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

[dvczerfs]

After all these years. Finally. We had company this afternoon!!! Our first company from Floridians and it was from our biggest fans….
Mr. and Mrs BC1836!!!!
We had a great time this afternoon sitting around the pool and drinking some Rosa. Hope to get together again real soon, maybe before the holidays.
BC and his wife were our biggest fans through this entire move. Always staying in contact and giving us what to look and look out for. We followed all there advice and when we found out we got the house, they were the first to know, even before our family.
BC and I met here, on the Dis on the 2000 mile thread and we have met up several times. What great friends to have!
Hope you guys had as much fun as we did!!! We will see you real soon!!!

 

[dvczerfs]

So I come to this thread in need of some information. After the Thanksgiving holiday is over, I’m heading north….. I know……. Way tooooooo cold but I have to get this move done and completed. I take the in land route. Any new adventures as far as construction etc…. go or is it still pretty much the same places I know at what time of day to avoid?
Im going to drive pretty much in the mountains of Virginia the first day. Second day finish and load up at my mother in law’s. Visit my old place of employment and stay overnight. Next morning, up at 2:30am to get into the mountains of Virginia before rush hours start.
All goes well, I should make the Georgia, Florida state line by 4pm.
Quick bite to eat at the Cracker Barrel and off to bed.
Up at 2:30am and home before rush hour gets going.
I know, I know, I’m slacking. Four days 2400 miles alone but I’m out of practice.
I do have to remember that yellow lights don’t stay yellow as long as they do up north as they do in Florida.
Just a heads up, when visiting Polk county, they have cameras at alot of the lights and they will send you a ticket and pretty pictures of your car going through a “yellow” light. Lol
But not to worry, it don’t go against your driving record as long as you pay the $158 fine. Lol Don’t ask how I know that. Lol

 

[pwdebbie]

So I come to this thread in need of some information. After the Thanksgiving holiday is over, I’m heading north….. I know……. Way tooooooo cold but I have to get this move done and completed. I take the in land route. Any new adventures as far as construction etc…. go or is it still pretty much the same places I know at what time of day to avoid?

Other than the usual accidents along I-81 in Franklin county, PA (MD/PA state line to Shippensburg) I think you are clear in regard to construction, none that I know of. Have a safe trip. But we are expecting "some weather" around Thanksgiving. I'm watching it because I have to head to the Maryland/Delaware coast then. If it is to the east, you can be pretty sure the west may have issues as well.

 

[justreading]

I traveled that way last month and had no traffic issues/delays. This was painted on the back of a truck I followed on 81 for a while!

 

[BC1836]

After all these years. Finally. We had company this afternoon!!! Our first company from Floridians and it was from our biggest fans….
Mr. and Mrs BC1836!!!!
We had a great time this afternoon sitting around the pool and drinking some Rosa. Hope to get together again real soon, maybe before the holidays.
BC and his wife were our biggest fans through this entire move. Always staying in contact and giving us what to look and look out for. We followed all there advice and when we found out we got the house, they were the first to know, even before our family.
BC and I met here, on the Dis on the 2000 mile thread and we have met up several times. What great friends to have!
Hope you guys had as much fun as we did!!! We will see you real soon!!!

It was indeed a special day as we enjoyed each other's company as Florida homeowners. Hard to believe, it was just a few years ago that we had experienced over 100 combined round trip drives [see page 1, post 1] that many times included an overnight stay on I-95. Now it takes us 60 minutes from our driveway to the Western Way entrance to WDW! All the best!

 

[dvczerfs]

This happened less than a mile down the road from me at 4:30 Monday morning.
Sadly, the 33 year old gentleman driving didn’t make it.
Put the phone down and slow down.
What ever it is, it’s not worth losing your life over.

 

[dvczerfs]

After 30 plus years………. Finally!!!!
Got ours all switched over today and will do DD tomorrow morning!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

View attachment 625049
After 30 plus years………. Finally!!!!
Got ours all switched over today and will do DD tomorrow morning!

We brought a car down last month so we won’t have to rent anymore. My DH is getting that plate for it. So excited!!!

