Howdy:

Wow. Lot of driving, you've got there. Here's some broad thoughts, off the top of my head, about the first segment of your trip. I'll post other thoughts as I mull them over.

1. L.A. To Windsor: Get started early and take the straightest (and most boring) route. L.A. to San Francisco is about five hours if traffic is not unduly heavy. Add the additional miles to Windsor and traffic, and it's more like 8 hours on a good day.:

- Interstate-5 (I-5) North through the San Joaquin Valley (roughly around Tracy

- I-580 West through the Livermore valley

- I-680 to the Benicia Bridge

- Cross Benicia Bridge onto I-780 toward I-80

- Look for Highway 37 junction and head west.

- Take U.S. 101 North toward Santa Rosa.

- Follow directions to Windsor and the Worldmark.

In very broad terms, you're traveling up I-5 and going around SF Bay on the east side, then jogging over to U.S. Highway 101 North. (all the other highways are important, but they are the means to those two major routes and give you a simple way of thinking ot this).

2. You'll hit traffic in the populated regions along the I-580/I-680 junction, on I-80, and on 101 anywhere near Santa Rosa.

The Worldmark timeshare (which I've stayed in) is not far off of U.S. 101 and easy to find, even in the dark. It'll be dark by the time you get there.

3. One roadtrip tip: Best bathroom / snack/ lunch break as you get into the Northern California part of the I-5 drive is the Harris Ranch Restaurant and resort in Coalinga. It's just off the road, and is sheer luxury compared to the gas station/truck stop breaks you take. Mexican tile, commodious restrooms, decent menu (their specialty is beef). Just past there you'll want to hold your nose -- lots of cattle.

That's all for now. More as I think. There are many places you might want to see on the way back down, and I'd urge you to look on the forum for places to stop along the coast. There have been numerous queries and posts regarding great drives and stops along the coast before, so I'd think you could copy/incorporate those.