Good luck with the road trip and the job hunt.
Reminds me of a book I'm currently reading called 'America Unchained' by Dave Gorman. Its about a guy who drove West Coast to East Coast without using any chains, i.e. Holiday Inn, Starbucks, Shell, McDonalds etc..
Dave Gorman: America Unchained
I'm reading it for inspiration as I hope to do a similar trip sometime in my lifetime but I'll stick to the Chains.