cali road trip

I have done it (and wound up staying in CA for 15 years). I would decide first if you are trying to get to CA as fast as possible or if you want to experince the country. There is some cool stuff out there and its not all on the coast. If you just want the Cali part, fly to San Diego, rent a car and drive to Oregon. Also an unreal trip. My 2 cents.

 

my friend and his family did it they said it was horrible when they were driving through the country. but their dad flew over to cali with their surfboards and they went surfing for the oldest son who is 18. and they said the drive was worth it.

 

over x-mas my friend and i flew out west and drove up the coast from mission beach in san diego to the tip of santa cruz at salt creek...would've been perfect if we got to see mavs goin off but overall best trip i've ever taken...

 

I was stationed in Port Hueneme, Cali and then got moved out to VA Beach. My friends and I drove it, and it was an adventure and a half. We took I-10 almost all the way and the total hours with two near arrests and a break down was about 54 hours.Definately a cool way to see the country though and you'll certainly have an interesting story to tell.

 

I have done it 6 times from DE to Southern CA & was on I 40 for the most part. 1st time was pretty cool seeing new sights. Was in a hurry the 1st time & no sight seeing, just pretty much straight drive thru with my brother. Other times just a few stops off I 40, Grand Canyon & few other areas. Pretty long, boring in the middle states & lot of it looks the same Oklahoma to Arizona after a while.

 

If you have the money i highly suggest taking your time getting out there. I drove out for school and because of time restraints had to make it in 3 days. Two of my friends are midway through a trip out there right now and im pissed that i missed it. They hit badlands natl park, mount rushmore, vegas, and everywhere in between. I wish i could have done it this way in fact i wish i had the money to take 2 weeks to a month just driving out there. Seeing what the country is like by car is amazing, and an experience that i suggest everyone has. Once you get there it's pretty much a dream. My friends are currently in Orange County surfing trestles, but im pretty sure norcal has surf also. Spend about the same amount of time surfing, and exploring as you took to drive and your pretty much set.

 

I did it right after 9/11. It was probably some of the best 3 weeks of my life. Me and my friends took a southern route and camped out in every national park we came across. Plus we hung out in New Orleans for 3 days, so i got to see the city before Katrina hit. Once we got to Texas I couldn't believe how wide open the country was.

 

if you come across Old Dean Moriarty, let me know.

 

For a month i would say 1500-2000 my friends that are doing two weeks total are spending between 500-1000. You would have to camp for the most part or find friends to stay with.

 

yeahi have we did a cross country trip a few years ago and its nice out west...takes a lot of energy tho to drive allthe way out there but its worth it .. just make sure you have epople there to occupy ya.

 

I hitch hiked from the East Coast to the West Coast many, many years ago. Left with $70 in my pocket and returned with something like $20. Spent two weeks including 3 days in old Ensenada bodysurfing, sleeping on the beach and having fun at the carnival that was underway.

 

ive driven back and forth more times than i can count, most of the trip on I40. the key is to be prepared (watch the weather) and stick to a schedule... i do 18 hrs the first day, 16 hrs the 2nd day and then the third day is whatevers left... sometimes 8 hrs sometimes 20. it makes a big difference if you are driving something that hauls ass too. definitely invest in a valentine 1 radar detector and dont speed thru VA! oklahoma and texas sucks balls. the trip from SD north is great, so is SD south if you want to check out baja but be careful

 

Is it just me? Or does anyone else not care about seeing the west coast? Maybe a little... but there's too much more to explore on our shores..

.. but the hitchhiking thing sounds pretty fun... Into The Wild, but not to Alaska

 

Road Trip

I did the trip from D.C. out to Cali, up the coast and back to D.C. It took about three weeks and me and a friend saw a lot. It cost about $800-$1000 because we didn't stay at any hotels, just with friends and at campground.

We drove straight on I-70 to Illinios then cut down to I-44 until about Sante Fe, New Mexico. It took about 2 days of 14 hours a day of driving to get there but to be honest there is much between here and New Mexico that is worth seeing. After that we stopped Grand Canyon, Zion, Yosemite, Redwood, Seattle, Glacier, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton. Is really depends what you want to do because ultimately there is too much to see in one trip but I would just recommend finding Kampgrounds of America or State Park or National Park campgrounds on the way to save money (maybe splurge on one night in Vegas).

Good luck.

 

You have obviously never been to the West before? You don't know what you are missing.

 

I think its just you.

 

i did it 2x. everybody should see the whole country like that at least once. as previously states, the middle states are pretty boring but the Rockies are so cool to drive through.

 

Dont forget how much Tennessee sucks on I-40. Takes FOREVER to drive through and you still feel like you haven't left the east. I've done it twice, once in a van we could sleep in the back, once in an old honda civic which when gas was under a buck. I think our gas budget for the entire round trip that time was about $100!