Thanks for the swift reply.
I have to show thorough planning for my checkride but there always seems to be a trade off. Ideally I'd like to be as high as possible to remain within gliding distance of all airports. At 8,500 I'd be within gliding distances all along my intended route. But then I run into airspace issues.
As a bit of background, I'm starting out from KCRQ (Palomar- carlsbad) and have chosen the inland route up to French Valley and across. The alternative would be the direct route over the ocean direct to Vincent Thomas Bridge and flying the established coastal route on the 123 radial off LAX. However the latter has far less emergency landing spots and I'm going to be judged on my decision making skills.
I feel like I'm damned either way! Haha, any thoughts?