 

[dvczerfs]

We brought a car down last month so we won’t have to rent anymore. My DH is getting that plate for it. So excited!!!

Got one for my wife’s car also. Cost me almost a thousand dollars to register two cars in the state of Florida for two years. Lol
A drop in the bucket the money we are saving in property tax’s and state income taxes.
We bought the gold plate frames. I can’t wait to see what it will look like on DD car, her car is the same dark blue as the plate.

 

[TheHamm]

Round Trip #3 complete!
We got in some solid time on US 23 and I-75, and the kids said we should do it more often!

We drove south after picking the kids up from school and got as far as London, KY's Hampton Inn with the only hassle being new to us DRM issues playing downloaded content via the HDMI output. From an android we could use miracast for downloaded content from iOS we could stream via the HDMI. I was (and am) more than agitated by this than perhaps I should be.
We woke up and continued south with no slow down in downtown Atlanta, and some unexplained congestion from the airport to somewhere south of Jonesboro. We did not expect to be stuck at 10mph on that stretch in the middle of a work day, and did not observe it on our way home so maybe it was an oddity? Since we knew we were not going to the park and did not want to have to hit the pool we took our time and let the kids run around a bit at the stops.

We also learned the new G+/LL/ILL system does not work for our family and it will probably mean we drive south for Pool Kingdom more than Magic Kingdom in the future. But Pool Kingdom is a strong draw to the munchkins who were more than happy to jump in the pool on the evening it was 57°F, and would have happily jumped in the morning you could see steam rising off of the heated pool water. Key point- no outdoor swimming this time of year at home! We also explored a bit more than before making use of our EZ Pass. One kid has needed shoes for some time and this was exacerbated by her joy of running directly into puddles instead of trying to avoid them (which was admittedly not always possible, particularly when it was actively pouring), we hit Lego Land, and a few other spots in the area. The freedom of having a car vs. ME directly to the WDW was useful for this.

For the return trip, we left only 15 minutes later than intended to head home, stopped a a few gas stations and a starbucks where we all got out for restroom breaks, and pulled off at a rest area to swap drivers without the kids taking off their headphones. We were amused at the overhead signs in Cincinnati reading "Don't be Blue, Buckle up Buckeyes!" knowing the buckeyes were leaving Ann Arbor Blue, and saw them again in Toledo. Waze kept lengthening our return time, from about the MI state line to Ann Arbor which seemed odd to us as most people should be leaving town not heading into it. We encountered some pretty yucky snow that did result in a pretty significant slow down and some concern about how to deal with the traction control. With the stops and the snow-slowdown we added almost an hour and a half to the actual drive time. I overpacked snacks for the drive - which is better than the alternative, and the kiddos complained about it being too bright and have requested sleep masks for the next trip as apparently their hooded sweatshirts were not opaque enough to suit them

 

[dvczerfs]

Round Trip #3 complete!
We got in some solid time on US 23 and I-75, and the kids said we should do it more often!

We drove south after picking the kids up from school and got as far as London, KY's Hampton Inn with the only hassle being new to us DRM issues playing downloaded content via the HDMI output. From an android we could use miracast for downloaded content from iOS we could stream via the HDMI. I was (and am) more than agitated by this than perhaps I should be.
We woke up and continued south with no slow down in downtown Atlanta, and some unexplained congestion from the airport to somewhere south of Jonesboro. We did not expect to be stuck at 10mph on that stretch in the middle of a work day, and did not observe it on our way home so maybe it was an oddity? Since we knew we were not going to the park and did not want to have to hit the pool we took our time and let the kids run around a bit at the stops.

We also learned the new G+/LL/ILL system does not work for our family and it will probably mean we drive south for Pool Kingdom more than Magic Kingdom in the future. But Pool Kingdom is a strong draw to the munchkins who were more than happy to jump in the pool on the evening it was 57°F, and would have happily jumped in the morning you could see steam rising off of the heated pool water. Key point- no outdoor swimming this time of year at home! We also explored a bit more than before making use of our EZ Pass. One kid has needed shoes for some time and this was exacerbated by her joy of running directly into puddles instead of trying to avoid them (which was admittedly not always possible, particularly when it was actively pouring), we hit Lego Land, and a few other spots in the area. The freedom of having a car vs. ME directly to the WDW was useful for this.

