Driving through the night from upstate PA. Any suggestions?

[Mikeb1892]

Planning on leaving on a Wednesday night approx. 9 pm. Route will be 220 to 15 to I-270 to I-95. Should be south of DC by approx 3 am. I've never driven straight through the night. Plan is to get a 3-5 hour nap departure date afternoon, then have my wife take over for a few hours once she wakes up the next morning. Is this realistic? Has anyone done this before and have any suggestions. We'll have our two sons (9 and 3) who do phenomenal riding in the van so I'm not too worried about them, more so me staying awake.

 

[cjparker0110]

I've driven straight from Southern VA before. Your drive will take a bit longer, but it's doable. However, you guys may be exhausted from the long ride. Good thing is hitting D.C. area around 3 a.m. Traffic is nasty there. It should be fine when you go through and that should also get you through Richmond before traffic gets bad. Not sure what your meal plans are, but once you get past Richmond there aren't a lot of big areas to stop for a while. If your timing is right, you'll probably be around Emporia, VA around 6 a.m? That might be a good spot to grab a bite to eat. That would be just before hitting NC. Traffic isn't usually bad in that area during rush hour so you should be in good shape!

I can't remember which state it is...maybe Georgia...but there is a long...and I mean REALLY LONG....stretch with no rest areas. Keep an eye on the signs for them. They usually will tell you how far it is to the next one. (Obviously, you can exit the interstate, but it's easier to use them for just basic stops).

 

[Kevin355]

Drove from Central Ohio (Hilliard) starting at 4:00AM. And it is Georgia with the really long stretch of no facilities. But it sounds like you are driving down I-95. If that is the case, then it is South Carolina that is limited with facilities.

Drive safely and enjoy your trip.

 

[ejdmomma]

We do the drive from Indy to Florida every year. It's about 16 hours straight thru. We leave after work, give the kids a snack and start a movie. We stop for a late dinner and let the kids stretch their legs (usually try to find a McD with a play area). Then it's straight through the night. My husband typically drives until 3-4am and then I take over until he gets a couple hour nap. And then he finishes the drive. It works for us. Just know your limits. My husband tries to take a half day, so he can get a nap in before I get home with the kids.

Tips for staying alert - keep the temp a little low, have your fave music and snacks. Starlight mints are favorite of ours - something about the sugar and mint flavor perks me up.

Best of luck for a safe trip!

 

[Hopefully]

You'll get some great information if you post this question on the Transportation Forum here on the DIS

 

[amcnj]

I get up fairly early each day for work, so when driving down get up a couple hours earlier and leave around 2:30 AM. For reference, I am about an hour and ten minutes from the DE Memorial Bridge. Then I typically arrive in the Orlando area by 6:30 PM. I do it this way as I know I am not a candidate for overnight driving. By 9 PM I am dozing!

 

[NH-to-FL]

I recently did a leisurely 3 day drive from NH. For the first leg we stopped in PA to visit with friends and family for a day and then did two 8 hour days down I95. Physically I know that I am not able to do extended driving and certainly not during the night. My internal clock is just too strong. Basically I stayed on my normal schedule.

I am curious, have you recently stayed awake overnight? Done something that required you to be continuously alert during the hours that you normally are asleep? If yes, how did it go?

If no, it is good you are concerned about your ability to stay awake. My suggestion is to pay close attention to your body and be prepared to stop and rest if you find yourself struggling to stay alert during those early morning hours.

Wishing you a safe and magical trip!

 

[amylevan]

We drive overnight from the Lehigh Valley (pulling a 5th wheel, so we can't drive quite as fast as non-towing vehicles). Plus, I don't drive when we are towing that bohemoth, so DH has to do all the driving.

The first time we went the 220-15-270-95 route. We left home about 7pm. Around 5am-ish we pulled into a rest stop for DH to take a nap. He closed his eyes for about an hour and then we were back on our way. Pulled into Fort Wilderness around 1 pm.

The second time, we opted for 95 the whole way. We got on the road around 4 pm. Stopped in SC for another very early nap. Pulled into FW about 11am.

DH has fairly flexible hours at work, so he usually works until midnight or so the day before we leave. Then he goes to bed early morning-ish and sleeps/snoozes all day. He gets out of bed a few hours before we leave and then he's usually good to go for quite some time. The hardest hours are right before dawn. You're tired, there's not much to keep your mind occupied and it's dark. Once the sun comes up, though, your body wants to wake up and it gets easier.

We don't head to any parks our arrival day, just relax and enjoy being on vacation. Then we get to bed very early that night so we are ready to hit the ground running the next morning.

