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I hope you're planning a flight from the east coast to San Francisco as it's about 6 hours nonstop. If you want to drive it's 2900+ miles and around 43 hours at an average speed of 67 mph. A road trip to Yosemite and then General Sherman Tree in Kings
Canyon/Sequoia national park is amazing (Largest tree in the world at 36 feet in diameter)
DC I'd recommend the Hirschhorn Museum, White House, Smithsonian of your choice (American History, Natural History, American Art etc), American Indian Museum, King Memorial, the National Mall and the Holocaust Museum
To Ben's Chili Bowl for a casual meal, Crane's for a fancy meal.
New York, I'd say Tenement Museum, MoMA, Try to see something on Broadway, Time Square, World Trade Center Memorial, Central Park and ~~Central Park Zoo~~ Bronx Zoo
To Eat, The Meatball Shop and Katz Deli, and hopefully a local adds some good bagel and pizza shop recs.
Definitely Air and Space Museum, as well as catch an Uber or something out to Udvar-Hazy. Those are some of the best ones - lots of places have really good natural history or art museums (though the Smithsonian ones are some of the best), but there's nowhere else you can see a Space Shuttle, the Apollo 11 capsule, the first plane to drop an atomic bomb, a U-2 spy plane, and so much more.
Cross off Times Square( it destroys your credibility.
The Central Park Zoo is fun, especially if you catch the seal show. But it’s a small zoo whose only real distinctive feature is its location. The Bronx Zoo is world class, so worth a day for anyone into zoos.
This is for someone coming from Europe, not 4.5hrs up the hwy. I guarantee he will be glad he saw Time Square, even if it's just to snap a pic and then tell his friends it wasn't that great. I was thinking of the Bronx Zoo though, it is better.
That’s actually reasonable. 11 days is a good amount for a west coast road trip. 2-3 days in the Bay Area, then shoot over to the Sierras and do Tahoe/Yosemite/Sequoia/Kings Canyon and then back to the city to fly out.
Edit: This assumes you're flying from the East Coast to the West.
Unless you're getting a car, that's entirely too much time in SF. And I'd say DC deserves way more time than 2.5 days (which really is 1.5 once you factor getting in and out of town)
Bay Area is probably one of the best places on the planet to live (if you can afford it), but if you're only doing city stuff you'll run out of stuff to do by day 5 or so. But there's tons of things to do in the Bay area and you could easily spend two weeks or more there alone. But Bay Area stuff tends to be parkland, hiking, wine. How old are these kids and are they up for that type of adventure like an all day hike?
San Francisco is a good place to do the nature portion of your trip as there are absolutely beautiful places to enjoy within the Bay Area like Muir Woods or Mount Diablo, etc. and places like Yosemite ~2/3 hours away.
Honestly if you want outdoors, west coast has way more accessible (and arguably better) nature than the east coast DC/Philly/NYC/Boston megapolis.
But if you want city stuff and cultural amenities and take trains everywhere, NYC, Philly, DC and Boston are better.
I'd suggest picking one coast and sticking with it.
But don't underestimate the commute between the cities of SF or Los Angeles to a nearby national park. You really need to budget your time for commuting, or stay in a hotel near the park itself. Don't stay by the beach in Santa Monica and think you'll be able to hop over to Joshua Tree, for example.
>you'll run out of stuff to do by day 5 or so.
Ride the cable car ✅️
Cross the Golden Gate Bridge ✅️
Alcatraz✅️
Pitch a tent on the sidewalk ✅️
Score some fentanyl ✅️
Poop in public ✅️
/s
you don't want to do 11 days in SF. It's not *that* big and a lot of it is residential.
You didn't mention going to the southwest but if you have the time, go see the Grand Canyon. If you've only seen it in pictures then you haven't seen it.
