Atlanta to San Francisco tomorrow - northern route?

Hi!
My husband and I are leaving for San Francisco tomorrow morning and have a couple routes to consider...I thought maybe you all could help and give me some ideas or feedback. :)
~~First route is the normal, Atlanta->Memphis->Oklahoma City->NM->Flagstaff->up California coast
~~The Second route is Atlanta->Nashville->Topeka->Lincoln->Cheyenne->Salt Lake City->Carson City->San Francisco.

I would like to go the second route but don't know if it will be totally inconvenient.. or if someone has another route that would be interesting, let me know.. I'm flexible..(obviously, lol, it's the day before the road trip and I haven't decided on a route yet!).

Another thing that I am wondering is about Trip Planning websites... I think TravMatrix looks neat, but does anyone have any experience with it? Or how about Inside Track Club?
I'm willing to pay the 19.95 or whatever it is.
Thanks for your help, I appreciate it a lot!
:)
~stacy

Stacy,

Hmmmm. I wasn't aware of Inside Track Club but I have reviewed TravMatrix and most of the other road trip planning contenders, for more information <a href = "http://www.roadtripamerica.com/travelplanning/userguidecustom.htm#travmatix">click here</a>.

Both routes look fine to us -- is there some other consideration that would make one more desireable than the other?

As far pre-planning goes -- I don't see much reason to jump the gun -- you can always decide after you turn the key!