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

[marius97]

We arrived in Daytona Beach at 1am this morning after 19.5 hrs of driving from Michigan. All I can say is I'm glad that we made it. Coming out of construction in Nashville, a truck in the left lane decided it wanted my spot in the right lane. He never signalled or anything; just came on over. My choices were let him hit me; go off into a three foot deep drainage ditch and hit a concrete retaining wall; or slam on the brakes and swerve onto the skinny shoulder where a construction sign was waiting for me to hit. I decided to eat the sign. I couldn't believe that I was actually able to get it stopped before running into the sign. Th kids were screaming and crying. We ended up sitting on the side of the road for ten minutes before we were calm enough to drive again.

Then, west of Chattanooga, we were a mile behind an accident that closed the highway for an hour. Two people ended up having to get airlifted from the scene.

Butwe made it here and are looking forward to a wellearned vacation.

 

[Goofygirl17]

2 weeks from today we'll be at Disney

Marius- Glad everyone is okay. Very scary. Enjoy your well earned vacation!

 

[Echo queen]

We arrived in Daytona Beach at 1am this morning after 19.5 hrs of driving from Michigan. All I can say is I'm glad that we made it. Coming out of construction in Nashville, a truck in the left lane decided it wanted my spot in the right lane. He never signalled or anything; just came on over. My choices were let him hit me; go off into a three foot deep drainage ditch and hit a concrete retaining wall; or slam on the brakes and swerve onto the skinny shoulder where a construction sign was waiting for me to hit. I decided to eat the sign. I couldn't believe that I was actually able to get it stopped before running into the sign. Th kids were screaming and crying. We ended up sitting on the side of the road for ten minutes before we were calm enough to drive again.

Then, west of Chattanooga, we were a mile behind an accident that closed the highway for an hour. Two people ended up having to get airlifted from the scene.

Butwe made it here and are looking forward to a wellearned vacation.

OMG I hope the rest of your travel is better.

 

[angwill]

We arrived in Daytona Beach at 1am this morning after 19.5 hrs of driving from Michigan. All I can say is I'm glad that we made it. Coming out of construction in Nashville, a truck in the left lane decided it wanted my spot in the right lane. He never signalled or anything; just came on over. My choices were let him hit me; go off into a three foot deep drainage ditch and hit a concrete retaining wall; or slam on the brakes and swerve onto the skinny shoulder where a construction sign was waiting for me to hit. I decided to eat the sign. I couldn't believe that I was actually able to get it stopped before running into the sign. Th kids were screaming and crying. We ended up sitting on the side of the road for ten minutes before we were calm enough to drive again.

Then, west of Chattanooga, we were a mile behind an accident that closed the highway for an hour. Two people ended up having to get airlifted from the scene.

Butwe made it here and are looking forward to a wellearned vacation.

I always said Nashville was worse than Atlanta for that reason. There are so many ramps we had a very similar thing happen to us. Not a semi but a railroad van that ran us into the shoulder wanting our lane.

I had to also wonder if what happend may have been a blessing in disguise in that had it not happened you could possibly have end up being that person a mile up the road having to be life flighted out?

 

[monymony3471]

We arrived in Daytona Beach at 1am this morning after 19.5 hrs of driving from Michigan. All I can say is I'm glad that we made it. Coming out of construction in Nashville, a truck in the left lane decided it wanted my spot in the right lane. He never signalled or anything; just came on over. My choices were let him hit me; go off into a three foot deep drainage ditch and hit a concrete retaining wall; or slam on the brakes and swerve onto the skinny shoulder where a construction sign was waiting for me to hit. I decided to eat the sign. I couldn't believe that I was actually able to get it stopped before running into the sign. Th kids were screaming and crying. We ended up sitting on the side of the road for ten minutes before we were calm enough to drive again.

Then, west of Chattanooga, we were a mile behind an accident that closed the highway for an hour. Two people ended up having to get airlifted from the scene.

Butwe made it here and are looking forward to a wellearned vacation.

Thank God you made the right decision. Glad you are all safe and able to enjoy your trip now.

 

[nono]

Arrived safe & sound at our rental for the week in Calabay Parc. Got here around 5:00 PM. Took 417 around due to traffic reports we heard on the radio. Grocery stop done & now onto Downtown Disney for dinner!

