Austin Tx to LA

[marytexas]

My husband and I are planning on driving to LA around the 15th of January. We plan to be in LA Jan 20, stay a few days and then come back. We have never driven so far before. We've always flown to LA. We just retired and thought we had the time, so let's do it! Any ideas? I've gone into Mapquest etc but they just give highways. Where should we stop? What should we see? Is there any sites to check into towns, restaurants, etc? Thanks for any info.

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America forum.

Five or Six days each way is plenty of time for your trip and there's lots of things to see between Austin and LA. Just the highlights (some suggestions to get you started on looking at what's available) of such a trip might include:

Big Bend National Park
Guadelupe Mountains National Park
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
White Sands National Monument
Kartchner Caverns State Park (AZ)
Suguaro National Park
Joshua Tree National Park
Anza-Borrego State Park (CA)

In addition, there are smaller delights to be had along the way. As for town and restaurants, that's such a personal taste item. What I like to do is to drive into the center of small to medium sized towns, look for places that intrigue me and seem to be frequented by the locals, and give them a try.

AZBuck

[marytexas]

Thanks for your help. That's a great start. You're right about towns and restaurants. We love small towns and usually try to stop and walk around, and have lunch in some small restaurant in those towns. Thanks again.