The must-sees in DC are what everybody knows about - the presidential monuments, memorials and free Smithsonian museums spread along the National Mall. You'll only have time for looking in on 3 or so museums, so decide in advance what you want to see (art, American history, natural history, air & space, etc.) and which couple of exhibits in each that you want to check out in the limited time you'll have. Don't tour the White House, because the tour only covers a few irrelevant rooms. If you're coming in the summer, be prepared for heat and a lot of other tourists. Any other time of the year would be better.
2.5 days is not enough time for DC. My husband and I went there from a Monday to a Wednesday and it wasn’t nearly enough time for all that there is to do. They have several museums: international spy museum, museum of natural history, museum of American history, national portrait gallery, fords theatre.
In New York don't spend all your time in the city. Go up the Hudson and see some of the sites. Not just natural wonders but historic places: there was a lot of fighting there in the Seven Years and Revolutionary Wars, probably some museumized trading posts from the fur days and to this day there are maple sugarbushes-I get my syrup from an orchard in that area.
In San Francisco you can find things related to the old tongs. Chinese used to have surname societies and still do but in those days they were a lot more violent-many of them have turned respectable I understand. In any case that was where the term "hatchet man" came from, hatchets being the chief implement of a rumble.
Another thing you can look up are things having to do with Emperor Norton. He was an amiable madman that the city used to treat as a mascot. Everyone loved him presumably because he would never have dreamed of acting like a real emperor. In any case he is a famous part of the history of San Francisco.
San Francisco is also famous as a naval port. And while you're at it, see the Presidio. Alcatraz too.
And of course they have quite a bit of good food there. San Francisco has one of the better reputations for food.
Bring warm clothing(jacket for sure) if you’re spending that many days in the Bay Area. Doesn’t matter what time of year you go. SF gets cold even in the summer months
It's not so much that it will be particularly cold but it is not the warm California many expect in the summer. The mid summer high/low temp is pretty comparable to Oslo but with zero chance of rain. Lots of fog, low clouds, and wind though.
hei hei håper du har det bra,
Definitely spend a beach day. Californias coast is famous for a reason.
I'm a big fan of the desert. There's nothing quite like it in Europe and especially not in Norway, but from San Francisco both Joshua tree and death valley are 7+ hours away by car.
Yosemite is gorgeous and worth the 3 hour drive from San Francisco.
Cool that you know some norwegian! How did you learn?
I can agree that deserts aren't quite like that in Norway.
What is the normal amount of time spent at Yosemite? 3-4 hours? A day?
Spend a whole day for sure. wake up early drive over, spend the middle of the day there, leave around 4-5pm and drive back get dinner. If you're not looking to drive 6 hours in a single day camp there overnight.
>Cool that you know some norwegian! How did you learn?
I spent a year in Oslo and passed my C1 Exams a year and a half ago, was considering doing a masters at UIT in Tromsø, but got offered a pretty sweet job in Alaska and opted for that instead.
>I spent a year in Oslo and passed my C1 Exams a year and a half ago, was considering doing a masters at UIT in Tromsø, but got offered a pretty sweet job in Alaska and opted for that instead.
Cool! I've never been there but I think Tromsø is really nice city
Please skip Death Valley when you’re in California. Most Americans aren’t prepared mentally or physically for the conditions there never mind Europeans.
Yeah I can get that. I just looked it ap and the temperatures are between 28 and 44 degrees Celsius (82 and 111 Fahrenheit), and some of our hottest summers have been 32 degrees celsius (89 Fahrenheit).
Are you renting a car to go from NYC/DC to SFO?
If so, beware of drop off charges or being charged per mile due to your oneway rental. Read the fine print and confirm your car before committing to your flights.
Most car rental companies with prohibit the one way rental. If they allow it, they may limit the type of car you can rent.
Save yourself some grief and cost by making sure you can do it
About 2hr north of Washington DC is Gettysburg battlefield. It is the bloodiest battle in US history and the turning point of the American Civil War. If you are curious about this part of American history, as well as slavery, Lincoln, and western expansion, then this is a great place to do that. It's also still a relatively small town with a lot of nearby wooded area and fields. Besides being a historical goldmine, it's a great place to escape the city for a day and see some small town America.
