Driving to HH - Help please!

[SafariTigger]

We are driving from NJ to HH on Saturday. I remember reading that you should try to avoid 95 in Wash. DC but I can't find the thread. Is using 295 ok or should I take 495 W (Capital Beltway) around the city? I'm trying to avoid traffic if possible. Has anyone tried going down along the water using the Cape May ferry and then heading to Norfolk before getting on 95? Those of you who normally drive, I would really appreciate some help.

Thanks.

 

[allicat]

what time are you leaving on Sat.?
We have always taken 95 and by leaving at "off" hours so we arent in DC at rush hour, we have always managed to avoid traffic.

 

[DownNeckBoy]

Your post does not mention what time you plan on leaving from NJ, and where you will be, so I will attempt to assist you as much as possible. Here are my suggesitons:

1. Forget the ferry! I've done it as a means by which to get down to VA Beach. It was not worth the time lost or the effort expended.

2. 95 is bulletproof so long as you leave early enough to be past the DC area before normal morning driving hours. I normally leave late the night before (10-11pm) so that I am in NC before daybreak.

3. I do recommend taking the 295 Richmond bypass.

4. It normally takes me, from Bergen County, 10-11 hours to reach HHI. This is at an average speed of 72 mph.

Let me know if you have other quesitons about the trip.

 

[egroegsacul]

We just drove down to HH from South Jersey in mid May on a Saturday and didn't find the traffic around D.C. too bad. There were some construction delays, but no real "traffic". If I recall correctly, we left around 11:00 AM, so we should have hit the D.C. area around 2:00 PM. Then again, it all depends upon you tolerance for traffic ...

 

[SafariTigger]

We are leaving Ocean County, NJ around 8:00 am. We are checking in to HH on Sunday, we are staying Sat. night in Fayetteville, NC.

 

[Connears]

We drive from Natick all the time. Saturday should not be a problem in DC, but do try to avoid the 4-6pm on beltway(we usually do the west loop). You should also use 295 around Richmond(95 there is worse than the expressway). We have also found that we drive right thru NYCity and over the GW bridge instead of around CT to Tappanzee. We leave around 8am and get to NYC by 11:30(if the gods are with us). Be prepared for sudden dead stops at any time in NC-SC because it is only 2 lanes. Don't know the reason for this, but it does happen. If your lucky(like last trip) it won't happen often. The best part is that speed limit increases to 70 here(so you can do 80 according to DH). Have fun!
Connears

 

[pod2314]

There will be a 7 mile detour on I-95 at Springfield, VA (at the intersection of I95/I495/I395) on 8/16 & 17 and 8/23 & 34 from 8 pm and 10 am, while they move a new bridge in place over I-95. Other than that the traffic through the DC area should not be bad on Saturday.

 

[lat]

This was a thread that I started and it may help:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=400593

Have a great time and I would love to hear how your trip went!!!!

 

[BWVDenise]

We did this from NJ in June. We followed the AAA Triptik. It had us go east around D.C. on 495 and then around Richmond on 295. We left at 4 a.m. and were going past HH (on to Savannah) exactly 12 hours later. There are construction stamps all over the Triptik and we found that although there weren't always delays at those points, there was evidence of construction in those spots. From my notes, it looks like it took us about 7 1/2 hours to get to Fayetteville (from just outside Philadelphia).
Have a great trip!
We'll be going back in November.

 

[lat]

How do you determine where is a good place to stop for overnight? Is there any place that is sort of interesting to stay over?

 

[BWVDenise]

lat,
we drove straight through.

 

[lat]

Thanks Denise. We have never done any road trips with my kids (5 and 2) farther than going to Boston (under 250 mi). So this is a major undertaking. How was it driving straight through?

For others who choose to stop for overnight rest, what are the desirable places? Thanks

 

[BWVDenise]

lat,
my kids are 5, 6 and 9. We drove last year, too. They were fine. We have the VCR/TV in between the front seats (the console on the floor) that we added for these long drives. However, there is not a movie on all the time. I space them out. I play sing along music (at least as much as my dh can handle!). I pack them each an activity bag and a few surprise things that they don't know about and whip those out if anyone starts to get "testy." We try to stop about every 3 hours for bathroom/stretch breaks. (My 9 yo gets carsick so sometimes we have to stop more frequently). And they take gameboys (but the younger kids don't play them as much as the 9 yo). Even though we leave at 4 o'clock, they stay awake because they are excited. They did nap just a little this last time. If your 2 yo is a good car-sleeper and you leave early, it might work for you.
Good luck whatever you decide!
Denise

 

[lat]

Denise, thanks again.

So many people have the TV/VCR in the car, how do they put it in? We have a minivan and I am not sure where to put it to make it secure enough.

 

[dcfromva]

Originally posted by pod2314
There will be a 7 mile detour on I-95 at Springfield, VA (at the intersection of I95/I495/I395) on 8/16 & 17 and 8/23 & 34 from 8 pm and 10 am, while they move a new bridge in place over I-95. Other than that the traffic through the DC area should not be bad on Saturday.

