It appears that my lovely daughter will be able to come home from her Coast Guard assignment for Christmas holidays, and that she and I will be driving the family vehicle that will then be hers back to Alameda, California. We'd like to ask for your thoughts on things to stop, see, do, experience, on the way. Follow below the koslique for the specifics?
So far as Texas is concerned, we've got that covered. We'll be going through El Paso so she can see the house we moved from when she was 4. Beyond that, it'll be I-10 (keeps us south of mountains and bad weather, we hope) through Phoenix, Los Angeles, and then north to Oakland. We have roughly 8 days to do this trip leaving central Texas on December 26 and reaching Oakland by January 4.
We in no way are dead set on the interstate- we both love less traveled roads and sights and adventures. We've just got to balance efficiency of travel with what might be seen. World's Biggest Ball of Rubber Bands? We're amenable. Great places to eat? Definitely. Inexpensive dive motels that are safe for 2 women alone? Please tell me where those might be found. I'd love for us to be able to follow the coast highway at least for a while, and certainly find a place to stick our toes in the cold sand for a moment. We'll still be on the road New Year's Eve, so someplace safe and interesting to stop that night that would be appropriate for a 19 year old and her mother, festive, but not wild. I'm hoping for at least sparklers, cheap champagne, and enough of a cellphone signal to call Texan and tell him Happy Anniversary (our 8th!).
And thank y'all in advance for your thoughts.