You are fine traveling through big cities, but I encourage not getting hotels there.
Thanks for clarifying but I plan to circumnavigate them anyway. I don’t want to deal with cities right now. I just want to leap to the places I’m scouting and leap back. The sooner I fall in love with the place, the sooner I can LEAVE California.
That’s when the fun begins. After leaving California. I am treating this like a work trip, not a vacation. This is serious business for me — picking a new home. The fun will start after I move in.