NY to CA 2775

I've driven cross country (coast to coast) about a dozen times in as many years. Fast and scenic tend to be in contradiction. If you want scenic, avoid the Interstates and take the U.S. routes or smaller roads as much as possible. Near big cities and in the East this can be a pain in the butt (e.g., US 1 on the east coast. . . forgettaboubreast, you'll be going one mile an hour) so you may have to occasionally jump on an Interstate until you get away from the big cities.

I usually like to take 7-10 days, driving about six to eight hours a day and usually covering 300-500 miles. Basically you drive from morning to late afternoon (you can't see much scenery at night), which gives you time to find a decent motel in a town before it gets too late in the evening. You won't get too tired out this way and the car won't have as much wear and tear. (Doesn't always work . . . I once drove out of Salt Lake City, planning to stopover in Reno only to realize it was the weekend of the big airshow . . . I had to keep driving, right past Lake Tahoe and over the Sierra Nevada in the dead of night, and didn't find a vacancy till the outskirts of Sacramento.)

Normally I'd recommend the Gulf Coast, but they'll still be cleaning up from the hurricanes and it may be tough to find a motel room, so you may try a more northerly route. A lot will depend on the weather . . .it'll still be sort of wintery in the northern states. Either way you'll have to contend with the Rockies. If your car isn't too great I'd recommend going southward thru New Mexico, where they're a little lower and less likely to be snowbound.

Canada is also an awesome experience. I entered thru Kingston, ONT (quaint old colonial town, very British) and drove across the main trans-Canada highway (not many alternatives there) thru some gorgeous scenery on the north shore of Lake Superior. Huge forested areas and extremely light traffic. The Rockies are more impressive than the U.S. part of the range, and there's an incredible stretch of highway called Icefields Parkway which runs right past a huge glacier. (Might be snowbound in March though). That'll take you to B.C. -- to avoid Vancover traffic try the Kelowna valley, which takes you into central Washington. Then it's a quick scoot down the coast (US 101) or you can try the inland route (US 97 changing to Rt. 99 in California) and there you are.