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

[BC1836]

All-time driver-rider DVCzerfs is about to be a full time Floridian. No more 2,000+ mile round trip drives.

All the best!

 

[dvczerfs]

We made it!!!! We picked up the uhaul Wednesday morning. DD and myself loaded it Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning at 3am we hit the road.
I haven’t driven a box truck in a few years and after getting out of the northeast pothole belt, it went very smoothly. We hit all the weight stations we were required to, including the agriculture inspection station at the Florida state line. Very nice young man at that station, originally from the garden state, Newark native. Chatted for a while, my guess Is there equipment can just about tell what’s in the truck, asked me if I had any plants or animals and off we went.
Thursday we drove half way into South Carolina, stayed over night and finished the trip Friday morning. Got unpacked at the storage facility and home by noon.
I had till Monday at 9am to return the truck but we made better time than I expected. Only hit one slow up, for about 10 minutes, construction but we kept rolling. Traffic wasn’t bad at all, even drove through Jax at 6:30 am and Orlando, yes I4 at around 8:30am . There was a lot of traffic in the two cities but rolled the rig right through.lol So that’s it for the uhaul trip.
We had dinner last night at Narcoosee to celebrate, we have been doing a lot of that lately lol.
One more trip north. I have a small pile of house plants, large pictures and a few box’s I didn’t want to toss in the moving truck.
We close on our house in Pa on the 28th and the 29th, I’m flying back to Pa to pick up DD car which we left at a friends house with a couple big screen TVs in it and drive it home.
Im really going to miss my drives. I love it!!!! My family thinks I’m nuts but gives me something to do and I enjoy doing it.
I’ll keep you posted on the next trip.

 

[ktate82]

In about a month and a half, we will be headed down from Central Indiana. We have driven a few times, but we usually drive it in one day and leave home around 3:30 in the morning. This time, we have decided to try and break it up into two days. We are hoping to make it to Macon, GA for the night, but I'm unsure of what time we should leave to avoid heavy traffic around Atlanta. Right now, we are looking at getting to Marietta, Georgia around 3:30. Is that going to put us in the middle of rush hour or will we get through before the heavy part starts? It will be on a Friday.

 

[capegirl]

We made it!!!! We picked up the uhaul Wednesday morning. DD and myself loaded it Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning at 3am we hit the road.
I haven’t driven a box truck in a few years and after getting out of the northeast pothole belt, it went very smoothly. We hit all the weight stations we were required to, including the agriculture inspection station at the Florida state line. Very nice young man at that station, originally from the garden state, Newark native. Chatted for a while, my guess Is there equipment can just about tell what’s in the truck, asked me if I had any plants or animals and off we went.
Thursday we drove half way into South Carolina, stayed over night and finished the trip Friday morning. Got unpacked at the storage facility and home by noon.
I had till Monday at 9am to return the truck but we made better time than I expected. Only hit one slow up, for about 10 minutes, construction but we kept rolling. Traffic wasn’t bad at all, even drove through Jax at 6:30 am and Orlando, yes I4 at around 8:30am . There was a lot of traffic in the two cities but rolled the rig right through.lol So that’s it for the uhaul trip.
We had dinner last night at Narcoosee to celebrate, we have been doing a lot of that lately lol.
One more trip north. I have a small pile of house plants, large pictures and a few box’s I didn’t want to toss in the moving truck.
We close on our house in Pa on the 28th and the 29th, I’m flying back to Pa to pick up DD car which we left at a friends house with a couple big screen TVs in it and drive it home.
Im really going to miss my drives. I love it!!!! My family thinks I’m nuts but gives me something to do and I enjoy doing it.
I’ll keep you posted on the next trip.

Congratulations on your move to FL!
We haven't been on a Disney road trip since August 2019, and we so excited to return for a mid July vacation, we are driving from southeastern MA. Tell me, did they ever complete the I-4 construction?

 

[OKW Lover]

Tell me, did they ever complete the I-4 construction?

Not yet. Its kind of like the Central Artery Project.

 

[dvczerfs]

Congratulations on your move to FL!
We haven't been on a Disney road trip since August 2019, and we so excited to return for a mid July vacation, we are driving from southeastern MA. Tell me, did they ever complete the I-4 construction?

