This is why we've had good luck with flying into an area and renting a car. I can plan the trip so we do no more than 250 miles a day and enjoy the road tripping without huge distances to cover in any one shot. We did a trip where we flew to Detroit, went up into Canada, did Niagara Falls, went down south of Nashville with lots of stops along the way and looped back up. We hit 10 states, visited two family members and one old friend, and spent time in many cool places without ever driving too much in one shot. If we're on the West Coast, we tend to drive and do longer shots to get to a destination, but I love the real road trip vibe of simply exploring a new place. When we are both retiree we may do longer road trips from home, but for now flying in saves time and is worth it.