LA - Stayed in Anaheim, but loved Long beach the best and would stay there if we went back. Worst thing was the traffic, which was a nightmare in LA, best bit was hiking up to the Hollywood sign which had spectacular views of LA. Also loved Rodeo drive, though DH didn't let me in ANY shops! Palm springs we only really went to for the outlets and did a ton of shopping 
We only did Knott's Berry farm out of the parks in the end - lost our vouchers for Universal! I really liked it though, and the lines were a lot more bearable. We also found that the boys were allowed on pretty much every ride, which was great. They loved a ride which was just like Stealth in Thorpe park, which they would have to be 140cms to go on here! We also turned up a whole day late to the baseball, so missed that! But we did end up booking a game in SF. We enjoyed it and out was fun for the experience but it didn't grab us in the same way American football did and we won't go again. DH also did NOT tell me how cold the pacific was! Fecking freezing which i was disappointed with! But the hotel was nice, and we enjoyed late evening swims in the pool.
San Diego I really wash't that fussed with. I loved taking the kids rock pooling and they got within 2 foot of a massive sea lion. We also enjoyed the USS Midway. Gaslamp is all restaurants and not really that atmospheric. I really wanted to go to Tijuana, but dh was too scared!
We went up to Willams via Lake Havasu city which was nice, would have liked to have done a boat ride there. Drove along long dessert roads, bumpy hot and no traffic in sight - dt1 threw up! Drove some of route 66, and saw some of the little towns, Williams is a lovely place, the boys loved the evening shoot out! The canyon was jaw dropping,. I look back at some of the photos and they don't look real! I'd love to have spent longer there and done some hiking. It's be my number one place to go back to in CA. DH was never really an outdoorsy person - scared of wildlife etc, the parks element of the holiday was really me, but he loved them all too in the end.
Vegas was seedy, hot, crowded. The hotels are so big, it took ten minutes to walk from our car to our room. we did a buffet the first night, and it was a 90 minute queue for mediocre food. The Bellagio screwed up our lake view booking and we ended up on the 6th floor with a shitty view - still complaining about that one. Considering it was 5 star, it really didn't feel it at all. No coffee, no water, no papers - just money grabbing crappy service. Even got woken in the middle of the night cos some pissheads upstairs had left the tub running - with very little apology. The pool was lovely though, I liked seeing all the lights, and the two shows we saw were fabulous (Boys II men and Ká) I'd go back to Vegas for the shows, but I think I'd maybe stay off the strip.
We then drove towards death valley which was amazing - so barren! I expected to see more traffic in these places, but it was generally very isolated. The changes in scenery and climate were so frequent too, up to 30c in temperature and from dessert to lush forest! Yosemite was another place that we could really have done with more time to explore, it was very much a whistle stop tour and dh was disappointed he didn't get to see any bears! I'd like to go back in Spring, since the falls were all dry.
Had the most interesting stay of the holiday after that - a motel somehow rated 3* but very run down, couple next door had a big barny on and off all evening in spanish (mexican spanish is so much harder to understand!), which resulted in a state trooper hammering on our door at 5 in the morning! He wasn't the worst sight to wake up to though 
He'd got the wrong door, but after that we heard the whole thing going on again, and the guy getting arrested.
Took DH to San Jose to see Apple's HQ then headed down the coast a bit to Big Sur - some amazing views, best bit was the waterfall falling on to the beach. We went down to Pfeiffer beach, absolutely beautiful, but so dangerous. We didn't realize just how bad it was until we headed back to the car and saw a memorial on a tree for a girl who had been swept out while only paddling - very sad.
Last stop - San Francisco! Hotel was one of the best of our stay, with free wine and cheese in the afternoons and a huge room with a little kitchenette, and a big bathroom with spa tub. (I was won over with the wine! ) We were very tired at this point though, and the hills were a killer! We were close to union square, but a 2 mile walk to fisherman's wharf. I think next time I'd stay on the outskirts and drive to places. We ditched the car on arrival but ended up getting a car on day 3, to get to a few places and drive back to the airport.
We really wanted to do the bike ride, but it would have been nearly a full day, so we got a trolley down to the wharf and started walking towards the bridge. It didn't look far on the map - but a two hour walk for a jaw dropping view of FOG!! If we hadn't have laughed, we'd have cried! We did manage to see it at one point though, and I drove over it. Alcatraz night tour was brilliant and the boys loved it. They are fascinated by Frank Morris and one of the talks was all about his escape. I think the boys loved SF best.
All in all, it was what my mum calls a 'microwave' holiday, a non stop rushed tour, but we saw so much. It was meant to be the holiday of a lifetime, but now I want to go back and spend longer at my favorite bits! Hike the Canyon, bike the bridge, stay in Yosemite. Better start saving!!