Nicely done. Question for ya...do you take Rt. 58 all the way over to I-95 when you are crossing VA? Curious, as we take the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel too.


Maurius97, glad you are all in one piece and in The World!

 

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

Hey guys!! We were going to make our first drive last year from NE PA, but the airfare dropped so low that it was almost obscene! This year, however, it doesn't seem to be the case! Maybe, but I am not counting on it! Anyway, I have reserved a rental mini-van just in case already. We can't drive either of our cars for a trip like that...they are just not large enough to allow the kids room and luggage space. Even with renting and paying gas prices, it is cheaper than flying! Crazy! The airfare would have to drop about $100 roundtrip for each of the 5 of us to even equal the cost of renting and driving. So, we will see how that goes. Anyway, in the meantime, I want to be prepared and will just plan to drive. If something happens that allows us to fly, so be it. I actually kind of want to drive. I feel like it will be part of the adventure! You guys make it look like a ton of fun! I just have a few questions. I'll give a bit of background first...

We are coming from NE PA. I know it may not be the popular choice, but we are planning to leave after picking the kids up from school around 3:00. It would be a Tuesday (October 30). There are 5 of us. DH, myself, DS (16), DD (13) and DS (8). We will pack a cooler with drinks and snacks and sandwiches. DH works nights and will sleep the afternoon before we leave. So, that will hopefully help with late driving. I will also drive so we can split the job. We plan to play the straight-through thing by ear. If we can, we will. If we are tired, we will stop. So, on to my questions:

1. If we stop, do we stay at a hotel or try a rest stop power nap?

2. What is our best route option?

3. What kind of time are we looking at if we stop to get gas (guessing 2 or 3 times), use bathrooms at gas stops, maybe a couple other bathroom stops, and a drive-thru breakfast stop? These are all just guesstimates...not really sure all of these would happen.

4. This is my biggest really...what kinds of things can I have for / do with the kids to keep them happy? Obviously they will undoubtedly sleep a decent part of the trip. Even if we don't travel through the whole night, they will sleep from being up early for school. They have ipods, handheld games and dvd players. So, that's all covered. I would just like some other suggestions.

That's all for now I think. Thanks in advanced for any and all help!

Also, if we stop, I would say that we will get at the very least 12 hours under our belts beforehand.

 

[amcnj]

Hi Lovemy3kiddos.

The one issue you may have is the Washington DC area. If you leave 3 PM, what time will you be around DC? My understanding is the traffic can be bad any time after 3, and up to as late as 8 PM. Any DC experts out there? I tend to leave early (2:30 AM) and so am by DC by 5:30 am, so have not had much DC traffic experience.

As a general driving time reference, I am about an hour and 10 minutes to the Delaware Memorial Bridge. I usually arrive in the Orlando area between 6:30 and 8:30 PM. Arrival time depends on the stops you make, the weather and traffic you hit. So actual driving time is around 15 hours.

It sounds like you have a lot of things for the kids to do. There are always also those age old car games of trying to find license plates from all the states (they can have a US map to color the states in as they see them, or cross them off a list - prize for the one with the most marked off!) or other lists of things to spot (cows, policeman, etc; whatever list you want to make). My guess is the older ones will spend a lot of time sleeping and listening to ipods. By driving overnight a lot of time will be used for sleeping.

As for power nap versus stopping that depends on you guys. Will a power nap be necessary/enough? Some can stay up all night and be fine, others need a power nap, and others need a good night's sleep.

Because of the time we leave, we tend to stay on 95. There are bypasses (DC, Richmond, Jacksonville) but our times get us through those areas OK on 95. Do others have more info on times of day/days of week when some of these bypasses make a difference?

 

[disneymarie]

We'er back.....
North of Richmond, Lorton is 2 hrs Nth. Why ds has to do DC????

We left Poconos, 2 days 10 hrs down, 2 days 10 Hrs each on the way back too.
Gas was from $3.23 to $2.99. Don't stop at the $3.49, next exit it will be lower.
The way down, we stopped at the Quality Inn in Emporia, 11B, for $62, tax about $70, wonderful waffles, breakfast free tons of things like sausage and eggs, to warm up.

