Excellent question!!
I had to pick a direction, head East to Texas and beyond or West to California and the Pacific Coast? Well, duh, this is the "Beach House" and while the Gulf of Mexico has many beaches . . . they just don't compare to the Pacific Coast. Prove me wrong. I'm sure I'll be through this way at some point and would love to see some pictures of notable places. I've spent time at South Padre Island, been through the Louisiana Bayou (mmmm, yummy).
So, what should I see on my way? Quartzsite, apparently, is an RV mecca. Joshua Tree is a for sure stop and I'm really curious to check out the Last Free City and East Jesus.
From there, I'm visiting some friends in Indio and San Diego where, I hope, I'll settle in on a beach somewhere. Here's the route I'm considering. I did route it south through Anza-Borrego State park instead of into Riverside and the LA metro area . . . I think? I really don't know!!
Got suggestions? Leave them in the comments. I'm making this up as I go, so would LOVE your thoughts on what I should be seeing when I'm in the area.
Update after the trip: I didn't head through Slab City as I wanted to spend more time around Joshua Tree and Indio. Had a very slow start (see other blogposts for more) and then got anxious to get to the beach. The morale of the story is that I set my own pace, was beholden to little schedule and therefore relaxed a WHOLE LOT. It's a good life. Here's the high level Google Map of the places I stopped each day from Arizona to the Beach.