What do you know about these towns?

[C.Ann]

Lots of company here this weekend - DD, her DH, my granddaughter and my DD's in law's..

We all sat down with the Rand McNally atlas and I decided on the route I'll be driving to Florida come winter.. Time is not a factor - I've got all the time in the world..

These are some of the towns I'll be passing through - and if there's something of interest, I may stay a couple of nights.. Can any of you tell me anything about them? And/or good safe hotels to stay in - preferably with indoor corridors..


Carlisle, PA - this will be my first stop and a definite sleepover.

Martinsburg, West Virginia

Winchester, Virginia

Fredericksburg, VA - a definite sleepover

Rocky Mount, North Carolina

Wilmington, North Carolina - possible sleepover

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina - definite 2-night sleepover

Savannah, Georgia - one or two night sleepover

St. Augustine, Florida - possible sleepover

New Smyrna Beach, Florida

---------------------

Any and all info would be great!
Thanks!

 

[Pop Daddy]

we dont know anything

 

[Zurealsoon]

Wilmington is one of the Top Movie/production towns in the USA. Dawson's Creek (old tv show) was filmed there, it's on the Ocean, has a university& a quaint old Downtown.

Linda Lavin(from the old "Alice" tv show) lives there & performs in local Theater productions.

 

[Mommy Poppins]

Carlisle, PA is about 10 minutes from my house. I grew up, graduated and lived there most of my life. What do you want to know?

Went back and reread your post - I would recommend the Comfort Inn on Hanover Street. It is the only hotel/motel I can think of with indoor corridors. Carlisle is home to the US Army War College--one of the oldest military schools on the east coast. Also home of Molly Pitcher a civil war hero. Let me know what else you need.

Carlisle is also about 40 minutes from Hershey, PA--home of Hershey's Chocolate!!!

 

[Cindy B]

Carlisle-- pretty small town, out in the boonies to me compared to Philadelphia. It may seem bigger than your "average" small town though. It was on the way to Harrisburg area.

Fredricksburg VA-- This is the place where all the traffic is on the way to Orlando. It can be 2 am on a Sunday, and there will still be a traffic jam in Fredricksburg. There are tons of places to stop and there is a large mall there as well --I think its called Potomac Mills? Thats all I can tell you about Fredricksburg, its always busy, no matter what!

Savannah- we stay off off exit 94. (Gateway exit). We have never gone into the actual city of Savannah since its a usual stopover stop. At that exit there is a pet friendly La Quinta if you need to know that. Also, there is a Sonic there.. my kids love Sonic. We have stayed at the La Quinta and the Hampton Inn. The pool was small at the Hampton Inn and it was outside. However, there was a Cracker Barrel next to the hotel. Neither the La Quinta or the Hampton had interior corridors but it was fine.

 

[C.Ann]

Thanks! The reason I'm looking for "indoor corridors" is because I'll be traveling alone and I'd just feel a little safer than in a hotel where you pull right up to the door of your room.. I'm also considering Bed and Breakfasts..

As for the towns I listed, just wondering if there's any "must see" things that I wouldn't want to miss..

 

[hercamore]

Hi, I've got a book called Driving Tours of Fl or something similiar. I'm upstairs and the book is downstairs. I'll pm you with the tittle tomorrow.

I've always wanted to visit St Augustine. I'd definitely find more info on that town.

herc.

 

[Poohnatic]

From Carlisle, Martinsburg is about an hour and a half drive, so I doubt you'll want to stay overnight.

Lived in Hagerstown, MD for a while and travelled around that area a lot. I miss Winchester, there are a few great farm markets off of 522, although it sounds like you'll be making your way down I-81.

Just south of Winchester, you've got Massanutten Mountain and you could detour to Front Royal onto I66 and drive down Skyline Drive. If you're a photography buff, there are some fantastic vistas to be seen from the various stop offs. There are also two resort areas, Skyland and Big Meadows. I've stayed at Skyland and loved it. If you chose to do that, you could travel down Skyline Drive (truly the scenic route) to I64 and head East to I95. The beauty of this route, if you choose to take it, is that you avoid the "Mixing Bowl" the hellish part of I95 that ate my clutch when I moved to Florida (5 hours to go 15 miles-no joke).

If you don't want the Skyline Drive, you could take I81 down to Harrisonburg, and come across I64 from there. Several battlefields and caverns to see along the way on I81. Pretty country to travel during the day, that's for sure.

I've stayed in Savannah several times as an overnight, and want to go back and see the city itself. A beautiful thing about Savannah is that there are so many hotels that you get good rates no matter where you stay. The last time we stayed, we were rather pleased with the Microtel. Don't know how much of a 'foodie' you are, but Paula Deen has a restaurant that several friends have raved about-low country cooking.

I had family living in Carlisle and we dind't do much there-we always traveled somewhere else, like Hershey!

Suzanne

 

[mudnuri]

we've stayed/stopped at a few of them

Carlisle is pretty cool, we stayed here when we went to a mudd bog, no kids and no time to look around...

