hour drive to the hotel in San José. In the evening, walk around Municipal Rose Garden and Santana Row
Day 5: Explore San Francisco using public transport—park at the entrance of the city near a station and cover all of downtown San Francisco, ending with the sunset at the Golden Gate
Day 6: (It’s a Monday, I’ll spend it in Palo Alto) Free time for the rest of the family—either stay at the hotel and enjoy the pool or explore San Francisco. They’ll have the car, and I’ll take an Uber and meet up with them when I’m done
Day 7: Early departure around 7:00 AM for Lassen Volcanic Park (4-hour drive). Spend the day there (maybe head down to Lake Almanor if it’s too hot), then drive to the hotel in Yreka (3-hour drive)
Day 8: Leave for Portland (5-hour drive), arrive at the hotel, spend the afternoon by the pool, then head out in the evening to explore Portland (Pioneer Place, Portlandia)
Day 9: Relaxing day in Portland—walk in Washington Park, International Rose Test Garden
Day 10: Depart for Seattle (3-hour drive). I’ll drop everyone off at the hotel in Renton after lunch and head to see my supplier. In the evening, explore Seattle
Day 11: Walk around Seattle—Space Needle, Seattle Great Wheel, aquarium, Gum Wall, etc.
Day 12: Woodland Park Zoo, take the ferry to Bainbridge Island, or spend a quiet evening in Seattle. Need to go to bed early
Day 13: Leave early around 6:30 AM for Butte, stopping at the famous Dutton Ranch (9-hour drive), then 2 more hours to Butte (this is the only long leg at 660 miles)
Day 12: Day at Yellowstone (see the geysers, Artist Point, Mammoth Hot Springs), then return to the hotel
Day 13: Leave the hotel and head to Grand Teton Park (3.5-hour drive). Spend the day there, then sleep in Idaho Falls
Day 14: Leave Idaho Falls for Salt Lake City (3-hour drive). Visit the Capitol, the two Temples, Tabernacle, relax at the hotel, then explore downtown in the evening
Day 15: Visit Bonneville, the Great Salt Lake, and Spiral Jetty
From here, I think I’ll revise the rest of the itinerary
Day 16: Leave the hotel for a 4-hour drive to St. George—Red Hills Desert, Pioneer Park, Snow Canyon—arrive in Las Vegas at night
Day 17: A full day in Las Vegas
Day 18: Leave Las Vegas for Williams (3.5-hour drive)
Day 19: Day at the Grand Canyon
Day 20: Depart for Los Angeles
Day 21: Relaxing day in Newport
Day 22: Depart for France
So I’m considering maybe doing:
Day 16: Leave the hotel for St. George and sleep in La Verkin
Day 17: Head to Page to sleep (see what we can do there)
Day 18: Depart for Williams
Day 19: Grand Canyon
Day 20: Depart for Las Vegas
Day 21: Full day in Las Vegas
Day 22: Depart for Los Angeles (flight at 7:45 PM)
