The facebook folks among you have already heard, we're going to the USA in August! I am now starting to piece together the travel route and any advice is welcome!

We arrive in L.A. in the later afternoon on a Monday. Right now I'm thinking to pick up the rental car right away and do little more that night than to get accommodated to everything.
Starting next morning, we have 9 and half days until the flight home from L.A.

Now as we are assembling the route, the decision has to be made whether or not we take long road trips on some days getting us to the next major destination or smaller ones, with more stops along the way. What do drivers and people with experience recommend as a maximum of miles to cover on a day? I understand driving is very different from the Autobahn rush with little to see next to the road around here.

Let's say our goal leaving from L.A. is the Grand Canyon area via Joshua Tree NP perhaps. What's a good place to go to? Sedona, Flagstaff, Kingman? Covering all that distance from L.A. in one day or having a stop on the way? In Lake Havasu maybe? Which part should one go to for the best view with the least queues around Grand Canyon?

Next would be Las Vegas. Is there a lot to do and see during the day? I imagine it's more fun at night and maybe some National Park could be reached during the day. Zion possibly?

After Vegas we would be heading towards Yosemite, maybe via Tonopa, then spend the night plus half the next day in Yosemite. Or is that bigger than I imagine? Later that day we'd drive to San Francisco.

How much time does one need in SF? What's to do and see? I have no idea beyond the Golden Gate Bridge and The Rock, to be honest. I fear we won't have more than a day there anyway, though.

Leaving SF to go back towards L.A. again raises the big question whether to pull off a long day of driving or find a nice place halfway (San Luis?)
A really long ride along Highway 1 is certainly pretty and in the evening you're in L.A. But you spend all day in your car. Thoughts?

I think L.A. might be limited to the last day and a half for Walk of Fame, Universal Studios tour etc. Or does that sound like too little? The flight home is on a Thursday afternoon.

I am not opposed to doing a LOT during the vacation, but I also don't want to feel rushed when it comes to driving or only having 15 minutes to look at the Grand Canyon. A nice mix of city life and wonders of nature sounds good for us. We like nice walks but we aren't the type to hike for a full day or so.

So how does that general outline sound? It's around 2400 miles in total, not counting short rides. If you think those plans are too ambitious and some places should get dropped for something I may not think of right now, please let me know! Also, if you can think of nice places, parks or even hotels along the general directions I described, any suggestion and advice is welcome!