Road-trip to San Diego and may be further

Hello There, adventure lovers!

I am a visiting Research scholar (male, 29) at Stanford from Free University of Berlin (in Germany). As the end of my stay is viciously encroaching (sad indeed) i want to absorb all the beauty of the Golden State and make a road-trip from Palo Alto/ San Francisco down to San Diego (through iconic highway #1 - camping, swimming, city explorations on the way) and briefly jump across the Mexican border to Tijuana. On the way back, I am eager to take an alternative rout through Vegas (not a must. though). it is intended to be low budget but full of adventures and memories trip.

Departure date from Bay: August 1 (reluctantly negotiable)
Duration of the whole trip: 10-12 days (negotiable)
Overnight: in national parks (in tents) and in hostels (for bigger cities)
I do not owe a car, so i am intending to rent one and share the costs with my co-travelers.

Write me if you are interested or/and have questions. We could also meet up around Campus for a brief introduction.