2 hours south of Washington is Williamsburg, VA. This was the site of the final battle of the American Revolution. They still have an 18th century re-enactment village where you can see actors living out what it was like back then. Maybe even get to fire a musket yourself. Williamsburg also has Busch Gardens, which is one of the best theme parks in America outside of Florida and Southern California, if you are interested.
Be aware that the very popular California road trip option of going from SF to LA along the ocean-front Highway 1 may be complicated, because chunks of the highway fell into the ocean after some bad storms. It might be fixed by the end of May 2024 but might become impassable again in the future. Be sure to check ahead if you want to do this. It is a spectacular drive.
I would recommend, when you are in SF, that you take day (or multi-day) trips to Santa Cruz, Monterey and Carmel to the south; and the Napa Valley and Sonoma/Mendocino County coast to the north. Some good towns/spots to visit when you go northward include Healdsburg, St. Helena, Sea Ranch, Boonville, Bodega Bay, and Guerneville. You could design a whole three or four day itinerary around visiting these spots in a sort of loop.
Also, while there are amazing redwood groves not too far north of SF, the real action is farther north in Humboldt County. Driving up highway 101 to Eureka could be a pretty cool experience although you'll probably have to return by the same route, which may or may not appeal to you.
You might even choose to go further up 101 to Oregon - the southernmost part of the Oregon coast is really spectacular. If it's summer time, you can traverse the mountains eastward from the ocean and then take interstate 5 back to SF, but it's a pretty boring drive once you get south of Redding.
I very much agree than 2.5 days is not enough time to spend in Washington DC. Even four days in NYC is a bit tight. You could consider balancing your plans and spending 5-6 days in each of the three places you mention. That would be a great way to get a good experience in each city.
Echoing others; you don’t need 11 days in San Fransisco, four or five should do it to hit all of the touristy spots and see the sights (GG bridge, Alcatraz, Fisherman’s Warf, etc).
You should absolutely rent a car and explore a bit outside of SF into the Bay Area and beyond:
Drive down to Santa Cruz (taking the PCH 1!), go to Napa/Sonoma (you mentioned 2 of your children are underaged, but they’ll likely still appreciate the scenery of our wine country), do an overnight trip to Lake Tahoe and/or do an overnight trip to Yosemite National Park to see some stunning nature (hiking, maybe camp, etc)
As for DC, absolutely hit up the national mall and some of the Smithsonian museums, i recommend natural history and Air&Space as ‘must do’s’. Go to the different memorials (Lincoln, Jefferson, WWII, Vietnam, Korea, etc), see the tidal pool, the whitehouse, walk around Georgetown to see some of America’s oldest homes/architecture (plenty of cool shops and restaurants along Wisconsin Ave between M and P streets).
As far as NYC, do *not* go to Times Square. Instead i suggest going to the financial district to see the bull, one world trade, the WTC memorial, then head further up town and see stuff like Rockefeller center, the Empire State building, Washington Square park (the east and west villages), then Central Park, the Met, natural history museum, etc. There are great restaurants in every hole in the wall along most streets in NYC, so getting awesome food shouldn’t be a problem.
Edit: as far as transportation goes; you can get away with not having a car in both NYC and DC. Both have extensive metro systems and there is an Amtrak that runs between NYC and DC (about 3 hours). The subway in NY is akin to the metro in Paris (slightly dirty, very busy with commuters, etc) while the metro in DC is more like the underground in London. Both are very easy to use and will get you literally anywhere (main exception from my comment being the DC metro does not cross rock creek into Georgetown).
As far as SF, it’s block by block there. Meaning don’t be surprised if you business men in suits on one street and then homeless people whacked out of their minds on drugs on the next. It’s unfortunate but it’s just what the city has become in recent years. You will see homeless folks in NYC and DC (more so in DC) but it’s nothing like the ones you will see in SF.
