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

[Colleen27]

Jumping in to join the fun! I hung out on one of the older threads briefly, but I think I ended up caving and buying plane tickets that time around.

I'm planning to make my third drive down to the World in March. We did it first in March 2013, and I'm really hoping for better weather because I've learned my lesson about Kentucky weathermen and I don't want to be tuning in for local weather updates in the mountains again... "Snow possible above 3500 feet" is NOT a helpful forecast! My car doesn't have an altimeter!

It is 1221 miles door to door if we go straight there, but where's the fun in that? On our last drive down, June 2015, we took a little detour to Senoia, GA, where they film The Walking Dead, to break up the drive. I'm planning on doing something similar again this time, making a bit of an adventure out of the drive. Right now, the plan is the infamous See Rock City! in one direction, because DS's SO and I are both huge Neil Gaiman fans and he used it as a major setting in American Gods. In the other direction, I think we need to make a detour to an Atlantic beach somewhere, because DS's SO and my youngest have never swam in the ocean. We're also spending a night near Weeki Wachee to go kayaking at the state park (and maybe see the mermaids, which also got a mention in American Gods, because DS & his SO didn't believe it was a real place). That last is a do-over of an adventure we had in '13, when we did go kayaking on the river where the manatees spend the winter... on a 39° day, which was a rather less than ideal experience! I haven't put the pieces in a coherent order yet, but we've got 10 days with only half of those at Disney so I'm sure it'll all fall into place as I start working on the details.

 

[arminnie]

We kind of cheat the 2000 mark. We drive to our second home in New Orleans (450 miles) and then go on to Orlando (650 miles).

Although sometimes we go straight from Arkansas and back. We love stopping in Mobile - either at Point Clear or at the Bellingrath Gardens great Christmas display.

 

[arminnie]

Colleen - I grew up in Hazel Park, MI so I still have great memories of that area. I know it's not so great now.

 

[LadyBeBop]

Colleen, you're right. Rock city and the Atlantic beaches are opposite directions. And opposite routes.

I'm assuming you're coming in from the Detroit area. Sounds like your best course of action would be to hit Rock City and Weeki Wachee going one way and the Atlantic beaches going the other way. My preference is hitting the beaches going down, and the western route going home. Of course it's up to you, but just make sure you don't hit Atlanta during rush hour.

Going to the beaches (probably Daytona or Jacksonville), I wouldn't take I-75/turnpike all the way. Going down, I'd get off I-75 at Knoxville and take I-40 to I-26 in Asheville, I-95 in eastern SC and I-4 in Daytona. Reverse if you're hitting the beaches going home. That route isn't much farther than 75/turnpike.

And my normal disclosure...make sure you stop in my hometown (Cincinnati) for a cheese coney at Skyline or Gold Star. LMK if you have any questions.

 

[Colleen27]

Colleen - I grew up in Hazel Park, MI so I still have great memories of that area. I know it's not so great now.

It is starting to improve some. The city manager they have now is super proactive in pursuing grants and they've done a lot of blight removal and brownfields projects, and have started attracting an almost Royal Oak style downtown business district. And Detroit has come a long way with the redevelopments downtown and midtown. There are times I regret leaving. I'm about 50 miles out of the city now, in the cornfields off 94, but I still consider myself a Detroiter and plan to move back when the kids are grown.

Colleen, you're right. Rock city and the Atlantic beaches are opposite directions. And opposite routes.

I'm assuming you're coming in from the Detroit area. Sounds like your best course of action would be to hit Rock City and Weeki Wachee going one way and the Atlantic beaches going the other way. My preference is hitting the beaches going down, and the western route going home. Of course it's up to you, but just make sure you don't hit Atlanta during rush hour.

Going to the beaches (probably Daytona or Jacksonville), I wouldn't take I-75/turnpike all the way. Going down, I'd get off I-75 at Knoxville and take I-40 to I-26 in Asheville, I-95 in eastern SC and I-4 in Daytona. Reverse if you're hitting the beaches going home. That route isn't much farther than 75/turnpike.

