Howdy - my wife and I recently canceled our 2 week Italian vacation, which we had been planning forever and was supposed to be in September. As a consolation, we are contemplating doing a small road trip through California, culminating in a long weekend (Thursday - Sunday) in Napa. We don't have anything at all planned right now, but have taken the following into consideration:

- We will probably fly into San Diego on Saturday and make our way north over the next few days to Napa (we'd love to do Northern California sometime, but that will be a different trip)
- We are aware of the restrictions in California right now (outdoor dining only, certain attractions are closed, etc.), and have no problem with wearing masks or following other social distancing protocols. We also understand the risks associated with going during COVID
- Neither one of us has spent much time in California outside of bachelor/bachelorette parties or work trips
- We love outdoor activities (hiking, beach, etc) and good food (restaurant recommendations would be greatly appreciated). I'm also an avid golfer, but haven't brought up bringing the sticks to my wife yet (fingers crossed)

Outside of Thursday through Sunday in Napa Valley, our itenirary is a blank slate; we have no planned route or stops. I would love to get your takes on must-sees/must-dos between San Diego and Napa (towns, activities, hotels, restaurants). We're considering Palm Springs, the greater LA area, Carmel, San Fran, but like I said, anything is on the table.

Cheers,
T-Woody2014

We just did something similar but went east to Yosemite when we hit Monterey.

Point Lobos was my favorite stop. Tons of day hikes along the coast in an incredibly picturesque setting.
We stayed at Carmel Hyatt Highlands and it was my favorite hotel of our 19 day trip. In room fire place overlooking the ocean was money (lows in the 50s in July!). Only 10 minutes from Point Lobos.

Other things we did that I recommend:
San Diego Zoo
Explore Balboa Park
Driving through the little beach towns on highway 1 just south of LA was cool.
Swimming at La Jolla Cove was a cool experience. I would bring a snorkel. It's crowded but an easy experience being so close to the city. My wife had a seal swim like 10 feet in front of her.
We also did 1/2 a day on Coronado Island which was a very picturesque island town with big beaches and lots of military fly bys. We were looking to kill time after Disney and Legoland didn't open up.

We didn't go to Hearst castle since we had little kids but if it's just you and the Wife I would go. We saw the Zebra's out front just roaming around like cattle which was kind of crazy and unexpected.