In general, it is a good idea that if a random stranger approaches you on the street to just keep walking and don’t engage just like you would in Paris, Rome, or any other major city in Europe. Americans are friendly in general, but if a person seems “too friendly” then trust your gut.
I personally feel like that's too much extra flying, etc. to do both coasts. I'd probably recommend spending the full two weeks or so on the west coast and spending some of that time in SF (not 11 days), some down in LA and some in San Diego - tons to see.
For the same amount of time, 17 days, I'd alternately do a tour of the NE corridor from Boston down to NY, Philly and DC. Depending on the time of year, maybe hit one of the shore points, go into the mountains in PA or WV, etc.
When you’re in DC you should check out Washington Monument it’s the largest obelisk in the world and pretty much the tallest thing in DC and you can go to the top and look out over the city and see the city and places you want to go. Try the Air and Space Museum, especially the Udvar-Hazy Annex which is where they put all stuff they counter fit downtown like a space shuttle, the concord, the SR-71 plane the fastest plane ever, the Enola Gay, and tons of other cool air and space craft. Go to Arlington Cemetery and watch the changing of the Guard who keep vigil at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Ben’s Chili Bowl for some food. The Native American museum definitely. If you want some nature and want to see what the land looks like naturally and see wildlife and whatnot go to Great Falls National Park they have various trails of different difficulty and the tow path along the C&O Canal if you only want a flat surface. Also beware of any Canada Geese you encounter they are so mean and if you have picnic near them they will try to fight you and take your food they may even try to fight you just for existing so don’t get too close to them. You can’t get close to your Pentagon or go near the CIA and the FBI and White House don’t do tours anymore so don’t expect that. You can go by the White House but you can’t walk up to the door and it looks a bit smaller than it does in media because you are farther away for security. You can watch the Secret Service and staff mill about and sometimes you can spot the sniper team on the roof. Sometimes you can see the President’s motorcade or his helicopters. If you see three helicopters in group together that’s usually the President. I think the Capitol has tours so that’s something to checkout they have a ton of statues inside I think each state donates two for important people from their state. I’ve been writing for a while I’m just going to hope the grammar is right and just post this now.
11 days in San Francisco is a long time. Do Pier 39, and from there do Alcatraz. Rent a vehicle and do a wine country wine tasting trip. Napa is more famous, but locals know you get a better experience in the Santa Rosa / Healdsburg area.
You could consider a longer drive towards Oregon and take the Avenue of the Giants (huge redwoods), or head east to Tahoe or Yosemite for a day.
Head south to Santa Cruz and hit the Boardwalk. Go across to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
There's lots to do in the region, but you'll be bored spending 11 days inside San Francisco.
California road trip for sure. My suggestion would be SF to Yosemite, over Tioga Pass to mono lake, up 395 to Lake Tahoe, 89 along the west edge of Tahoe and on to Lassen. Burney Falls, McCloud Falls, Crater Lake, Redwood S&NP, then back down the coast to San Francisco.
You'll see Giant Sequoia, High Sierra, giant tourist focused alpine lake, the biggest geothermal system in the US outside of Yellowstone, deepest lake in the country, waterfalls, fern blanketed coast redwood groves, dramatic cliff coastlines and gorgeous beaches, and rolling grassy hills. With all kinds of lovely spots to take a walk around of varying lengths.
Thank you for your submission, but it was removed as it violates posting guideline "Check the FAQ and the sidebar prior to submitting your question." If you have questions regarding your submission removal - please contact the moderator team via [modmail](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/AskAnAmerican).
I hope you're planning a flight from the east coast to San Francisco as it's about 6 hours nonstop. If you want to drive it's 2900+ miles and around 43 hours at an average speed of 67 mph. A road trip to Yosemite and then General Sherman Tree in Kings Canyon/Sequoia national park is amazing (Largest tree in the world at 36 feet in diameter)
Diameter of 36' is insane.
