synchrofly
first off I learned to fly at palo alto (near san francisco). i know what you will face, and unless you spend a HUGE amount of money and put the priority on the way you fly over and above whatever you do for a living, I think you shouldn't bother...just pay for airline tickets.
to do it ''right'' you would have to get a private with instrument rating at the very least. on top of that there is the practical aspect of bad weather, personal fatigue and night flying.
on top of that the terrain can be less than fantastic along the way ( mountains)...and flying over the ocean is a little daunting if one went the coastal route.
so forget it. your responsibiility to your passengers would be so overwelming you couldn't get started on a practical level until you had over 200 flying hours.
now, you could take lessons, hiring a flight instructor and take people along with you...but you would have to pay the instructors time and hotel as he waited for the return flight.
business use of private planes and the practical aspects of flying make things rough.
fog in the bay area, ice enroute, fog in washington state...makes little sense.