Baltimore to Oakland and back again

Sandy & Shirley wrote:
We are 70 and 61 and just retired in October.

Howdy, Neighbor - Congratulations! on the retirement - the main effect is that now you really will "Have time to ENJOY the Drive" .........

Planning our first long trip from the Baltimore area to Oakland to visit our two daughters and 4 grandchildren.

Is there a Better reason to travel than to enjoy the Grands.....Not IMHO.

We plan to leave in mid April, take the Southern route for 14 plus days, spend 5 or 6 days in Oakland, then take about two week to come home by the northern route in May.

Leaving in Mid April, just before the Dogwoods Bloom, might just head as far south as say Ashville/Lake Toxaway and enjoy the Spring a little more, sorry I start day Dreaming.......So the "PLAN" is to do this in 5 weeks. First really Long trip - and - 6,000 miles - 35 days - Yes it is a doable "PLAN" but as hard as it is to Imagine, YOU have no Real Time Line - you're retired, so this Could be more FUN? Just some food for thought.

We have all kind of maps of where the national parks are, but not a lot of information on other things to see or do along the way each way.

Really need to gather more info - not on the National Parks but on YOU. What do you ENJOY? - Other than seeing the Grands - do we have a Second Mission? Might try to narrow this part down just a bit......It truly is a BIG Country, so might be a little difficult to point you in the Direction that you want without knowing what YOU Enjoy.............. My suggestion is to pick one area you might enjoy and try to get to it - see - explore - touch - learn - and then be able to say you've Done It not just Seen It.

Our only tips so far were from a friend who told us that the Alamo was just a tourist trap in the middle of a large city and the OK Corral was an interesting side trip close to I-10.

While the Alamo is not that great - River Walk is to be seen and enjoyed - IMHO, have dinner there and then get to the Hill Country - Texas is a big state with much to see and do but ........if I had the limited time you have I'd focus on the SouthWest - Utah - Colorado -Arizona - New Mexico - Or Just on California - if you flew out to Cali and only had 5 weeks you would only see a Small Portion of the state. Now that you've driven 3,000 miles it might just make sense to see what's out there, maybe steal the Grands and enjoy a few side trips with them?????????

So, we are wide open for any suggestions that we can investigate for planning our trip.

Just a Guess...but I think you have pretty much mapped this all out and are hoping to find some confirmation for your Plans :-) - Just my Guess.......But If I were you..........I'd just get on I-70 to I-68 to Morgantown up to I-79 to I-70 - then on to Hannibal, MO - Take RT 36 to Denver - 1,750 miles + - I can give you a map - but you need to get to the Rockies - the world you are looking for STARTS THERE!

We plan to travel about 500 or 600 miles a day, about 6 or 7 days on the road and another 7 days stopping to visit the various areas.

Great Plan .....but........or maybe......BUTT...... Trust me I speak from Experience - 12-14 hours on your BUTT is a challenge - doable but not a lot of FUN. My Grands are in Colorado - so with maybe 20 + trips on the Ground and another 20+ trips in the Air I have made these long - LONG trips and my BUTT knows the time that it just wants to stop....... but you will learn :-)

Only question is what are the best places to visit?

No need to suggest anything east of the Mississippi since those are places that are close enough to visit later.

As I've said Either the SouthWest or California, and the Coast, it's a long, long, long Drive take advantage of it??????????

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Sandy & Shirley wrote:
The idea behind the 500 to 600 miles, 10 hours was to get up early, hit the road, travel the full day, pull in later and have dinner at a new campground. Then spend the next day or two touring the new location before taking another travel day to the next location to tour from.

This is our first major trip.

If this were me - and I had no real deadline, I'd stretch this out for Months not Weeks. It's a Really BIG Country, why waste the drive to the Coast - See It NOW.