Hi
Weather for this time of year is from about 15-20 degrees depending on the city you are in. It can be cooler in the Bay area.
Spending money:
Meals - until the new brochure comes out, I don't know what meals will be included in the price. My own US experiences are that you can eat as cheaply or as expensively as you wish - I have budgeted as if I were dining out in the UK.
Excursions - many of the excursions are can be booked before you leave the UK. Information on which excursions will be available will be released when 2014 brochures are launched.
ATMS - Based on this years tour, a number of the hotel's had ATMs and in some cases there were banks with ATMs close by.
Luggage - I would ask the other community members to comment on this one, although I see no reason why your usual luggage couldn't be used.
Age Group - the golden question, this tour has such a wide reach in terms of people that book. Like the majority of our tours I would imagine that the main age group will be in their 50/60s. However, on most departures there seem to be a couple of travellers that fall outside of this age range (the last departure this year has one traveller in their twenties).
I'm sure other community members will share their comments and experiences with you too.
Kindest regards,
Julia