Wow, cool: ROADTRIP! love'em. You will have a great time in Cali! Where ya coming to...area wise? Nor or So cal? or even better central cal? most beautiful, peaceful & friendliest area IMO then is far northern cali. Anyhow, you can expect in So Cal, the closer to & once inside LA or Orange counties: ridiculous prices for most everything, some friendly people, but a whole lotta snobby, poser, lame-asses & lots of super hot plastic chicks that won't give you a nanosecond of a look unless your hotter than say Beckham or wealthy. Some all-american beauties that are nice girls not out for your $$ & lots of average normal chicks and guys with a good sprinkling thru all of cray-cray both here-lol! Gas prices will make you shizz if you aren't from NY ($4.29/gal for cheapie AArco low-grade today, not near a freeway offramp in a smaller town) oh yea nearer to freeways & hot spots (ie places to go like beach, disneyland types, ballparks, downtown, etc) the higher the gas price is. You will find people & hear languages spoken from every corner of the world, you'll find gangsta's in the cities all over-don't stare!-you'll find freakiedeakies of all sorts in LA, the beach communities (specifically Venice beach, but that's the whole purpose of going there is to people watch & be entertained by oddities people do). The further inland (ie: east & south east of LA & OC) you go you will find those more along general America, average everyday folks, a lot of paycheck to paycheck living & less obsessed with looks, money & society position. Money congregates in LA & it's environs as well as the beach areas of the OC & San Diego...some are great friendly folks, others not so much. Have u watched the real housewives shows of CA? Those chicks are typical along with the shallow duchebag dudes. they can outnumber the awesome folks sometimes tho. Anyhow, San Fran bay area is a lot of fun so long as you are truly accepting of their quirky free-wheeling culture there, otherwise you might be somewhat put off (esp if you're a blue-blood bible belter) or may just have a good laugh the whole time you are there...then again anywhere here in cali could be your next home, it's that awesome & beautiful & differant nooks & crannies of towns for every type of person's needs. Lots of freeways, not too many toll-roads, tons of differant cuisines, places to see and shop, things to do either man-made or natural, gorgeous parks & beaches of all sorts. Cities are pretty much squished together in a melange, especially closer to the big cities you get...alot of newly built residential area sadly look an awful lot alike & are built so close together you could easily hand your neighbor toilet tissue from your bathroom window....lol lil exaggeration, but not by much! also the further from the big city you get, the better & more real the people. And we do have a lot of agricultural areas on the eastern portion of the state that are impressive as all heck some go for as far as your eye can see. Also I've been told by several folks that were born & raised east of the rockies that come here & marvel, that we have views & vistas here that are unlike anything they've seen before on the east coast...better elevations here? dunno.. All I know is I love the views in So cal where I live, tucked up next to a mountain foothill. There is so much to do all over the state that you'll have fun I'm sure: get a visitor's guide & try to plan stuff...although there's stuff that you may find & impulsively do. I can talk smack about the people in california as I was born in & partially raised in Nor Cal & have been in So Cal since grade-school (1970's, so I gots 'xperince LOL)....lived in many towns, met lots of people from differant backgrounds, ethnicities, faiths, countries, etc. There is a lot of an attitude IMO here of "Me first! Get the F**k outta my way!" everywhere. Oh & our traffic seriously bites ass, blows so bad sometimes you can think about ripping your hair out...or as I've sat for hours in LA traffic think : F**K this! I can f**king get out & walk to where I gotta go!" also if you come in summer time, the further from the coast you go in so cal the hotter it gets...late summer there is monsoon flow so it's like 102/105 degrees & high humidity.. If you're staying with friends you'll have a great time, just prepare for the rudeness, traffic, high prices, ridiculous gas prices & the high price of entertainment (last time I checked for me & the hubby to get admission to & park @ Disneyland it was over $100...with their locals discount special going). You'll have fun tho, cause there is a good chunk of the population that are awesome, helpful, friendly & welcoming here. Also there is a sense of rush rush here, that you need to hurry up & get somewhere to hurry up & do something so you can rush on to your next task on the endless to do list....prolly why so much legalized mj here lol, gotsta relax folks, sheez...chill, enjoy your surroundings & whatever it is you are blessed to have, even if it's only your alive! Lemme know where you're going to & if I've been there I can maybe rec something to do/see? oh & if you're driving in on the I-10 freeway or the 40, yes it is a whooooooooooooooolle lotta boring desert (after the first 50 miles it don't change much) then you'll come to the mountains & once you head into them, it's starts to become more lovely & prettier...& smoggy. gosh I rambled a lot...I hope it was of some help?