PulpMind

I've always wanted to do Route 66, especially through the southwest. For an enjoyable, romantic take on it, there's always Pixar's Cars. Apparently that movie is actually based on real people and events! NEAT!
But yeah... fly into Oklahoma City or St Louis and drive SW, fly out of LA or or Albequerqui (sp?). Tons of amazing stuff along the way. Small towns and some of the natural wonders that make the US famous (grand canyon, what?)

5 days is a really short trip, though.

Maybe just fly to Montana and read a book in the middle of a giant field.
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Also,
I live in the Pacific Northwest and there's some amazing small town awesomeness around here, coupled with beautiful scenery. You could head to the coast, somewhere like Astoria and Newport, Oregon and not only see the amazing coast of Oregon (one of the most beautiful in the world), but also experience these really awesome towns and people. Most along the Oregon coast are not as "closed" as small towns in the rest of the country, if you know what I mean. Newport is also home to the Rogue brewery, the 2nd best brewery in the United States (next to Dogfish head out of Vermont).
In Washington, there's the Puget Sound. There's more coastline in "the sound" than the rest of the entire west coast of the united states. cool huh? you can see orcas, go to Victoria (french colonial town) on Vancouver Island (a part of Canada), explore dozens of islands.. and hte people are absolutely amazing.
Washington also has the Hoh Rainforest / Olympic National Park. If your idea of a small town includes Native settlements, national parks, and the only rainforest (temperate) in the United States, then it's a stunning place to visit. Port Angeles is awesome and recieves more tain than most places in the US, and it's only a few miles from Squim, which receives less rain than almost anywhere in the US (those breathtaking mountains will do that).

I love this place.
Feel free to contact me if you want more info on this area. =)