Peter - I agree - I was modifying my route to avoid the water and take
a safer route. It would only add about 30-60 minutes or so - and is
well worth the peace of mind that I am not gonna be doing much swimming
if the worst case happened.
So I would fly along the coast of Florida, and maybe stopping in New
Orleans (KNEW). Then it would be a trek through Texas and into the
Phoenix area. From there i could do a day trip from Phoneix to KRHV in
San Jose.
I was thinking that staying out of the high mountains would be good
too.

Anyone have experience with weather conditions in these areas at this
time of year?