Road Trips

[Rich Riddle]

How many of you go on road trips these days? Rod Sheridan's journey from Virginia back to Toronto made me ponder people seem to drive longer distances than before 2001. About six hours is a break even point for me on a plane vs car decision. My next road trip takes us from Kentucky to Kansas for Thanksgiving. Where are all of you headed? Do you prefer to drive, fly, take a train, or a boat?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I am staying home. No planned road trips until at least March 2017.

We were drove to Yellowstone in May, California in June, Minnesota-Illinois-Kansas-Wyoming in July, flew to Ireland in Sept-Oct.. We got back on Tuesday Oct.4 and my wife left the following Friday for 4 days in central Washington. She got back the following Monday and left by plane 8 days later for California and Phoenix. She'll be gone 3 weeks.

I have had it for traveling this year! We were invited to Christmas in other places but even the wife is ready to stay home.

[Scott Brandstetter]

Rich
Interesting thread you started. I travel by plane almost every week and end up in a rental car and hotels. When I take time off I have very little desire to get back on a plane and would rather drive, if at all possible. I really enjoy the ride, the freedom, low stress, and sight seeing. I like it even more when I'm on my motorcycle. My next trip is next weekend. I have no idea where I'm going but going to meet up with my brother and ride for a long weekend, Kentucky to who knows.

[Bert Kemp]

Rich I ride my Motorcycle most everywhere. I've been back and forth across the country many times. I've rode thru 40 States 4 Canadian Provinces and Mexico. 2 Wheels is the way to see the country.:)

[Rich Riddle]

Rich I ride my Motorcycle most everywhere. I've been back and forth across the country many times. I've rode thru 40 States 4 Canadian Provinces and Mexico. 2 Wheels is the way to see the country.:)Bert, my 86 year old father shares your sentiment. The old jarhead simply won't stop riding, but at least he now has a trike.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

I don't like flying. Driving relaxes me. Planning to drive from central PA to Myrtle Beach & back the week before Thanksgiving. My road trips are generally short 2 hour jaunts. In December we will travel to the Christkind Markt in Mifflinburg, PA. Around 2 hours each way. A very enjoyable town and they shut down several blocks of town and bring in craftsmen to make Christmas items. Each of the few hundred has a small three sided shed. A woodturner, glass ornament blowing, wood carver, warm spice wine, etc. It reminds me of when I was a little tyke and folks went down town just to see the dept store windows and walk up and down greeting neighbors and drinking hot chocolate, cider etc. Kind of starts the Christmas magic for me.

[Wayne Lomman]

These days I fly for work most of the time but we still do contract work where a 14 hour drive to get there is required and we still haven't left the state. In years past I used to drive everywhere from contract to contract and would rack up 100,000km a year. The cars took a hiding with the main hazards being kangaroos and cockatoos. Road trips anywhere in Australia other than the eastern coastline are long stretches of isolation with few signs of human habitation. I developed the habit of pulling over to sleep with the car pointed in the direction I needed to keep going. This was after once when I was falling asleep at the wheel so stopped in a side road. Woke up at 3am to keep going but turned the wrong way onto the highway. Drove for 3 hours before I found my mistake.... and yes, that was the first road sign I came across! Cheers

[Keith Outten]

A bit abnormal for me lately but I was in West Virginia two weeks ago for the National Trailfest ATV event on the Hatfield McCoy Rockhouse Trail System. It was about a 6 hour drive to Gilbert WV and it took about 9.5 hours to get back home because a Hurricane off the coast brought torrential rains and plenty of wind so the drive back was miserable. Shortly I will be returning to WV to ride the Hatfield McCoy Trails once again, this time the Pocahontas Trail in Bramwell.

Tomorrow I will be in Suffolk Virginia for a sign makers event at Somerton Ridge Hardwoods. Its only a couple hours from home but I rarely go more than an hour from the shop.

[John K Jordan]

A 12-hr trip to the Outer Banks is a yearly thing for us. This year we were stopped 4 hrs from the destination by the minor issue of the hurricane flooding the roads but I'll probably try again in a few weeks.

[Lee Schierer]

I've got a trip planned to South Dakota to chase some pheasants. We also will be going to New Jersey later this year.

