looking for LOT's of info

I'm in the preliminary stages of planning a coast-to-coast trip,
generally from San Diego to Jacksonville, probably in February, '07.
At the moment I'm looking at doing it as a modified, of sorts, credit
card tour. I say "modified" in that I'll need to carry quite a bit of
clothing to account for the possibility of big weather swings.

I'm planning on staying as southerly as possible, until I-10 & 1-20
intersect in W Texas, then I'll likely stay relatively along I-20 until
I reach NE LA, where I'll head south again and then basically follow
the coast.

I've spent quite a bit of time riding in S. AZ in years past, and
recall that for much of the time it's simplest to ride the shoulder of
the interstate. I also recall from driving through W. Texas that most
of the interstate has a perfectly good frontage road for almost the
entire distance from El Paso to Ft Worth.

I'm curious if anyone has any feedback on whether it is still legal to
ride the shoulder of the interstate in most of the west.

Also, if anyone has any suggestions of particular highways I may want
to use, and more importantly, highways that MUST be avoided, I'd
appreciate the feedback.

I'm open to any hints, feedback, tips, warnings, etc... as I'm a
novice at cross-country touring.

I'd ask that you email me directly, but if you've got a really good tip
that should be shared with everyone, please by all means post it to the
group.

thanks,

Scott

hendricks_scott AT hotmail DOT com