I live bout an hour east of Sac on Hwy 88 and have made a couple trips down to the LA area before, and either way its not that fun of a drive, but 99 makes it a little better. From southern Ca, if you get a load thats headed for like the Reno, or Tahoe area, i suggest taking Hwy 395 out of LA and following it all the way there, and it's probably the quickest route, it's an amazing and scenic drive thats a favorite of mine.