Rocky Mount, we stay in each time we go to florida, I always stay at Holiday Inn type hotels, I'll check my records and let ya know where we stayed in this town

St. Augustine we've gone to 3 times, each for a week at least....we have stayed at a couple of hotels, the majority you'll find on the south end- on anastasia island. The last one we stayed at was a Holiday inn, on the ocean- interior doors, HOWEVER HUGE windows on the ground floor- we moved to the 2nd floor the first day upon arrival....We've done Marine World, Alligator Land, beach, beach, beach, old town, beach, beach, trolley tours, beach, ripleys believe it or not, beach beach...

We always also stay with interior hallways.......cant be too safe..

I'll let you know what i dig up

 

[bgirldeb]

We stayed in the Hampton Inn in Wilmington on a business trip with hubby. It has indoor corridors. I think it may be listed as Wrightsville Beach. Its in a very nice area.

eta link:http://www.hamptoninn.com/en/hp/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=ILMWVHX

 

[Free4Life11]

Wilmington is one of the Top Movie/production towns in the USA. Dawson's Creek (old tv show) was filmed there, it's on the Ocean, has a university& a quaint old Downtown.

Also the show "The O.C." is filmed there. My friend actually transferred to UNCW because she is in LOVE with the shows!

 

[Planogirl]

We spent several days in St Augustine and had a great time. The city has nice beaches, a wonderful old town to explore, a beautiful old Spanish fort, the original Ripley's if you like that kind of thing, the Fountain of Youth (we didn't go because I figure that it's already too late ) and tons more. I recommend checking out the city on the web and making plans. There's a lot to see there and we had no trouble staying busy.

My husband has been to Charleston on business and he came back raving about what a wonderful and beautiful place it was. Only Seattle made such an impression on him strangely enough.

It sounds like you're working up a nice trip. I love to explore given time.

 

[SRUAlmn]

Hi I just moved to Charleston, SC and we visited and stayed in hotels for a total of about 13-14 nights over the past 6 months prior to our move. Not sure how fancy you're looking for, but we found 2 really great deals on Hotwire. One for the Comfort Suites on the Isle of Palms Connector in Mount Pleasant (right outside Charleston,) and one for the Charleston Riverview Hotel (which is affiliated with Holiday Inn.) They are both very decent hotels, and VERY affordable with the Hotwire discount. Since you will be staying for 2 nights, what sights would you like to see? Downtown, Battery, Market, Beaches, Shopping? Let me know and give me your dates, and I can try to help find the best spot for you

My sister lives in Wilmington, NC, so I can possibly help with there too!

 

[Tasha+Scott]

I love, love, love St. Augustine! That, to me, is a vacation in itself!

 

[Christine]

Fredricksburg VA-- This is the place where all the traffic is on the way to Orlando. It can be 2 am on a Sunday, and there will still be a traffic jam in Fredricksburg. There are tons of places to stop and there is a large mall there as well --I think its called Potomac Mills? Thats all I can tell you about Fredricksburg, its always busy, no matter what!

Nope, Potomac Mills is not in Fredericksburg, VA. It is in Woodbridge, VA which is about 30 miles north of Fredericksburg. But there is a LOT of traffic there, for sure. Probably the best place to stay around there is in an area called "Central Park." It is right off I-95 and it is a HUGE outdoor shopping center with lots of restaurants. I'm sure there are some new hotels there that all would have indoor hallways.

 

[QuiltTeddy]

Fredericksburg, VA - Hampton Inn is the place to stay. Great hotel. Very clean. We stay there every time we drive down to HH to visit my parents. There does always seem to be tons of traffic through there though. There's an excellent mexican restaurant right next door too.

 

[mickeyfan2]

Carlisle, PA - this will be my first stop and a definite sleepover.:

Hershey, PA (a little east) is nice. Chocolate World is open year round.

Martinsburg, West Virginia:

We love Harper's Ferry (John Brown), WV. The Church on the hill, Jefferson's Rock, beautiful view of the Potomac and nice shops.

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina:

Beach and Golfing.

St. Augustine, Florida - possible sleepover:

Very historic and worth a stop.

 

[mallcat]

Hi C.Ann.

Winchester would be a great place for you to stay overnight if need be. We are a very nice, very safe community. There are lots of motel choices along I-81. If you stay at the mall exit, there is some fairly good shopping nearby. It has quite a bit of history as well. We changed hands 76 times during the Civil War. There are some quaint historical sites.

Martinsburg is 20 minutes north of Winchester on I-81. Smaller than Winchester, but still a nice little town.

Either place would be very safe for overnight.

 

[lillygator]

St Augustine is a great place...so historic. The fort is there and there is also a lot of shopping. The beaches are ok - but I compare them to the Gulf which to me - there is no comparison.

It is a great place to visit and explore there are lots of BandB's if you are into that as well.

 

[Cindy B]

Nope, Potomac Mills is not in Fredericksburg, VA. It is in Woodbridge, VA which is about 30 miles north of Fredericksburg. But there is a LOT of traffic there, for sure. Probably the best place to stay around there is in an area called "Central Park." It is right off I-95 and it is a HUGE outdoor shopping center with lots of restaurants. I'm sure there are some new hotels there that all would have indoor hallways.

Thanks for correcting me. I just know getting stuck in I95 forever there! I couldn't remember the mall area name.