Wanting to take a LONG Cross Country - Ft. Worth to San Diego... advice?

Last October I flew a friends Cirrus SR-20 (he was moving to San Diego) from
Charlotte NC (UZA) to San Diego
Started early Saturday morning (5:30am) and landed in San Diego at about
8:30pm (11:30 Charlotte time) same day!
Of course there were a few stops along the way for fuel. First was
Greenville Mississippi, then Hobbs New Mexico, Tucson Arizona and then on to
San Diego. Fortunately I had a pilot friend along (RJ First Officer)!

Things I learned or would have done differently.....in no particular
order...

1. The Moving map GPS and Auto-pilot sure helped
2. Wish I had brought more to eat and drink
3. Should have taken 3 days instead of 1 and enjoyed the scenery or detours
4. Winds aloft are not always what they are reported..especially over long
distances...
5. Even a Cirrus SR-20 takes some time getting to 12,000 ft and you can
tell your there by how the plane feels and acts
6. Being at 12,000 ft and being only 3,000 above the ground is weird!
7. Land at airports to refuel that have something close by. Although the
aiports we landed at had low fuel prices and all....there was nothing around
for miles....
8. Having someone along, even if they are not a pilot, is a big help and
makes the trip more enjoyable.
9. When your in the middle of nowhere...expect the radios to be very
quiet...lol
10. Finally, we averaged 14 miles to the gallon....impressive for an
airplane!

Bob
Charlotte NC
ASEL AMEL Inst. Airplane
CFI CFII MEI AGI IGI

"Peter Gibbons" wrote in message
om...
Received my instrument rating about a year ago, but I haven't managed
to rack up alot of flight hours since then (Im just shy of 200 hours).
I think I've just become bored with flying around the same area all
the time, and I'm really wanting to do something different and
challenging. Plus it would help me to build up the hours I need
before I start the commercial.

So I'm considering making a flight from my home base in Ft. Worth
(KFTW) out to San Diego. I've got a friend that lives out there so it
would be a good excuse to go - plus the fact I think the change of
scenery and the experience itself would definitely be worth it.

I'd be flying a 1978 C-172 that cruises at about 110 KIAS. So I'm
figuring about 10-11 hours travel time each way.

I'm looking to hear from others who have made trips like this and what
advice you might have and/or pitfalls to watch for. Any
recommendations on some cool places to stop or ideas on the best way
to break up the flight segments?