Well my past two dive trips were "out there" as far as the destinations, but that diving was incredible. This past October I dove in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. My wife and I stood in on Bunaken Island (pretty remote) and we stood at the resort called Bunaken Cha Cha. The resort was wonderful, we stood there for twelve days and loved every minute of it. The Indonesian reefs are spectacular, plus you don’t have hoards of people...I think we were one of 6 people diving while there. The resort is all inclusive, the staff is wonderful, can’t say enough good things about this place. It’s not a 5 star accomodation by any means, but the rooms are very clean, they run a safe dive operation, the food is GREAT. From California you could get a flight to Singapore, then hop to Manado, Indonesia. If you’re into muck diving, Lembeh Straits is not far (like two hour drive...and that is the ONLY way to get there that I’m aware of) and is some of the best in the world. Check out ASAP tickets for cheap airfare, I have used them for my past few trips and they give wonderful prices and you can actually plan your itinerary over the phone (MUCH better than Expedia, Orbiz, and the likes). Other trip I just did was Egypt (bit farther for you being in CA...I am in NJ). But the diving there is wonderful too. I stood in Sharm el Sheikh, it was very touristy, tons of divers from Europe, but the reefs were beautiful. I stood at a resort called Oonas Dive Club. Again, nothing fancy at all, but the rooms were clean and they run a good dive operation. This is not an all inclusive place though. If money allows, I highly recommend diving in South East Asia, especially Indonesia or Malaysia. Check out my pictures if you want to get a taste of the diving in those locations (as well as some of my other adventures).