02-14-2016, 11:40 PM
If you or your wife view the driving as a necessary chore, I would echo the suggestion that you fly to the first relative, then rent a car, drive to see the rest with a one-way rental car, then fly home. You can save a lot of money with rental cars by choosing cheaper cities and by not picking up the rental at the airport. Airport rentals soak you with all kinds of fees because they assume business travelers will just pay them...and, they will.
Another option would be to fly out and drive the rental all the way home.
I drove from basically Buffalo to LA once with a friend in three days, stopping each night for 6 hours, stopping briefly in Vegas. Years later I drove back with a different friend and we went continuously - each would drive a tank of gas and we'd refill, eat, drain the main vein, and switch places at each gas station. I don't remember anything about the second trip, it was entirely a blur.
With my wife and family the longest continuous drive we've made is 900 miles in 18 hours from Perce, QC to NYC. I did 80% of it and didn't mind as the breaks she spelled me for were rest enough.
All bets are off if you're contemplating doing this in winter conditions. Do not put yourself on a timeline then, that's how people end up not making it home.
Another option would be to fly out and drive the rental all the way home.
I drove from basically Buffalo to LA once with a friend in three days, stopping each night for 6 hours, stopping briefly in Vegas. Years later I drove back with a different friend and we went continuously - each would drive a tank of gas and we'd refill, eat, drain the main vein, and switch places at each gas station. I don't remember anything about the second trip, it was entirely a blur.
With my wife and family the longest continuous drive we've made is 900 miles in 18 hours from Perce, QC to NYC. I did 80% of it and didn't mind as the breaks she spelled me for were rest enough.
All bets are off if you're contemplating doing this in winter conditions. Do not put yourself on a timeline then, that's how people end up not making it home.