 

[buzznina]

I did it a couple of times when I lived in Michigan. Personally, I would not do it again because it either took a couple of days to feel real good again or if I was going good early I would hit a wall mid-trip where all of a sudden I felt just exhausted. I usually do not get a lot of sleep but my body really missed it when I get a lot less

 

[Praying Colonel]

Planning on leaving on a Wednesday night approx. 9 pm. Route will be 220 to 15 to I-270 to I-95. Should be south of DC by approx 3 am. I've never driven straight through the night. Plan is to get a 3-5 hour nap departure date afternoon, then have my wife take over for a few hours once she wakes up the next morning. Is this realistic? Has anyone done this before and have any suggestions. We'll have our two sons (9 and 3) who do phenomenal riding in the van so I'm not too worried about them, more so me staying awake.

We did it a couple of times--once in 06, again in 09. It's about a 13-hour drive for us. The last time we did it we left around 7 pm, DW drove until about 11. I slept as much as possible in the back of our van and then drove us the rest of the way, grabbing coffee as we went. We arrived around 8 am. Our room wasn't ready but we changed clothes, left our stuff with bell services and made 9 am RD at AK. Since we only spend 1/2 day in AK, we thought it would be good to do on our arrival day, then go back and get some rest after that.

It worked out OK--our kids were great long-distance travelers and we made great time in the night. Looking back, I'm not sure I'd do it again. I was pretty much a wreck that first day but held it together for the family. And we were going to be there for a week, so not sure we needed to go super-commando on our arrival day. Above all, be safe.

 

[Lynne M]

I'm going to move this to the Transportation board.

 

[Mikeb1892]

I am curious, have you recently stayed awake overnight? Done something that required you to be continuously alert during the hours that you normally are asleep? If yes, how did it go?

Haven't stayed up through the night for a long time, and when I did, it wasn't doing anything as mundane as driving.

Thanks everyone for all the information. Google Maps show about 17 1/2 hours drive time total (16:45 w/o traffic, yeah right!). I'm not super interested in arriving at the resort much, if at all before our room is ready. We have no plans to go to a park on arrival day, and foresee us turning in early for an early start the next morning. We drove down in June, but took 2.5 days to do it, staying on 81 most of the way. We stopped in Winchester, VA the first night, and Savanna the 2nd. That trip we were on site for 10 nights, but this trip will be 8 nights and I don't want to burn more vacation just to drive. I will certainly not push myself if I feel overwhelmingly tired. I'd much prefer to pull over a grab a few winks then put my family in jeopardy.

I read somewhere that wiping your face with like a cleansing cloth can help keep you alert. Does anyone have any other tips (someone mentioned keeping it cool)?

 

[Mikeb1892]

I'm going to move this to the Transportation board.

Thanks! Didn't even know that existed. Guess I should scroll down more on the main screen!

 

[DVC-Don]

Gotta be real careful and on the ball all the time. Night time brings out the "road kill animals" and lots of the other drivers out at that time will be sleep deprived. My wife's cousin did a straight through trip to WDW from New Hampshire once. Somewhere in South Carolina at about 2 AM a state highway patrol car flew past them and right into the back of a semi trailer. The trooper must have fell asleep and just plowed right into the trailer.

 

[Lefty33]

I did the driving thing once last year in February sort of as a "just to say I did it' type of thing. Like amylevan I also live in the Lehigh Valley area of PA and on the way down we left around on a Friday around 6pm and hit the Jacksonville area around 7ish on Saturday when we stopped for breakfast at a Cracker Barrel then drove to Fort Mantanzas and eventually got to CSR around 6pm (27 hours straight for me) just to recoup and hit the ground running the next day at HS. I went 81 to 77 to 95 for that direction and heading north we left Florida in the early afternoon and only stopped for an hour or so for dinner and made it home before the sun rose using 95 the entire way.

I work a 3rd shift job so to me staying awake all night to drive is easier but it's not for everyone especially when (in my case) your spouse can barely stay awake in the car once it leaves the driveway or if you've never done it before. Doing things like trying to keep cool/cold helps the same as hitting an energy drink or six if need be. The hardest thing is the is the mental part that makes you drowsy as you will be bored out of your mind when everyone in the car is sleeping and you've seen nothing but asphalt & trees for the last 400 miles at 2am. Also bringing along something like a long audio book which (if good of course) will keep you mentally stimulated for a longer stretch if you get into it.