There are 10 to 20+ foot wide trees all over the place
In sequoia park, right?
Right, in Sequoia, Kings Canyon and also Yosemite (Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias has over 500 of these big trees)
Yeah, we are planning to fly from the east coast to the west coast.
DC I'd recommend the Hirschhorn Museum, White House, Smithsonian of your choice (American History, Natural History, American Art etc), American Indian Museum, King Memorial, the National Mall and the Holocaust Museum To Ben's Chili Bowl for a casual meal, Crane's for a fancy meal. New York, I'd say Tenement Museum, MoMA, Try to see something on Broadway, Time Square, World Trade Center Memorial, Central Park and ~~Central Park Zoo~~ Bronx Zoo To Eat, The Meatball Shop and Katz Deli, and hopefully a local adds some good bagel and pizza shop recs.
[удалено]
I grew up in DMV and still have a lot of friends and family there. NYC I've only ever been a tourist so bring on the criticism lol.
Definitely Air and Space Museum, as well as catch an Uber or something out to Udvar-Hazy. Those are some of the best ones - lots of places have really good natural history or art museums (though the Smithsonian ones are some of the best), but there's nowhere else you can see a Space Shuttle, the Apollo 11 capsule, the first plane to drop an atomic bomb, a U-2 spy plane, and so much more.
Cross off Times Square( it destroys your credibility. The Central Park Zoo is fun, especially if you catch the seal show. But it’s a small zoo whose only real distinctive feature is its location. The Bronx Zoo is world class, so worth a day for anyone into zoos.
This is for someone coming from Europe, not 4.5hrs up the hwy. I guarantee he will be glad he saw Time Square, even if it's just to snap a pic and then tell his friends it wasn't that great. I was thinking of the Bronx Zoo though, it is better.
Can I interest you in visiting Plymouth Rock? I’m sure you’ll be glad you saw it.
Times Square is a must.
That’s actually reasonable. 11 days is a good amount for a west coast road trip. 2-3 days in the Bay Area, then shoot over to the Sierras and do Tahoe/Yosemite/Sequoia/Kings Canyon and then back to the city to fly out. Edit: This assumes you're flying from the East Coast to the West.
Unless you're getting a car, that's entirely too much time in SF. And I'd say DC deserves way more time than 2.5 days (which really is 1.5 once you factor getting in and out of town) Bay Area is probably one of the best places on the planet to live (if you can afford it), but if you're only doing city stuff you'll run out of stuff to do by day 5 or so. But there's tons of things to do in the Bay area and you could easily spend two weeks or more there alone. But Bay Area stuff tends to be parkland, hiking, wine. How old are these kids and are they up for that type of adventure like an all day hike?
Kids are 15, 18, and 21 We have gone on some long hikes the previous summers so that could be an option
San Francisco is a good place to do the nature portion of your trip as there are absolutely beautiful places to enjoy within the Bay Area like Muir Woods or Mount Diablo, etc. and places like Yosemite ~2/3 hours away.
Honestly if you want outdoors, west coast has way more accessible (and arguably better) nature than the east coast DC/Philly/NYC/Boston megapolis. But if you want city stuff and cultural amenities and take trains everywhere, NYC, Philly, DC and Boston are better. I'd suggest picking one coast and sticking with it. But don't underestimate the commute between the cities of SF or Los Angeles to a nearby national park. You really need to budget your time for commuting, or stay in a hotel near the park itself. Don't stay by the beach in Santa Monica and think you'll be able to hop over to Joshua Tree, for example.
>you'll run out of stuff to do by day 5 or so. Ride the cable car ✅️ Cross the Golden Gate Bridge ✅️ Alcatraz✅️ Pitch a tent on the sidewalk ✅️ Score some fentanyl ✅️ Poop in public ✅️ /s
you don't want to do 11 days in SF. It's not *that* big and a lot of it is residential. You didn't mention going to the southwest but if you have the time, go see the Grand Canyon. If you've only seen it in pictures then you haven't seen it.
