Hello everyone!

My husband and I are planning to do a cross-country roadtrip in 2009. We are from northern Europe and as you maybe understand we need all the help we can get from you, friendly american folks. ;) I have no idea where to start.

Our route plan is approx. New York - Washington - Nashville - Grand Canyon - Las Vegas-Los Angeles in two weeks.

We´ll probably rent a car.

My questions are.. (for now)
* we are about to start saving money for the trip now, what kind of a budget could be reasonable considering that we are two persons, renting a car, sleeping on budget motels for two weeks, eating mostly supermarket food, and visiting sights? I know this is a tough question but it is SO hard to count the costs when you´re not American and everything is new... any help you could give me would be soo great. I fear that 4000-6000 euro is probably the maximum price that we could pay for this trip, (flights tickets included) should we forget the whole thing?
* we have never thought about sleeping in our car, because we want to be safe. I know this would be a good thing considering the budget, but I´m still not very into it. is it possible to find motel prices like 20-30 dollars/night for two persons?
* is it difficults to find your way through big cities like new york, washington, tulsa, vegas or are there lots of signs to follow..?

aaaahh.... I don´t know where to start. but this IS my big dream so I better give it a try...

big hugs.. please help us.. thanx