SF to Redding to Eureka then home

[vaulter]

Hi all,
I recently found this website and I love it--a great resource! I'm planning a short road trip (4-5 days) in mid-August and here's my general itinerary. I'm looking to have short driving days of 2-3 hours (except for the first day), leaving a lot of time to explore. I'm hoping someone out there will have some more suggestions of great things to do or places to stay. This plan is very flexible right now:

-San Francisco to Redding (I want to check out the sundial bridge at turtle bay park). Should I stay in Redding? Or should I just continue on (probably 1.5 hours) to...

-Redding to McArthur-Burney Falls state park (will probably stay here two nights) Does anyone know if this will be very crowded around this time? How is that drive on the 299?

-backtrack through Redding out to Eureka. (An alternative plan here is to go up the 89 past Mt. Shasta, then up the 5 to Ashland, OR, for a Shakespeare play. Then down the 5, over the 96, and then the 299 to Eureka. What do you think about this? Will add a lot of distance and another night, of course.) From Redding going straight to Eureka, should I take the 36 or the 299? They seem about the same distance, so which is more beautiful or has something interesting along the way?

-from Eureka, south on the 101 (stopping at Avenue of the Giants). Should I stop at any of Scotia, Shelter Cove, or Garberville?

-I would like to swing out to the 1 and stop by Fort Bragg. Is it worth the detour? From there I'm planning on heading back to San Francisco, but this is about 200 miles so I'd like to stop somewhere midway and camp or find a cheapish hotel. Any recommendations? Should I stay on the 1 or come across the 20 to the 101 and come south?

Thanks for all your help. I can't tell you how great it is to have found a resource like this--

Graeme