San Diego to Delaware, Feb., single woman with cats
I'm looking for some tips on which route to take. I drove out here in January several years ago, but I was with someone. We got on 70 to 44 to 40, then 17 south to Phoenix, and 8 into San Diego. I'm a little nervous about the weather and I'm thinking of 8 to Case Grande, then 10, 20, and 30 straight through TX and into Little Rock. I plan to take 40 through TN, 81 through the Valley all the way up into VA. Then 66 connecting to the Capitol Beltway, and 301 on into DE. I have a few alternates planned, but this looks like the best as far as time and weather conditions. Am I going to hit a lot of mountains on 40 and 81? That sounds stupid, but on my map it looks like they almost cut right through the ranges.
I'm not too awfully nervous about making the trip alone, but Western TX does worry me a bit. I have a cell phone (already sent my possible routes to several people with plans to check in) and roadside assistance, my car has been checked out, and I'm street smart enough not to get myself into a stupid situation...but El Paso to Dallas still looks like a heck of a lot of nothing!
Also, it'll be me in a two seater with two cats. If anyone can suggest hotels that allow pets, I'd appreciate that! I've already heard La Quinta is a good chain and they seem to have quite a few locations along my route. The farthest I've gone alone is 8 hours and that was only one day...I'd prefer to stay safe and alert rather than make all my reservations ahead of time. Thanks!
from SanDiego to Delaware
I went out to SanDiego and took like you, 40 all the way to Flagstaff AZ. and I have to say, the mountains in Flagstaff were way cool! I just worried about hitting Elks, never seen an elk, and never want to right in front of my car. But anyway, when it got towards dark, the sun in my eyes going west, I stopped for the night because I was really worried about elk. In the morning, I decided to go south, because of two things, one I was scared of LA, yeah I know what a wussie, but I was.The second, I never have seen the desert very much and this allowed me to see such an incredile part of America, something the tourist books dont let you see, like "Black Canyon City", a sort of retirement place, in the middle of nowhere, but soooo coool and with dead (thank God) rattlesnakes on the road 10 feet long, etc. So I took I 17 AAAALLLL the way down to Tucson, and went to I 8, and took that out to SanDiego
Another thing, those mountains in California, near SanDiego, are huge! I'm talking about the ones that look like Mars, where nothing is growing and it looks like some giant playing in the sand just piled up all these boulders and it gets higher and higher, and higher.
My serious advice if you don't want to do the mountains too much, is stay on 8 all the way through to Tucson and pick up I 10, then in Kent Texas, pick up I 20, then in Ft. Worth pick up I 30, then in Little Rock pick up I 40, then in Knocksville, Tn. pick up I 81,then pick pick up I66 in FrontRoyal Va. then pick up I 95 in DC then you're almost home!
Something to consider, in the spring, this route is right smack in the middle of tornado alley from probably Amarillo Tx. all the way up to I 81 in Va.
Good luck, and I'm going to do it again as soon as I can. It was one of the best times in my whole life.
Steve
Well, I made it:) Thanks everyone!
The trip started off badly. Note to self (since I'm sure everyone else has enough common sense to know better): do NOT have the going away party the night before! After many failed attempts at forcing the sedatives down my cats' throats, I got on the road at around 7. It was a rare day in San Diego - raining and foggy. I was crawling along at around 50 mph until I hit what I call the rock pile mountains just before the desert on 8 East. From there, it was an easy drive all the way to my first stop in Deeming, NM.
I spent the night in Deeming at a little place called the Economy Inn, which I wouldn't recommend. It was clean enough, but it took me 15 minutes to get the deadbolt secured and I had to shove the dresser in front of the door to the room next door when I realized the locks on that were completely broken. Day 2 started off badly, with a speeding ticket about 5 minutes in. I should have known better in NM with all the "safety corridors", but I just thanked God the guy clocked me at a point where I'd significantly *decreased* my speed to exit the freeway and get my CD's out of the trunk. I have a lead foot, so I forced myself to use cruise control the rest of the trip. It drove me to the brink of insanity, but at least I made it with only that one ticket.
I spent night #2 in Weatherford, TX at the Holiday Inn Express. I wanted to be closer to Dallas/Fort Worth, but a nasty, nasty rainstorm foiled those plans. I let myself sleep in that morning to avoid the Monday rush hour, which was nice. The cats did pretty well on days one and two, but they just about killed me on day three. Dallas (and for that matter, pretty much every city I hit) had major construction going on - concrete barriers on the side of each lane, potholes everywhere, shifting lanes, etc. The cats chose this as the time to get territorial. After pulling over twice to calm them down (keep in mind, the crate is about 2" from my right elbow), I finally informed them they could rip each other to shreds if they wanted. I turned up the radio and drove with one hand. Still no luck on sedating them. They're too smart to swallow the pills.
Day # 3 took me to the Days Inn in Jackson, TN. They only had smoking rooms. I smoke. However, I don't think I fully realized what decades of built-up smoke smells like. The windows wouldn't open and I never got used to it. Oh, well. I woke up on day #4 and turned on the weather channel. They immediately cut to a shot of an overturned tractor trailer and say something like "Highwway 81 this morning can only be described as treacherous. Snow, Ice, freezing rain - please, drive with caution". Great, right? Fortunately, by the time I got through TN and connected with 81, things had calmed down. The road was remarkably clear and it was an easy drive into Staunton, VA. I spent the night at the Guesthouse Inn there, which I highly recommend if anyone happens to be in that area. It was super clean, had a small gym and sauna, and only around $40 - and they were very pet friendly (though I actually found that most places are pet friendly for a fee).
Day #5 was smooth and clear all the way to DE. It was a short drive. Fortunately, I was headed in the right direction, because the southern half of the Beltway going west was gridlocked completely. My only regret is that I didn't have more time for this trip. As I said in my original post, it was 8, 10, 20, 30, 40, 81, 495, to 301. I saw plenty of signs advertising little historical sites and tourists traps that I would have loved to have seen. I'd like to do it again with about 3 weeks to get there.
Thanks again for all your help! I know I'm a bit longwinded, but hopefully you'll see another trip report from me soon. I can't say this was exactly a fun-filled trip, but it definitely inspired me to look at getting there as ALL the fun.
