MickeyMonstersMom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2002
- Messages
- 1,427
Just a (not so) quick "road report" for those who may wish to drive from the central NY area to FL -
On the advice of family who split the year between NY and FL, I drove Route 81 to 64 (Staunton, VA) to 95 (Richmond). Route 64 had some gorgeous mountain views and traffic moved right along, but it felt pretty desolate up there and it also felt like it took forever to get through VA. I took three days to drive down, stopping in Gettysburg to see the battlefield and again on the south side of Savannah. We left the morning of 6/28 and arrived before lunch on 6/30.
On the return trip I decided to try staying on 95 until Fredericksburg, VA where I picked up Route 17 and followed that to 66 and on to 81. While Route 17 passes through towns and has speed limits of 45 and 55 mph, it was a relaxing, pretty drive and was a nice break from the more hectic highways. I felt like I got through VA more quickly as well - so quickly, in fact, that I ended up driving straight through and arriving home about 18 hours after heading out that morning! I was the only driver and did push myself a bit on the return trip, but it was quite "doable."
On a completely random note, it was cool to drive through PA last night and see each town's fireworks shows from the road - I think I saw at least 7 or 8 separate shows!
Overall traffic was very light, especially considering that I drove home on 7/4. I took the 295 bypass around Richmond both ways and found traffic to be great there. On 7/4 the traffic became heavier the closer I got to Washington, D.C., and police had someone pulled over almost every mile. I also took the 295 bypass around Jacksonville on the way down - even though it was before morning rush hour, it was the worst traffic I encountered the entire trip. However, on the way back the roads were empty at the same hour (probably because of the holiday) and I drove through the city with no problem at all.
Gas was cheapest in the northern half of South Carolina, averaging $2.03 to $2.10 per gallon for the basic unleaded. North Carolina also had decent prices, in the teens. Virginia and Florida were just as high, if not higher than NY.
Please let me know if there's anything else you'd like to know about the drive.
On the advice of family who split the year between NY and FL, I drove Route 81 to 64 (Staunton, VA) to 95 (Richmond). Route 64 had some gorgeous mountain views and traffic moved right along, but it felt pretty desolate up there and it also felt like it took forever to get through VA. I took three days to drive down, stopping in Gettysburg to see the battlefield and again on the south side of Savannah. We left the morning of 6/28 and arrived before lunch on 6/30.
On the return trip I decided to try staying on 95 until Fredericksburg, VA where I picked up Route 17 and followed that to 66 and on to 81. While Route 17 passes through towns and has speed limits of 45 and 55 mph, it was a relaxing, pretty drive and was a nice break from the more hectic highways. I felt like I got through VA more quickly as well - so quickly, in fact, that I ended up driving straight through and arriving home about 18 hours after heading out that morning! I was the only driver and did push myself a bit on the return trip, but it was quite "doable."
On a completely random note, it was cool to drive through PA last night and see each town's fireworks shows from the road - I think I saw at least 7 or 8 separate shows!
Overall traffic was very light, especially considering that I drove home on 7/4. I took the 295 bypass around Richmond both ways and found traffic to be great there. On 7/4 the traffic became heavier the closer I got to Washington, D.C., and police had someone pulled over almost every mile. I also took the 295 bypass around Jacksonville on the way down - even though it was before morning rush hour, it was the worst traffic I encountered the entire trip. However, on the way back the roads were empty at the same hour (probably because of the holiday) and I drove through the city with no problem at all.
Gas was cheapest in the northern half of South Carolina, averaging $2.03 to $2.10 per gallon for the basic unleaded. North Carolina also had decent prices, in the teens. Virginia and Florida were just as high, if not higher than NY.
Please let me know if there's anything else you'd like to know about the drive.
