I love the Big Trees, too, Claire; but visiting them is a bit too much to add to a two-week trip in Northern California.

I think that with two kids, I'd spent two or three nights in San Francisco, make a trip to Lake Tahoe for two or three days, and then rent a place on the coast north or south of SF for a week and use it as a base of operations.

For 25 years, I did security clearance investigations for the U.S. Government, driving all over California and working in almost every town in the state. I made a rule for myself - wherever I went, I make sure I saw whatever there was worth seeing there. And after twenty-five years as a "professional tourist" in California, I still have lots to see. But then, I'm one of those people who would be thrilled to spend three weeks on an architecture tour of Los Angeles County (people have no idea what an architectural paradise that county is).

But for a first-timer, and warn that it's not a good idea to try to see everything. Bite off a few nice chunks and savor them. And make sure you take a few nice hikes - a city hike in San Francisco and a walk across the Golden Gate Bridge, a 2-hour hike in the redwoods at Muir Woods (which is on the San Francisco bus line), a beach hike on the North Coast at Point Reyes, and a wildflower hike at Lake Tahoe. You can do better without a car in San Francisco, but you need a rental car everywhere else. And yes, as Claire says, a hike in the giant sequoias is a wonderful pleasure, too.

-Joe-

And if you like snow, today would have been a perfect day to visit. It started snowing here at 8 AM, and now it's 11 and it's spectacular. My wife and I are going to take a walk in the mile-square woods next door and enjoy the beauty.