Southeast Roap Trip

[umichamanda]

dandyda11

Hey all! I am venturing out on my first ever road trip two weeks from today. I am a 20 year old female and will be travelling with 3 other girls around my age. We are staying with friends at all of our stops but wanted to see if anyone had any road trip tips.

Also, I wanted to see if anyone knew of any cool places to stop on the way. The first leg of the trip is Ann Arbor, MI to Winston-Salem, NC (I-80 and I-77 most of the way). The next part will be Winston-Salem to Naples, FL (I-77, I-95, and I-75 are the three major portions of the trip). We will then be heading back up I-75 from Naples to Atlanta. And finally, all the way up I-75 back to Detroit. Some of the driving will be during the night but we are looking for anything interesting, especially beautiful or stupid (world's largest..., etc. type things) to stop and break up the ride.


Also, I've heard Chalreston is beautiful. Is it worth going out the way a little to see? Or should we just stop in Savannah?

Anytips, suggestions, etc. would be great! Thanks :)

[Mark Sedenquist]

Hey all! I am venturing out on my first ever road trip two weeks from today.

Welcome to the Great American RoadTrip Forum! For starters, since this is your first-ever roadtrip, and you are traveling with three other friends, I would suggest that all of you take our roadtrip compatibility quiz and discuss the results, because the four of you are planning to spend many, many hours in close proximity on this trip!

I am a 20 year old female and will be travelling with 3 other girls around my age. We are staying with friends at all of our stops but wanted to see if anyone had any road trip tips.

That is a good plan.

Also, I wanted to see if anyone knew of any cool places to stop on the way. The first leg of the trip is Ann Arbor, MI to Winston-Salem, NC (I-80 and I-77 most of the way).

This is almost 620 miles and even if you drive faster than the speed limit, it is still going to take you all of eleven hours to get there -- if the only stops you make are for food and fuel.

The next part will be Winston-Salem to Naples, FL (I-77, I-95, and I-75 are the three major portions of the trip).

If this is intended for a single day -- this is truly nuts! This leg is over 820 miles and again, if you were to drive at or over the speed limit, it will stay take nearly fifteen hours to cover this distance with no time for sightseeing.

We will then be heading back up I-75 from Naples to Atlanta

by comparison, this day is almost reasonable at 615 miles (11 hours) -- we generally recommend that first-time roadtrippers never drive more than 500 miles in a day.

And finally, all the way up I-75 back to Detroit.

Yikes another 720 mile run -- over thirteen hours on the road. Now, if these legs are not intended for the same day, we can offer all sorts of ideas of places to stop.

Mark

[umichamanda]

Some of the days are long, but this will be spread out over 11 days. I'm used to spending long days (20 hours) on the road with my family. It's going to be rough but I think we will manage. I don't mind spending 15ish hours in the car if we can stop whenever we feel like it. When I used to travel with my family it was no stops unless we neaded gas. This will be much more relaxing.

As for compatabillity, I live with these girls, so I know what it is like ;) And we just got back from Michigan's upper peninsula last weekend (a 9 hour drive) and survived. It will be an interesting experience, to say the least.

Thanks for the tips, though! It is good to have the opinion of someone who is unbiased. I'd still love to hear ideas for places to stop, as we are in no real hurry to get anywhere and don't mind driving at odd hours of the day if we have to (we are college students used to staying up until 5 am and getting about 3 hours of sleep a night...exhaustion if a permanant state of being for me ;) ).

[Mark Sedenquist]

Some of the days are long, but this will be spread out over 11 days.

That is good to know.

As for compatabillity, I live with these girls, so I know what it is like ;) And we just got back from Michigan's upper peninsula last weekend (a 9 hour drive) and survived. It will be an interesting experience, to say the least.

Living with someone in an apartment is a lot different than living with them in a car for days on end -- I am just saying that that quiz was developed with the experience of tens of thousands of miles spent on the road.

Exhaustion is a permanant state of being

Actually, this exhaustion doesn't go away when you graduate from college -- it is pretty much what all of us deal with at some level. The smart ones figure out ways to stave it off. I have written an article for MSNBC that looks at some elements of this issue due to be published in a couple of weeks, in the meantime -- look at "The Art of the Speed Run" for tips on long drives and even though you are not on a solo run, this thread has some great tips.


Here are some suggestions for that long run back to Detroit on I-75: There is a 1950's era diner in Marietta, Georgia that is open 24 hours a day; Obviously if you are a Civil War "fan" there are hundreds of places you can stop as you cut north, Sticky Fingers in downtown Chattanooga has great ribs; Around exit 111 in Kentucky (near Lexington) check out the amazing mural on the water tower; When you get to Tipp City, Ohio -- ya gotta check out the Tippicanoe Frontier Trading Company shop -- everything is for sale -- but the wares are for shoppers from the 1700's;

I am sure more of our local members will be contributing their own finds later. Be sure to use the search function (above) and look at the bottom of this page for more ideas.

Mark

[umichamanda]

Thanks for the article...it will definately be helpful. We are only planning on driving about 2-3 hours each at a time in order to prevent the kinds of things that article talked about. I will definately print that out for everyone, though.

The diner sounds like a good idea, as does the water tower and Civil War stops. I've always loved history and never really explored these areas in my previous trips South.

Thanks for all the help, it is greatly appreciated!

[Mark Sedenquist]

I've always loved history and never really explored these areas in my previous trips South.

Well, there are some serious history hounds who hang out here and I am sure you can find some good tidbits. A couple more Florida features: When you happen to be traveling near sunset stop at beach and look for the "green flash." Apparently you can see this easier if you are on the gulf coast, but some folks do see it elsewhere -- Look east, where the sun would it the ocean (if it set in the east -- stay with me here) and then right at the moment of sunset, you might see a purplish-greenish-pinkish arc at the horizon. This is officially the "Belt of Venus" -- it has to be really clear, but plenty of folks have seen it.

When you reach Tampa Bay, the Salvador Dali Museum is supposed to be quite good. When you are zipping across Florida on I-75 -- it is easy to see Alligators on the side of the road in late morning. If you have time, I would suggest using US-41 instead, you can go slower and see even more.

Mark