For 2,000+ Mile Round-Trip Drivers Only! (II)

[macraven]

T Minus 1 hour before we hit the road..... woo hoo!!!

Can't wait to escape the heat here in Chicago!

laura, if you would have waited around till friday/saturday, the heat wouldn't be a problem for you here.

might hit 70 in the day with a mid 50's at night....

 

[nono]

I don’t want to drink a ton of coffee for the early part of the trip, because I don’t want to have to stop much to take bio breaks while everyone is sleeping, so I’m thinking to trying that little bottle of 5 hour energy. Has anyone tried it? Does it work?

When we do overnights, I do most of the driving. Overnight isn't my bad time, but 3-6 p.m. is....and I have found that a 5 Hour Energy does work to fill that gap for me. No buzz or anything like that, and yeah, not enough water to make a pit stop necessary. I'm not sure it works for everyone though, so I'd suggest picking one up and trying one before your trip when you are dragging, and see if it helps any.

 

[kidd_freeper]

I’m thinking to trying that little bottle of 5 hour energy. Has anyone tried it? Does it work?

My experience is that it works VERY well, if you've had some minor amount of sleep. It does nothing if you've had no sleep.

I used it last July for our trip to WDW. Got home from work, ate supper and went to bed. Woke up at 11:30pm after about 4 hours of sleep, showered and started driving. Took the 5-hour energy drink at 1 am. I was completely alert until 6 am...it works for exactly 5 hours. After a two hour nap, I was good for the rest of the day.

I used it another time to study for a test, without prior sleep. It did nothing.

 

[glen65]

Since I leave on Sunday, I'll pick up a test bottle today. I had planned on giving it a test run before the trip to make sure there were no negative side effects for me but haven't had time up until now.
Thanks all!

 

[BC1836]

My experience is that it works VERY well, if you've had some minor amount of sleep. It does nothing if you've had no sleep.

I used it last July for our trip to WDW. Got home from work, ate supper and went to bed. Woke up at 11:30pm after about 4 hours of sleep, showered and started driving. Took the 5-hour energy drink at 1 am. I was completely alert until 6 am...it works for exactly 5 hours. After a two hour nap, I was good for the rest of the day.

I used it another time to study for a test, without prior sleep. It did nothing.

Thanks for answering a question that I was going to ask. Some sleep is esssential to a drive, especially a long haul. Two Red Bulls during the earliest phase of our drive work...somewhat.

All the best.

 

[Disneyholic]

When we do overnights, I do most of the driving. Overnight isn't my bad time, but 3-6 p.m. is....and I have found that a 5 Hour Energy does work to fill that gap for me. No buzz or anything like that, and yeah, not enough water to make a pit stop necessary. I'm not sure it works for everyone though, so I'd suggest picking one up and trying one before your trip when you are dragging, and see if it helps any.[/QUOTE]

Please read the bottle about medical conditions not to take it with. I have Atrial Fibrillation & Arrythmia. I can't take this stuff. We do get a cappachino each to start the drive & we also fill up a WAWA big jug with regular coffee for DH for the rest of the drive. One cappachino is all I can handle before I start having problems. I drink flavored water & no caffiene sodas for the rest of the drive. I start the drive and DH does most of the driving with me giving him rest periods of about 2-3 hours every so often. When my eyeballs feel like they are going to fall out I have to pull over & switch.

Going down, the adreniline is pumping so we get down there in about 20 hours with a 4 hour nap during the night. We also don't go more than 4 mph over the limit. I am in my 50s & DH is in his 60s. On the way home we just want to get there, but we usually take 2-3 days to do it if we have the time. I hate doing the drive home in 1 direct drive. I want to wiggle my nose & be there. I used to think the 8 hour drive home from Canada was bad until we started driving to Disney. We have been known to drive down & take the AutoTrain home. I know that cuts our trip to only 1200 miles for those times, but we have done the full round trip quite a few times, too.

 

[C&G'sMama]

We left Fredericksburg at 10am. We arr 35 miles from Winchester VA on route 17. Much better when it's dry and daylight. We should be home by 6.

 

[pwdebbie]

Every once in a while I think about Autotrain. Today I priced it -- again. Round trip, 2 adults, 1 car, bedrom -- $1,902! I don't think so!

 

[Disneyholic]

Every once in a while I think about Autotrain. Today I priced it -- again. Round trip, 2 adults, 1 car, bedrom -- $1,902! I don't think so!

It depends on the time of year and how far out you book. I consider it to be part of the vacation. It is relaxing having them do the driving. We usually go down in fall and drive down, then take the train back. In fall, the Snowbirds are going down and the train is coming back half full so prices are lower for the South to North trip. In Spring the Snowbirds are coming home, so the trip North to South is cheaper one way. It's all in the planning. We did the Cruise May into June when the Snowbird are going North so the one way North would be too expensive, but we couldn't leave any earlier to take the AutoTrain South, so we drove both ways this time with the 3 day stopover in Georgia on the way home to recharge our batteries.

