Driving from PA, share your fav stop pleez!

[the Fidge]

We will be drving down once again and would love some ideas of a city or place to spend the night. It is my DH and DS birthday we are clelbrating in DIsney and would like to spend a couple of hours in a fun or charming location!

WE stopped in Savanah and I was really disappointed! Love St AUgustine but its too far to do in 1 day of driving any hints welcomed!

Thanks for any input!

 

[GIOny]

What about Charleston, S.C.? I have never spent the night there but we did drive through there back in early May and it looked very charming . I'm not sure of the route you take but Williamsburg, Va. is also very nice and you could spend the day in the historic town . Let us know what you decide.

 

[HelenePA]

I'm also driving down in April do you mind if I ask how long it did take you? We are going to try to drive overnight and try not to stop at night. I know we are nuts. I'll second the Williamsburg its a VERY nice area to visit!

 

[katyjeka]

Hi. My family(DH and 3DD's) have drove from Latrobe, Pa many times.(Latrobe is an hour from Pittsburgh) Our friends call us crazy, but we LOVE the drive. We usually make it to Jacksonville, and spend the night. Although I can understand if this is too far for some in a day. We leave around 1:00 am and drive until 9:00, stop for breakfast, and let the kids wake up. We usually arrive in Jacksonville around 2:00 or 3:00, and stay at the Embassy Suites. It has a great pool for the kids and really spacious room. We have stopped in South Carolina(Low Country, I think it's called) and spent a few hours at the South Carolina Aquarium on Charleston Harbor. It is a great aquarium, and a short drive from I-95. Our kids really enjoy it. South Carolina's Low Country is beautiful. A car trip can be soooo much fun if you plan ahead. My DH and I enjoy the hours when the kids are asleep. It isn't often that we get hours to talk, and reconnect, without phones ringing, work issues, etc... Once the kids are up, we have hours to talk to them, without interruptions. Sorry, I didn't mean "ramble" on, but we just love the drive. Have a great trip. Janice

 

[100 acre wood]

Four words for ya, from a fellow Yank......"SOUTH OF THE BORDER"....Just kidding..... I guess some people enjoy it, but we never did......We usually try to make it to at least Rocky Mount along 95.....Williamsburg is very nice, but that is almost a trip unto itself and for us, it's too far off of the beaten path of 95 and would add too much time to our already 18 hour drive.....Maybe just try for a nicer hotel(make ressies before you go or you will get stuck in a dive motel, you know the kind that had a chalk outline of a body and an unpleasant odor you just can't place) with an indoor pool and a nice resturaunt nearby...goodluck and safe driving!

 

[LubsPoohBear]

not sure where too spend the night but looking at the gas prices. you may want too stop at exit 3 before leaving GA they have the best gas prices about 10 cents less then the other stops good luck and safe trip

 

[Chuck65]

I'll give a vote for Charleston, SC. Very nice to walk around downtown and look at the historic spots. You should definitely head out to the battery and walk down rainbow row. You can also eat at Hymans. Just make sure you get there about an hour before supper. If not, you can be waiting a while.

 

[tms295]

We drive from NE PA often... straight through overnight... only stop for potty breaks and snacks. **family owns a trucking company so that has always been the normal thing to do** The trip takes 16-18 hours depending on speed between 60-80mph... also we take I95 all the way... leave home around 8pm

 

[emma'smom]

Not a suggestion for stopping...but do they still have those "Pedro sez" signs along I95? I grew up on Baltimore and remember eagerly anticipating them all the way along...then we got to "South of the Border" and didn't stay long!

 

[webairs]

We also are driving down in September from around the Latrobe area in PA. We have gone down to the gulf in the past and drove straight thru. Took approximately 16 hours. The drive to Disney comes up on mapquest as less time because your on more main roads, so I'm betting it will take us about 14-15 hours.

We leave around 7-8 PM. The kids watch one or two dvds and then fall asleep and wake up in time to stop and grab a bite to eat and maybe watch one more dvd and we are there.

We wanted to at least see the beach one day this year, so we scheduled our first day in Daytona, so we will have that entire day to rest up from the drive.

Then it is off to Universal Studios for 3 days and then Disney for 5 days. I'm going to need a vacation after my vacation. LOL

 

[badblackpug]

I can't imagine 14-15 or even 16-18 hours from Latrobe. It is an 18h (straight through) drive from Philadelphia and we are what? 6 hours? east of you. But anyway, I couldn't tell you where to stop, because I would NEVER drive...I'm just impatient!
Happy birthday to your DH and DS anyway!