[Belinda Barfield]

No road trips planned . . . sigh. I love road trips as long as I don't have to be "anywhere" at a specific time. For a weekend jaunt my max drive time is 5 hours. Every couple of years I do an 8.5 hour drive to Mexico Beach, Florida, and back for a 4 day trip. Having said all of that, I think I've taken maybe 3 long weekend vacations in about 20 years. With the exception of the week of Thanksgiving, there is a trade show I need to attend every week of November. Two in Florida, one in Vegas, and I think the other one is in Charlotte. I will probably miss all of them because we just landed a large contract for parts that are totally new to us, and my production manager leaves on 10/25 for two weeks in Hawaii. My partner gets to go to the shows, and I get to hold down the fort.

[Jim Becker]

Our family vacations over the past few years, with one exception where we flew, have been "road trips". And I drive to the DC area multiple times per month for business as well as occasional runs to Parkersburg WV. I used to fly a lot more, but with increased security, even with TSA-Pre, it's often almost the same time to drive it these days. :)

[daryl moses]

Anything much over a 12 hour drive I prefer to fly.
Last year I flew to Denver Co. rented a 4x4 truck and drove to Casper Wyoming. I loved driving in Wyoming, 80 mph speed limit on the interstate, roads as straight as an arrow and very little traffic.

[Dave Lehnert]

Road trip but 6 hours drive time a day is my max. Longer if I have to.

I would like someday to take a road trip following U.S. Highway 50 coast to coast. Ocean City, Maryland to Sacramento, California.
The backbone of America

[Rich Riddle]

Road trip but 6 hours drive time a day is my max. Longer if I have to.

I would like someday to take a road trip following U.S. Highway 50 coast to coast. Ocean City, Maryland to Sacramento, California.
The backbone of America
Dave, let me know when you get to Cincinnati on that trip. The call Highway 50 "the loneliest highway in America" out West.

[Rick Potter]

Did a road trip a couple months back from SoCal to Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Visited friends, saw Bryce canyon, Yellowstone, and a lot of other places. 2700 miles altogether.

In the last 6 years we did several others, including two three week road trips, going to Chicago to the start of Route 66, and then doing the whole thing on the old roads, staying in the old motels, eating at local diners, etc. Did those trips in our Mustang convertible.

When the kids were young, we used to take a lot of long road trip with our RV trailer. Kids have been just about everywhere. Longest trip was 68 days, without staying more than a few at anyplace.

[Mac McQuinn]

Lots of road trips..........before 2001 and now. Every 12 weeks, I travel from MI to KY to see grandkids,that's (7) hours. In the 70's I drove w/a buddy to Pomona, CA for the "Winternational" Drag races,twice.That's about a (40) hour non-stop run. There were bits of route 66 still open back then. Yes, I've stood on a corner in Winslow, AZ .......I've made runs as far south as Georgia (11-12) hours to pick up cars and motorcycles. I don't care much for flying, bothers my ears and no glide ratio to speak of. :eek:
Always ready for a road trip,
Mac

[Rich Riddle]

I find road trips much more relaxing than flying, especially during the holiday season.

[Brian Elfert]

I make a big road trip from Minneapolis to Reno every September. My friends and I drive the 2,000 miles in under 36 hours typically. This year I believe it took us exactly 48 hours to get there which I think is the longest it has ever taken us.

Flying would be faster, but then you're stuck in a tiny seat not able to move. We bring all kinds of stuff with us so flying would be difficult. Some in the group will fly out and we haul their stuff.

[Jim Becker]

I find road trips much more relaxing than flying, especially during the holiday season.

Over the past few years, I've come to feel the same way. I have a very comfortable vehicle (Grand Cherokee Summit), 4000+ tunes on my iPhone and adaptive cruise control. Driving isn't nearly as tiring as the "hurry up and wait" that air travel brings these days and for my work travel, driving means I don't have to "run the gauntlet" for approvals like I do to fly. So if it's within an 8 hour drive...I drive.

[Mike Henderson]

Any long distance, I'd prefer to fly and rent a car at the destination. But we've done some shorter drives, especially from our home in Orange County CA to San Luis Obispo - and that's maybe four hours.

