Road Trip

Hello - I live in the UK am planning a road trip around America with my girlfriend this Summer. Very briefly we are leaving from San Fransisco on 19th May and arriving at Las Vegas on 30th May. I would like to travel down the west coast and see as many good sights as possible. We will stay in Vegas for about 5 days then driving to Salt Lake city. Finally we are flying to Miami and then driving from Miami up to New York along the east coast. If anyone has driven this route or has any suggestions it would be good to hear.

Cheers

Tony

A couple of suggestions. On the west coast portion, of course, you have to spend some time in Monterey. I've driven the coast highway (CA-1) from SF down as far as San Simeon; it's all good, and parts of it are spectacular. Stop and see the sea lions on various beaches and hike the state parks along the way. One hidden treasure is the loop from Monterey inland on G16 and G17 with a side trip on CA-146 to Pinnacles National Monument. These roads have appeared on more than their share of motorcyle magazine covers - 'nuff said.

On the east coast, I'd travel (Oh let's be honest, I will be travelling this summer) up through Savannah and Charleston, two uniquely Southern cities, and then head out to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to the Delmarva Peninsula and over to New Jersey on the Lewes-Cape May Ferry. This route includes several hours on ferries, but I love 'em. The other thing that appeals to me, at least, about this route is the amount of history on it: Fort Sumter, Blackbeard's haunts, the 'Lost' Colony of Roanoke, Kitty Hawk, etc. It also gets you off the Interstates after Savannah and completely avoids Richmond, Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia which can be traffic nightmares. On the other hand, they may be just what you want to see.

Good Luck

I strongly agree with azbuck's recommendation on driving down to San Simeon. I drove this once--Big Sur is so beautiful it can be a spirtual experience. I also made reservations in advance and took one of the shorter tours at the Hearst Castle -- It was very interesting.

Have fun on your trip!