Hubby needs help...

[pell]

... with driving route (Connecticut to the Fort). I recall reading a GREAT thread about driving routes to the Fort from the New England Area, but when I tried to use the search function to find it, no luck. Anyhow, Can any of you kind souls point us in the right direction? We're leaving in the evening, around 5:00p.m on the Monday before Christmas- with 2 able drivers in a 31ft. Class C Minnie Winnie. Hope to get to the Fort 11:00a.m.ish on Wednesday/Christmas Eve Day. Any words of wisdom on side-skirting traffic in cities, where to stop for a rest, etc.? Thanks very much!

 

[KristinU]

Hello fellow Nutmegger!

I don't know if this is the thread you were thinking of or not, but here's a link to a thread where I had asked for route recommendations:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=24008403#post24008403&highlight=

We'll be driving down soon (finally!), so I'll report back!

 

[pell]

KristinU,
Yes, that's the one I was looking for! Thanks very much. I hope you have a safe & wonderful trip on Thanksgiving.

 

[KristinU]

Glad to help! And thanks for the good wishes!

 

[njcamper95]

Well not from north east but we did go from NJ to the fort not sure if that is helpful but we always just do the I 95 to I 4 route probably not the fastest and sure there is other routes but this is pretty simple i just need to worry about one road til i get in Fla then just look for I 4 then watch for disney signs makes it easy for me we have done this trip every year for the last 12 years so i don't even use the gps like i said sure there is other and maybe faster routes but this is simple 2 roads and plenty of places for fuel and food plus there is koa's if you need a place for a over night we push our first day and drive from NJ to Ga we leave at 4 am and with potty and fuel stops get to Ga around 8:30-9:00 pm stay over for the night then to disney we leave Ga around 9:00 am getting in the fort around 1-2 pm we only do the bypass around the baltmore tunnel but go thru richmond and washington i'm the only driver of our truck and tt so this works for me but check out the different routes and see what sounds best for you good luck and have a great time

 

[pell]

NJCamper95,
Thanks for responding. I was interested to hear that you go around Baltimore, but through D.C... These are the things we're trying to decide. Kudos to you for driving a whopping 17 hours (as a solo driver) from NJ to GA!! Unbelievable to folks like me who tire after 3 or 4 hours! Take care, and thanks again for helping us out.

 

[dfg02790]

This is the route that we take from Mass to Disney and have found that is generally works the best for us.We are driving a 32ft class A.
Take 95W to 287W over the Tappan Zee Bridge to the Garden State Parkway(Exit 14A)
Garden State Parkway to the New Jersey Turnpike (Exit 129)
New Jersey Turnpike to 295 to the Delaware Memorial Bridge.
We then take 295 to 95 to 695 (Exit 33/64) to the Francis Scott Bridge to 97 south towards Glen Burnie to Annapolis.(This takes you away from the tunnel as we cannot go through with propane tanks) This take us to 295W to 95S.Take this to 395 to 95 Jacksonville,Fl.In Jacksonville we normally take 295 around Jacksonville due to construction on 95. (I have recently heard that most of the construction has finished and 95 is ok to use.)Pick 95 back up until route 4 to Disney.
Generally we stay at a rest area on the NJ Turnpike the first night,second night at a Wal-Mart Roanoke North Carolina and the third night at Wal-Mart Walterboro,South Carolina. I do all the driving so we take 4 days to get their.
Have a great vacation. We will be back in February for our 7th time since 2003.

Don

 

[BradyBz12]

287W over the Tappan Zee Bridge to the Garden State Parkway(Exit 14A)
Garden State Parkway to the New Jersey Turnpike (Exit 129)
New Jersey Turnpike to 295 to the Delaware Memorial Bridge.
We then take 295 to 95 to 695 (Exit 33/64) to the Francis Scott Bridge to 97 south towards Glen Burnie to Annapolis.(This takes you away from the tunnel as we cannot go through with propane tanks) This take us to 295W to 95S.Take this to 395 to 95 Jacksonville,Fl.In Jacksonville we normally take 295 around Jacksonville due to construction on 95. (I have recently heard that most of the construction has finished and 95 is ok to use.)Pick 95 back up until route 4 to Disney.

We're coming from southern NH and this is the route we pickup after CT/NY too. Up to that point we go...

MA Pike to 84 through CT to 684 to 287

You must go around the Baltimore tunnels if you have propane (695). We usually take the beltway around DC (typically East) but have driven straight through when we weren't pulling a trailer.

We leave southern NH at about 5pm and I drive through to about Richmond by about 5am. A few hours sleep in a Walmart parking lot and DH drives much of the next day... usually getting us into Jacksonville by about 8pm. We typically grab dinner and a good night's sleep (again Walmart) and get back on the road by 8am. headed for FW.

Have a great trip - safe travels!

 

[Shaun and Amy]

We just got back from the Fort a couple of weeks ago. Below is the way we took from Mass. I like the ride. Hardly any traffic and very scenic. Seemed like a nice easy ride down and back.

Route 87 to 84 to 81 to 64 to 288 to 95 to 4.

Good luck and safe travels.

 

[3gr8kids]

We just got back from the Fort a couple of weeks ago. Below is the way we took from Mass. I like the ride. Hardly any traffic and very scenic. Seemed like a nice easy ride down and back.

