Hey all!

I was just offered an internship in San Diego for the summer, so I will be driving down there in a couple weeks for what will be "home" for the summer. I currently live in Kalamazoo (halfway between Detroit and Chicago on I-94). I absolutely love Hyatt Places, and figured I would use those as my stops for the trip. Here is the background details:

I will be leaving on Thursday, May 2nd, and will need to get there either May 5 or 6. I have two basic options:

The "North" Route - Through the great plains, mountains, down to Vegas, and then San Diego.

The South Route - St. Louis, OKC, New Mexico/AZ, then San Diego. Gmaps estimates about a 100 mile, 1.5 hour difference (the north route being shorter).

Since I would like to go through Hyatt Places if possible (this is just a planning phase, to see if possible), my dates and stops would look like this.
I should have at least 8,000 points after this weekend due to the current promotion they have.
North Route

May 2 Kalamazoo - Des Moines Hyatt Place. 464miles/6hrs57 mins. $179.99 a night, BUT, only a 2* resort, so I would probably use my first ever award rededmption for this. This seems like a really nice property.

May 3 - Des Moines - Eaglewood, Colorado (Hyatt Place Denver Tech OR Hyatt House) - $71/79 - 682 mi, 9hrs, 57 minuts.

May 4 - Denver - Las Vegas Hyatt Place - $99, 763 miles, 11hr 4 minutes

May 5 - Las Vegas - San Diego, 305 miles, 4hr 34 minutes.

Total Cost: ~200 (tax) plus gas. The 2* for Des Moines seems like a no-brainer to me.

South Route
May 2 - Kalamazoo - Tulsa 808 miles, 12.5 hours. $104

May 3 - Tulsa - Albuquerque - 651 Miles, 9.5 hours, $80

May 4 - Albuquerque - Phoenix (Probably North Hyatt Place) - 458 miles, 6hr 34 min, $84

May 5 - Phoenix - San Diego (321 miles, 5hr 30 minutes).

Total Cost - ~300 + 2 horus

The South route gives me an extra day, but has a long first drive, but then 3 more "manageable" drives. I could do Kalamazoo - St. Louis, then St. L - OKC-ABQ-PHX-SAN, for an extra day, and stay somewhere in STL. With route 2, there is a 1* hyatt regency in albqueque I could use a redemption on, or the Tulsa.


I'm personally leaning toward the North Route, and besides the Nebraska drive, I think it will be more scenic for me. I'm not a real grand-canyon type of admiring guy, would much rather bask in the mountains.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any suggestions or modifications for me that I'm not considering.

Thanks guys!