Ah, I've done that actually, although next time I probably won't drive straight from Ames to San Luis Obispo without stopping....
I did that...it was maybe the worst experience of my life. In movies you see people taking road trips like that and having the time of their life. We had people planned to see and things to do, but the driving part of it was awful. Drove straight from Ames to San Fran without stopping. Driving through the desert was easily the worst. Just felt like it was never going to end.