Route 87 to 84 to 81 to 64 to 288 to 95 to 4.

Good luck and safe travels.

Shaun and Amy ~ How long did this route take you? Where did you make stops?

 

[MadFF]

pell, are you coming from shore of Connecticut or more inland, north of Hartford?

Leaving at 5pm on Monday, you should be getting to NYC (if you are planning on taking I95) around 8pm. I don't know what the traffic would be like at that time. I know that on weekends, the George Washington Bridge traffic in the evenings can be vicious. If the traffic is light, staying on I95 can save you some time versus taking 287 to go over the Tappanzee Bridge.

 

[pell]

Your route recommendations have been extremely helpful to us! It sounds like there are many rest areas, Walmarts, etc. to choose from. Do most of you have a target destination in mind when you leave home, or do you simply drive until you're too exhausted to go any further?

We did our first major cross country trip last summer (CT to Wyoming), but I had mapped out & reserved KOAs along the route because, well, I'm a planner at heart. I'm trying to be more like this:

Can any of you veteran drivers explain your strategy for catching some zzz's along the way? To plan or not to plan... That is the question.

 

[Shaun and Amy]

Shaun and Amy ~ How long did this route take you? Where did you make stops?

I never really paid attention to our actual drive time, but on the way down we stopped at a Walmart just below Richmond, VA for overnight and then at the first rest stop in FL. We would just arriving too late to continue onto the Fort. On the way back we stopped again at the Walmart below Rishmond, VA and then arrived home the next day. I think it's about 20 hours of driving, but I think it's an easy drive.

 

[njcamper95]

Shuan and Amy were you guys in the 1400 loop I saw a rig that sounds like yours we were there 10/12-10/27
we have done beltway east around dc and done straight thru either way works depending on time of day we always do key bridge around baltimore but just do turnpike in NJ same as I 95 then stay on 95 thru delaware,maryland (other then tunnel),virginia,north and south carolina,georgia and florida til i reach I 4
we always go thru richmond only once did we run into traffic and it wasn't to much of a wait
jacksonville is a little tricky with the exit only lanes as you come into the city just make sure you stay in the middle lane or watch for the exit only's on the right at least but if you take your time and watch the exits it's not that bad we still always go thru instead of bypassing good luck and enjoy disney

 

[MadFF]

Can any of you veteran drivers explain your strategy for catching some zzz's along the way? To plan or not to plan... That is the question.

We just did our first major "cross-country" (well, down-and-up country) drive to Disney a couple weeks ago. I just posted a trip report in the Trip Report thread. So I'm not really a veteran driver!

We stayed at a hotel, Holiday Inn, in Florence, South Carolina. It was roughly 15 hours from CT to there. Then about 10 hours from South Carolina to Disney. We are planners also, and just wanted to park the rig and sleep in a comfortable bed with a full bath/shower. We did a real easy drive, 65mph and taking plenty of rest breaks, so a more "determined" driver could probably shave a couple hours off our times.

When we do the trip again, we may stay at a campground (save some $$).

On our way down, we drove through NYC at around 6am, so there was really no traffic... On our way back on a Sunday, though, we hit NYC at 6:00PM, and hit a wall of traffic. Tappanzee can also be busy at that time, so it can be a crap shoot as to which route is better.

 

[Shaun and Amy]

Shuan and Amy were you guys in the 1400 loop I saw a rig that sounds like yours we were there 10/12-10/27

NJCamper95,

No. We were in look 500 and I guess it's been then a couple weeks now. We were there 10/5-10/18.

 

[BradyBz12]

on the way down we stopped at a Walmart just below Richmond, VA for overnight and then at the first rest stop in FL. We would just arriving too late to continue onto the Fort.

We also stop in a Walmart near Richmond and the 2nd night a Walmart in Jacksonville. That gets us to FW fresh and ready to go the next a.m.

We don't have a particular destination in mind and usually drive until we just can't anymore. It's like that old WDW commercial "we're too excited to sleep!"

 

[pell]

MadFF,
We're from western CT, so the Tappanzee is probably our best route.

BradyBz12,
I hope the "We're too excited to sleep" mantra really works!

 

[MadFF]

When I drove, I just stopped for a break whenever I wanted to. I didn't "push it" while driving. Actually ended up being about every 1 1/2 hours that we would stop for coffee/bathroom and gas if needed. If you pull off the highway as opposed to a highway rest stop, just don't go too far (and don't get lost! ) and even at a rest stop don't take too long, as it will quickly add hours to the trip if you aren't careful.

 

[BradyBz12]

When I drove, I just stopped for a break whenever I wanted to. I didn't "push it" while driving. Actually ended up being about every 1 1/2 hours that we would stop for coffee/bathroom and gas if needed.

We usually stop for gas/bathroom/leg stretching (for us and our 2 dogs) every 2-1/2 hours or so. We used to push it and drive right through, but now we build in one good nap break and a full night's sleep on the way and we find that we aren't completely exhausted when we arrive (and we're not drifting off to sleep behind the wheel! )

Walmart parking lots are a godsend along 95. There are many that are literally right off the highway, they're well lit, safe and fairly quiet (vs truck stops).

Also helps that we share the driving duties.