As much as I love Virginia, I'm not why anyone in North California would ever leave. I'm almost afraid to go there just because I think I'd just stay there forever. But I hope she has a great time!

I would also add to your tips that dehydrating fruits and veggies beforehand means that you can still prepare raw vegan meals without a fridge (as long as you have access to water).

Happycow.net and vegguide.org both allow you to type in the zip code and they bring up a list of vegan-friendly places. Being new to this whole vegan thing, admittedly I typed my own zip code because I had no idea what was vegan friendly and what wasn't -- I can't believe how many choices there are!