Travel

I was used to a maximum of London to Manchester in a day, that's only 200 miles.
As pointed out LA to SF is ~400 miles and the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway, or Route 1) is very winding in some places and quite foggy in others.
Winter storms can cause landslides (into the ocean) and highway 1 can be closed by those. Watch the weather and driving maps very carefully, not to have to take the odd 200 mile detour!
Plan more time than you think.
Hearst Castle in San Simeon is well worth it.
Solvang is quite quaint and has the best pastries this side of Denmark (which it reproduces in every way possible).
For the best experience of steep hills in SF: drive north on Leavenworth and at the crest and on the way down have your camera ready! As you're doing that, if you look right on some of the side streets, you'll see Coit tower which is in the shape of a firehose. The best view is straight forwards though.
Also go up on Twin Peaks at night. Gorgeous if there's no fog. VERY cold most nights though.
The mechanical toy museum is great if you like that sort of thing ("Musee Mecanique&quot .
Asian Art Museum in SF is also fantastic if you have 4-5 hours to spare.
Driving Las Vegas to the South rim of the Grand Canyon is also a 280 mile one-way trip (5-hour minimum).
Make sure your car rental company knows you're going to AZ, by default rentals are only allowed to be driven within the State the car was rented in.
I highly recommend using a site such as https://rome2rio.com to plan the driving, as well as Waze, or apple maps with the driving option.
Keep your eye on https://sf.funcheap.com/ for up-to-date listings on less expensive things to do in SF