Cross Country Trip, need some ideas! (house, eat, places to visit)

[aircrowley]

Hello All, I will be leaving on Jan 2nd and driving from Central Florida (Lakeland) to Los Angels. I wanted to ask if anyone knew of some great destination highlights to stop and see. I plan on taking my time and doing it in about 6 days or so. I plan on going to New Orleans and the Grand Canyon, but other than that, I'm not sure where I should stop and look around, any ideas or input, would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Aaron

[DinsdalePirahna]

Since you are driving in the winter, expect the unexpected. Snow in high elevations - even in Southern California is not unheard of - most likely you will have snow in New Mexico and AZ (especially around the grand canyon and flagstaff).
Flash Floods may also be a problem.
Definitely take the Southern Route.
Check out the atomic bomb museum in Albuquerque.
The Big Texan Steak House and Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo are stupid-fun roadside breaks.
Meteor Crater and the Petrified Forest are also dumb-fun diversions
I've done the cross country trip quite a few times from LA to NY and Back.
If you keep your driving time limited to 8 - 9 hours a day, have a good traveling companion and seek out local eateries (stay away from franchises) you may have a very fun trip.

[Poncho_NM]

Originally Posted by aircrowley

Hello All, I will be leaving on Jan 2nd and driving from Central Florida (Lakeland) to Los Angels. I wanted to ask if anyone knew of some great destination highlights to stop and see. I plan on taking my time and doing it in about 6 days or so. I plan on going to New Orleans and the Grand Canyon, but other than that, I'm not sure where I should stop and look around, any ideas or input, would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Aaron

I have done thr trip from Miami to LA a few times in the past.



Go North to Tallahassee and then take I-10 from Tallahassee to LA.

I would stay on the I-10 route during the winter. And it has some good scenery.

It is about 2,500 miles and will take about 40 hours of driving. That will be about 7 hours a day for 6 days.

You won't really have time to see the Grand Caynon, it is out of the way and will add about a days driving.

You will go through New Orleans.

White Sands monument will be close in New Mexico. Also City of Rocks State Park, Carlsbad Caverns would be another choice.

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum near Tuscon and Casa Grande Ruins National Monument futher north. There are plenty of scenic points worth stopping to see if you have never been to the great Southwest.

You need something like a Rand McNally map for the trip and there are a lot of places to visit. A lot to explore. Begin researching...

Good luck to you.


Rich