Round Trip from Raleigh to San Diego

Before we worked remotely and homeschooled, we lived just like most people do. We took about 2 weeks, total, of vacation per year and tried to squeeze all the fun into those amazing days off. Our “Big Trip” changed everything for us. We began thinking about how we could travel and experience more together, working and schooling on our own terms. It took years for it to all come together, but it started on this first cross-country adventure. We’ve created an interactive map on Google Maps so you can take a look at our route and our major stops along the way. You can access that map here.

In addition to providing our route, this article also serves as a gateway to all of our posts in the “Big Trip” series. Just click on any of the highlighted links, and you’ll open a post that will provide more information about that stop.

Here’s the Itinerary of our First “Big Trip” – Over 7,500 miles round trip!

●      Day 1 – Raleigh, NC to Fellowcould Farm, Louisville, KY  (536 miles)

○ Pilot Mountain - quick photo stop to stretch our legs and admire the view

○ Fellowcould Farm, KY to visit dear friends for a few days.

●      Day 2 – Fellowcould Farm

○ Experiencing farm life

○ Reconnecting with friends and familiar locations

●      Day 3 – Fellowcould Farm

○ Visiting young horses at a neighboring farm

○ Horse riding

○ Country style dinner

●      Day 4 – KY to Kansas City, MO (551 miles)

○ Lunch stop at Fazoli’s in Mt Vernon, IL

○ Unscheduled drive through downtown St. Louis to see the Gateway Arch

○ Ozarkland Rest Stop & Store in Kingdom City, MO

○ Check into Holiday Inn Express Kansas City, MO

●      Day 5 – Kansas City MO to Denver, CO (622 miles)

○ Breakfast at Holiday Inn Express, Kansas City, MO

○ Drive all the way across Kansas

○ Stop at the home of dear friends in Denver to enjoy dinner & an overnight stay

●      Day 6 – Denver, CO to Moab, UT (354 miles)

○ Breakfast at the home of our friends in Denver

○ Lunch at Taco Bell

○ Arrived at Under Canvas in Moab, Utah

○ Dinner at Moab Diner

○ Sunset and S’mores at our campsite

●      Day 7 – Moab, UT to Grand Canyon National Park (358 miles)

○ Sunrise over the Moab desert

○ Arches National Park for some light hiking and sight-seeing

○ Roadside stop at Hole N” the Rock

○ Arrived at Grand Canyon National Park

○ Exploring our rustic cabin

○ Sunset over the Grand Canyon

●      Day 8 – Grand Canyon National Park to Las Vegas, NV (302 miles)

○ Ellie and Colleen woke early for a hike to watch sunrise over the Grand Canyon

○ Family breakfast at the Lodge and more scenic views

○ Arrived in Las Vegas, NV in the early evening and checked into Bally’s Hotel

○ Brick oven pizza for dinner at Paris Hotel & Casino

○ Sightseeing - Bellagio Fountain, Paris, Planet Hollywood

○ Kevin & Colleen played some video poker while Ellie watched the Littles

●      Day 9 – Las Vegas, NV

○ Late breakfast of crepes in Paris Hotel & Casino

○ Explored Bellagio, Caesar’s, and the Flamingo

○ Milkshakes at Johnny Rockets

○ Late afternoon family nap

○ Mirage Volcano

○ Sophie was Hangry

○ Hot dogs in Treasure Island

○ Las Vegas after dark - taking in the lights

○ Bedtime for the Littles and a movie for the adults

●      Day 10 – Las Vegas, NV to San Diego, CA (327 miles)

○ Brunch of pizza and crepes, a coffee for the road, and check-out

○ Drive through Mojave Desert

○ Arrived at Holiday Inn Express Downtown San Diego at 8pm

●      Day 11 – San Diego, CA

○ Ellie’s and Kevin’s 1st San Diego Comic-Con

○ Quiet day of swimming, TV, and laundry for Colleen and the Littles

●      Day 12 – San Diego, CA

○ Family Day at SeaWorld San Diego

●      Day 13 – San Diego, CA & Day trip to Los Angeles

○ Jack in the Box meal, motion sickness

○ Hollywood & Vine, Rodeo Drive, Hollywood Sign

○ Randy’s Donuts in Inglewood

●      Day 14 – San Diego, CA

○ Comic Con for Kevin, Ellie, & Rachel; be sure to read our tips for attending SDCC

○ Day trip to San Diego Zoo for Colleen & Sophie

○ Ended our day on Coronado Island watching the sunset over the Pacific Ocean

●      Day 15 – San Diego, CA to Tucson, AZ (409 miles)

○ Breakfast and very late checkout

○ Exhausting day of driving

○ Arrived in Tucson around 9:15pm

●      Day 16 – Tucson, AZ to Roswell, NM (466 miles)

○ Saguaro National Park Visitor Center

○ The Thing

○ Brief stop at the Welcome Center for White Sands National Monument (we put this on our list of places to revisit when we have more time)

○ World’s Largest Pistachio

○ Arrived in Roswell, NM well after dark with all 3 girls asleep

●      Day 17 – Roswell, NM to Dallas, TX (492 miles)

○ Roswell International UFO Museum

○ Loads of wind turbines in Texas (leading producer of wind energy in the world)

○ Arrived at Holiday Inn Express Benbrook in TX

●      Day 18 – Dallas, TX

○ Breakfast at hotel

○ Legoland Discovery Center

○ Dinner at Razzoo's

○ Drove by some of Kevin’s favorite places from when he lived in TX

●      Day 19 – Dallas, TX to West Monroe, LA (285 miles)

○ Breakfast at hotel and checkout

○ Self guided tour of AT&T Stadium (home of our beloved Cowboys)

○ Impromptu stop in at Holiday Inn Express in West Monroe, LA instead of driving through new states while the girls slept

●      Days 20 & 21 – West Monroe, LA to Raleigh, NC (13 ½ hours of driving a grueling 901 miles)

○ Breakfast at hotel

○ Vicksburg, Mississippi for restroom and gas

○  Travel Fatigue becomes REAL - this experience caused us to evaluate the situation and create 10 Practical Remedies for Travel Fatigue

○ Birmingham, Alabama for lunch at McDonald’s (Littles got to expend some energy at the Play Place while we ate)

○ Stopped at a Pilot in Georgia for gas and late dinner of Taco Bell

○ South Carolina

○ 3am on Day 21 - Home at last!

We arrived home in the middle of the night, exhausted but so happy we had taken this “Big Trip” together. In the end, we finished one day earlier than we had planned. The long hours of driving and knowing that the school year was starting and work awaited had us wanting to get home and relax for a bit before reality set in again. Within days, we were talking about readjusting our lives so we could take more of these long adventures.

Today, our lives look very different. We began homeschooling our girls so that we are not tethered to a school calendar. (It also allows us to learn through experience which is one of the most effective ways to learn.) We also work remotely to avoid being tied to an office. We are free to travel on our own terms. We have learned so much through our travels together so we summed it all up in our Tips for Managing Long Road Trips with Kids to help you navigate your travels as well. Now that we’ve rearranged our lives to put us in control of our calendars and our time, we are looking forward to seeing the world. New and exciting Uncommon Family Adventures are only a dream away for you and your family! What are you waiting for?