Click Here for a link to information on the closure

-DC

 

[ToyStory Fan]

Depending on when you leave you can try to avoid the "traffic zones"... road construction will be hit or miss.

It's only a 12-13 hour ride, so we normally drove straigth thru from NY (Lower Westchester County).

ONE THING no one mentioned this, the last 2 times I drove and the 2 times my sister drove there has ALWAYS been a speed trap set up on the main drag going to HHI, so I'm guessing they have a normal "post" there for all of the travelers coming to the Island.

 

[VMS]

We also have driven the past 2 years from CT in a minivan to HH. It was not that bad. Our kids are 12, 9, 6. We also have a TV/VCR that we put between the two seats. We have an Odyssey, and we place it on the floor right behind the little table in between the front two seats. We kind of angle it up using a towel, and my husband secures it so it would not go flying if we had to make a sudden stop. Two kids sit in the middle two seats, and a third sits in the middle seat of the rear bench and can view it from there. Good thing we do not have a fourth kid!

 

[SafariTigger]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and tips (especially the speed traps!). I am really looking forward to the trip but I don't want to spend more time in the car than necessary. (My DH and I are riding along with his parents!) Luckily, I don't think the construction detour mentioned should effect us due to our travel times. We have ruled out the ferry option but are still a little shaky on how we are going to do the DC area. We will probably decide as we get close, maybe there will be traffic updates on the radio. Thanks for the tip about Richmond, I didn't realize that would be a problem area too. I will give a full trip report when I get back!! Thanks again.

 

[marley]

two things:

Regarding the tv. I have an Odyssey and at Target you can buy from the car accessory aisle a "wedge" that says it is not used for tv's in a car but the picture on the box clearly shows a tv on top of it in a car. It has straps to attach the TV securely and wedges it under the table in the middle of the Odyssey at a perfect angle for the kids to see.

RE: DC traffic. I lived right off of the Beltway all of my life and moved to NC to get away from all of the traffic. My husband's family is in NJ so we do that hideous drive every couple of months. Here is what I always do.

1. Right before Baltimore, I jump over to I-895 and go through that tunnel which has way less traffic than driving through the Baltimore area.

2. From I-895 we immediately take the Baltimore Washington Pkwy (295) and bypass a lot of MD. Just don't speed on this!

3. We only drive 4 exits on the Beltway after that then hop over to Hwy 301 which we follow all the way until it meets up with 95 just before Kings Dominion. You bypass Northern VA completely and although there a lot of lights at first on 301, you are mainly cruising for 1 1/2 hours and it has always taken me the same amount of time because it is about 30 miles shorter. It also is much better on my nerves

4. Regarding Richmond, I go there a lot since my best friend lives there and I have never taken 295. When they used to have the tolls in Richmond years ago, it was always a terrible drive but I find it easy now. Traffic usually backs up right before the bypass but once you pass it, smooth sailing.

Good luck!

 

[jmminarik]

Originally posted by SafariTigger
We are driving from NJ to HH on Saturday. I remember reading that you should try to avoid 95 in Wash. DC but I can't find the thread. Is using 295 ok or should I take 495 W (Capital Beltway) around the city? I'm trying to avoid traffic if possible. Has anyone tried going down along the water using the Cape May ferry and then heading to Norfolk before getting on 95? Those of you who normally drive, I would really appreciate some help.

Thanks.

Living in Philly I've never had cause to take the ferry but have had relatives who did...they enjoyed it if for no other reason than they weren't driving that whole bit.

Last may we took the ocean route going down and back across the Chesapeake Bridge/Tunnel. Going down it was specifically to avoid DC, coming back it was to be able to stop and enjoy the bridge. Its hard for us to tell if we saved time going this route as we weren't rushing as we would normally do going straight through. It was annoying driving through all of the small towns along route 13...between the traffic lights and the fact that it's the only "major" road made it seem more crowded than the demographics would indicate. It would be wonderful if Delaware 1 was extended all the way through delmarva, even if it were a toll road.

As to speed traps, we just consider the entire commonwealth of VA a speed trap, and at least 95 in MD as well.

As to traffic around DC, late night usually seems to be a decent time to drive as most of the people who are employed in city are home by then. I do have a theory that all of the idiots sit listening to their police scanners and when the hear about an accident they rush out to the scene so they can sloooooooowwwwwwly drive by and take a look. Being stuck on the beltway for 4 hours one weekend has convinced us to avoid DC at all possible costs...Now don't ask me about driving across the Bay bridge in summer.

Driving from Philly (not near or around it, but actually from it ) we usually make it to at least Rocky Mount NC before stopping if we leave after work.

Oh, and stopping on the bridge-tunnel is a cool way to take a break, stretch your legs, and enjoy the salt air.

-Joe