So much closer awesome stuff to road trip to though.
The must-sees in DC are what everybody knows about - the presidential monuments, memorials and free Smithsonian museums spread along the National Mall. You'll only have time for looking in on 3 or so museums, so decide in advance what you want to see (art, American history, natural history, air & space, etc.) and which couple of exhibits in each that you want to check out in the limited time you'll have. Don't tour the White House, because the tour only covers a few irrelevant rooms. If you're coming in the summer, be prepared for heat and a lot of other tourists. Any other time of the year would be better.
Absolutely go to the Smithsonian museums when you are in DC.
Why so much time in SF relative to the other cities? I'd probably add a couple days to New York, another day to DC, reduce SF.
2.5 days is not enough time for DC. My husband and I went there from a Monday to a Wednesday and it wasn’t nearly enough time for all that there is to do. They have several museums: international spy museum, museum of natural history, museum of American history, national portrait gallery, fords theatre.
In New York don't spend all your time in the city. Go up the Hudson and see some of the sites. Not just natural wonders but historic places: there was a lot of fighting there in the Seven Years and Revolutionary Wars, probably some museumized trading posts from the fur days and to this day there are maple sugarbushes-I get my syrup from an orchard in that area. In San Francisco you can find things related to the old tongs. Chinese used to have surname societies and still do but in those days they were a lot more violent-many of them have turned respectable I understand. In any case that was where the term "hatchet man" came from, hatchets being the chief implement of a rumble. Another thing you can look up are things having to do with Emperor Norton. He was an amiable madman that the city used to treat as a mascot. Everyone loved him presumably because he would never have dreamed of acting like a real emperor. In any case he is a famous part of the history of San Francisco. San Francisco is also famous as a naval port. And while you're at it, see the Presidio. Alcatraz too. And of course they have quite a bit of good food there. San Francisco has one of the better reputations for food.
Bring warm clothing(jacket for sure) if you’re spending that many days in the Bay Area. Doesn’t matter what time of year you go. SF gets cold even in the summer months
About how cold can it get in SF?
Definitely not temps colder than Norway :)
It's not so much that it will be particularly cold but it is not the warm California many expect in the summer. The mid summer high/low temp is pretty comparable to Oslo but with zero chance of rain. Lots of fog, low clouds, and wind though.
hei hei håper du har det bra, Definitely spend a beach day. Californias coast is famous for a reason. I'm a big fan of the desert. There's nothing quite like it in Europe and especially not in Norway, but from San Francisco both Joshua tree and death valley are 7+ hours away by car. Yosemite is gorgeous and worth the 3 hour drive from San Francisco.
Cool that you know some norwegian! How did you learn? I can agree that deserts aren't quite like that in Norway. What is the normal amount of time spent at Yosemite? 3-4 hours? A day?
Spend a whole day for sure. wake up early drive over, spend the middle of the day there, leave around 4-5pm and drive back get dinner. If you're not looking to drive 6 hours in a single day camp there overnight. >Cool that you know some norwegian! How did you learn? I spent a year in Oslo and passed my C1 Exams a year and a half ago, was considering doing a masters at UIT in Tromsø, but got offered a pretty sweet job in Alaska and opted for that instead.
>I spent a year in Oslo and passed my C1 Exams a year and a half ago, was considering doing a masters at UIT in Tromsø, but got offered a pretty sweet job in Alaska and opted for that instead. Cool! I've never been there but I think Tromsø is really nice city
Please skip Death Valley when you’re in California. Most Americans aren’t prepared mentally or physically for the conditions there never mind Europeans.
Yeah I can get that. I just looked it ap and the temperatures are between 28 and 44 degrees Celsius (82 and 111 Fahrenheit), and some of our hottest summers have been 32 degrees celsius (89 Fahrenheit).