Thank you, we are happy to be here. I have been taking 417 a lot lately but for the most part it’s three half decent lanes going in each direction. Looks like they are working on the express lanes in the middle for the most part and ramps. I know the area where you pick up 417 in Sanford on I4 is under construction but it moves pretty good at rush hour. I avoid it when I can, we live off of exit 55 and if you watch the GPS, at any given time sections of I4 go yellow and red. So far, we haven’t sat very long. Most of it is just heavy traffic. We have been learning the back roads to everywhere. Lol
Off of 417, it’s easier for me to get off at a Disney exit, take Buena Vista drive to Western Way and off property. Once I hit western way, I’m only about 12 minutes from home, pending traffic lights.
Learning to drive in Florida is also an adventure. Lol
There really are no traffic laws that anyone pays attention too.lol
From the speed limit, turn signals, little lines painted in the road, stop signs.......... all just a suggestion here. Lol
Wouldnt trade it for the world.

 

[AaronInWI]

In about a month and a half, we will be headed down from Central Indiana. We have driven a few times, but we usually drive it in one day and leave home around 3:30 in the morning. This time, we have decided to try and break it up into two days. We are hoping to make it to Macon, GA for the night, but I'm unsure of what time we should leave to avoid heavy traffic around Atlanta. Right now, we are looking at getting to Marietta, Georgia around 3:30. Is that going to put us in the middle of rush hour or will we get through before the heavy part starts? It will be on a Friday.

I think getting to Marietta at 3:30 would put you in Atlanta at in some pretty heavy traffic. Would stopping for the night in Marietta work for your itinerary? It would allow you to go through Atlanta Saturday morning, which should be smooth sailing. But you'd have an extra hour plus to drive on Saturday.

Otherwise, we've had some luck in the past taking the I-285 bypass around Atlanta. (We leave from Wisconsin at 3:30 am and get to Atlanta around 6:00 pm.) It'll add around 10ish miles, but you'll avoid Atlanta. Just remember to head east on your way down and west on your way home.

 

[capegirl]

Thank you, we are happy to be here. I have been taking 417 a lot lately but for the most part it’s three half decent lanes going in each direction. Looks like they are working on the express lanes in the middle for the most part and ramps. I know the area where you pick up 417 in Sanford on I4 is under construction but it moves pretty good at rush hour. I avoid it when I can, we live off of exit 55 and if you watch the GPS, at any given time sections of I4 go yellow and red. So far, we haven’t sat very long. Most of it is just heavy traffic. We have been learning the back roads to everywhere. Lol
Off of 417, it’s easier for me to get off at a Disney exit, take Buena Vista drive to Western Way and off property. Once I hit western way, I’m only about 12 minutes from home, pending traffic lights.
Learning to drive in Florida is also an adventure. Lol
There really are no traffic laws that anyone pays attention too.lol
From the speed limit, turn signals, little lines painted in the road, stop signs.......... all just a suggestion here. Lol
Wouldnt trade it for the world.

Thank you, appreciate the advice and I-4 update. Yes, as much as I love the sunshine state driving in FL is definitely an experience, especially if you are unfamiliar with the roads, and lane changes. Navigating those back roads will be so much easier for you.

 

[capegirl]

Not yet. Its kind of like the Central Artery Project.

LOL... I should have known better!

 

[dvczerfs]

We went to Kennedy Space Center today. Will have to go back, we didn’t have enough time. Just a heads up, if you follow your GPS, make sure it is not trying to take you through Patrick Air Force Base. Lol The guard carry’s a big gun and I don’t think he’s afraid to use it. Lol
The last time I was there was 1985, alot has changed.
Gas situation is very strange. Some stations are out, some have long lines, some is normal operation and others have no cars with plenty of gas.
I managed to fill up before and after going to the coast today so we are good for a good week and a half.
More good news, the sun pass I put in my wife’s car..... it must be in the correct position, it deducted my tolls today’s.

 

[ktate82]

I think getting to Marietta at 3:30 would put you in Atlanta at in some pretty heavy traffic. Would stopping for the night in Marietta work for your itinerary? It would allow you to go through Atlanta Saturday morning, which should be smooth sailing. But you'd have an extra hour plus to drive on Saturday.

Otherwise, we've had some luck in the past taking the I-285 bypass around Atlanta. (We leave from Wisconsin at 3:30 am and get to Atlanta around 6:00 pm.) It'll add around 10ish miles, but you'll avoid Atlanta. Just remember to head east on your way down and west on your way home.

Thanks for the reply. We are hoping to make it to Lake City for the night, so stopping won't be a good option for us. I think we will try to leave a bit earlier to try and get through before traffic starts. We took the bypass once headed down so may try that again. We also have the Sunpass so have taken the express lane as well.

