That sounds like a good deal! Staying with friends and family sounds like good company, and saves on costs.

Plenty of good weather down in Yuma. Sunniest city on earth! You got friends/family there too?

Have you watched any videos by @AdamDoesNotExist on YouTube [0]? He does some random/crazy Amtrak trips, but apart from that I enjoy his nice habit of when things going wrong of saying "and that's ok because ...", trying to find some good in the bad.

p.s. ignore sibling that comment criticising your trip

[0] https://www.youtube.com/@AdamDoesNotExist

I would rather recommend flying to Southeast Asia, much better value for your money, you can stay there easily 5-10 times longer for the same money as in the US, while experiecing different cultures/cuisines to get different perspective on life.