NYC - SF move and want to find regional specialties to pick up along the way...

Hi,
I'm a long-time lurker and first-time poster...I'm moving from New York City to San Francisco at the end of the month. We're planning on taking a more southernly route due to the time of year (as well as doing it in a Penske 22 ft moving truck!). We have two drivers for this trip...so current route is as follows:

2/28 - NYC - Hagerstown, MD (~251.5 miles)
We're going to leave later in the afternoon after packing up the truck.

3/1 - Hagerstown, MD - Nashville, TN (~649 miles)

3/2 AM - Nashville, TN - Memphis, TN (~212 miles)
Stop at Graceland.

3/2 PM - Memphis, TN - Little Rock, AR (~135 miles)

3/3 - Little Rock, AR to Shamrock, TX (~504 miles)
Possibly stop in Oklahoma City.

3/4 - Shamrock, TX to Albuquerque, NM (~378 miles)

3/5 - Albuquerque, NM to Flagstaff, AZ (~323 miles)

3/6 - Flagstaff, AZ to Barstow, CA (~358 miles)

3/7 - Barstow, CA to Bay Area (~390 miles)

So, I have a few questions for you roadtrippers in regards to the trip:

1. Do you think I've given us enough time from place to place (while thinking about being able to see some sights on the trip)? I could space it out even further to a total of 10 days (right now it's at 7 full days.)

2. Any local/regional specialties (food stuffs and candies) that you can think of that I can pick up along the way to share with family in CA?

3. I'm really interested in Route 66 but how much will it slow me down in terms of daily mileage? Also, for the most part, do you know if it will accommodate a 22-ft moving van okay?

Thanks in advance for any help/advice! :)
--Sarah

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

One of the most common things we remind people on this forum is that going south really doesn't provide much help as a catch all to avoid winter weather, and if detouring south means adding extra miles, it can very well increase your odds of seeing a storm simply because you'll have to be on the road for a longer period of time.

If you are traveling this way because you want to see things along that route, there is nothing wrong with it. However, if the main reason you've chosen this route is to avoid bad weather or mountains, I would suggest rethinking your plans and take the more direct route via I-80.

As far as the specifics of the plan you've laid out, you've certainly got enough time, but I think you need to divide it out better.

The first day I have a feeling that you won't make it 250 miles unless you drive well into the night. Its been my experience that every time I've made a major move (and I've made several) I always leave a few hours later than I planned. I'd just be prepared to travel a shorter distance here, if things don't work out quite as you planned.

Really your second day is the only other one that is a big concern. 650 miles is a lot of time on the road, and it could really set you up for getting burned out early on. Throw in the fact that you will probably still be getting used to driving a large truck, I'd try to cut about 100 miles off of your plans for this day.

Those are pretty small things, but they can easily be corrected. With many of the rest of your legs under 400 miles, you've got plenty of time to work with should you need to slow down for weather or simply find things along the way that you want to stop and explore.

All of the elements that Michael alluded to above are on-point, with this one follow-up. Because of the air circulation in the Gulf of Mexico in the winter months, it is quite likely that you will see and encounter more severe weather along the southern route than if you just hunkered down and took I-80 straight across the country to San Francisco.

Mark

That's good info. Since I'm a newbie at this driving cross country thing, I really appreciate your advice in changing the route. I will have to check out the things along the more direct route and see if that makes more sense.

Also, is there an easy way to determine weather conditions (just look on weather.com?) while on the road? I'm leery about driving in adverse conditions (mostly snow/ice) as most of my driving experience is in Northern California.