After talking to a lot of friends and studying the advice I received in comments + E-mails. (Thank you so much for your help with this!)...
We decided that we would store most of our belongings and furniture at my parents house for now.
We will pack up our little Toyota Corolla with all the essentials (as much as we can possibly fit) and drive cross country to San Francisco.
My father will drop the cats off at the airport once we reach San Francisco and we will pick them up from the pet cargo area. I think they would handle a couple of hours in an airplane better than a 5 day car trip.
Since we'll be moving into a fully furnished apartment with our friend, it doesn't make sense to bring over our entire household just yet.
So Now we're faced with a very long road trip. 42 hours and 39 minutes to be exact. Although someone told me that was a very optimistic estimated time from MapQuest.
We'll be taking the (I-80) route from NY to CA. We'll be driving through a number of states...
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada...
and finally we'll reach California.
Of course, I'll be taking my camera and my laptop. If the hotels we stop in have free Wireless internet (Which most DO have these days) I'll be posting updates here for my friends, family and D-land buddies during our road trip. (so you'll all be coming with us) It will take at least 5-6 days. We're giving ourselves a week so we can do this at a comfortable pace.
Now there's a little fact that I kind of left out about this Great American Road Trip.
Our car already has about 195,000 miles on it and it's ten years old. So in all honesty, IS THIS CRAZY? WILL WE MAKE IT? I don't want to break down in the middle of Death Valley...
I've never in my life taken a road trip like this, neither has Eric. If anyone has attempted something like this, Is there anything very important that we need to bring or anything that we need to know?
Day 196 of 365 days
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You can see Toronto on that map..we drove from Toronto down through the states(South and North Dakota being the only ones I remember!) and up into Calgary across the Mountains to Vancouver.
Took us I think about 4-6(yes my memory is that bad!!) days and that was with site seeing and a day in Calgary at the Stampede!
Oh and we did it in an early model GM minivan with 7 people, all of our stuff that we were moving and all of their luggage. Yep, if I made it that far then you two certainly can!!!
At Sunday, July 15, 2007, 
Nightmare
Toyota's are notoriously famous for being the cars you can't kill. I drove my 186 Camery from Marysville CA To KC 5 years ago and when I left it had 188K on it and when I sold it to my brother in law it had 203K miles...so I wouldn't worry about the car.
At Monday, July 16, 2007, candoor
I've been neglecting my visits here... exciting news I see... I loved SF when I lived near there...
Some stuff comes to mind for a road trip (I've taken many and long them, did the NY-CA trip about five times)...
Check tire pressure, oil, coolant, fluids, brake lights, turn signals, headlights, and all the other car stuff before you head out and at least once a day on the road... check your spare... check your wipers... a free brake check-up would be wise... have a car cellphone charger?... a safety light (good bright one that plugs into the cigarrette lighter)... also a bright battery flashlight... safety flares... suntan lotion if you are driving during the day... bug spray... dark sunglasses for day driving... if you can, get AAA maps with the route (and current road construction) laid out... remember the maps... and toll change... and stay-awake music... and definitely your camera...
Packing - have an easily accessible carry bag with first aid stuff, toiletries, and changes of clothing to save time and searching... if you are blocking your rear window, I hope you have side mirrors on both sides...
Water for the car... a gallon in case of overheating... driving at night in the summer is easier on the car and less traffic, but if you want to see stuff, days work better :)
Radiator/grill: check if before starting out each day to make sure it's not clogged with bugs...
Window cleaner and paper towels/rags... not every gas station will have it and when you need it (bugs, dust, dirt) you don't want to have to look for it through a windshield that needs cleaning...
Water/fluids/snacks for you... salty snacks to avoid cramps, especially in the driver's legs... caffeine drink when fatigue comes around... when stopping for meals, more light meals is better than one or two big meals (even if all-you-can-eat buffets seem appealing :)
Check the gas guage (and other guages) - it's surprisingly easy to forget on a long trip until you get in the habit... if necessary, bring a kitchen timer and set it to go off every two hours just to remind you... once you hit the western states, gas can be 100 miles apart...
Sleeping: If one of you sleeps while the other drives, be sure the driver feels really awake...
Comfort: if your car seats are old and/or stiff, bring pillows to sit on or for your back to be comfy, though see Sleeping (above) again :)
Trucker courtesy: when passing trucks at night, flash your bright lights briefly before passing... the trucker will flash his left turn signal if it's clear... sometimes truckers flash their entire lighting on the left side... and the trucker will sometimes flash his bright lights after you pass to let you know it's ok to get in back front of him/her (in his/her lane)...
I probably forgot stuff, but this is what comes to mind tonight... most of all:
stop and smell the roses (literally and figuratively) as much as possible... and have fun :)