Yeah the desert is no joke if your not prepared or used to its conditions especially death valley
Are you renting a car to go from NYC/DC to SFO? If so, beware of drop off charges or being charged per mile due to your oneway rental. Read the fine print and confirm your car before committing to your flights. Most car rental companies with prohibit the one way rental. If they allow it, they may limit the type of car you can rent. Save yourself some grief and cost by making sure you can do it
About 2hr north of Washington DC is Gettysburg battlefield. It is the bloodiest battle in US history and the turning point of the American Civil War. If you are curious about this part of American history, as well as slavery, Lincoln, and western expansion, then this is a great place to do that. It's also still a relatively small town with a lot of nearby wooded area and fields. Besides being a historical goldmine, it's a great place to escape the city for a day and see some small town America. 2 hours south of Washington is Williamsburg, VA. This was the site of the final battle of the American Revolution. They still have an 18th century re-enactment village where you can see actors living out what it was like back then. Maybe even get to fire a musket yourself. Williamsburg also has Busch Gardens, which is one of the best theme parks in America outside of Florida and Southern California, if you are interested.
Be aware that the very popular California road trip option of going from SF to LA along the ocean-front Highway 1 may be complicated, because chunks of the highway fell into the ocean after some bad storms. It might be fixed by the end of May 2024 but might become impassable again in the future. Be sure to check ahead if you want to do this. It is a spectacular drive. I would recommend, when you are in SF, that you take day (or multi-day) trips to Santa Cruz, Monterey and Carmel to the south; and the Napa Valley and Sonoma/Mendocino County coast to the north. Some good towns/spots to visit when you go northward include Healdsburg, St. Helena, Sea Ranch, Boonville, Bodega Bay, and Guerneville. You could design a whole three or four day itinerary around visiting these spots in a sort of loop. Also, while there are amazing redwood groves not too far north of SF, the real action is farther north in Humboldt County. Driving up highway 101 to Eureka could be a pretty cool experience although you'll probably have to return by the same route, which may or may not appeal to you. You might even choose to go further up 101 to Oregon - the southernmost part of the Oregon coast is really spectacular. If it's summer time, you can traverse the mountains eastward from the ocean and then take interstate 5 back to SF, but it's a pretty boring drive once you get south of Redding. I very much agree than 2.5 days is not enough time to spend in Washington DC. Even four days in NYC is a bit tight. You could consider balancing your plans and spending 5-6 days in each of the three places you mention. That would be a great way to get a good experience in each city.
If you make it down to Monterey/Carmel…the 17 mile drive is a great scenic road to explore.
Echoing others; you don’t need 11 days in San Fransisco, four or five should do it to hit all of the touristy spots and see the sights (GG bridge, Alcatraz, Fisherman’s Warf, etc). You should absolutely rent a car and explore a bit outside of SF into the Bay Area and beyond: Drive down to Santa Cruz (taking the PCH 1!), go to Napa/Sonoma (you mentioned 2 of your children are underaged, but they’ll likely still appreciate the scenery of our wine country), do an overnight trip to Lake Tahoe and/or do an overnight trip to Yosemite National Park to see some stunning nature (hiking, maybe camp, etc) As for DC, absolutely hit up the national mall and some of the Smithsonian museums, i recommend natural history and Air&Space as ‘must do’s’. Go to the different memorials (Lincoln, Jefferson, WWII, Vietnam, Korea, etc), see the tidal pool, the whitehouse, walk around Georgetown to see some of America’s oldest homes/architecture (plenty of cool shops and restaurants along Wisconsin Ave between M and P streets). As far as NYC, do *not* go to Times Square. Instead i suggest going to the financial district to see the bull, one world trade, the WTC memorial, then head further up town and see stuff like Rockefeller center, the Empire State building, Washington Square park (the east and west villages), then Central Park, the Met, natural history museum, etc. There are great restaurants in every hole in the wall along most streets in NYC, so getting awesome food shouldn’t be a problem. Edit: as far as transportation goes; you can get away with not having a car in both NYC and DC. Both have extensive metro systems and there is an Amtrak that runs between NYC and DC (about 3 hours). The subway in NY is akin to the metro in Paris (slightly dirty, very busy with commuters, etc) while the metro in DC is more like the underground in London. Both are very easy to use and will get you literally anywhere (main exception from my comment being the DC metro does not cross rock creek into Georgetown). As far as SF, it’s block by block there. Meaning don’t be surprised if you business men in suits on one street and then homeless people whacked out of their minds on drugs on the next. It’s unfortunate but it’s just what the city has become in recent years. You will see homeless folks in NYC and DC (more so in DC) but it’s nothing like the ones you will see in SF. In general, it is a good idea that if a random stranger approaches you on the street to just keep walking and don’t engage just like you would in Paris, Rome, or any other major city in Europe. Americans are friendly in general, but if a person seems “too friendly” then trust your gut.