For the return trip, we left only 15 minutes later than intended to head home, stopped a a few gas stations and a starbucks where we all got out for restroom breaks, and pulled off at a rest area to swap drivers without the kids taking off their headphones. We were amused at the overhead signs in Cincinnati reading "Don't be Blue, Buckle up Buckeyes!" knowing the buckeyes were leaving Ann Arbor Blue, and saw them again in Toledo. Waze kept lengthening our return time, from about the MI state line to Ann Arbor which seemed odd to us as most people should be leaving town not heading into it. We encountered some pretty yucky snow that did result in a pretty significant slow down and some concern about how to deal with the traction control. With the stops and the snow-slowdown we added almost an hour and a half to the actual drive time. I overpacked snacks for the drive - which is better than the alternative, and the kiddos complained about it being too bright and have requested sleep masks for the next trip as apparently their hooded sweatshirts were not opaque enough to suit them

Legoland!! My wife drags me to the Beals across the street from Legoland. Lol
We have to go there sometime, we don’t live that far from it.
Glad you had a nice trip.

 

[TheHamm]

Legoland!! My wife drags me to the Beals across the street from Legoland. Lol
We have to go there sometime, we don’t live that far from it.
Glad you had a nice trip.

While I would not make the additional drive for outlet shopping, I can highly recommend the granny apple fries, lines 90% shorter than WDW, and less expensive gasoline the area offers. Legoland was a reasonable distraction from a disappointing Disney experience on a "Florida Cold" day the adults wanted to not be in the pool. The kids are large Lego fans and the grown ups were happy to not have to step on any tiny bricks (one of the best parent moments was a 4yo howling when stepping on Legos and questioning "why would someone leave those there?! when she left them there). We could all agree on the deliciousness of what was essentially apple pie without crust whereas we do not all agree on Dole Whip. I have been known to drive further for ridiculous snacks, so I am confident we will have those fries at Christmas! However, if we can keep the weather pool appropriate I can stick to one drive for silly snacks.

 

[Cosmic]

You can fly OVER the border and return but not drive? That is just plain dumb!

This is a late reply, but it's an amusing/frustrating story. I live in the Buffalo area (very close to the border for those who don't know). When the road border was closed earlier in the pandemic, there was a booming business in people taking helicopter rides ~10 miles across the border and then hiring someone to transport their car on a flatbed. Flying across and a worker hauling cargo across were both allowed, but not just driving across the border yourself.

Catching up on this thread, getting ready for our 4th 2,400 mile WDW trip in January!

 

[pwdebbie]

This is a late reply, but it's an amusing/frustrating story. I live in the Buffalo area (very close to the border for those who don't know). When the road border was closed earlier in the pandemic, there was a booming business in people taking helicopter rides ~10 miles across the border and then hiring someone to transport their car on a flatbed. Flying across and a worker hauling cargo across were both allowed, but not just driving across the border yourself.

Catching up on this thread, getting ready for our 4th 2,400 mile WDW trip in January!

Happy planning! I hope you have a great trip.

 

[dvczerfs]

I know, it’s not a Disney resort pool, but its all I got. Lol
Another beautiful day here in central Florida.
DW flew up to Pennsylvania yesterday to spend a week with her mom.
They are expecting some snow, not much but snow on Wednesday. Sunny and 85 here on Wednesday. Lol
She flys back home Friday and she is bringing some friends of ours to stay for the weekend. It’s funny, we lived 15 miles apart in Pa. and they never came to visit once, buy a house in Florida and everyone wants to come visit. Lol
My driving trip to Pa. has been put off till after the holidays. Just to much going on. I hope I still have it, I drove to Sanford airport and back yesterday, about a two hour round trip and I was beat. Lol

 

[dvczerfs]

