Road Trip!

I am so excited that I am soon to hit the road with a good friend of mine for a half-cross-country road trip! We leave on Sunday (so soon) and there are a hundred things to do before we depart on this great adventure (like, celebrate my birthday, for one!).
You can see our route below. We will be crossing west from Austin to the City of Angels and then up to Seattle for our final destination. I have driven the east coast (from Vermont to Florida) a good half dozen times, but I have never driven or even seen most all of the west coast - I couldn't be more excited about what I am going to see and experience for the first time!

Day 1 :: Depart Austin drive through Balmorhea (natural springs) for a quick dip and, through El Paso, and stop just west after Tuscon.

Day 2 :: Drive through Palm Springs on route to Los Angeles, arrive in LA for dinner and drinks.

Day 3 :: Full day and night in LA site seeing and meeting up with friends.

Day 4 :: Coffee and breakfast in Venice beach and off to San Francisco (we'll take Route 1 for this part of the drive). Arrive in San Fran for dinner and drinks.

Day 5 :: Full day and and night exploring San Francisco.

Day 6 :: Coffee and breakfast in San Fran and off to Portland! Dinner and drinks with friends upon arrival.

Day 7 :: Coffee and brunch and a few hours up to Seattle (hopefully my friend will have an apt waiting for her when we arrive)! A music festival and exploring our final destination!

Day 8+9 :: My friend will start her residency but I will be wandering the streets of Seattle.

Day 10 :: I will hug my friend good-bye for the rest of the year and I'll fly back to Austin.

It's also great that we, also, have a day or so to play with in our schedule, so maybe an extra day on one of these cities! This is definitely going to be a trip to remember!