My personal bias is that given the choice between a 2-3 hour flight between Sacramento, CA and Seattle, WA, and a very long drive that might have to cross snowy mountain passes - I've done both, and the difference between them is vast. People love to say that difficult things are easy.

I've also driven cross-country from the US west coast to the east coast. Flying is much, much easier. It's a completely different "can I take this trip" equation.