Dog Lovers unite. South to North

[laltieri]

Hi Friends,
In a few weeks my husband and I and our 2 dogs are driving from Charlotte NC to Harpswell Me. It has been years since we have taken such a long trip like this and I am not sure why but I am nervous? maybe just excited? Anyway I have 2 questions. One is using 81 where would around 12 hours land us leaving Charlotte NC ? I tried to google this type of questions and it would not work. We are hoping to get in 12 hours the first day and find a camp ground with a cabin or such for us to rest, have a nice place to walk the dogs and hit the road again in the AM. Any suggestions? I see that the KOA sites have cabins and such but I am just not sure what state/town to look at. Thank you in advance

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to RTA !

As a rule of thumb you can travel at an average speed of between 55 and 60mph over the course of a full day on the road using major highways, so 550 to 600 miles with appropriate rest stops, eating, re-fuelling etc would equate to around 10 or 11 hours on the road. With 2 dogs I would not try to attempt going for 12 hours as you will need more frequent stops and more time to let them run around or walk on the lead. By the time you are all fed and watered in the morning and evening that could soon become a 15 hour day with a long drive still to come. If you plan to do this over 2 days then around Hamburg PA would make a good mid way point that's doable on day 1 with a slightly shorter drive on day 2. The RTA motel reservations link to the right of each page has filters on it so you could look for 'Pet friendly' Hotels nearby.