Last night (S)Lumberton, N.C. Off Hotwire for $56.00 tax for two rooms $135. No breakfast, kids ate Denny's free. But the most amazing memory foam beds!

Looks like some rain ahead. Hope we miss it cargo carrier is not ,water proof.

Stayed offsite Westgate Bkue tree, near everything at exit 68. Two bedrooms, full needs met. They even had dish detergent, sponge, paper towels, two bathrooms, three TV s...very quiet many pools, hot tub, for $87.00 night prepay.

Should be home in a few hrs, too long for me!
Di

 

[Lizzybean]

I just wanted to jump into this thread and grab a spot. We are driving from the Chicago area and back. There are 5 in our fam and my mom decided to join us so now 6. Total cost in gas, good, wear/tear is going to be approx $600 which is A LOT cheaper than airline tix and frankly I'd rather deal with 17 hours 1 way in the vehicle than TSA sometimes. We drive to St. Pete Beach every year, but this summer decided to switch it up and do Disney since our youngest is turning 5 and (hopefully) will remember the trip. We consider the drive part of the "vacation experience!"

 

[dvczerfs]

i got my time frame done from our trip a few weeks ago.
we hit a bit of traffic in the lehigh valley around rt100 and i78.
heres how we did:

home to i81 = 1 hour / 1 min
i81 to ma. = 1 hour / 19 min.
ma. to wv. = 10 min.
wv. to va. = 22 min.
va. to i77 = 3hours. / 23 min.
i77 to nc. = 26 min.
nc to charl. nc. = 1hour / 44 min.
charl. to sc. = 11 min.
sc. to i26 = 1hour / 13 min.
i26 to i95 = 49 min.
i95 to ga. = 1hour / 7 min.
ga to fl = 1hour / 44 min.
fl to i4 = 1 hour / 42 min.
i4 to exit68 = 54 min.

this is going i78/i81/i77/i26/i95/i4 including drive thru, rest stops and gas stops.
total miles is 1094.

love3kiddos, im in nazareth. not sure what part of the poconos your in but i use 78/81/77/26/95/4. it takes me 16 hours. here are the times we do. we stop for gas 3 times and we hit the welcoming centers for bathroom breaks. we dont dally around when we stop.

 

[dvczerfs]

We'er back.....
North of Richmond, Lorton is 2 hrs Nth. Why ds has to do DC????

We left Poconos, 2 days 10 hrs down, 2 days 10 Hrs each on the way back too.
Gas was from $3.23 to $2.99. Don't stop at the $3.49, next exit it will be lower.
The way down, we stopped at the Quality Inn in Emporia, 11B, for $62, tax about $70, wonderful waffles, breakfast free tons of things like sausage and eggs, to warm up.

Last night (S)Lumberton, N.C. Off Hotwire for $56.00 tax for two rooms $135. No breakfast, kids ate Denny's free. But the most amazing memory foam beds!

Looks like some rain ahead. Hope we miss it cargo carrier is not ,water proof.

Stayed offsite Westgate Bkue tree, near everything at exit 68. Two bedrooms, full needs met. They even had dish detergent, sponge, paper towels, two bathrooms, three TV s...very quiet many pools, hot tub, for $87.00 night prepay.

Should be home in a few hrs, too long for me!
Di

DIAAAAAANEEE!!!! glad your having a good trip! looooooooooong but a good trip! your going to have to go down with us sometime. hit the road at 3am and ill have you home by 7pm.
how was your trip? how did you do with the heat? just an fyi, its going into the 90s here on wednesday and thursday.welcome home!!!!

 

[c.w.e.m.]

Nicely done. Question for ya...do you take Rt. 58 all the way over to I-95 when you are crossing VA? Curious, as we take the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel too.


Yep -- rt 58 from Va Beach. That is the worst part of our drive. the road never seems to end...

 

[nono]

Ah, that part never seems to bother me. Reason why I asked is the last time I ran directions it suggested that I cut the corner and not take to Rt. 58 all the way to I-95. I'm thinking that might actually be appealing on the return (as it always seems like Emporia will N-E-V-E-R arrive as we drive up I-95.) Guess we'll have to try it and see!

 

[monymony3471]

Anyone hear about sink holes along 75 in TN?

