HWY 1 may take u 2 days to

get to LA ... Slow drive ...

Hearts Castle : The Castle itself is not worth to see, but the view from mountain top at San Simeon is breathtaking.

Ferry to Catalina Island departs from Oxnard, or from Dana Point. A whole daytrip if you go.

My own favorite places along SoCal :

Santa Barbara

Along the coastline of LA :

Santa Monica - the small seaside amusement is charming, especially at night. dont charge to go in. Just a good place to have family fun and a good stroll on the beach at night.

Marina Del Ray - if you like yachts.

Manhattan Beach/Redondo Beach

Palos Verdes Estates/Rancho Palos Verdes ( Wealthy neighbourhoods with unbelievable ocean views over cliffs - just south of Rodondo Beach)
Long Beach - Wonderful Acquarium
The drive from Long Beach to Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and Dana Point is very charming.

Newport Beach - has a small but very interesting Maritime Museum that is set up on a boat. It was free when we went. Lots of interesting exhibits. When we were there last time, it had an exhibits about Macau and Opium War Treaty !

San Diego - if you are using rental car, be sure to check with your rental car company about going to Mexico. When we took our rental at Hertz San Diego in May, the counter agent half joking, half warning to us : No Mejico.

Traffic between LA & San Diego can be a nightmare. In May it took us almost 7 hours to go from Thousand Oaks to San Diego, on a Friday after 2:30pm. The distance if no traffic, would be 2 hours max.

Getty Museum at LA is free, only need to pay parking.
Great view from the museum ground.
If you want a terrific view of LA from mountain ridge, take a scenic drive of Mulholland Drive.

http://www.latourist.com/mulholland-drive.htm

The new LA Music Hall by Disney. Stunning archetecture.

And yes, Chrystal Church is interesting.