best places to spend the night?

[Momofejlg]

Hi
I am new to the boards , however have been lurking for a while . I am enjoying reading all the post . esp the ones about the pool!
We will be driving from MA leaving on Friday eve ,so will need to stop Friday and Sat night. At this point we are planning on driving down 84- 81 -95, most likely stopping the first night in Penn.
We have done the drive before and stayed in a hotel and did a REALLY long day on Sat.
My DH does would rather not stay in a Wal-mart parking lot but is okay with a truck stiop.
Any suggestions??

 

[chevyrules05]

the best bet for a free night is a flying J or Pilot but we normally stay a camp grounds for about $20-$30 a night

 

[torquelover]

Any idea on why a truck stop but not a Wal-Mart? My family is just the opposite. The truck stops I have been to want you to pull in with the semis. They are usually left idling and are too loud for anyone to get rest.

We usually just grab 2-3 hours of shut-eye at rest stops along the way that allow overnight parking.

chevyrules05: At the Flying J or Pilots where have you parked? Is it with the semis?

 

[chevyrules05]

Any idea on why a truck stop but not a Wal-Mart? My family is just the opposite. The truck stops I have been to want you to pull in with the semis. They are usually left idling and are too loud for anyone to get rest.

We usually just grab 2-3 hours of shut-eye at rest stops along the way that allow overnight parking.

chevyrules05: At the Flying J or Pilots where have you parked? Is it with the semis?

once at pilot we stayed with the semis (wich was bad) but Flying J usally has RV parking, but when we take a planed trip we make reservations at camp grounds where we know we will be stoping for the night

 

[Momofejlg]

Any idea on why a truck stop but not a Wal-Mart? My family is just the opposite. The truck stops I have been to want you to pull in with the semis. They are usually left idling and are too loud for anyone to get rest.

We usually just grab 2-3 hours of shut-eye at rest stops along the way that allow overnight parking.

chevyrules05: At the Flying J or Pilots where have you parked? Is it with the semis?

Looking at a truck stop , he( DH) is thinking it may be "safer" , we did find a Pilot on the route that we will be taking. The whole point is not to waste to much time with setting up/taking down and if we can stop some where to sleep , get up and eat and be on our way. We are traveling with 4 kids so I think we will need a longer rest time at night!
Thanks for the info

 

[BradyBz12]

We actually feel safer at the well-lit, patrolled WalMarts than the few truck stops we've tried along the way. They're also a lot quieter in our experience.

We're in Southern NH and typically stop near Richmond VA and again in Jacksonville - which is where we do our grocery shopping in the a.m. before finishing the trip to FW.

Our trip usually looks like this....
Leave around 5pm Friday
- MA Pike to 84 to 87 to Garden State to NJ Turnpike/95
- follow 95, taking DC beltway east or west and 695 loop around tunnels in Baltimore

Stop in/near Richmond VA (about 8 hours)

Stay on 95 stopping in Jacksonville about 8-9pm Saturday

Get on the road by 8am Sunday - 95 to I-4 to FW

...arriving around 11am


Whatever you decide - safe travels and have a wonderful trip!

 

[Momofejlg]

Thanks I will pass on the info to my DH , as he does all the driving !! The last time we did this we left at 3:30 am to out run a big snow storm and did not stop until 9pm that night in NC. It might be nicer not to have such a long first day

 

[BradyBz12]

I usually do most of the driving, and actually prefer driving at night (less traffic) - which is why we leave at 5pm. That also gets us through NYC and DC during off hours - a big plus! I try and take a nap at some point the day we're leaving, so I can drive as much as possible - although sometimes I'M TOO EXCITED TO SLEEP!

We're right on the NH/MA line, and 8-9 hours generally gets us past DC and at least close to Richmond. Going 84/87/Garden State is a little further, but we avoid driving right through NYC (which DH doesn't love).

We stop every 2-3 hours for gas/puppy break, and usually pack a cooler with sandwiches, drinks and snacks in the car (we pull a TT) so we don't have to waste time stopping to eat.

Saturday tends to be a 12 hour day - but DH does some of the driving that day (usually NC), so not too bad. We like getting as close as Jacksonville, because it gives us a chance to get a good night's sleep and only have about a 3 hour drive to FW, so we don't arrive all wiped out.

Works for us

Forgot to add... whatever you decide, there is a great book that gives you pretty much all the services along the major highways. It's called "The Next Exit" and is a great resource!

 

[matthse]

Recently, we went to texas to pick up a fifth wheel from my aunt. On the way back we stayed in a rest stop in Miss. It was a little nerve racking at first. But the area was well lit and we were packed right in front of the security shack. I now that there is some hesiitation in staying in rest areas for a lot of people. Perssonally we have reservations for May 15-20 at FW and I was going to try a Flying J, ALot of people have posted on staying there with no problems. Good luck

 

[Momofejlg]

That gives us food for thought we intially thought to do 6hrs our first night but maybe a little longer wouldn't be so bad I do like the idea of pulling to Orlando early.
NO that the kids are a little older and no one is in diapers we can ususally go about 4 hrs between stops - that has made a big diffrence in our travel time
BTW we are in Ma on the MA/NH border as well

 

[jbgard]

We did this same route from RI last year, stayed at a KOA near Harrisonburg, VA on the first night (+/- 550 mi) and at New Green Acres RV Park in Walterboro SC on the second night (+/- 500 mi). That left us with about 350 miles to the Fort for the third day. 84-81-77-26-95 was the route we took and it is much better than 95 all of the way.

 

[BradyBz12]

BTW we are in Ma on the MA/NH border as well

Howdy neighbor!

Enjoy your trip next month. Unfortunately we aren't heading down to FW until November (counting the days!!)

 

[wrongagain]

Flying J is much, much, more user friendly than pilot.
I have stayed at the "patrolled" rest areas before a pilot truck stop.