Posted on 04/12/2009 11:36:43 AM PDT by COBOL2Java
My daughter and son-in-law have moved back east from Escondido, CA to Northern Virginia (economy here's better).
They're living with us right now, but are planning to get their own place later this year. Their kids' furniture is in storage back in California, and round about December we're going to bring it here. I've always been a road trip lover, and we're thinking of getting a 12-foot U-Haul and driving the 2,700 miles ourselves, along with a small rental car (#1 grandson wants to join us).
I'm thinking of taking Interstate 40, which would give us a southerly route, then I-81 once we're in Virginia.
Assuming we do about 500 miles per day, we can make our stops in: Flagstaff, Amarillo, Little Rock, then hit 81 in Knoxville before heading home. That would give us 5 days for the whole trip.
Any Freepers ever try something like this? I've done many long-distance trips before, but usually in the 1,500 mile range. What about the idea of doing that route in December? Ideas / suggestions welcome!
As a trucker, I40 is the best route to I81. If you have some time, plan on some side trips to 4 corners, Carlsbad Caverns, Lookout Mtn in Tenn, and others. Good luck.
Good ideas, thanks! Surprisingly, U-Haul’s giving me 11 days for the trip.
Take your time and take old Route 66.
In about 5 or 6 weeks, wifey and I are planning on prepaying a bunch of bills, climbing in the Camry and just heading across the U.S. with no timeline whatsoever. Now that the last parent is dead, we're no longer in lockdown, since we were the primary caregivers.
I’d suggest a more southern route, such as I-10 and I-20. (In the winter, I’ve been stranded on I-40 around Flagstaff and in the N.C. mountains before.)
That's way out of the way from Escondido. It would make more sense to take 8 to Tucson, and pick it up there.
Things to see, along the way (north or south of the I-40 line...)
Graceland - Memphis, TN
OK City Bombing - OK City, OK
Groom Cross - Groom, TX [huge cross on I-40, east of Amarillo]]
Cadillac Ranch - Amarillo, TX [west of city, next to I-40]
Roswell - Roswell, NM [swing south and see UFO museum... :=) ...]
White Sands National Monument - White Sands Missile Range, NM [if you do swing south to Roswell]
Four Corners - NM, AZ, CO, UT all meet here [if you swing north...]
Monument Valley - AZ, UT [if you swing north; you’ve seen it in all the westerns...]
Winslow Crater - Winslow AZ [about 20 miles west of Winslow on I-40]
Grand Canyon - AZ
We did that trip (the section of I-40 you’re talking about) in December and spent three days in Holbrook AZ waiting for them to reopen an icy I-40. I would take I-10 out of LA or I-8 out of San Diego (depending on where you’re coming from) at least as far as Las Cruces. Then you can take I-25 north to Albuquerque and 40 east from there if you feel like you need to be on 40.
10-20-30 is a god way to go except for the sheer boredom of I-20 in West Texas. That’s only one day, and the reward is some beautiful farm and horse country in East Texas.
It is also a good way to go...
Last summer my daughter and I drove from LA to New Jersey in five days, following roughly I-40, then down through the Red River Valley of Texas (beautiful country) through Louisiana to Baton Rouge to visit relatives, across to Mobile, then back up through Montgomery, across Georgia to the Carolinas, then up the eastern shores of Virginia and Maryland, across the Chesapeake Bridge to Delaware, then another ferry to Cape May and up the Jersey shore. Saw a lot of nice countryside and ate some good Southern food.
Returning solo, I went through PA, West Virginia, the Ozarks, Kansas, Colorado and Nevada to the Owens Valley and then down. Had a great time.
If you do trips like me, you’ll be zigging and zagging and never making a straight line... LOL...
But, I see someone mentioned Carlsbad Caverns. And yes, by all means, if you can do the zigging and zagging, do see that one, for sure.
