Wisconsin to Florida w/kids, ages 6, 8, 10

[Georgia]

Hi - This is my first posting. We are driving to FL leaving WI on March 30th to take our kids to Disney in FL. I'm looking for trip ideas and routes. I was told that I-77 from Cleveland, OH to Columbia, SC is a beautiful route.

Any input is very appreciated - thanks.

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

I suspect I-77 would be pretty scenic, although i haven't driven it myself, It isn't the direct route however, and if you are going to western florida, it would be a fairly significant detour. Using a combination of I-65 and/or I-75 would be faster if time is a factor in this trip.

How much time do you have to make this trip? Is there anything in particular you would be looking for in terms of making stops? What sorts of things are your kids interested in?

[Mark Sedenquist]

I was told that I-77 from Cleveland, OH to Columbia, SC is a beautiful route.

Like Michael mentioned above, I-75 might be a better route. Dave Hunter's "Along I-75" has been freshened up for this new year. I haven't published my review of the 2007 version yet, but my review of the 2006 is online here.

A couple of nice "time-outs" that your kids might enjoy -- Snook's Dream Cars at exit 179 (in Ohio) has some historic cars and a restored 1930's general store. The pizza place on the old town square at Troy, Ohio is fun and one of my all-time stores is the Tippecanoe Trading Post in Tipp City (exit 68). Better than Disneyworld -- everything in this store (based on stuff used in the 1700's) is for sale.

In Kentucky, another best bet for road grub can be found at exit 159 at the Country Grill. In Chattanooga, you might enjoy the Tennessee Aquarium and the entire route goes through and around lots of Civil War sites.

Mark

[AZBuck]

While it is true that I-77 through West Virginia and, Virginia and North Carolina is a scenic route and Michael and Mark have pointed out a few of its attractions, it is also true that using it would add about 200 miles to your trip. Since the direct route from Milwaukee to Orlando, basically I-65 and I-75 is also scenic, I'll make the case for that routing. You could, of course, take one way down and the other way back. Just a few of the sights and things to do along the direct route are Mammoth Cave National Park, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park and Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. One alternate routing you might want to consider if you come this way and depending on what your tastes in driving and sightseeing are, is to use US-27 and or Alt-US-27 south from Chattanooga, with a stop at FDR's Little White House Historic Site before returning to I-75 by way of US-80 and US-341. This way avoids Atlanta.

AZBuck

[Georgia]

Thank you all for the input - we are leaving after school is done on a Thursday and aren't able to check into the time share until after 4PM on Saturday, so we have some time and plan on doing a fair amount of driving the first night. We are fortunate that our children travel well and will sleep in the car.

My husband will appreciate the info about the place to get the best ribs:) and I will be ordering the I-75 guide for further reference.

Thanks again.

Georgia