......well, thanks for all the insights.....of course the parents' choice was booked, with non-stops OKC-SFO-OKC (and I'm amazed that UA would free-up 4 seats on this high-fare route)......I just wanted to hear from FTers whether my thinking made any sense!?!?!?!

........but the parents have never flown into SFO before (they've used OAK+BART for their SanFran vacays-before-kids and babymoons)......so I was just trying to give them some insight into the extra hassles of SFO vs SJC......my sense is that they will have to leave Monterey for the drive to SFO for a 4pm flight home much earlier than for SJC......and it's just a 3-night mid-week vacation.

......to answer some other FT posters:
.........yeah, I offered an connection right into MRY, but the parents vetoed the available connection at LAX
.......and since there is an OKC-LAX non-stop on UA, I also suggested the beaches in LA area would be much nicer than Monterey, but the parents have become totally NorCal-oriented somehow for an Okie-raised couple!
......(yeah, I know SW is "WN" but when posting outside an airline forum, I tend to use the more colloquial (sp?) forms, like JB for Jet Blue)

thanks again to all!