I am sorry to hear that you are having so much trouble with your back. I will say a prayer for you.
I understand your concern about driving. Long driving trips alone get harder as one ages no matter what other issues one has.
I don’t think I would be making this trip myself if it weren’t for the fact that I have someone going with me who is more excited for it than I am and, while older, probably can do 3/5 of the driving without any problem. While she is in good shape, realistically a big trip like this is not one she can count on being in shape to take much longer, so that motivates me to undertake it.
Have you looked into package flight, lodging, rental car deals on Priceline or Hotwire?
If I get my sleep in order, then it’s no problem. But as it stands now, I find myself nodding off for a few seconds several times a day. I almost dropped my iPhone in the Loo Thursday at work due to the sleepy thing.
I hadn’t considered flying, but I’ll take a quick gander at that. At least I don’t have to be awake on the plane (”Excuse me, does anybody know how to fly a plane?” - Stewardess on Airplane!).
Typically, I’ll drive just about anywhere within a 600 mile radius from home in one day. Over that, I’ll split it to 2 days so that I don’t arrive dead-tired at my destination. The nice thing about driving is that I can carry my 45 caliber with me, and if I think I’m going to do some shooting, a rifle as well.
Last night, I was able to sleep 2 hours straight on the bed, got up with some pain and sat up for a couple of hours, then did 4 more hours on the recliner. That’s my best night in about 5 days. If I can get a whole night in one bed, I will consider that as highly do-able.