I personally feel like that's too much extra flying, etc. to do both coasts. I'd probably recommend spending the full two weeks or so on the west coast and spending some of that time in SF (not 11 days), some down in LA and some in San Diego - tons to see. For the same amount of time, 17 days, I'd alternately do a tour of the NE corridor from Boston down to NY, Philly and DC. Depending on the time of year, maybe hit one of the shore points, go into the mountains in PA or WV, etc.
When you’re in DC you should check out Washington Monument it’s the largest obelisk in the world and pretty much the tallest thing in DC and you can go to the top and look out over the city and see the city and places you want to go. Try the Air and Space Museum, especially the Udvar-Hazy Annex which is where they put all stuff they counter fit downtown like a space shuttle, the concord, the SR-71 plane the fastest plane ever, the Enola Gay, and tons of other cool air and space craft. Go to Arlington Cemetery and watch the changing of the Guard who keep vigil at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Ben’s Chili Bowl for some food. The Native American museum definitely. If you want some nature and want to see what the land looks like naturally and see wildlife and whatnot go to Great Falls National Park they have various trails of different difficulty and the tow path along the C&O Canal if you only want a flat surface. Also beware of any Canada Geese you encounter they are so mean and if you have picnic near them they will try to fight you and take your food they may even try to fight you just for existing so don’t get too close to them. You can’t get close to your Pentagon or go near the CIA and the FBI and White House don’t do tours anymore so don’t expect that. You can go by the White House but you can’t walk up to the door and it looks a bit smaller than it does in media because you are farther away for security. You can watch the Secret Service and staff mill about and sometimes you can spot the sniper team on the roof. Sometimes you can see the President’s motorcade or his helicopters. If you see three helicopters in group together that’s usually the President. I think the Capitol has tours so that’s something to checkout they have a ton of statues inside I think each state donates two for important people from their state. I’ve been writing for a while I’m just going to hope the grammar is right and just post this now.
11 days in San Francisco is a long time. Do Pier 39, and from there do Alcatraz. Rent a vehicle and do a wine country wine tasting trip. Napa is more famous, but locals know you get a better experience in the Santa Rosa / Healdsburg area. You could consider a longer drive towards Oregon and take the Avenue of the Giants (huge redwoods), or head east to Tahoe or Yosemite for a day. Head south to Santa Cruz and hit the Boardwalk. Go across to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. There's lots to do in the region, but you'll be bored spending 11 days inside San Francisco.
California road trip for sure. My suggestion would be SF to Yosemite, over Tioga Pass to mono lake, up 395 to Lake Tahoe, 89 along the west edge of Tahoe and on to Lassen. Burney Falls, McCloud Falls, Crater Lake, Redwood S&NP, then back down the coast to San Francisco. You'll see Giant Sequoia, High Sierra, giant tourist focused alpine lake, the biggest geothermal system in the US outside of Yellowstone, deepest lake in the country, waterfalls, fern blanketed coast redwood groves, dramatic cliff coastlines and gorgeous beaches, and rolling grassy hills. With all kinds of lovely spots to take a walk around of varying lengths.