A fair number of people up here are "snowbirds," heading south for the winter, usually Florida or Myrtle Beach. A majority of those do it all in one go, in a punitive 24-hour Portland to Ft. Myers slog, once each way. The next most likely is dividing it in half, in Richmond or wherever some relative or old Navy buddy lives. I have done 24-hour drives solo, with 20 of driving and 4 of napping on the way to Wilmore, KY or Tigerville, SC, but I would never do it again. No point. When Tracy and I drive now we aim for four hours of driving plus some sightseeing, shopping, lazing around little shops. I works great for a trip to the Finger Lakes, for example. It can be stretched to six hours in a day, and on the return trip when one is sick of it all it almost always is. No real hurry when both are retired. I drive 75% of it and Tracy takes a turn for an hour or so each day when I am getting dangerously sleepy.
One learns on shorter drives, say 1.5-2hrs, that the highway is quite boring, and in your own area, there are places not that far off that could be worth checking out. You can divert and take Rte 4 in NH instead of I-89 for an hour, then get back on and make better time to Burlington. You find out that more than an hour at a time on a secondary road, even if you break it up for lunch in Marlboro VT or Willimantic CT, is about as much as you want before you start looking at the map to your destination and frowning. Any unexpected delay can really set you back, at least psychologically. "We won't be checking in until 9PM and tomorrow is our longest driving day. Let's get takeout on the way. I hope that hot tub is operating." (Hint: They never are.)
So you apply that to the longer trip, trying to break up the consecutive hours on the interstate by taking something that goes in the general direction. But you find it is either too much like the freeway or not enough like the freeway and wish you hadn't done that. Back roads are charming in small doses, and if construction prevents you from getting back to I-88 for an extra half-hour in which you drove for 25 miles but only cut four miles off your trip, it can set couples wondering whose idea this particular detour was.
But you drive differently, don't you? I'm curious how. Different problems set different individuals off, others are seen as rather charming.
I figure there's always something--like a truckload of bricks turning over on I65. And I also figure that "the joy is in the destination" or we wouldn't be going.
ReplyDeleteHowever, my wife is a "Blue Highways" type, and likes to see what can be seen. Over the years she has been persuading me too.
When we had small fry in the van, we made plenty of necessary stops, but pushing through seemed to help with the crowd control. It was generally either 3 or 8 hour trips. Kids can get pretty antsy after being together for 8 hours, even with breaks.
These days the limiting factor tends to be budget (and garden timetables...), so we can't completely wing it. But we push through to a place and spend hours, or the night, there, and press on in the morning. The Pittsburgh trip (10 hours) we broke in two days each way, with stops to see parks and a submarine and such along the way. A fair chunk of the Canada trip was intentionally backroads (and part was unintentionally getting lost).
Once we rode the Badger ferry with some farmers from Michigan who'd arranged for a neighbor to take care of their lands for a couple of weeks (they returned the favor on alternate years), and took motorcycle trips out west--driving until they got tired or too wet and finding a motel wherever.
For me, the chief difference is that I use a motorcycle. This is as different from doing it in a car or van as, say, doing it by sea. Same road, different experience.
ReplyDeleteI'm still pretty comfortable at six hours of driving total with periodic short breaks. Eight is pushing it. I'm not much for wandering the countryside unless that's the point of the trip, such as visiting wineries. The drive is a necessary evil to get to the destination so make it as quick and painless as possible. I have long disliked driving at night unless it's an hour or less, or unavoidable. I prefer to be getting on the road as day is breaking but that's a challenge with my wife who hates the AM hours :)
ReplyDeleteThe interstates in Texas are often a miserable experience, especially where they are limited to 2 lanes; it's miserable, because of the traffic density. I don't mind the secondary roads, state highways are often very good with fairly light traffic.
ReplyDeleteI can easily drive for 8 hours in my truck - it's very comfortable and quiet over the road. And it's sometimes a pleasant diversion to take the secondary roads even if they're slightly longer in miles, and significantly so in duration. I have a range of well over 500 miles with my tank, which provides a very nice set of options for this.