 

[mrstomrice]

When we drove from Bucks County, we stopped for sleep in NC both ways (Rocky Mount on the way and Lillington on the way home). Don't miss the FL welsome center for free OJ and brochures to help pass the last several hours of driving. We bypassed Baltimore and DC...now I can't think of the route..we left the area around 3 pm so it ended up being a great bypass...we ended up in VA...Bowling Green possibly?
Have a great trip!

 

[tms295]

Anyone coming from the Harrisburg PA area that wants to miss... the DC Baltimore area... the route is... 81 to i believe it is 66 just over the VA line... then to 17... to I95 just north of fredericksburg VA.

 

[Magalex]

We drove last year(April 2005)from Pittsburgh, PA. We did a stop over. We stopped in Orangeburg SC. Very convenient to get back on the highway in the morning. Nice safe place. We stayed at the Holiday Inn & Suites or it is the Holiday Inn Express. I forget which one it is between the two. It was a very unstressful ride. We loved it

 

[the Fidge]

Funny thing, DH is a turckdriver and hates the long drive on vacation lol! We had taken 95 2x and it seemed no mattter what time it was in the middle of the night we always get hung up in DC the first time it was for 3 hours!!! DH was out of his mind!! Thankfully DS was sleeping and didnt get an education in swear words! I would love to try again as it is less miles than the way DH goes and I just wnat to hurry and get there!!! (Or as far as I can get him!). He will not let me drive any of the way either which would make things sooo much easier but its his "guy" thing!

I am off 84 and am wondering is there ever a time in DC that it is not jam packed over there?? Thanks for all your input!

 

[Cutter]

I live just south of DC. The I-95, 395, 495 interchange in Springfied VA is a giant mess. Has been for a few years and until the construction is done, it will be. I avoid the area at all costs. Go around the area if you can.

For a good place to stop. Brunswick GA. There is an Embassy Suites a couple miles off I-95. Clean, reasonable price and full breakfast. Puts you about 210 miles from WDW.

 

[CherCrazy]

We did an overnight in St Augustine FL one time on the way to WDW. The kids enjoyed the fort, we enjoyed the little trolley tour around the town. We did Cape Canaveral the next day before driving over to Disney.

Re: 95S...Don't ever drive it on a SATURDAY! What a mess. We were bumper to bumper till Fredericksburg VA. 95N was the same way coming back. Best time to leave PA....Dinnertime. You hit DC around 8pm, after the rush hour. We would drive till we got to SC, then find a motel for an overnight.

 

[Maliki2]

I'm also driving down in April do you mind if I ask how long it did take you? We are going to try to drive overnight and try not to stop at night. I know we are nuts. I'll second the Williamsburg its a VERY nice area to visit!

Funny you say that, we are in the early planning stage for our trip next year. My wife and I and our new son will be driving from Vermont to Orlando. We plan on driving to Williamsburg (wife has been driving me nuts to go there), staying a few nights then driving to Orlando. Best part about driving is that even with the gas prices now, we will be saving a butt load of money.

 

[Goingtodisneyworld]

When we drove from Bucks County, we stopped for sleep in NC both ways (Rocky Mount on the way and Lillington on the way home). Don't miss the FL welsome center for free OJ and brochures to help pass the last several hours of driving. We bypassed Baltimore and DC...now I can't think of the route..we left the area around 3 pm so it ended up being a great bypass...we ended up in VA...Bowling Green possibly?
Have a great trip!

We Live in Rocky Mount!!! It is right on 95, small town w/ a new state of the art Childrens museum, nice hotels, Ok dining (too many chains for us), anyways if anyone would ever choose this stop & would like any help/info just let me know!

P.S We are approx. 10 hrs. from Disney w/potty & a dining break for dds age 5 & 3!

 

[Chuck65]

Not a suggestion for stopping...but do they still have those "Pedro sez" signs along I95? I grew up on Baltimore and remember eagerly anticipating them all the way along...then we got to "South of the Border" and didn't stay long!

Yeah, those dang things are still there. It's a heck of a way to greet incoming people to the great state of South Carolina. We talked to a lady from Boston in line at the TTC one year and she said made the mistake of stopping there on her drive down. The only reason we look forward to it is, when we see it we know we are only about 1.5 hrs. from Tosail Island NC

For those who haven't seen the signs they are very CHEESY. The signs say things like:
You're always a weiner at Pedros
You never sausage a place
Weather Forecast: Hot today, cold tamale
and you see these things for about 20 miles before you even get there!

So please, don't let these idiotic signs give any representation of the people of South Carolina.