Route 66 vs Washington DC

Route 66 is the great American road trip: roughly 2,400 miles of the Mother Road from downtown Chicago to the Pacific at Santa Monica, crossing eight states and three time zones. This Chicago to Santa Monica itinerary packs it into 10 days, which is fast. Expect about 200 to 330 miles and five to seven hours behind the wheel most days, mixing interstate stretches with the best surviving original alignments; two to three weeks is ideal if you can spare it. Start with a photo at the Begin sign, then roll past Illinois giants, the bent Chain of Rocks Bridge over the Mississippi and Ozark frozen custard stands. Cross the short Kansas corner and Oklahoma's diners before painting your own stripe at Cadillac Ranch outside Amarillo. In New Mexico, sleep under the glowing neon of the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, then drive through the badlands of Petrified Forest National Park, the only national park that protects a stretch of Route 66. A day off the road from Williams takes you to the Grand Canyon's South Rim. The finale climbs over the Black Mountains to Oatman, crosses the Mojave and ends with a sunset at the Santa Monica Pier. Book classic motels ahead in spring and fall.

Washington DC may be the best family city in America, mostly because so much of it is free. In three days with kids you can stand under real spacecraft at the National Air and Space Museum, meet the Hope Diamond and towering dinosaur skeletons at the National Museum of Natural History, and see the original Star-Spangled Banner at the National Museum of American History, all without paying admission. Some sites use free timed-entry passes, so reserve them before you go. Between museums, let kids run on the grassy National Mall, ride the carousel and picnic with food-truck lunches. Save an evening for the monuments at sunset, when the Lincoln Memorial glows, the Reflecting Pool mirrors the Washington Monument and the crowds thin out. The Metro makes getting around easy, and younger children ride free with a paying adult. With more time, see giant pandas, elephants and great apes at the free National Zoo, tour the US Capitol and the stunning Library of Congress, crack codes at the International Spy Museum, and day-trip to George Washington's Mount Vernon and the brick sidewalks of Old Town Alexandria. Spring and fall are ideal, with cherry blossoms in late March to early April.