I'm planning a road trip down the coast of California to San Fran/San Jose/ Oakland area (not going any more south than Carmel) and was wondering if there are any really awesome shops I should visit.

Any input appreciated!

above category in mill valley, sf

In Oakland: Cycle Sports - This is the home of the United Healthcare Pro Team.
http://www.cyclesportsonline.com/

In Monterey: Joselyn's - Fast Frank is a great guy and it's a cool shop.
http://www.joselynsbicycles.com/

In San Francisco: City Cycle - Iconic SF shop
http://citycycle.com/

In Redwood City: Veloro - Great shop and Gebhard is great to work with.
http://www.veloro.com/

There's really a lot of good shops in the SF bay area.....you shouldn't have any problem. You could also try to stop in to see some of the many companies scattered around the area too. Look Cycle USA has their headquarters in San Jose and they have rides on a regular basis. Specialized does as well and are in Morgan Hills.

There's a ton of cycling related stuff in that area. You should enjoy yourself.

Palo Alto Bike Shop is good - certainly worth a browse. Just south of Redwood city so on your route.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/

I was in Cycle Sports last summer, cool shop and nice guys working in there.
I didn't know that UHC had their headquarters there, but maybe that happened after I was there.