And my normal disclosure...make sure you stop in my hometown (Cincinnati) for a cheese coney at Skyline or Gold Star. LMK if you have any questions.

How is the route through Asheville in the winter? I haven't been through that way in many, many years - funny story, it was a trip to Asheville that broke me of saying "pop" instead of "soda" because I got frustrated with waitresses not knowing what I was talking about! - and remember it feeling more mountainous and curvy than 75 through the Smokies, so I'm a little leery of driving it in potentially bad weather. I was looking at 16 from Macon to Savannah as an alternative way to jump between 75 and 95, figuring we can make the decision day-of.

Fortunately most of our driving will be on the weekends - the Disney part of the trip is Sunday to Friday - so that will help with traffic somewhat. Pretty sure that there's no good time to go through Atlanta, though! We hit traffic coming through one way at 2pm and the other fairly late in the evening, maybe 9ish, so I just expect Atlanta to be bad.

I cannot tell you how many times I've gotten that tip about Skyline. My son's best friend lives near Nashville and we do that drive once or twice every summer so the boys can visit, and we've stopped several times. Their coneys just don't wow me - I like my Detroit-style coney sauce, which really shouldn't even be called chili - but chili on spaghetti is definitely an idea I can get behind. That and Zaxby's are our Nashville road trip must-dos.

 

[LadyBeBop]

How is the route through Asheville in the winter? I haven't been through that way in many, many years - funny story, it was a trip to Asheville that broke me of saying "pop" instead of "soda" because I got frustrated with waitresses not knowing what I was talking about! - and remember it feeling more mountainous and curvy than 75 through the Smokies, so I'm a little leery of driving it in potentially bad weather. I was looking at 16 from Macon to Savannah as an alternative way to jump between 75 and 95, figuring we can make the decision day-of.

I've never taken 16 out of Macon to Savannah, so I can't help you there. However, I've known people who's taken that route. They say it's slightly longer than the Asheville route. So that may be better.

I-40 west of Asheville is much more curvy than I-75 north of Knoxville, so yes that would probably be a day-of decision. Just check the weather on your travel day.

Remember, you'll be hitting the I-75 mountains between the Kentucky border and Knoxville both coming and going. So you'll be hitting mountain roads twice if/when you take the I-40 route; I-75 between the border and Knoxville and I-40 between Newport, TN and Asheville. I-40 is more curvy but not so mountainous. I-75 is more mountainous but not as curvy.

If you're interested, you can take the Cumberland Cap Parkway between Corbin, KY and Newport TN. It will add maybe a half hour to an hour to your trip. Even though it's not expressway, it's four lane highway throughout the roughly 120 mile route. And since you're going through a mountain gap, it's not as mountainous. You'll be going up and down one mountain on the route; about ten miles total. You'll avoid the I-75 mountains, but not the I-40 mountains.

 

[chepic]

Switching vacations this year and changed to Hilton Head, so it looks like only a 990 mile drive this time....so we will be 10 miles short! LOL, although I am sure I can add 10 miles in somewhere.

 

[crzy4dsny]

What’s everyone’s best and worst drive times??
I’m from central Long Island 1170 miles. Best time 16.5 hours, worst time 24 hours.

 

[toolmanjan]

What’s everyone’s best and worst drive times??
I’m from central Long Island 1170 miles. Best time 16.5 hours, worst time 24 hours.

24hrs Bad weather or traffic?

 

[crzy4dsny]

24hrs Bad weather or traffic?

I was towing a 30’ trailer, hit some overnight roadwork, and an accident which threw off my schedule and put me into rush hour traffic in Orlando in a pouring rain storm. So it was a little bit of everything. It’s normally a 19 hour drive with a trailer.

 

[LBHouse]

We leave on December 2 for drive #20 from Michigan. 2 adults and six kids this time. We just bought a new minivan and are really looking forward to the trip.

How many frequent driver have planned stops? I.E. stop at the same hotel or restaurants each time? We haven't been able to leave at the same time twice so never seem to make the same stops.