 

[dvczerfs]

Hello all, hangs of plans. They bump the settlement of our house in Pa from the 28th to the 21st. We have a friend that is going to take out the very small pile that is left out of the house.
I will be driving back to Pa Monday the 24th. Heading back home the 25th. I should be home by the 26th with all the stuff that was left in the house.
I will be flying back north on the 29th with DW. She will be visiting her mom for a week And I’ll be heading back to Florida on the 30th with DD car.
After that..... I’m done driving. We will be all moved to Florida. Now it’s let the house hunting begin!!!! I’ll keep you posted on the few trips left.

 

[dvczerfs]

 

[TheHamm]

Round trip drive done!
TL;DR- mask use was less as we got south on the way to WDW, pretty consistent on the trip north after the CDC announcement, only one stop was there any indication there had been a run on fuel.

Longer Version: We headed south after the kids soccer game and found some variation from previous road trips. Our March 2020 had been cancelled, and the kids were sad they couldn't find the tickets they made for the 'X Family Express' so they had whipped up new ones advertising the features of our new minivan "More Space!" and "Built in Cartoons!" I will probably keep and reuse those until they get snacks smeared on them so much they are a health hazard!

The rest area in just north of Dayton, OH gave the kids a good opportunity to run around on the fallen logs, I was happy to stop there. I find crossing the river in Cincinnati stressful, the construction was not helpful on that front. KY and TN were pretty uneventful opportunities for DH to point out to the kids that they had a very cushy road trip experience that we as children did not- and they did not care. The Love's we stopped at in northern GA when someone requested a potty stop had a giant line for the Women's restroom so the kids went with Dad. It turned out there was an actively overflowing toilet in the women's room, so throughput was slow. The three using the Men's room finished before I got into the restroom. We ended up stopping for the night somewhere between ATL and Macon and were surprised we were the only ones we saw wearing masks. This was true the next morning when we stopped in Valdosta as well. Not knowing if there would be somewhere to change for the pool, I snagged a reservation at AK and we hung out there for a few hours until our room was ready and it was great and odd to be back.

While at the world, the only information we saw from outside the Disney bubble was that the CDC sent out new mask guidance and we kept hearing stations were out of gas. We filled up across from the Boardwalk Saturday night and left at 5:21am Sunday morning. We topped off just north of Gainsville, no gas shortage there! Soon after potty was requested so we stopped; the Pilot south of Valdosta only had 87 octane, which was fine by us so we topped off again because we were there and unsure if it would be a problem elsewhere farther on the route. This is also where I was surprised at the woman in fuzzy leopard slippers and a bath robe shopping for snacks. There was a minor food spill incident and request for a stop at exactly the same place with the overflowing toilet a week earlier. It was no longer overflowing but had pigmat around it and was not available for use. I guess repair was not their priority! I realized I had skipped morning coffee and had developed a caffeine headache that was likely to be a bigger problem if not addressed, so Starbucks in Chattanooga was an unplanned stop with very clean restrooms and snack boxes my kiddos love. Unfortunately I now have more cracker crumbs and bree smeared on a booster seat to clean up, but it was not successfully addressed on the road. We detoured around construction just south of Cincinnati, stopped one last time in OH largely because we wanted to change the kids into warmer PJs, and rolled into home with two sleeping kids that were not going to be happy to join zoom school in the morning. The drive was overall great, and I am hopeful we can do it again soon!

 

[dvczerfs]

Round trip drive done!
TL;DR- mask use was less as we got south on the way to WDW, pretty consistent on the trip north after the CDC announcement, only one stop was there any indication there had been a run on fuel.

Longer Version: We headed south after the kids soccer game and found some variation from previous road trips. Our March 2020 had been cancelled, and the kids were sad they couldn't find the tickets they made for the 'X Family Express' so they had whipped up new ones advertising the features of our new minivan "More Space!" and "Built in Cartoons!" I will probably keep and reuse those until they get snacks smeared on them so much they are a health hazard!

The rest area in just north of Dayton, OH gave the kids a good opportunity to run around on the fallen logs, I was happy to stop there. I find crossing the river in Cincinnati stressful, the construction was not helpful on that front. KY and TN were pretty uneventful opportunities for DH to point out to the kids that they had a very cushy road trip experience that we as children did not- and they did not care. The Love's we stopped at in northern GA when someone requested a potty stop had a giant line for the Women's restroom so the kids went with Dad. It turned out there was an actively overflowing toilet in the women's room, so throughput was slow. The three using the Men's room finished before I got into the restroom. We ended up stopping for the night somewhere between ATL and Macon and were surprised we were the only ones we saw wearing masks. This was true the next morning when we stopped in Valdosta as well. Not knowing if there would be somewhere to change for the pool, I snagged a reservation at AK and we hung out there for a few hours until our room was ready and it was great and odd to be back.