Another thing to keep in mind about the “time of the year” — a lot of places will be closed during that time of the year. It would definitely be better to do it late Spring or early summer. Check the times for places to open up again, being that many will be closed for the winter.
And so, in light of that, if you can zig/zag up to Mesa Verde (in CO), do that one, too... :-)
Another very important thing to consider - your U-Haul is a very attractive treat for thieves while parked at a motel.
I’m not sure what’s the best way to protect the kids’ stuff, other than parking in front under plenty of light and perhaps rigging an alarm...
December = I-10. Unless you’re feeling adventurous :)
Oh, you have to come through Kentucky. It’s beautiful in the spring.(Summer, and fall too!)
I-10 east of Benson, AZ - you absolutely have to stop in the Stuckey’s and see The Thing! Man or myth, alien or freak of nature - who’s to say?!
I was born in Arlington and raised in Falls Church back when it was still mostly country, my wife is from San Bernadino and we live in Texas and Arkansas so I know I40 and I81 real well. You've the Chesapeake close to hand with shrimp and crabs and the Blue Ridge with hiking and camping plus the C&O canal. Plus all sorts of history. Enjoy it with the kids.
Shift your perspective a little north, and start your trip East on US 50, from Sacramento. It climbs up over the Sierras, descends into Nevada from Lake Tahoe (well worth it for this alone, in my opinion), then east across Nevada and Utah, until connecting with I-70 for a ways through the Red Rock country of Utah. Leave I-70 in Colorado and make a spectacular trip up over the Rockies (warning - MUCH slower than I-70, which you may be tempted to take). Near Pueblo, come down off the Rockies and cross Kansas, joining I-35 near Emporia, cut around Kansas City, and pick up I-70 across Missouri, around St Louis, and pick up I-64, rejoining US 50 near O’Fallon. Southern Illinois is a straight shot all the way to Vincennes, Indiana, then a zig-zag across southern Indiana to banks of the Ohio River as you cross into Ohio and the south skirts of Cincinnati, then another zig-zag course to Parkersburg, West Virginia. Be prepared, roads in West Virginia are challenging, but once you descend into Winchester, Virginia, off the east slope of the Allegheny Mountains, then it is a straight shot into DC.
US 50 proceeds beyond Washington into Maryland, over Chesapeake Bay (LONG high bridge) to the East Shore, ending up at Ocean City, where there is a sign, “3,052 miles to Sacramento, California”.
It is a good slice of the “heartland”. And sufficently slow, it will take all of a week to make it.
That’s why I was talking about zig-zagging your way across. It’s up and then down, and then up... and so on...
SO..., if you zig/zag down south, why not stop at Tombstone, AZ, while you’re at it and see Boot Hill... :-)
One epitaph on a headstone said...
Here lies Lester Moore
Shot by a .44
No Les, no more...
In October 1994, we drove from Seattle to Memphis- the more Northern route (through Oregon, Idahao, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and then to Tennessee. Oregon, Utah, Wyoming, and Arkansas were pretty.
On the way home, we took the LONGER way home and had a blast. We went down through Mississippi to New Orleans (interesting drive and New Orleans was memorable and the food good, and we had a small child, so we skipped the nightlife). We drove through Texas to San Antonio (River Walk and the Alamo- AWESOME) and were supposed to stay the night in El Paso. 10 minutes out of town, I decided that was NOT going to happen, so we stayed in Las Cruces, New Mexico instead. Very cute town and good food!
Then through New Mexico and to Arizona. We detoured in Tombstone. It’s a bit off the road but worth a visit. We stayed the night near friends in Phoenix before heading to Las Vegas (passing Sedona and the Grand Canyon- both WORTH a visit— as well as the Hoover Dam) to stay a week with my then father-in-law. From Las Vegas, we made a daytrip to Zion (one of my favorite places EVER.) It was a long trip, but I have never regretted it. I will never forget getting out to pee by the car in Texas and hearing a rattler or a seeing a Texas rainstorm rolling in from the car. It can easily be done in reverse.
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