 

[Beast2Prince]

Leaving tomorrow for our second 2,000+ mile round trip. Still debating on whether to take I65 down and mess with Louisville and Nashville, or go over to I75 in Cinci and mess with the detour in Tennessee around the sink hole construction. Anyone that's taken either of these routes recently care to share their opinions?

 

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

love3kiddos, im in nazareth. not sure what part of the poconos your in but i use 78/81/77/26/95/4. it takes me 16 hours. here are the times we do. we stop for gas 3 times and we hit the welcoming centers for bathroom breaks. we dont dally around when we stop.

Thanks!! Is that 16 including your short stops? Do you think with a 3:00 departure we will have trouble near DC? We are in the Tannersville area. I am wondering...would I be better off taking 80 (in my back yard) to 81 since it's not far from here? Or just head down 33 to 78 to 81?

 

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

Hi Lovemy3kiddos.

The one issue you may have is the Washington DC area. If you leave 3 PM, what time will you be around DC? My understanding is the traffic can be bad any time after 3, and up to as late as 8 PM. Any DC experts out there? I tend to leave early (2:30 AM) and so am by DC by 5:30 am, so have not had much DC traffic experience.

As a general driving time reference, I am about an hour and 10 minutes to the Delaware Memorial Bridge. I usually arrive in the Orlando area between 6:30 and 8:30 PM. Arrival time depends on the stops you make, the weather and traffic you hit. So actual driving time is around 15 hours.

It sounds like you have a lot of things for the kids to do. There are always also those age old car games of trying to find license plates from all the states (they can have a US map to color the states in as they see them, or cross them off a list - prize for the one with the most marked off!) or other lists of things to spot (cows, policeman, etc; whatever list you want to make). My guess is the older ones will spend a lot of time sleeping and listening to ipods. By driving overnight a lot of time will be used for sleeping.

As for power nap versus stopping that depends on you guys. Will a power nap be necessary/enough? Some can stay up all night and be fine, others need a power nap, and others need a good night's sleep.

Because of the time we leave, we tend to stay on 95. There are bypasses (DC, Richmond, Jacksonville) but our times get us through those areas OK on 95. Do others have more info on times of day/days of week when some of these bypasses make a difference?

I want to say I would be about 4 hours from DC, but not 100% sure. I am hoping it will start to dissolve a bit by then. I think we will definitely play the sleep thing by ear. Even if we drive straight through, we will not be able to do much when we get there. It would be early morning. So, we may just stop and get a little rest. Can we just pop in a hotel along the way and rent a room for like 6 or 7 hours? Or is that not possible? I know it maybe sounds silly, but this is our first road trip, so I have not idea AT ALL! LOL

 

[Allieran3]

I want to say I would be about 4 hours from DC, but not 100% sure. I am hoping it will start to dissolve a bit by then. I think we will definitely play the sleep thing by ear. Even if we drive straight through, we will not be able to do much when we get there. It would be early morning. So, we may just stop and get a little rest. Can we just pop in a hotel along the way and rent a room for like 6 or 7 hours? Or is that not possible? I know it maybe sounds silly, but this is our first road trip, so I have not idea AT ALL! LOL

I don't think it sounds silly We're in the same boat, this will be our first road trip and I am also looking for some good advice. We are coming from just north of Allentown and are looking to leave the Monday after Thanksgiving, We are due to check in on Wednesday the 28th but we would like to make a couple pit stops along the way! Any advice would be GREAT!! It will be DH (45), DS (15), and I (34)...

 

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

I don't think it sounds silly We're in the same boat, this will be our first road trip and I am also looking for some good advice. We are coming from just north of Allentown and are looking to leave the Monday after Thanksgiving, We are due to check in on Wednesday the 28th but we would like to make a couple pit stops along the way! Any advice would be GREAT!! It will be DH (45), DS (15), and I (34)...

Whew! Glad I'm not alone! We are probably very close...I am about 35-45 minutes from Allentown depending on traffic. Usually 45 to Lehigh Valley Mall from here. We are just going to Disney with no lengthy stops along the way, but I want to be prepared as much as possible. I have read that the rest stops are also patrolled by State Troopers. Not sure if that is true or I imagined it? And, if so is it 24/7 and is it acceptible to park it for about 3-4 hours? Do people do that? Don't want to be the Grizwolds!!! (Although we undoubtedly will be!!)