I was a little disappointed with L.A. to be honest. I drove down Hollywood Blvd 3 times looking for the Kodak Theatre only to find it tucked back off the road. The staff in the Mc Donalds next to it couldn't speak english and the blvd itself was full of cheap tourist shops.
There were a few cool places and the coast was nice although Venice Beach was just some drug walk with a lot very weird people
LA is adumo and best avoid. Sure there are few nice areas here and there, although technically most of them aren't even in LA.
The only reason to go there is a cheap flight and to get out as fast as possible.
When going to Yosemite try to get out of the main valley As much as possible. Hetch Hetchy is a very similar valley but they flooded it to supply drinking water for SF. No tourists at all there though! There are fantastic hikes just off glacier point, e..g up sentinel dome where you can be completely by yourself. Also the high alpine area near the Tioga pass has fantastic hikes and scenery, friendly marmots. A good if strenuous hike on the main valley is the 4 mile trail from the valley floor up to the visitor center and then follow the panoramic trail until it meets up with the main half dome trail following Nevada and Idaho falls to the valley. Also in yos eite don't forget to visit the giant sequoias in the Mariposa grove, awe inspiring.
Also check out areas away from the park itself. All down highway 395 on the eastern side of the sierras has the most stunning scenery of anywhere I have been. Mono lake, Bhodie gold mine, Alabama hills, mt Whitney portal, convict lake, devils post pile, mammoth lakes. This area is widely used in many western movies. Also easy to get to Death Valley which is worth it in the spring but not so much in summer.
Also don't forget Lake Tahoe, stunning scenery.
That wheel area around the sierras is my favourite place in the world. Very diverse scenery of epic proportions
