Thank you all for your comments! I also recently received advice from a friend to not spend so much time in LA. Our main purpose is to go to universal studios and I threw in "shopping" as I didn't know what else to add under LA.
Seems it would be preferable to include one more overnight between Monterey and Los Alamos? And should I skip Sequoia entirely and spend time over at Joshua tree instead? I could also stop one night in Fresno instead.