We are planning a road trip from Dallas, TX to California. What are the "must sees" along the way. I would love suggestions for sights to see, great hotels to see, cool views, great restaurants, etc... Thank you!!
When I did this from ca to tx with my grandparents we stopped at Carlsbad caverns nm and the Grand Canyon. Ps the route along the 40 was WAY better than the 10. Enjoy ur trip.
Santa Fe, NM is beautiful (and plenty of good restaurants!). Meteor crater in AZ, as well as the Grand Canyon.
Will you be going to Northern CA? If so, be sure to stop at Yosemite National Park along the way. If you have never been there before (or even if you have), it is amazingly beautiful. Truly a national treasure. Sequoia National Park is along the way, too, and you can see the largest living tree there (the General Sherman sequoia). Great hiking, if you like that.
Also in Northern CA, if you will be visiting the coast, be sure to stop in Monterey and see the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It is incredible, and they just opened a second jellyfish exhibit not too long ago that is well worth the price of admission all by itself. If you'll be visiting San Francisco, well, almost everywhere you go there are great things to see and do. We always send people to the Handlery Hotel on Union Square. It's an especially great place to stay if you're traveling with kids, because they have a pool (outdoors - a rarity in SF).
If you belong to AAA have them map it out and do a trip tix. They will point out all the places of interest, hotels, etc.
We took this trip about five years ago with our two boys ages 8 and 12 at the time. Our trip lasted about two weeks so we did not have to rush. We drove for about eight hours a day and made frequent stops, then stayed for a night or two along the way. My kids loved Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, AZ. We spent most of our time in San Diego and Los Angeles. Did not try to go to Northern California on this trip. (We flew to San Francisco a couple of years later.) My kids are not big on theme parks, but they both love Legos, so we went to Legoland. As far as rides go, would not be very exciting for thrill seekers, but if you have a Lego fan, then it is a must! We enjoyed going to Hollywood. It is kind of cheesy, but worth a few hours. We just happened into the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits. My kids also enjoyed that and I highly recommend the Ronald Regan Museum if your kids are old enough. Lots of history and even had an Air Force One airplane inside and a piece of the Berlin Wall. We all got a kick out of Venus Beach/Muscle Beach. Lots of strange and interesting people. We saw some amazing street performances and even a quirky funeral parade. My boys had brought their roller blades, so they had fun skating near the beach.
We also went to Las Vegas. It is something to see once. The kids enjoyed the Freemont Street Experience, which is free and has a huge LED light canopy. We saw the Hoover Dam and of course, you must see the Grand Canyon.
If your kids like science museums and you are a member of the new Perot Museum, then I believe you can go to the Lowell Observatory and the La Brea Tar Pits for free. For hotels, we usually try to stay with one chain so we can earn free nights. Currently, we do Holiday Inn Express, but have done La Quinta before. My husband looks online and finds the newest or most recently updated hotel and those are usually pretty decent.
