Chicago to Sausalito

Hello to all!

I am looking for advice for a road trip we are doing from Chicago to Sausalito. We need to leave on Monday later morning and be in Sausalito, CA around dinnertime Thursday. We will of course be doing the I-80 passage given our limited time. There are 2 of us and we expect to do ~9-10 hours per day. I am trying to figure out what would be some pleasant options for food stops and lodging along the way. I think we are set for the first day. Planning to motor through to North Platte, Nebraska We have stayed there before on the way to Denver. After that I need HELP. We will be driving an extended van full of paintings so we would like to do as much mountain driving in daylight if at all possible. Thanks to all for any help you can offer.

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

I think you might want to rethink your first day of driving. Shooting for North Platte might be a bit too much for your first day. That would be a 750 mile/13 hour trip, and if you aren't leaving until 10-11 am, you won't be stopping for the night until close to midnight. I typically try to bite off a little extra on the first day, but going this far could leave you underrested and overtired for the rest of your long journey.

As far as mountains go, you shouldn't really have a problem. I-80 through Wyoming is no where near as mountainous as I-70 through Colorado, so you shouldn't have any problems there. The one spot where you will have a major pass is over the Sierras in California, but if you are trying to get there by dinner time, that shouldn't be a problem either.

As far as Lodging and Eating, I would recommend reading The Art of the Speed Run, the suggestions about making advance reservations and eating out of a coolers (since you will probably only have time for one sit down restaurant meal per day) will be very applicable for your trip.