[tytan]

We did a spring break road trip during the last two weeks of March. After considering airfares for a family of 5 we decided to drive. We left Vancouver B.C. and drove the I 5 south to LA, branched off East to Palm Springs for a week then continued south to San Diego for the rest of the holiday.

I'm happy to report the 04 EXL happily trecked the I 5 with no problems, covered 2889 miles and consumed 121.6 US gals for an average of 23.76 mpg. I usually set the cruise at 2 to 3 mph over the speed limit, not bad considering we were loaded with 5 people and stuff for two weeks.

 

[tytan]

No we did not do the Oregon Coast that would be a separate vacation to see everything properly. The coast is a nice scenic drive but way too slow for this trip. On this trip it was two days straight down the I 5 to SoCal.

I was not too worried about highway patrol as I set the cruise a few mph above the limit which was what everyone else seemed to do. I found the speed traps and highway patrol prescence was much greater in Oregon vs Washington and California.

We crossed into Cali late in the afternoon and hit 3" to 4" of snow on the pass and got stuck behind two snow plows doing 25mph. Traffic was being stopped Northbound checking for chains or snow tires.