While at the world, the only information we saw from outside the Disney bubble was that the CDC sent out new mask guidance and we kept hearing stations were out of gas. We filled up across from the Boardwalk Saturday night and left at 5:21am Sunday morning. We topped off just north of Gainsville, no gas shortage there! Soon after potty was requested so we stopped; the Pilot south of Valdosta only had 87 octane, which was fine by us so we topped off again because we were there and unsure if it would be a problem elsewhere farther on the route. This is also where I was surprised at the woman in fuzzy leopard slippers and a bath robe shopping for snacks. There was a minor food spill incident and request for a stop at exactly the same place with the overflowing toilet a week earlier. It was no longer overflowing but had pigmat around it and was not available for use. I guess repair was not their priority! I realized I had skipped morning coffee and had developed a caffeine headache that was likely to be a bigger problem if not addressed, so Starbucks in Chattanooga was an unplanned stop with very clean restrooms and snack boxes my kiddos love. Unfortunately I now have more cracker crumbs and bree smeared on a booster seat to clean up, but it was not successfully addressed on the road. We detoured around construction just south of Cincinnati, stopped one last time in OH largely because we wanted to change the kids into warmer PJs, and rolled into home with two sleeping kids that were not going to be happy to join zoom school in the morning. The drive was overall great, and I am hopeful we can do it again soon!

Sounds like you had a good trip. Glad to hear there was plenty of gas. When we drove down a few days before hurricane Irma that was my biggest fear. But, the news was wrong again. Lol I’ve been making the drives myself and have more crumbs in the van than when there are three of us.
There was only one day last week where people lined up for gas and ran some stations dry in our area. The following day, the stations all had gas and I guess everyone was filled up, the stations were empty. My previous trip north I forgot to pack jeans. I forgot I wasn’t in Kansas any longer and it gets cold in the mountains of Virginia. Lol I was in shorts in 34 degree weather. Lol
Glad you had a nice trip!
I haven’t been in a park since the new mask policy, but I have been to a few resorts and to Disney Springs. It is real nice to be able to smell Walt Disney World again.

 

[TheHamm]

Sounds like you had a good trip. Glad to hear there was plenty of gas. When we drove down a few days before hurricane Irma that was my biggest fear. But, the news was wrong again. Lol I’ve been making the drives myself and have more crumbs in the van than when there are three of us.
There was only one day last week where people lined up for gas and ran some stations dry in our area. The following day, the stations all had gas and I guess everyone was filled up, the stations were empty. My previous trip north I forgot to pack jeans. I forgot I wasn’t in Kansas any longer and it gets cold in the mountains of Virginia. Lol I was in shorts in 34 degree weather. Lol
Glad you had a nice trip!
I haven’t been in a park since the new mask policy, but I have been to a few resorts and to Disney Springs. It is real nice to be able to smell Walt Disney World again.

I ran out of gas during the black out of 2003, so I am a bit paranoid about it. I recognize the situation was very different (Detroit had no power for 5 days), but it left an impression! I was impressed I thought ahead to pack warmer PJs for the kids, there were plenty of things I did not consider (like 5am coffee upon departure).
I could still smell the Beach/Yacht club lobby through my mask when I went in to pick up A&C dinner, and it melted my heart a little bit. The abrupt change in mask/spacing does not change much for our family as our munchkins are not yet eligible for vaccination, nor will they be by the next road trip. Your point makes me think I will want to keep the mask incase we stop at the Northern GA Loves next trip

 

[Disneyfan754321]

We made it!!!! We picked up the uhaul Wednesday morning. DD and myself loaded it Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning at 3am we hit the road.
I haven’t driven a box truck in a few years and after getting out of the northeast pothole belt, it went very smoothly. We hit all the weight stations we were required to, including the agriculture inspection station at the Florida state line. Very nice young man at that station, originally from the garden state, Newark native. Chatted for a while, my guess Is there equipment can just about tell what’s in the truck, asked me if I had any plants or animals and off we went.
Thursday we drove half way into South Carolina, stayed over night and finished the trip Friday morning. Got unpacked at the storage facility and home by noon.
I had till Monday at 9am to return the truck but we made better time than I expected. Only hit one slow up, for about 10 minutes, construction but we kept rolling. Traffic wasn’t bad at all, even drove through Jax at 6:30 am and Orlando, yes I4 at around 8:30am . There was a lot of traffic in the two cities but rolled the rig right through.lol So that’s it for the uhaul trip.
We had dinner last night at Narcoosee to celebrate, we have been doing a lot of that lately lol.
One more trip north. I have a small pile of house plants, large pictures and a few box’s I didn’t want to toss in the moving truck.
We close on our house in Pa on the 28th and the 29th, I’m flying back to Pa to pick up DD car which we left at a friends house with a couple big screen TVs in it and drive it home.
Im really going to miss my drives. I love it!!!! My family thinks I’m nuts but gives me something to do and I enjoy doing it.
I’ll keep you posted on the next trip.