Mike

[Von Bickley]

I would prefer to drive. See more and be able to stop when and where I want to.

[Bruce Wrenn]

So far this year: Drove to Savannah GA for St Patricks Day, Flew to New Orleans, got stranded and had to drive home (19 hours straight thru,) to daughters in WV in July, IWF in Atlanta in August. Maybe another trip to daughters in WV before end of year. Next weekend wife and I are planning on going SOMEWHERE, just not sure where yet. Past three weeks have driven over a thousand mile back and forth to State Fair. Three more trips tomorrow to bring it all home. Most expensive trip (almost $2000) this year was 28 mile ride with rescue squad.

[alan miller]

Going from Michigan to FT Payne Alabama in a few weeks to see family.

[Dirk Hoogendoorn]

Just finished an east to west trip 12,850 kms. Ontario to BC and back with some visits(granddaughters and son in Vancouver, daughter in Edmonton) and sightseeing along the way. We spent 6 weeks on the road in our Roadtrek and boondocked most of the time, of the 23 nights we spent in transit on the road we only camped for 4 nights. The rest of the time in some very neat places from rest areas to National Forests, great trip.

[Brian W Smith]

Did a week long "Northern Neck" Va tour a month ago.Good thing we were in wifeys hot rod Subey.I left some dang nice antiques there.

BUT,that isn't the reason for post.Last week we spent a few days in Williamsburg.On the way we stopped at Berkley plantation so we could visit the site of our first Thanksgiving.There is a beautiful sign as you start down their classic driveway.Basically telling you to SLOW DOWN ( my emphasis,theirs was hand painted 18th c. font).The point wasn't about riipin up the pea gravel drive.They're sporting millions in JD tractors,we can fix the drive.No their point was to view it at a horse N carriage pace.

[David Helm]

Got back, yesterday evening, from a nearly 7000 mile road trip throughout the West, visiting at least 8 National Parks. The farthest away from our Northwest home was Big Bend NP in Southwest Texas (beautiful place). Our Subaru Forester did a magnificent job, fully loaded and with a rocket box on top. It climbed lots of mountains and crossed many deserts.

[Van Huskey]

I travel a lot and have driven to/through 47 of the 48 CONUS states and driven in 49 of them. 27 in the last 6 months. I like to drive and prefer to drive if I can get there in less than a day, I will do 2 day road trips but my wife prefers to fly so I tend to fly on vacation (though we often drive a fair bit while on vacation) and drive for work.

My favorite way to do a road trip is start with plenty of time and a set budget, and just drive with no intended destination when 2/3rds of the budget is exhausted head back in the direction of home. My wife isn't a huge fan of these before we leave but she usually hates turning around. Its the type of vacation you see things you never would otherwise, I mean how many people have actually stopped to find out what "The Thing" is while driving from El Paso to Phoenix on I-10? One time years ago we ended up at Burning Man.

[Rich Konopka]

Over the past few years, I've come to feel the same way. I have a very comfortable vehicle (Grand Cherokee Summit), 4000+ tunes on my iPhone and adaptive cruise control. Driving isn't nearly as tiring as the "hurry up and wait" that air travel brings these days and for my work travel, driving means I don't have to "run the gauntlet" for approvals like I do to fly. So if it's within an 8 hour drive...I drive.


I can't agree with you more.

[Shawn Pixley]

Ever the contrarian, I hate road trips. The idea of driving eight hours to get somewhere is akin to wishing for someone to drill a hole in my head. Give me an International flight any day.

[Jim Becker]

Ever the contrarian, I hate road trips. The idea of driving eight hours to get somewhere is akin to wishing for someone to drill a hole in my head. Give me an International flight any day.

I'd be more likely to be with you on the 8 hour drive thing vs flying years ago, but it seems any more that an hour and a half flight still takes 8 hours because of "the dance" of getting to the airport, parking, security, waiting, the delays, the flight, the arrival, the ground transportation, etc. The trip I took last week would have been like that. I more or less enjoyed the drive and the hundreds of tunes in quiet comfort, as well as not being rushed after meetings and being able to share a great meal with my "work spouse" before heading home. It's all tradeoffs... ;)