Some good news yesterday, my wife informs me when I drive back north in January, I may have a passenger on the way back……… my mother in law!!!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!
16 hours in a car with my mother in law, she is gonna have to eat and use the restroom ……….. this is going to take forever. She’s going to have to eat breakfast before we hit the road, she sleeps till noon!!! She putts’s around.
What did I ever do to these people? Lol

 

[TheHamm]

Some good news yesterday, my wife informs me when I drive back north in January, I may have a passenger on the way back……… my mother in law!!!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!
16 hours in a car with my mother in law, she is gonna have to eat and use the restroom ……….. this is going to take forever. She’s going to have to eat breakfast before we hit the road, she sleeps till noon!!! She putts’s around.
What did I ever do to these people? Lol

Commiserating with you and hoping expectations of inconvenience are not met.

Parents/Grandparents have stated they will be joining us for the Christmas drive. I have similar concerns as I am confident there will be a need to stop for a restroom more for the 70 year old than the 8 year olds. We have made clear the Merriment Express leaves at 5am, knowing it will be 6am before they are settled into the van and there will be irritation to not already be in Ohio.

We have preemptively purchased them a tablet and noise canceling headphones to use as the rule is the driver picks the sound for the front seat - 40 year olds will not agree with the 70 year olds on the audio, and the kids have all of the disney nature videos they can hope for. I have also declared the food in my vehicle will not include tuna, bologna, or egg salad sandwiches (my memory of smelly child road trips), and suggested they familiarize themselves with the Starbucks offerings as there is always one stop for coffee & snack boxes (fancy lunchables). I can drive there on coffee, combos, and gummy fruits so the new passengers have been told they can pack their own snacks or ask the kids to share their craisins and uncrustables.

 

[AaronInWI]

A little late checking in, but we completed our 5th round trip drive from WI last week. Overall we had a wonderful drive both down and back. We left early morning on Black Friday and spent a night in Marietta, GA which is just north of Atlanta. At times it felt like we had the road to ourselves, and we didn't have any traffic until we got to Nashville. And even that was a 2-3 minute delay and we were back on the road. Then Saturday we made the 6ish hour drive to Orlando, with our customary stop at Ellis Bros. Pecans in Vienna, GA.

For the return drive we like to hit MK after checking out from our Disney resort, eat lunch there, and then drive to Valdosta, GA to spend the night. Doing this times our drive so we miss all of the major traffic in Orlando, Atlanta and Nashville. We again had smooth sailing for the most part. We did get into some bumper-to-bumper traffic somewhere in northern GA, and Waze routed us around an accident-induced backup around the mountains in Monteagle, TN. We stopped for the night in Mt. Vernon, IL, which again timed our drive to avoid any traffic issues in Chicago and Milwaukee. We arrived home safely this past Tuesday around 2:00 pm.

We changed our route down this time around. We have typically taken I65 from WI, which takes us through Indy and Louisville before hitting Nashville. This time around we took I57 all the way through Illinois, touching a bit of Kentucky before getting to Nashville. I don't know if we got lucky with it being a holiday or what, but the traffic was minimal and almost no semi trucks to speak of. My biggest complaint about taking 65 is you get so many trucks jockeying for position, where one is going 70 mph and another truck passes going like 70.5 mph so it takes like 5 minutes to get past. So frustrating. We had none of that on 57. A little construction around the IL/KY border, but delays were still minimal. Even though it is a much more boring drive (we're small town folks who still get a thrill from driving through the big cities), I'll trade the better scenery for less stress.

In total, including driving to three of the four parks (we stayed at BLT so we could walk to MK) and Disney Springs, we put on 2775.9 miles. Our next long distance drive will be next spring, but this time to Arizona for Milwaukee Brewers spring training. That will be a 3600 mile round trip, not counting any driving we do in AZ.

 

[dvczerfs]

A little late checking in, but we completed our 5th round trip drive from WI last week. Overall we had a wonderful drive both down and back. We left early morning on Black Friday and spent a night in Marietta, GA which is just north of Atlanta. At times it felt like we had the road to ourselves, and we didn't have any traffic until we got to Nashville. And even that was a 2-3 minute delay and we were back on the road. Then Saturday we made the 6ish hour drive to Orlando, with our customary stop at Ellis Bros. Pecans in Vienna, GA.

