Driving down the east side of the Sierra is spectacular, but it is a pain of a drive to go from Yosemite to Tahoe in the winter. Plan on at least 6 hours. On top of that if we get any bad weather it will even take longer. I would first go to Carmel, then Yosemite on HWY 140 (less ice and snow), and then head down HWY 99 to Bakersfield and beyond. If you are lucky you might get a nice bloom in the desert. Also last year there was an amazing bloom in the Carizo Plane outside of Bakersfield.