Driving from Seattle to Florida!

[FLA_bound]

Hi Guys!

I leave for my trip in TWO weeks!!! After 28 days straight of rain, #29 is tomorrow...but who's counting?...I can't wait until my move and my pending Road Trip. Yaaaay!....Sunny Florida here I come! :)

You guys gave me good suggestions in November when I started to put the plan together.

That being said...there seems to be a lot of bad weather happening across the US (darn it!) Excessive snows in the mountains, rain....etc....so I am not sure about I-90 now...not to mention the fires in Oklahoma and Texas.

What's the best route for this trip? This is all about speed....not sight-seeing (unfortunately). I leave Jan. 31st mid-day.

I did get a trip tix from AAA, but want to get your opions on 'best route' for making good time.

Should I stick with I-90...going across all the snowy mountain ranges?

I-5: thru California..then cut it east? On the east cut over, should I stick with I-10 or go I-40?

Trying to figure the best plan of action and I can't figure out the best route. Please give me some advice on this.

Thanks Everyone!

[RoadTripper Brad]

For me, when I choose a route, I do it based off of a few things, in order: 1) Distance, 2) Elevation changes, 3) direction, 4) Weather.

As far as a route that I would take, I would venture over I-90 to Ellensburg, and then take I-84 via Yakima and Boise, ID to I-15 and Salt Lake City. From there, you have serval options (and it's always good to have them). You could take I-80 from Salt Lake City east, or you could continue south in I-15 to Spanish Fork, and cut across to I-70 via US 6 and US 191. If you were to take I-80, go as far as Omaha, NB and then turn south along I-29 to meet up with I-70 in Kansas City. If you decide on taking I-70 from Utah, you would also make it into Kansas City.

From Kansas City, I would go east on I-70 to St. Louis, and then turn into I-64. I-64 merges with I-57 for a few miles at Mount Vernon, Illinois, but instead of following I-64 further east, continue south on I-57 to the junction of I-24, then head south on I-24 to Chattanooga, TN, where you would then turn to I-75 south into and right into Florida.

This is what I would choose as far as a route, your preferences may differ. If you decide to do I-5 south, My suggestion would be to do I-10 east to I-20 in Texas, and east from there into Atlanta and I-75. My theme being not going through the I-10 area around Baton Rouge, Gulfport, etc., for the time being, allowing them some time to get things working and ready for visitors.

Whether you cross the mountains or the plains, always be aware of optional routes just in case!

Brad

[FLA_bound]

A.B.....

Are these main routes or 'off the beaten path' routes. Sorry to sound ignorant, this is my first coast to coast drive. I've done Texas to Florida but not west coast to east.

Why is it that everyone tries to put 'The Scare' into you, when you talk about driving across I-90 mountain area during winter? No one has been supportive of this route except you guys. And, you have actually done this trip before, right?

I looked at the link that shows the interstate and road conditions and it really didn't look "bad" over I-90. In fact, it looked worse going I-5 to I-10.

I mean, is it really that dangerous? I'm not an experienced winter driver and don't want to end up in a ditch with my cats.