When driving alone I tend to aim for a stop about once an hour that allows me to get out and do a brisk walk. Long ago I routinely did 600 mile midwinter drives, and there were some conveniently located shopping malls where I could do a fast loop and toilet break, and then I'd plan shorter breaks at the intermediate stops. Having the brisk walk be indoors is kind of nice in northern climes in cold weather or when it's wet.
ReplyDeleteNow enclosed malls are fewer and often depressing, but there are lots of junctions with useful retail right off the exit. I find that in the week leading up to the trip I often defer many errands, as I can get batteries in my stop in (x), and the OTC meds in my stop in (y), and the bigger store in (z) will have better selection to choose from than the nearest one to home . . .
There's something about packing side-quests into the journey that makes it seem to go quicker and keeps the energy level up for the whole journey. But as a student it was hard to explain to my mother that stopping for food made the trip go better, and loading me up with perishable sandwiches and drinks that don't stay hot (or cold) wasn't really helping.
My wife likes fewer and MUCH longer stops, which I tolerate OK. I do tend to pre-plan a variety of possible stops, so when my wife says "I need a toilet-break soon" I can have something up my sleeve like "I've read about gallery in the next city that is showing works of that painter you like, I bet they also have nice clean restroom. We could stop there in about 20 minutes".
Years ago highway rest-areas and truck-stops would have racks of free coupon books for hotel discounts. I found these extremely useful, and still refer to the not-dead-yet versions found online because motel/hotel rates along an interstate route will often vary from $60 - $180 for the same chain/star-rating/condition; just because of competition and distance from attractions.
I find it much easier to justify adding an overnight stop if it is inexpensive to do so -- and if we're staying in a hotel at the destination anyway, it often saves money to do so.
I usually dislike long drives for all of the usual reasons. Sometimes, as on vacation, they are enjoyable. A one-way trip between two places I haven't visited before is generally better than a round trip from home. One idea that I have never quite had the gumption to try is to get in the car and drive with no specific destination in mind. Maybe one day...
ReplyDeleteWell, we've got some varied interest going. We do not always see things the same way...
ReplyDeleteNearly everyone reminded me of something I neglected to say.
The early morning start and the night driving was major lesson for me driving a rented RV to my son's first job in Houston, towing his car in 2006. BTW, it used to be then that the RV rentals were much cheaper in October if you wanted to go to Phoenix or Pensacola (or could divert there) because that's where they wanted to move their inventory for the next six months. Not much need in New England. We were RV novices, but learned that at night the interstates are the same everywhere. No scenery, Exit 20, Springfield with similar hotels, gas stations, and chain restaurants on those blue signs: Holiday Inn Express, Waffle House or Cracker Barrel in the south, Burger King. Dunkins in the north then. So drive when the sun is up and sleep when it is down. Before that I had liked the reduced traffic of nighttime driving when I was in college. No rush hour in New York or DC to worry about.
Douglas, thanks for the idea that rest stop coupons might still be available. And yeah, when you are married, it is wise to have multiple plans in your back pocket. As the planning is half the fun for me, that works.
Grim, when I had a small motorcycle as a young man I preferred that on the secondary roads, unless the weather was very bad indeed. The lack of respect on the interstates scared me more than the greater danger from inattention by local drivers on the two-lane roads. I had friends who were in the Iron Butt Club (1000 miles in 24 hours), but I never saw the attraction. Bragging rights, mostly.
Yes, definitely. I myself have not done more than 500 miles in 24 hours. You can, certainly, if you want to do so. I enjoy the ride more if I don't. Better to take two days to get there than to push yourself that hard.
ReplyDeleteNow when I was a young man, the woman who is now my wife of 25 years lived 500 miles away from me. I could in those days do that drive in less than six hours. I want to say I once did it in five flat on the interstates across rural Tennessee and Kentucky and Indiana. I wouldn't try now on a bet: in fact, I wouldn't even entertain a wager that involved such things.