 

[toolmanjan]

We stop for gas at the same stations. The Maryland House on 95, South of the border and Daytona. There is a website that lists all the rest stops on I95. So if nature calls we don't have to venture off of the interstate to search for a restroom.

http://www.i95exitguide.com/rest-areas/
You can change out the route# in the web address for other interstate highways.

 

[java]

Surprise I'm back and driving again on Tuesday!!

The typical which way to go but based on when we have to leave- (I have a pesky interview that day) I'm thinking it's i81 Any recent travels along that route-77-26-95? When we did it in August we just hit a bit of construction. Wish us luck! I'm the sole driver on this trip.

 

[nono]

How many frequent driver have planned stops? I.E. stop at the same hotel or restaurants each time? We haven't been able to leave at the same time twice so never seem to make the same stops.

Yes, our stops are planned, mostly. We have certain rest areas and gas stations we prefer, and since our car still gets the same gas mileage, we can only go roughly the same distance before needing gas. The whole world will go sideways when we get a different vehicle! It took us awhile to decide on our favorites though. Keep notes on your phone and over the trips, you may find you do have some favorites.

 

[Colleen27]

We leave on December 2 for drive #20 from Michigan. 2 adults and six kids this time. We just bought a new minivan and are really looking forward to the trip.

How many frequent driver have planned stops? I.E. stop at the same hotel or restaurants each time? We haven't been able to leave at the same time twice so never seem to make the same stops.

We've gt a couple - lunch at the Berea "welcome center" in Kentucky, topping off at the last 75 exit before coming back into Michigan - but mostly I wing it. Every trip has a different pace and different list of side stops/detours, so I've only built up a list of regular stops on the parts of the journey that don't vary much.

 

[arminnie]

When we leave from Arkansas we always try to buy gas in Mississippi as it is cheaper. Sometimes we go spend a night in our New Orleans home for a night before going on to Orlando - especially if our friends in New Orleans volunteer to keep our dog. It's about 100 miles further than not going thru NOLA.

If we don't go via NOLA we usually stop in Montgomery, AL on the way down. Coming back we often stay in the Mobile area - just because I like Mobile. Sometimes we leave from NOLA, take the dog and board him in Orlando, and then drive back to Arkansas.

After being on this thread I am grateful that we do not have to deal with any major metropolitan traffic areas (Boston, DC, NY, Atlanta) or any mountains. We drive thru the flatlands with no snow or ice.

 

[LBHouse]

We've gt a couple - lunch at the Berea "welcome center" in Kentucky, topping off at the last 75 exit before coming back into Michigan - but mostly I wing it. Every trip has a different pace and different list of side stops/detours, so I've only built up a list of regular stops on the parts of the journey that don't vary much.

What part of Michigan? We are on the west side, so typically take I75 to chattanooga and then head west on I24. I think the drive is a maybe 20 minutes faster on I75 but this way we avoid cinncy and dayton. 75-24-65-69

 

[BC1836]

After the hurricane/refinery effects were over, in my area we were paying $2.27 a gallon for gas. Then saw a 12 cent jump to 2.39 one weekend about two or three weeks ago, and now another 8 cent jump to 2.47 a few days ago.

We just had an 8-cent jump to $2.59.

All the best!

 

[amcnj]

Same 8 cent gas price increase here too. I guess it was about a week ago now, the price went from 2.47 to 2.55.

 

[AaronInWI]

How many frequent driver have planned stops? I.E. stop at the same hotel or restaurants each time? We haven't been able to leave at the same time twice so never seem to make the same stops.

I think the only regular stop we make is to Ellis Bros. Pecans in Georgia. We like to stop there on the way down to pick up a few snacks, like roasted or chocolate covered nuts, for the trip. (Like Disney doesn't have enough snacks to choose from as it is.) Otherwise, it is completely random when we stop, dependent on bathroom needs, when we need to stretch our legs, etc. I never like to see my gas tank below 1/2 tank on long road trips, and it varies when we get to the point that I feel the need to fill up.