Driving from NC to CA About This Page:

[coasties]

We got word that we will be transferring (DH is active duty US Coast Guard) to CA in May. We plan to stop and see family in Western NC on the way.
It looks like we will be taking the I-40 route.
1.Anyone done this trip?
2.We were planning on 4 days ( about 6 to 7 hours driving each day). We want to stop early to give the animals a break from the car.
3.I need some good towns to stop in along the route so I can search for pet friendly hotels.
4.any can't miss stuff???
Specifics:
who:
ME
DH
DD's 14 and 8
one cat one dog
How:
driving oursevles
moving truck with trailer
Dh's suburban
When:
early May
Where:
western NC to San Diego
Any infomation, suggestions, advice are greatly appreciated. TIA!

[Lumieregirl]

I did this drive, in reverse, as a child. We moved from CA to VA. I remember we planned for 4 days, but it became 5+ as my parents underestimated how tired they'd be from driving so much. I have great memories of stopping at the Carslbad Caverns in NM.

[Straitlover]

If you're not dead set on your route, you might want to consider I-20 to I-10 (connects in Texas) instead of going I-40. A friend of mine married a Navy guy and when they moved her out, that was the recommended way to go. They were driving a big Uhaul truck and pulling a pickup.

[Huntermom]

I have never driven that far, although I did help my son drive his car from New England to Texas. I really enjoyed the drive.

As far as pet friendly hotels, we often stay at Homewood Suites and Residence Inns. I think they all allow pets, although the fees vary. I have also stayed at a Clarion that was pet friendly.

I really like the suites hotels because they have kitchen facilities and it's nice to be able to eat in the room, cool some drinks for the next day and pack a cooler for lunch. It also gives you a little more room when you have not only a family, but pets.

Homewood Suites frequently have a happy hour in the evening and both chains have free breakfast, often with good hot selections.

I don't know how close you will be but if you haven't seen the Grand Canyon, it is a must do.

Diane

[Papa Mouse]

Here's one of the fastest ways to find a pet friendly hotels and/or motels. Plan you itinerary in advance by picking the city you plan on staying overnight in. Then go to the internet search engine and enter hotels and motels. Now continue, add PET FRIENDLY. Foe example: hotels and motels, pet friendly.

[peggysue2u]

I've driven numerous times on I40 from Oklahoma to CA. Parts can be tedious but for a first time, interesting. When coming into the panhandle of TX, you have the huge cross and you'll start to see signs for the 18 oz steak or whatever it was. (You'll see, as you can't miss it). Once you start to get out of TX and into NM, make sure you make one of the rest stops to get out and explore the red bee hives (that's what my son called the rocks there ---for the life of me, I can't remember the names). MESA (is that it?) Going from NM to AZ, lots of Dinasour stuff on the way. Fake big dinasours on the sides of the road, the dinasour boneyard.

When you get to Flagstaff, you might want to go down south there and then head over to San Diego. We went south in NM and it was pretty bare in the southern area of NM/AZ.

Do you have Cracker Barrels in md? That was my favorite place to eat from OK to Flagstaff. We always stopped at Holiday INN expresses with the military discount/free breakfast. Would stop at Albequerque, Grants NM (anther one just on the NM/AZ line but can't remember the name)and Flagstaff (different ones, different trips). We had 2 cats with us. Our first trip ( we did round trip twice a year for 6 years0, we stopped at the nicer truckstops (red/yellow one ==can't remember their name and the TA truckstop) to collect magnets or pins from each state. Helped the kids get through the drive and they had a pizza hut.

I don't know if the other cell phone companies have built towers yet but AT&T were the only ones that had signals through a lot of the drive through NM/AZ where if you got stranded, you'd need to make a call.
Driving from Oklahoma City to Sacramento was a minimum 2-1/2 day drive at 10 hours a day driving.

[coasties]

THANK YOU so much everyone!! These tips & suggestions are wonderful!

[DrDolphin]

The drive through NM can be interesting - esp when you cross the mountains and head into ABQ... but then again - I am biased - my parents live there!!

[rhinohunter]

You only gave western NC as your starting point so I used Asheville as a starting point. Yahoo maps gave the following route from there out to San Diego. Here is the link that they gave me.

http://maps.yahoo.com/#mvt=m&lat=33.31811&lon=-99.78153&zoom=6&q1=Asheville%2C%20NC&q2=san%20dieg o%2C%20CA

This uses I-20 and I-10 for most of the route. It looks to be the shortest. Wishing you safe travels.