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

[dvczerfs]

Haha.. Oooops. I am infamous for rambling. I drive a 2013 nissan quest, it has a mickey stick figure family on the back window, you cant miss me. haha. Our next trip will be the end of January.

We leave from Pennsylvania and take 95 all the way down. Going to Disney we leave around 7pm so my dd will sleep the majority of the night. We drive until we hit exit 3 in Georgia, the last exit before Florida. At that point it's usually around 9am and we check into the Hampton for the day and night and finish the drive the following morning.

Going home we usually leave Disney mid morning, but after my last post I did make the suggestion to my husband to really take easy come noonish on our last day and hit the road by 5am the next morning. We should easily be home by 10pm or so. And I can't forget my sea bands this time. Haha. We are just under 1100 miles one way. Now you have me thinking to leave earlier than 5 so we can get home even sooner than 10, either way I am seriously considering driving all the way through on the way home this time.

ill keep that in mind.

I also forgot to mention, im an outside salesmen so I drive about 40-50k miles a year. im also on the road by 4:30am for work.for me leaving at 3am and driving all day is a normal day for me.
years ago we use to stop on the way home but for us it just seems to be dragging it out. my wife don't care just as long as she don't have to fly and when dd would go with us, she slept most of the way down and home.

 

[Goofygirl17]

Less than 12 until we leave. Guess I should finish packing!

 

[dvczerfs]

Less than 12 until we leave. Guess I should finish packing!

have a safe trip!

 

[thelittlethings]

Thanks Everyone for the advice! It looks like stopping would be the best idea. I've done some research and it looks my best places to stop after a longer day drive would be after Nashville, possibly into Kentucky.
I've also looked into tons of things to keep them busy while in the car, but one I hadn't heard of was asking about the vacation and memorializing it somehow while still in the car! That's a good idea! Thank You!

 

[BC1836]

According to the Washington Post:

"Here’s an alert about the overnight shutdowns on I-95 South scheduled for Friday and Saturday nights:

Starting at 9:30 each night., the Virginia Department of Transportation plans to close lanes on I-95 South from Dumfries Road (Exit 152) to Joplin Road (Exit 150). The initial single lane closing will progress to a full shutdown of the southbound lanes. The full closing is scheduled to last from 1 to 4 a.m. Saturday and 1 to 5 a.m. Sunday."



All the best.

 

[dvcville]

We leave tomorrow !! Taking 95 and driving straight through. We are hitting.g the road around 8pm hopefully will will make it to our offsite hotel by 1pm sunday.

 

[katieam1]

We leave tomorrow !! Taking 95 and driving straight through. We are hitting.g the road around 8pm hopefully will will make it to our offsite hotel by 1pm sunday.

We are leaving in 2 hours! Have a safe trip!!

 

[dvcville]

We are leaving in 2 hours! Have a safe trip!!

Same to you.

 

[capegirl]

Other than the issue in VA this weekend, are there any other significant construction delays on I 95 south that we need to be aware of. We are heading out very early next Wednesday from MA; just wondering.

 

[RK13]

Other than the issue in VA this weekend, are there any other significant construction delays on I 95 south that we need to be aware of. We are heading out very early next Wednesday from MA; just wondering.

South of the I495 Capital Beltway, there is ongoing construction on I95 in Northern VA to extend the HOV lane further south. between 8am and 3pm there maybe lane closures on 95.

Check out the websites http://www.vamegaprojects.com (95 express lanes) and Virginia511.org (real time traffic updates)

 

[Goofygirl17]

We left southern CT at 3:30 this morning. Stopped twice for breaks and food. Stopped for the night in Mooresville NC at 3:30 this afternoon. We left a day early because the girls were so excited to go so we have an extra day to wander

 

[Goofygirl17]

Forgot to say we ran into quite a bit of nighttime construction and some during the day (after 7) but only really slowed down twice. Seems like there was construction in every state! Also saw a pretty bad tractor trailer accident on the north bound side of 287 (I think). It was backed up for a very long way. Felt bad for the people involved and the people sitting and waiting.

 

[dvczerfs]

We left southern CT at 3:30 this morning. Stopped twice for breaks and food. Stopped for the night in Mooresville NC at 3:30 this afternoon. We left a day early because the girls were so excited to go so we have an extra day to wander

oooooohh, the "kids" got to excited.

ill be 48 next month. 56th trip coming in 63 days and I still cant sleep three days before we leave.

take care, drive safe and keep us posted!!

 

[capegirl]

South of the I495 Capital Beltway, there is ongoing construction on I95 in Northern VA to extend the HOV lane further south. between 8am and 3pm there maybe lane closures on 95.

