What route should I take to Big Sur? I plan to go up HWY 1 to Canada and eventually to Maine before ending up in North Carolina.
Where are you STARTING from???
Sorry, I realized and then reposted that I didn’t say. Chapel Hill, NC
Do you need directions all the way from NC? Do you know where you want to enter CA? I would say Yuma or Blythe and then figure how much of Southern CA you want to see or advoid. Myself I would like to start up 1 arount Pt. Mugu. I don’t think Hwy 1 goes all the way to Maine I hear they are on different sides of the country.
Take I40 out to Barstow, CA. Then go southwest to LA or NW to Bakersfield. If you go to LA, take the PCH north to SF. If you avoid LA, got to Saint Luis Obispo / Santa Maria and head north on the PCH. If you want good roads, take I5 north to Canada. There is probably a coastal highway, more or less, up to Washington. But you need to go through Seattle to get across to Canada. Maybe there is a ferry at the inlet to Puget Sound from the Pacific. Do you want to go through the northern US ro southern Canada?
Yes, Maine via Canada or maybe partly Canada, dipping down into US through Chicago and over. Haven’t traveled in Western Canada so don’t know what that road is like Hwy 1 in the western part. I’ve been to Toronto and east. As it stands now, I’m going on I40 to Barstow and then to St. Luis Obispo and up. I was just wondering about “the desert” which people throw in and I have no idea of regarding my car and its making that leg successfully. Any ideas? Thanks!
…with a dog driving across the US to California
May I recommend you not let the dog do the driving? 
So who is this writing? One of the car guys?