What route did the Larusso travel as they headed out west?
Well, we are only given a few clues in the movie and in the book but I think I have come up with a route that is the most plausible with the information we have.
So how did I come up to my conclusion as to their route and the dates of their trip? Well, it was actually easier to start with their arrival in Reseda and work backwards retracing their steps.
We are only given a couple of clues in the movie as to their cross country route, same with the book. And from the study I did last year we know they arrived in Reseda on September 10th.
We know they stayed in Sedona, Arizona (just south of Flagstaff) at the Canyon Portal motel. According to the book their car wouldn't start in Nevada, and in the movie we see they arrive in Reseda during daytime hours, probably early afternoon.
From that I concluded that they probably spent the night in Las Vegas, why else would they have gone to Nevada? They didn't have to swing by Nevada if they didn't want to, they could have driven due west out of Arizona and straight into California. So from that information I figure they spent the night in Las Vegas, probably to see the lights after a day spent at the Grand Canyon. Plus, since they arrived in Reseda during daytime hours they would have had to spend the night in Nevada, it would have taken too long to drive to California from Arizona while at the same time including a side trip to Nevada. Had they done that they would have pulled up to the South Seas Apartments in the evening hours, not during the day.
We are also able to conclude that they came in to Arizona from the east, from New Mexico, instead of from the north, from Utah. We can safely say this because had they come down from Utah they could have gone right into Las Vegas, no need to go out of the way to Flagstaff. So if they came in from the east straight across New Mexico and Texas you have to figure they retraced somewhat the old Route 66 highway.
Now, the next step is to figure how much driving Mrs. Larusso could do in a day. We know she was doing all the driving because Daniel didn't have his license yet. So you have to figure she isn't going to drive more than 8 to 10 hours a day, more than that would have started to be dangerous as she would have started to get too tired.
So roughly 8 to 10 hours east of Flagstaff is Amarillo, Texas. That is my best guess as to where they spent the night roughly halfway through their trip now.
Next step was to look at what was 8 to 10 hours away from Amarillo. Here though I had to use a clue that was given in the book. The book mentions that the car had trouble and wouldn't start while they were in Michigan.
Michigan? Why Michigan? What does Michigan have to do with their trek west?
Well, the book mentions Michigan so we have to include it on the map. I figure the only reason they would stop by Michigan is if they had family there and they were going to spend the night with them. Otherwise Michigan would have been out of the way.
So, once I started to fill in the blank between Texas and Michigan I looked at what cities were on that route. There are several big cities but roughly 8 hours away from Amarillo is Kansas City. And roughly 8 hours away from Kansas City is Indianapolis.
Now, I have no solid proof those were the cities they spent the night in but they are each roughly the same distance away from the next city along the mostly likely path so that makes them the best candidates for the cities where the Larusso's would have spent the night.
Next step, Indianapolis to Michigan. We don't have any idea what city in Michigan the Larusso's had family. So that is one reason I chose Indianapolis as their stop after Michigan since they probably left the family's house late, most likely having a good time and they wouldn't want to leave any earlier than necessary to beat the setting of the sun. And Indianapolis would have been only a few hours drive away most likely.
Last step in the journey, New Jersey to Michigan. Could Mrs. Larusso had driven this in one day. At first I thought yes, but it would have been a horribly long drive, roughly 12 hours. That is a lot to ask one person to drive in one day. So I figure they took two days to cover that distance. A likely city they would have spent their first night in? My guess is Youngstown, Ohio.
Mostly because Youngstown is the first city you come into after exiting Pennsylvania and I think they would have felt getting through Pennsylvania their first day of driving would have been a worthy goal.
So this is my theory, my idea of the Larusso's trip west;
Saturday, September 3rd - leave New Jersey and spend the night in Youngstown, Ohio
Sunday, September 4th - drive to Michigan and spend the night with family
Monday, September 5th - leave family's house mid-day and drive to Indianapolis
Tuesday, September 6th - drive to Kansas City and spend the night
Wednesday, September 7th - drive to Amarillo and spend the night
Thursday, September 8th - drive to Flagstaff AZ, spend the night in Sedona
Friday, September 9th - drive to Las Vegas and spend the night
Saturday, September 10th - arrive in Reseda