Check out the websites http://www.vamegaprojects.com (95 express lanes) and Virginia511.org (real time traffic updates)

Thanks so much for the info & links; great websites!

 

[peanutmomma]

Definitely subscribing for some good tips from you seasoned drivers!

We're planning a about 2 1/2 weeks in FL next May and the idea of paying for airfare + rental car is making me twitch. (Plus not having to worry about getting sand in a rental during our days at Daytona Beach will be a plus!)

We live in a suburb just north of Kansas City, MO, so it looks like we'll run the St. Louis/Nashville/Chattanooga/Atlanta gauntlet along the way. Oh the joys...

 

[Goofygirl17]

Left Mooresville NC at 9:50 this morning. Finally got to Kissimmee at 7:45 tonight! Sat in traffic at the border of SC and GA forever on 95. Took about 1 1/2 hours to go about 10 miles. Then we went through torrential downpours for pretty much all of GA and Fl. Tough driving... But we're here!

 

[DisMom1981]

The plan:


Leave Southern CT approx 3am on Tues Aug 13. Spend the night in Fayetteville, NC (hotel suggestions?). Leave early morning for afternoon arrival to Daytona Beach on Wed Aug 14. Beach day Thursday Aug 15. Depart early Friday, August 16 to arrive at Pop Century for a 7 night stay.

Thoughts on Fayetteville? Daytona? We've never been to Daytona...... I personally would rather get to Disney earlier but DH would like to see the race track and have a beach day.

ETA- Planning the 95 route- living on the edge, I know.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[PolarWSU]

Wow, I have been a lurker on the Dis for years and just read around but ever found this thread.

My family (RangerPooh and our 4 kids) have done the drive 2900+ miles each way 3 times now (normally put about 7000-8000 miles on the van all told each trip) and will be doing it again this December.

We drive from Pullman, WA. to Orlando. We normally go the southern route one way- (Pullman, Boise, Vegas or Salt Lake, Albuquerque, Dallas, New Orleans, Orlando) and then the northern route home (Orlando, somewhere in NC, up through DC, over through Ohio and into Chicago, then catch 94/90 through the Dakotas home). I think we hold the longest drive record!

Having done this drive several times, we are looking for new routes and new cool places to stop with the kids. We are really (really....) clueless on places to stop and see cool stuff as we cross Texas. Any hints?

I am going to read through all the other pages of this thread to see what wisdom we can glean from you all.

 

[Yellowstonetim]

A suggestion: For those of you traveling to Florida consider stopping at St. Augustine. It is the oldest continuous settlement in the US and has an awesome fort hundreds of years old. A nice stop on your drive.

Two other great stops on the east coast: The obvious is Kennedy Space Center which everyone needs to do once. The second is not so obvious; Brevard County Zoo near Cocoa is one of the best small zoos I have ever been to. It has a giraffe house that puts you at eye level and you can feed them. It is fun to watch kids do this. It has other great exhibits and you can kayak around some waterways to see the animals. There is also a whole hanging walkways and ziplines above the zoo. A favorite with our family and we have done a number of zoos.

Wow, I have been a lurker on the Dis for years and just read around but ever found this thread.

My family (RangerPooh and our 4 kids) have done the drive 2900+ miles each way 3 times now (normally put about 7000-8000 miles on the van all told each trip) and will be doing it again this December.

We drive from Pullman, WA. to Orlando. We normally go the southern route one way- (Pullman, Boise, Vegas or Salt Lake, Albuquerque, Dallas, New Orleans, Orlando) and then the northern route home (Orlando, somewhere in NC, up through DC, over through Ohio and into Chicago, then catch 94/90 through the Dakotas home). I think we hold the longest drive record!

Having done this drive several times, we are looking for new routes and new cool places to stop with the kids. We are really (really....) clueless on places to stop and see cool stuff as we cross Texas. Any hints?

I am going to read through all the other pages of this thread to see what wisdom we can glean from you all.

I bow before a mechanic. You are awesome. You could do a 7,000+ mile only thread, but you'd be the only one.


I've driven 3 times from central PA to Yellowstone, 2,200 miles one way, 5,000 round trip and thought that was something.

 

[Yellowstonetim]

Having done this drive several times, we are looking for new routes and new cool places to stop with the kids. We are really (really....) clueless on places to stop and see cool stuff as we cross Texas. Any hints?

I am going to read through all the other pages of this thread to see what wisdom we can glean from you all.

Everyone needs to do San Antonio and the Alamo at least once. The river walk is awesome and the Alamo is interesting. John Wayne fought there.