Done this same trip all the way down to San Diego last October and I can recommend stopping off in Monterey and going out on a whale watching trip as this was a fantastic experience.
17 Mile Drive is also good as you can get right down to the water and witness the full power of the ocean crashing in on the rocks
San Simione - Elephant Seal View Point viewing area where you can get up close to the Seals although this does smell a bit!!!
Just to name a few, there are loads of place to pull in and take photos as well.
It is an amazing journey and something I would do again as the scenery is just breath taking in places.
It's been a bit of a while but I have had my time absolutely taken up by work, switched jobs to work in a hospital just before the start a pandemic lol.
It was everything you said it would jaw dropping, breath taking and then some. It had been a lean time for whales off Monterey when we went but we got to see Blues, Humpbacks, Orcas and a few pods of Dolphins and plenty of Seals.
One of the highlights for me was the sunset on Carmel Beach which really was one of a kind, so many people there but you could still hear a pin drop.
Stopped at San Simione and yes, quite smelly. Yosemite was quite spectacular, especially Glacier Point which literally does take your breath away, well it did mine any way.
Managed to see Dan Aykroyd in Lake Tahoe after surviving the wife screaming about the ribbon road and the fact that it had massive drops either side in some places.
It was such an experience that we are going back when we next can with San Diego on the list this time around. One of the most eerie feeling was cycling across The Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito, stopping half way and staring out across the bay at Alcatraz.
