Help Driving from Syracuse NY?!?!

[samsid99]

Hello everyone,

Only nine days to go! I can't wait to be there. I am leaving from Watertown, NY on Sunday August 21st at 1:00pm. I would like to drive at least 600 miles on Sunday. We will only be stopping for gas and ER potty breaks. DD's are 9 and 11, and I am the only driver.

My AAA trip tik basically as me taking 81, 83, and 95. I am think 600 miles would put my around the virginia/north carolina border.

Any suggestions on where to spend the night? I am looking for something safe of course but no frills because it will be late when we stop....I plan to be on the road between 6am and 7am the next am.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[samsid99]

bumping up....

Would love any input from other NY families that drive. thanks again.

 

[faindrops27]

How long in hours are you away from long island? I know that it takes approxiametly 21 hours from Long Island. We are 45 minutes from manhatten. it also takes me 7-8 hours to get to suffolk virginia(family there). at least 9and a half to get to border of north carolina(Which I would have to be driving pretty fast). I have to say you are a trooper. The only driver. Wow. Anyhow, I would say the only way to get to a decent hotel is just to watch the signs that depict hotel stops. Get off those ramps, and stay anywhere on the main strip. Me personally, I would not stop until I got into south carolina. But, again that is because of where I live. I no longer care for long road trips. I rather take a 2 and a half hour flight. With the way these gas prices are roundtrips? and hotel stops 2x. I would have my 4 airplane tickets paid for. But, goodluck. And immensly enjoy. Disney is the best!!!

 

[stacy6552]

usastar.com has excellent I95 travel info. It will take you exit by exit for places to eat and stay overnight. When we drove, the fast food info was excellent because i could say, "well there's a BK at this upcomming stop and then nothing for X amount of miles.....this is also handy for potty planning. you might want to make to overnight reservations, and cancel one once you know how far you are going to get.

 

[RadioFanatic]

if you are going down 81, I would recommend Roanoke VA - there are a lot of great hotels there - you could try via priceline. have fun!

 

[Meezers]

Last time we drove from Camillus, NY (near Syracuse) to home northeast of Atlanta...it took us about 20 hours! It was a killer and we had 3 drivers and a station wagon for napping. You sure are a trooper!

I would recommend staying away from some motels near interstates. I know here we have Motel 6, Red Roof and Admiral Benbow. They are very scary. Drugs and prostitutes. We also have a Marriot Courtyard and it is fine.

Not trying to scare you but working in our local PD has given me an awareness of rest areas and other places that makes me very wary. Be sure to take all your luggage out of your car (if not locked in trunk) and make sure to lock your car!

Best of luck...

 

[msmayor]

I strongly urge you to check the website www.wilsonbridge.com for updates on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge construction on I-95, at the southern edge of DC. Its no picnic through that area when there's NO construction, and much worse now that there are lane closures and such. (side note: my sister lives just outside of DC...she said traffic on the 495/95 can back up as much as 15 miles in that area.)

We are driving from NJ, leaving on Aug 24th. We plan to bypass I-95 in Delaware/MD and take 301 south, picking up I-95 well south of the DC area.

 

[Drcell01]

We drove to WDW this past April. We live just north of Syracuse and drove straight through (took about same route as you are planning). We left at about 9 pm and arrived at 2:30 pm the next day. We usually stop overnight in Santee, SC which is about 98 miles north of GA/SC border but decided to drive straight through due to the lack of time for the April trip.

If you have any other questions please PM me with your questions.

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

I just drove down from Cortland this past June. Making a short point into a long story, here's my experience there and back.

I was the only adult/driver. On the advice of relatives I took 81 to 64 (at Staunton, VA) to 95 (at Richmond) so that I could avoid the DC area. We stopped overnight at Gettysburg to see the battlefield and made it to Savannah the next day easily - unfortunately, that doesn't give you a good halfway point. Just FYI: Route 64 has a beautiful view of the mountains, but feels kind of desolate as there are no visible towns along the way. It felt like it took forever to get through VA that way, too. I think you could make it to Richmond quite easily in one day, and most likely to Santee as Bob did.