Our kids (10 & 8 at the time) did fine on the way down because they knew what was in store plus it was mostly overnight. On the way back things were a little rammier but overall not bad with more than enough books, DS games and Nooks packed to keep them decent.

 

[I Love Pluto]

My advice - pull over - get a good night's sleep in Savannah - continue to Disney the next day! No more straight through trips for us!!!

It's about 5 hours from Savannah to WDW. IT makes such a difference when we pull into WDW fully awake without the immediate need for sleep!!!

 

[cjparker0110]

Haven't stayed up through the night for a long time, and when I did, it wasn't doing anything as mundane as driving.

Thanks everyone for all the information. Google Maps show about 17 1/2 hours drive time total (16:45 w/o traffic, yeah right!). I'm not super interested in arriving at the resort much, if at all before our room is ready. We have no plans to go to a park on arrival day, and foresee us turning in early for an early start the next morning. We drove down in June, but took 2.5 days to do it, staying on 81 most of the way. We stopped in Winchester, VA the first night, and Savanna the 2nd. That trip we were on site for 10 nights, but this trip will be 8 nights and I don't want to burn more vacation just to drive. I will certainly not push myself if I feel overwhelmingly tired. I'd much prefer to pull over a grab a few winks then put my family in jeopardy.

I read somewhere that wiping your face with like a cleansing cloth can help keep you alert. Does anyone have any other tips (someone mentioned keeping it cool)?

My wife is big into essential oils and I have started to find that they actually kind of work. Two that I would recommend are Wild Orange and Peppermint. Both seem to help a lot with improving concentration/alertness. We use Doterra brand. There is also a brand called Young Living that is really good. I would avoid any that you find in the grocery store (Aura Cacia is common around here) as they aren't as pure (my wife has reactions from it that she doesn't from any other brands). You can breathe it in deep or you can get a diffuser (they have some that clip to your heat/air vents).

One word of warning: Peppermint is good at lower fevers as well. Why do I warn you? Because the result of this is that often you will feel like the temp has dropped a little bit if you are diffusing peppermint. Not a lot...a couple of degrees. But it's enough to make you shiver just a bit if you aren't expecting it!

 

[specialkk77]

Back in may my fiancé and i drove from upstate ny. we stopped around halfway in north carolina, where we have family. Even with the stop, it was a long, hard trip. I recommend switching drivers every 3-4 hours (especially on 95, you can really hurt your eyes with those straight stretches of nothing!) Power naps in the passenger seat are great if they are realistic for you. (I can and do fall asleep anywhere!) coffee and energy drinks are great, but i also found having hard candy for a quick sugar boost helped too! Eat a good filling meal...going off the highway to find real food instead of gas station food does take a little longer, but your stomach will thank you! less queasiness during the ride. Make sure you stop to stretch your legs and get the blood flow going every couple hours. (we did jumping jacks!) Again, your bodies will thank you!

This tip isn't strictly for driving, but make sure you keep your sense of humor! A car gets smaller as the hours tick by, and things that normally don't phase you will probably make you get a little snappy. if you go into it knowing you might react that way, it will be easier to take a look outside of the vehicle, and say, okay, this is because of the drive. we can relax. hopefully that makes sense!

bonus tip: make your phone background the maingate, to give you something to look at when you're losing your mind! Have fun, be safe, and maybe we'll see you there! (But this time, we're flying!)

 

[Mikeb1892]

My wife is big into essential oils and I have started to find that they actually kind of work. Two that I would recommend are Wild Orange and Peppermint. Both seem to help a lot with improving concentration/alertness. We use Doterra brand. There is also a brand called Young Living that is really good. I would avoid any that you find in the grocery store (Aura Cacia is common around here) as they aren't as pure (my wife has reactions from it that she doesn't from any other brands). You can breathe it in deep or you can get a diffuser (they have some that clip to your heat/air vents).

One word of warning: Peppermint is good at lower fevers as well. Why do I warn you? Because the result of this is that often you will feel like the temp has dropped a little bit if you are diffusing peppermint. Not a lot...a couple of degrees. But it's enough to make you shiver just a bit if you aren't expecting it!

Nice idea. Never thought of this. When you just breathe it in, how often do you "take a hit of the peppermint"? LOL

 

[cjparker0110]

Nice idea. Never thought of this. When you just breathe it in, how often do you "take a hit of the peppermint"? LOL

As often as you need it. If you get a good whiff of it, you'll probably be good for a while. When we were on our last trip out east, I used it about every 2-3 hours. That said, we weren't driving over night. I was just exhausted as 7 of our 10 days of "vacation" were spent behind the wheel...so much for rest and relaxation!