Anonymous
04/11/2025 11:58
Subject: Driving DC to San Diego in five days
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I've driven SD to DC before and did it in 5 days of driving (1 rest day) with a few fun stops along the way. It's definitely doable, especially now that the days are longer. Here was my trip:
Day #1: Leave San Diego at 8 am, stop in Meteor Canyon, AZ (open until 7 pm and 8 hours from SD). It was super cool to see!
Day #2: Drive through Petrified Forest Park (Opens 8 am, 1:15 from Meteor Crater). Stop at the National Museum of Nuclear Science in Albuquerque and see the Breaking Bad House (3 hours from Forest). Visit Blue Hole, NM (1:41 from museum).
Day #3: I stopped to visit a friend in Millington, TN and eat BBQ.
Day #4: Visit Oak Ridge Laboratories and arrive at a friend's house.
Day #5: Friend's house in Knoxville, TN (did not drive)
Day #6: Depart Knoxville, TN and drive to DC
There used to be a website that would tell you all the cool tourist things to see/do right along the highway so you can plan your trip to break up the driving without detouring much. I wish I could find it again as I would highly recommend it.
NM to TN in one day is a hell of a drive. 13 hours of driving, plus stops for gas/eating...you are looking at nearly 15 hours on the road.
I drove further than Blue Hole the previous day so it wasn’t NM-TN in one day. I also didn’t cross into TN until shortly before lunch time the next day. I only ever drove 8-10 hrs/day.
Anonymous
04/11/2025 09:23
Subject: Driving DC to San Diego in five days
Anonymous wrote:I've driven SD to DC before and did it in 5 days of driving (1 rest day) with a few fun stops along the way. It's definitely doable, especially now that the days are longer. Here was my trip:
Day #1: Leave San Diego at 8 am, stop in Meteor Canyon, AZ (open until 7 pm and 8 hours from SD). It was super cool to see!
Day #2: Drive through Petrified Forest Park (Opens 8 am, 1:15 from Meteor Crater). Stop at the National Museum of Nuclear Science in Albuquerque and see the Breaking Bad House (3 hours from Forest). Visit Blue Hole, NM (1:41 from museum).
Day #3: I stopped to visit a friend in Millington, TN and eat BBQ.
Day #4: Visit Oak Ridge Laboratories and arrive at a friend's house.
Day #5: Friend's house in Knoxville, TN (did not drive)
Day #6: Depart Knoxville, TN and drive to DC
There used to be a website that would tell you all the cool tourist things to see/do right along the highway so you can plan your trip to break up the driving without detouring much. I wish I could find it again as I would highly recommend it.
NM to TN in one day is a hell of a drive. 13 hours of driving, plus stops for gas/eating...you are looking at nearly 15 hours on the road.
Anonymous
04/11/2025 09:16
Subject: Driving DC to San Diego in five days
Anonymous wrote:I've driven SD to DC before and did it in 5 days of driving (1 rest day) with a few fun stops along the way. It's definitely doable, especially now that the days are longer. Here was my trip:
Day #1: Leave San Diego at 8 am, stop in Meteor Canyon, AZ (open until 7 pm and 8 hours from SD). It was super cool to see!
Day #2: Drive through Petrified Forest Park (Opens 8 am, 1:15 from Meteor Crater). Stop at the National Museum of Nuclear Science in Albuquerque and see the Breaking Bad House (3 hours from Forest). Visit Blue Hole, NM (1:41 from museum).
Day #3: I stopped to visit a friend in Millington, TN and eat BBQ.
Day #4: Visit Oak Ridge Laboratories and arrive at a friend's house.
Day #5: Friend's house in Knoxville, TN (did not drive)
Day #6: Depart Knoxville, TN and drive to DC
There used to be a website that would tell you all the cool tourist things to see/do right along the highway so you can plan your trip to break up the driving without detouring much. I wish I could find it again as I would highly recommend it.
You can still get triptiks from AAA that can do this. My sister and I drove to DC from Monterey with one and it was super interesting and helpful.
Anonymous
04/10/2025 17:38
Subject: Driving DC to San Diego in five days
It's doable but don't stop. There's hardly any time
Anonymous
04/10/2025 17:36
Subject: Driving DC to San Diego in five days
I've driven SD to DC before and did it in 5 days of driving (1 rest day) with a few fun stops along the way. It's definitely doable, especially now that the days are longer. Here was my trip:
Day #1: Leave San Diego at 8 am, stop in Meteor Canyon, AZ (open until 7 pm and 8 hours from SD). It was super cool to see!
Day #2: Drive through Petrified Forest Park (Opens 8 am, 1:15 from Meteor Crater). Stop at the National Museum of Nuclear Science in Albuquerque and see the Breaking Bad House (3 hours from Forest). Visit Blue Hole, NM (1:41 from museum).
Day #3: I stopped to visit a friend in Millington, TN and eat BBQ.
Day #4: Visit Oak Ridge Laboratories and arrive at a friend's house.
Day #5: Friend's house in Knoxville, TN (did not drive)
Day #6: Depart Knoxville, TN and drive to DC
There used to be a website that would tell you all the cool tourist things to see/do right along the highway so you can plan your trip to break up the driving without detouring much. I wish I could find it again as I would highly recommend it.
Day #1: Leave San Diego at 8 am, stop in Meteor Canyon, AZ (open until 7 pm and 8 hours from SD). It was super cool to see!
Day #2: Drive through Petrified Forest Park (Opens 8 am, 1:15 from Meteor Crater). Stop at the National Museum of Nuclear Science in Albuquerque and see the Breaking Bad House (3 hours from Forest). Visit Blue Hole, NM (1:41 from museum).
Day #3: I stopped to visit a friend in Millington, TN and eat BBQ.
Day #4: Visit Oak Ridge Laboratories and arrive at a friend's house.
Day #5: Friend's house in Knoxville, TN (did not drive)
Day #6: Depart Knoxville, TN and drive to DC
There used to be a website that would tell you all the cool tourist things to see/do right along the highway so you can plan your trip to break up the driving without detouring much. I wish I could find it again as I would highly recommend it.
Anonymous
04/10/2025 17:21
Subject: Driving DC to San Diego in five days
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It won’t be fun, but you can certainly do it. Here is how I would do it:
Day 1: DC to Columbia, Missouri
Day 2: Columbia, MO to Denver
Day 3: Denver to around Vegas
Day 4: arrive San Diego
This schedule allows for no sightseeing, especially on first two days. Final day is flexible. If you stop on day 3 just before Vegas, in St George, Utah, you have about a 7 hour drive to San Diego. If you stop west of Vegas, in Barstow, CA, you have about 4 hours to San Diego.
DC to San Diego should not involve Denver or Utah. This sounds doable, make time for the Grand Canyon though.
I did this to L.A. and it was fine. Imagine it would work for San Diego too.
Anonymous
04/10/2025 17:20
Subject: Driving DC to San Diego in five days
Anonymous wrote:I’ve driven to and from Colorado multiple times DC to St. Louis isn’t bad and can be done in a long day usually. Further west is hard if you’re on I 70 because Kansas is so terribly boring.
I don’t find Kansas too bad. I like all of the open space. I always say eastern Colorado looks more like Kansas, than Kansas!