 

[C&G'sMama]

Home again, home again, jiggity jog. Pulled in about 7:30 after stopping to pick up pizzas (one joint for Gluten Free and another for regular).

I got most of the stuff out of the car, and just need to clean a little bit in the morning as DP has car pool duty for school tomorrow.

Can't wait to read about everyone's trips coming up.

 

[MamaJessie]

It depends on the time of year and how far out you book. I consider it to be part of the vacation. It is relaxing having them do the driving. We usually go down in fall and drive down, then take the train back. In fall, the Snowbirds are going down and the train is coming back half full so prices are lower for the South to North trip. In Spring the Snowbirds are coming home, so the trip North to South is cheaper one way. It's all in the planning. We did the Cruise May into June when the Snowbird are going North so the one way North would be too expensive, but we couldn't leave any earlier to take the AutoTrain South, so we drove both ways this time with the 3 day stopover in Georgia on the way home to recharge our batteries.

For some reason I never thought about taking it one way. Interesting point.

Home again, home again, jiggity jog. Pulled in about 7:30 after stopping to pick up pizzas (one joint for Gluten Free and another for regular).

I got most of the stuff out of the car, and just need to clean a little bit in the morning as DP has car pool duty for school tomorrow.

Can't wait to read about everyone's trips coming up.

Uneventful rides home are good Out of curiosity, what was the bounceback?

When we do overnights, I do most of the driving. Overnight isn't my bad time, but 3-6 p.m. is....and I have found that a 5 Hour Energy does work to fill that gap for me.

Interesting. I take over at night and do the overnight shift. I didn't have a problem last time but a little extra pep wouldn't be a bad thing at around 4 am...

 

[BC1836]

We received a call from forwardfacingtentacles, veterans of 2,000+ mile round-trip drives, at the GF monorail station! Imagine, departing NYC/NJ's record-breaking hot weather for a cooler Central FL vacation!

All the best.

 

[djh]

Hi everyone. I am new to the board and love this thread. I have finished reading through parts I and II. I have driven down from NJ via 95 but never taken the more scenic route(81). I know where and when not to be on 95 but are there cities on 81 that should be avoided at certain times.

Thanks djh

 

[sharadoc]

We received a call from forwardfacingtentacles, veterans of 2,000+ mile round-trip drives, at the GF monorail station! Imagine, departing NYC/NJ's record-breaking hot weather for a cooler Central FL vacation!

All the best.

Cool (literally!). Hope it stays that way!

 

[dvczerfs]

Hi everyone. I am new to the board and love this thread. I have finished reading through parts I and II. I have driven down from NJ via 95 but never taken the more scenic route(81). I know where and when not to be on 95 but are there cities on 81 that should be avoided at certain times.

Thanks djh

charolette north carolina at a rush hour. im going to hit it around 5-6am on a sat. so i should be in good shape. you dont want to hit it at a rush hour.

 

[dvczerfs]

Cool (literally!). Hope it stays that way!

briana graduated last nigh from hs. we had to wait outside stabler areana from 4:45 till 6pm. i told tammy to get use to it, its gonna get alot hotter next week.

 

[djh]

charolette north carolina at a rush hour. im going to hit it around 5-6am on a sat. so i should be in good shape. you dont want to hit it at a rush hour.

Thanks for the info. It looks like I would be past there in the middle of the night. So there is nothing to worry about north of there? I would take 78 to 81 then 77.

 

[dvczerfs]

Thanks for the info. It looks like I would be past there in the middle of the night. So there is nothing to worry about north of there? I would take 78 to 81 then 77.

your driving past my house just about. 78 you should be fine. harrisburg area on 81 during rush hours is a good place to avoid if you can, that can get rather busy. once you get past harrisburg your fine through virginia and basiclly through 95. if your hitting cha. nc at night, youll be fine all the way to jacksonville fl. try to avoid jacksonville at a rush hour.

 

[sharadoc]

briana graduated last nigh from hs. we had to wait outside stabler areana from 4:45 till 6pm. i told tammy to get use to it, its gonna get alot hotter next week.

Congrats to Briana! I know, I told Lauren last night - yeah, Florida weather. Get's me excited for Disney World. All she said was "Oh my God!" She hates the heat too but we'll be fine.

The humidity is supposed to break tonight so it should be cooler by tomorrow.

 

[pwdebbie]

It depends on the time of year and how far out you book. I consider it to be part of the vacation. It is relaxing having them do the driving. We usually go down in fall and drive down, then take the train back. In fall, the Snowbirds are going down and the train is coming back half full so prices are lower for the South to North trip. In Spring the Snowbirds are coming home, so the trip North to South is cheaper one way. It's all in the planning. We did the Cruise May into June when the Snowbird are going North so the one way North would be too expensive, but we couldn't leave any earlier to take the AutoTrain South, so we drove both ways this time with the 3 day stopover in Georgia on the way home to recharge our batteries.

I was pricing for April 16-28, 2012 (or something like that) -- heading south on Sunday and north Friday a week later. Maybe I'll just look at one way.