NYC to San Diego this January

My best friend and I are planning to spend the winter in San Diego. We want to take a short, 6-10 day road trip to get out there. (Coming back in the Spring we want to take a longer one, up the west coast, and then back east). This is loosely what we want to do:

NYC --->
---> Kansas City (2 nights w/ family)
---> Austin (a few nights couchsurfing)
---> Grand Canyon
---> Las Vegas (one night)
---> San Diego

1. NYC to KC is a long drive (16 hours?). Is there anything to stop and see along the way and stay the night? Indianapolis and St. Louis are both on the way.
2. Same question for Austin --> Grand Canyon
3. Is the Grand Canyon even fun in the winter?


We haven't seen much of the country at all, want to see some beautiful scenery and meet cool people on the way. Any recommendations are greatly appreciated, doesn't have to be touristy stuff.

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

New York to Kansas City is not a long day's drive. It will take a full two days to cover that 1200 miles. And even at that you will have no time to stop and see anything besides the inside of a restroom or gas station for those two days. Similarly, Kansas City to Austin is nearly 700 miles. It is simply not safe to try to cover that many miles in a day. I must assume from your timeline that you also plan to cover the distance from Austin to Las Vegas in no more than a couple of days with some sight seeing at the Grand Canyon, but again, that would require two 700 mile days. In a word, No. There simply is not a single bit of your plan that makes logistical or safety sense, If you really want to see any scenery other than through the windshield and meet any people other than the stereotypical fast food help, you have to make more time for your trip, cover far fewer miles or spend considerably less time in Kansas City and Austin. Otherwise it is simply not going to work.

AZBuck

Other than saying "ditto" to what AZ Buck said, here are some suggestions:

Between NYC and Kansas City, stay overnight somewhere around Springfield or Dayton, OH (assuming you are using I-80 or I-70). That is right around 1/2 way between NYC and KC. Then, between KC and Austin, stay south of Oklahoma City, such as in Pauls Valley or Ardmore. (Austin, btw, is considerably out of the way just to couchsurf.)


Donna