I really enjoyed reading about your move. We moved to South Florida near Thanksgiving. We are headed back to (flying) Texas in two weeks to officially close out the house there and drive back with the other car and other things we left behind. I never thought about the weigh stops.. we got rid of almost everything so we rented a oneway crew cab truck from hertz and a trailer from uhaul... and driving the other car as well.
When we first moved to Florida it was a hard time to find a rental because all the snowbirds were here. Even though I am three hours away from Disney it still feels so far away.. I thought about a day trip before it gets hot but there has no availability.
It's funny we hit the FL state line in just a day drive. We were so excited ....... then I realized our home is still 10 hours away. Hopefully this time we can stop and see the blue angels practice or make a stop in Orlando just because

 

[dvczerfs]

I really enjoyed reading about your move. We moved to South Florida near Thanksgiving. We are headed back to (flying) Texas in two weeks to officially close out the house there and drive back with the other car and other things we left behind. I never thought about the weigh stops.. we got rid of almost everything so we rented a oneway crew cab truck from hertz and a trailer from uhaul... and driving the other car as well.
When we first moved to Florida it was a hard time to find a rental because all the snowbirds were here. Even though I am three hours away from Disney it still feels so far away.. I thought about a day trip before it gets hot but there has no availability.
It's funny we hit the FL state line in just a day drive. We were so excited ....... then I realized our home is still 10 hours away. Hopefully this time we can stop and see the blue angels practice or make a stop in Orlando just because

We got rid of a lot and only rented a 15‘ uhaul. I asked the uhaul rental agent

I really enjoyed reading about your move. We moved to South Florida near Thanksgiving. We are headed back to (flying) Texas in two weeks to officially close out the house there and drive back with the other car and other things we left behind. I never thought about the weigh stops.. we got rid of almost everything so we rented a oneway crew cab truck from hertz and a trailer from uhaul... and driving the other car as well.
When we first moved to Florida it was a hard time to find a rental because all the snowbirds were here. Even though I am three hours away from Disney it still feels so far away.. I thought about a day trip before it gets hot but there has no availability.
It's funny we hit the FL state line in just a day drive. We were so excited ....... then I realized our home is still 10 hours away. Hopefully this time we can stop and see the blue angels practice or make a stop in Orlando just because

I really enjoyed reading about your move. We moved to South Florida near Thanksgiving. We are headed back to (flying) Texas in two weeks to officially close out the house there and drive back with the other car and other things we left behind. I never thought about the weigh stops.. we got rid of almost everything so we rented a oneway crew cab truck from hertz and a trailer from uhaul... and driving the other car as well.
When we first moved to Florida it was a hard time to find a rental because all the snowbirds were here. Even though I am three hours away from Disney it still feels so far away.. I thought about a day trip before it gets hot but there has no availability.
It's funny we hit the FL state line in just a day drive. We were so excited ....... then I realized our home is still 10 hours away. Hopefully this time we can stop and see the blue angels practice or make a stop in Orlando just because

We didn’t bring much either. We rented a 15’ uhaul. I asked the rental agent about hitting weigh stations and they said no, your not commercial. I googled it and some states yes, some no, some if your over 10k pounds so we just played it safe than sorry. The only place it said about rental trucks etc. was the agriculture inspection at the Florida boarder. The other weigh stations green lighted us so either we were fine or didn’t have to stop. It is a little ruff getting into parks isn’t it. Hopefully it will loosen up shortly.

 

[dvczerfs]

I found the sign!! Lol. I just caught a glimpse of it when I went under it the last time. I’m usually not in the right lane but I was with the uhaul because I was planning on getting off.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

View attachment 576114
I found the sign!! Lol. I just caught a glimpse of it when I went under it the last time. I’m usually not in the right lane but I was with the uhaul because I was planning on getting off.

Thank you for this , guess we will be stopping..
Did you just drive google maps for me... thanks