I drove back in one shot, taking a different route to avoid 64 as I felt weird going that way in possible darkness. I stayed on 95 to Fredericksburg, VA and Route 17 to 64 to 81. Route 17 is not an interstate, but traffic flowed more smoothly and I covered ground more quickly than one might think. I left the Daytona area at 6:30 am and was nearing Fredericksburg by about 4:00 IIRC. I'd planned to stop for the night in Winchester but felt good enough to continue on and got through Harrisburg by 8:30.

Santee, Richmond, and Fredericksburg all had plenty of lodging options with safe chains like Holiday Inn and such, and with easy access off and back onto the highway. Route 17 did not have much, so if you took that route you'd have to wait until Winchester or later to find a hotel.

Give me a yell if you want any further details. Hope you have a wonderful time!

 

[samsid99]

Thanks so much guys. I am still going over maps with my dad, so I will post soon on my plans. Keep the input coming....

Right know I think my goal is to make it Rocky Mount North Carolina and then stop for the night. And doing the rest of the trip the next day.

Thanks again.

Kelley

 

[samsid99]

Okay....I think this is what I am going to do.

My dad thinks driving to Rocky Mount will be too much in one day since I am getting a late start. (Not leaving Watertown until 1 or 2 pm), so since the Marine Corp veteran has never let me down before....and at 34 I still can't disobey him ....I agreed to make resservations in Chester, VA. I am going to make ressies at the Amerisuites at exit 61A, I can book a price of $68 for two queen beds and a hot breakfast buffet. It is not as far as I would like to be but oh well.

I plan to be back on I 95 by 7am and drive until we see the world!

I do however have several little construction stamps on my trip tik around Jacksonville, FL. Should I look for a bypass or is it not to bad??

Thanks for all of your input....you all have been great!

 

[snowy76]

Another Camillus person here... As I have never driven... I can't add to the advice... So I just wanted to say hi to all my CNY neighbors!

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

I do however have several little construction stamps on my trip tik around Jacksonville, FL. Should I look for a bypass or is it not to bad??

There was no construction when I came through that area, but I used the 295 bypass on the way down because I hit Jacksonville right at the beginning of rush hour - and I am so glad I took the bypass! On the way back, though, the roads were deserted so I stayed on 95 through J'ville and did fine.

BTW, I also used the 295 bypass around Richmond both ways because traffic approaching the city was heavy - and the bypass traffic was very light.

 

[Ishy]

They will give you the books that cover everystate from NY down to and including FL - They are handy - because you can then stop when your tired as opposed to a scheduled stop. The trip tik tells you where you are but the books give you all motels, hotels and resturants along the way. When we drove years ago, this was even more helpful on our way back - we were stuck in storms and we were so far behind schedule, we drove half way into the night to make up for lost time - could not have scheduled that. Its nice to know what prices are too.

HAVE FUN!

 

[hobogary]

Samsid: Do not take 295 around Richmond if you are stopping in Chester. You can stop at the Fl welcome center (which you should anyway, its nice and free Oj) and ask them about the current construction in and around Jacksonville. Either go 95 thru it or 295 around it, You can take 301, 75 , Tpk thru Ocala, but its quite a bit longer.

 

[JudithM]

You can take 301, 75 , Tpk thru Ocala, but its quite a bit longer.

We frequently take AIA just south of the FL Welcome Center to 301 to I75 to the FL Turnpike. It takes us about an hour or so longer than I95 to I4, but it is way more pleasant & we stop for fresh produce in Stark, FL.

 

[Stitches12]

MickeyMonstersMom --

Hello - We're from Cortland too !!!!!!! Isn't it a small world. We're heading down in October but we're flying. Care to send me PM and let me know who you are ??

SamSid99 --

We own a motorhome and do a lot of traveling and one website that is a lot of help to us is www.goodsamclub.com. They will map your route and also let you know of hotels along the way. It even tells you where the best price on gas is (which is pretty important nowdays).

Good luck on your drive -

 

[hobogary]

I agree, JudithM, we take A1A or I 10 over when we are stopping in Ocala to do Silver Springs ( did that as a kid in the 60's wayyyyyyyy before WDW). The drive reminds me of the Florida that used to be. And yes, get the real fresh produce, Not like the roadside stands on I 95.

 

[christinou]

We just came back from WDW and drove down with our motorhome, so the experience is a little different. Just try to go through DC at night, the traffic does get a lot better then, we had no problem on Jacksonville, or Richmond, and stayed on 95. It sure is a long drive but we still do it every year.