Baltimore MD to Chicago IL

Hey,

I am leaving next Friday , once again to pick up a vehicle and bring it back home to a suburb of Minneapolis MN.


I will be leaving Baltimore at 1030am central time and heading to Chicago (crystal lake to be exact) to spend the night at my relatives and was wondering what the fastest route would be, mapquest is showing it is 704 miles to chicago so I was figuring I could do that in ten hours.

I know the IL/MN route since I drive it many times a year.

I love this site and trust it so I thought I'd ask for your wisdom

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

First of all, you may have displaced a digit. Baltimore to Crystal Lake is 740 miles, not 704. But that is the least of your problems. The main one is that you seem to believe Mapquest's 'estimate' of ten hours. That is only possible if all of Mapquest's assumptions come true, namely: You will never have to stop for gas. Every car will magically pull into the right lane as you approach. You will never have to stop for food. There will be no traffic as you leave Baltimore, navigate around Pittsburgh, Cleveland and every other city along the way. You will never have to heed the call of nature. No truck will ever pull out in front to pass another truck. You will never have to stop to pay a toll. The roads will always be clear and dry, and the sun will always be up. And throughout this trek, you will remain as fresh as a daisy. Here in the real world, you need to count on taking at least 13, and more likely 14 hours to get to Crystal Lake. If you leave Baltimore at 11:30 AM local time, you can expect to get to your relatives between midnight and 1:00 AM their time. Just be sure to let them know that.

AZBuck