My niece drove from our house at the time in Redding, CA to Houston by herself; i.e. she was starting school at UT-Austin but wanted to visit her mom in Houston first. She had just turned 19 at the time.
I wasn't happy to have her driving alone, and we had originally planned that I would go with her, but due to some family circumstances at the time there was no choice.
HOWEVER, I set very strict rules for her to follow.
1. While driving she HAD to call us every hour on the hour (NO EXCEPTIONS) to let us know she was ok. 2. She was only allowed to drive during the day and I mapped out all of her stops for the night along the way; i.e. motels w/reservations. 3. She had to call when she checked-in/out of the motel. 4. She had to call us to let us know where she was at every food/gas stop along the way. She was to look in the car before getting back in and lock the doors immediately. 5. She was to pull into the next rest-stop/gas station if she thought she was being followed, ask for help and then call me. Or if one wasn't close she should not stop under any circumstances and immediately call the State Highway Patrol (I provided the telephone numbers) or 911. 6. She had a brand new car so I wasn't concerned about mechanical issues, but in the event something happened she was to call me immediately. However, I did show her how to change a flat tire; i.e. I actually made her do it in our driveway before she left.
I also got her a can of pepper-spray, showed her how to use it and sent along a aluminum bat just in case. I also got her an AMEX card in her name for her expenses along the way so she wasn't flashing money around.
I know how anxious you will get. We were both nervous wrecks for the three days it took her to make the trip. But when she called us from her mother's house to let us know she had made it, it felt like a ton of bricks had been lifted from our shoulders.
She is 21 now and tells us that she still follows my rules when she drives back and forth between school and Houston to visit her mom.
Cripes, driving to Austin from San Diego isn’t quite like driving through Somalia.
Nowadays, we Texans allow visitors to enter the state without raping your horses and stealing your children.