For the return drive we like to hit MK after checking out from our Disney resort, eat lunch there, and then drive to Valdosta, GA to spend the night. Doing this times our drive so we miss all of the major traffic in Orlando, Atlanta and Nashville. We again had smooth sailing for the most part. We did get into some bumper-to-bumper traffic somewhere in northern GA, and Waze routed us around an accident-induced backup around the mountains in Monteagle, TN. We stopped for the night in Mt. Vernon, IL, which again timed our drive to avoid any traffic issues in Chicago and Milwaukee. We arrived home safely this past Tuesday around 2:00 pm.

We changed our route down this time around. We have typically taken I65 from WI, which takes us through Indy and Louisville before hitting Nashville. This time around we took I57 all the way through Illinois, touching a bit of Kentucky before getting to Nashville. I don't know if we got lucky with it being a holiday or what, but the traffic was minimal and almost no semi trucks to speak of. My biggest complaint about taking 65 is you get so many trucks jockeying for position, where one is going 70 mph and another truck passes going like 70.5 mph so it takes like 5 minutes to get past. So frustrating. We had none of that on 57. A little construction around the IL/KY border, but delays were still minimal. Even though it is a much more boring drive (we're small town folks who still get a thrill from driving through the big cities), I'll trade the better scenery for less stress.

In total, including driving to three of the four parks (we stayed at BLT so we could walk to MK) and Disney Springs, we put on 2775.9 miles. Our next long distance drive will be next spring, but this time to Arizona for Milwaukee Brewers spring training. That will be a 3600 mile round trip, not counting any driving we do in AZ.

Glad you had an enjoyable drive. I lived in a small town all my life. I was in outside sales so I spent a lot of time on the road But much of that was spent in other small towns and two lane highways.
My best guess, makes it easier because of Uncle Sam makes you keep track, I’ve driven over two million miles in my life.
But nothing in all that driving ever prepared me to live and drive in central Florida in 2021. Lol
I thought I was an offensive driver, not even close. Lol
I was on I4 one afternoon in the right lane around exit 60, I was going a good 70 mph, there was traffic but not too bad, I was passed on the shoulder of I4 by a pick up truck, had to be well over 90 mph.
One Friday afternoon there was a bad wreck on one of the major roads where we live, so we headed for the back roads. Those roads were pretty packed because most of our area is Florida residents. We were at a stop sign which was backed up about 10-12 cars deep. A van, service truck type, up on the sidewalks, drove about 3/4 of the block on the sidewalks. Got to the end, down the curb and turned left into a housing development.
Am I just getting old or are people just nuts? Lol

 

[pwdebbie]

Glad you had an enjoyable drive. I lived in a small town all my life. I was in outside sales so I spent a lot of time on the road But much of that was spent in other small towns and two lane highways.
My best guess, makes it easier because of Uncle Sam makes you keep track, I’ve driven over two million miles in my life.
But nothing in all that driving ever prepared me to live and drive in central Florida in 2021. Lol
I thought I was an offensive driver, not even close. Lol
I was on I4 one afternoon in the right lane around exit 60, I was going a good 70 mph, there was traffic but not too bad, I was passed on the shoulder of I4 by a pick up truck, had to be well over 90 mph.
One Friday afternoon there was a bad wreck on one of the major roads where we live, so we headed for the back roads. Those roads were pretty packed because most of our area is Florida residents. We were at a stop sign which was backed up about 10-12 cars deep. A van, service truck type, up on the sidewalks, drove about 3/4 of the block on the sidewalks. Got to the end, down the curb and turned left into a housing development.
Am I just getting old or are people just nuts? Lol

Dave, people are just getting nuts. Accident on I-81 in MD a few days ago -- three tractor trailers, one over top of a vehicle, then that one and another TT in the next lane had a vehicle sandwiched between them and up in the air, and then the third rear-ended the first one. The two vehicles were unrecognizable. But somehow, only minor injuries. You look at the pictures and can only think, "How?" How did it happen? How did they only have minor injuries? Be glad you don't have to drive 81 any longer.