Is this possible?

[LilShio]

This will be my first roadtrip. I'm going it alone, which is both exciting and a little scary.

Due to the impossibility of a DC - Austin trip I am now in search of some beautiful drives between DC and RI. I love winding roads and have 4.5 days to go up and back. I'm not as interested in attractions as much as the drive itself and maybe some hiking.

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

Until you can find a computer than can do the driving for you, you aren't going to be able to make this trip on that timeframe.

DC to Austin is about 1700 miles, which means you'd really be looking at about 30 hours on the road one way when you factor just the basic stops for fuel and human needs. That assumes driving at/above the speed limit on interstate highways.

So you'd need more than 60 hours on the road to make this trip both ways, even if you had help, its unlikely you could safely drive that many miles in 4.5 days. Doing this solo is absolutely a bad idea.

Sorry, It looks like you are off to the Ocean State

[RedCorral]

Hi,

I don't know of a specific route, but the approach I'd take is to head northwest into Pennsylvania west of gettysburg and just pick some interesting roads heading northeast (just about all of them go that way). Then cross into New York through the Catskills and make my way across Connecticut to Rhode Island. That should take a couple of days, then you can spend a day or so in Newport or Mystic. Then blast home on the Interstate.

Sounds like a fun 4.5 days to me. Just make sure your maps have scenic routes noted on them. Of course, there are books with scenic drives all layed out, but you might consider that cheating.

Craig Sheumaker
co-author of the travel guide: America's Living History-The Early Years