Long Driving

[Mac66]

Just got back to Michigan from Florida yesterday... I may have mentioned it before but we tend to drive straight though from our house north of Detroit to The Villages and back.

Kind of have it down to a science now. We find it better to drive on the weekend to avoid traffic at the choke points (primarily Cincinnati and Atlanta). Typically we drive on a Saturday or Sunday morning. Get up at 4 am and leave by 5. We did something new this time. Started the transition by getting up early 5:30 am then 5 am a couple days before we leave. So two days before I got up at 5:30 and then went to bed at my regular time 11 pm. The day before I got up at 5am worked out, ran around all day, did all the packing and went to bed at 9-9:30 pm. I was tired enough to sleep the night before leaving and got 7 hours of sleep.

As I said we typically drive straight through which usually take 17 hours. That's usually 3-4 stops, two gas stops and a bathroom break or two depending how much coffee goes through me. Going down this time we did two gas stops and one additional bathroom break. Coming back we stopped two additional times.

We don't stop and eat, rather we pack food for the road and eat while driving. Typically we pack cut veggies...celery, peppers, cucumbers etc along with cheese and nuts. My wife will also usually fry up some chicken strips. I'm still eating Keto. We pack a thermos full of coffee and water bottles. And...we usually don't eat until afternoon and around 6 pm but that depends on traffic conditions and where we happen to be at the time.

Drove down on Superbowl Sunday and came back on Saturday. Weather on SBS was supposed to be clear and dry all the way but we ran into light snow in northern Ohio (we beat a snow storm in Michigan by a day). You never know what you're going to get in February. We made the trip down in 15.5 hours. Coming back weather was clear and dry all the way but ran into construction in Georgia. That delayed us for an hour but we still made it in 16.5 hours.

In the past I usually had my wife drive for 2 hours or so mid afternoon so I could doze. The new transition period (getting up early for a couple days) worked well. I drove the entire trip both ways. It also helps driving a comfortable car that gets good mileage. Listening to audio books downloaded to my phone from the library all the way helps as well.

[aerynsun]

Get A travel trailer and stop along the way.

What are you rushing to meet?

[Mac66]

Get A travel trailer and stop along the way.

What are you rushing to meet?

Just trying to get from one house to another as quickly as we can.

I do have a travel trailer and have towed it to Florida often stopping in KY, TN or GA to see the sights. But.. been there, done that many times so getting to and from within one day is the goal.

The way this "straight through" thing started is we used to drive half way, about 550 miles 8.5 hours. Roughly Chattanooga TN. So if we left at 7 or 8 am we'd get there at 5:30 or 6:30 pm with gas, bathroom and lunch stops. After dinner we'd sit around for 4 or 5 hours watching tv, go to bed sleep fitfully and get up the next morning at 7 or 8 and do it again getting to our house in the late afternoon. Then it occurred to me that we could be driving instead of sitting around in a hotel. So we would drive till 10 or 11 then stop. Then it occurred to me one time when we couldn't find a hotel vacancy that we were only 4 or 5 hours away and I was feeling pretty good so we kept going. We got in around 3:30 am.

If we didn't stop for lunch or dinner we could cut and hour or and hour and a half off. If we left earlier we'd get in earlier and perhaps avoid rush hour in some of the cities we passed through. That was about the time I was going on a Keto diet and it was easier bringing Keto friendly food than finding it at restaurants or fast food places. So depending on the day and time we leave and weather, traffic, construction we can do the trip anywhere from 15.5 hours to 19 hours.

Flying takes at least 3 hours getting to the airport, parking, going through security and then waiting for the flight. 3 hours in the air. Then at least 2-3 hours getting luggage, renting a car, driving to the house or taking a shuttle back from the airport. So that's 8-9 hours minimum not counting all the other hassles of flying these days. Although sometimes we can get cheap airfare which makes it worthwhile flying sometimes.

[aerynsun]

Get A travel trailer and stop along the way.

What are you rushing to meet?

Just trying to get from one house to another as quickly as we can.

I do have a travel trailer and have towed it to Florida often stopping in KY, TN or GA to see the sights. But.. been there, done that many times so getting to and from within one day is the goal.

The way this "straight through" thing started is we used to drive half way, about 550 miles 8.5 hours. Roughly Chattanooga TN. So if we left at 7 or 8 am we'd get there at 5:30 or 6:30 pm with gas, bathroom and lunch stops. After dinner we'd sit around for 4 or 5 hours watching tv, go to bed sleep fitfully and get up the next morning at 7 or 8 and do it again getting to our house in the late afternoon. Then it occurred to me that we could be driving instead of sitting around in a hotel. So we would drive till 10 or 11 then stop. Then it occurred to me one time when we couldn't find a hotel vacancy that we were only 4 or 5 hours away and I was feeling pretty good so we kept going. We got in around 3:30 am.

If we didn't stop for lunch or dinner we could cut and hour or and hour and a half off. If we left earlier we'd get in earlier and perhaps avoid rush hour in some of the cities we passed through. That was about the time I was going on a Keto diet and it was easier bringing Keto friendly food than finding it at restaurants or fast food places. So depending on the day and time we leave and weather, traffic, construction we can do the trip anywhere from 15.5 hours to 19 hours.

Flying takes at least 3 hours getting to the airport, parking, going through security and then waiting for the flight. 3 hours in the air. Then at least 2-3 hours getting luggage, renting a car, driving to the house or taking a shuttle back from the airport. So that's 8-9 hours minimum not counting all the other hassles of flying these days. Although sometimes we can get cheap airfare which makes it worthwhile flying sometimes.

I agree on driving vs flying.

And hotels/motels suck, and road food is terrible.

I often do what you do with a travel trailer if I'm going from east/west coasts or reverse. There isn't much to see along the way. When I'm in the west I tend to drive 7 hours and then get in the TT for the night.

[David]

In the past I've been the typical guy trying to beat the time. I don't normally speed or anything but it was always a challenge to edge off a minute here and there. With gas prices being the way they are I've reversed that goal and instead try to maximize mileage whenever possible. I had to travel to Orlando to pick up my niece and decided to go for a new record. I have a digital readout on my dash that gives me a lot of data, one of which is current mileage along with the average for the last 50 miles driven as well as 'best' mileage to date. My previous best was 34.8 miles to the gallon. That's on the highway. In the city I average 26 to 29 mpg. So instead of rushing to get to Orlando (speed limit on I-4 is 70 mph) I put it on about 62 mph and hung out in the right lane. That keep the tachometer a lot lower than at 70 mph. It was late Sunday night so I was pretty much able to cruise along.

Got my little victory on the way there with a new record of 36.3 mpg

[tom mac]

Usu on the trip to VA, I drive straight thru... one stop for gas.
Leave at 4am to beat NYC traffic and then all good sailing.
Don't change my sleep habit tho, it's only 7+ hrs at an easy pace.

[bdcochran]

More kudos to you. I cannot drive as much as 45 minutes without stoppin.

[Mac66]

Since the website crashed and my last post was gone I like to redo some of it.

I drove down to Florida straight through again on November 20. Left on a Sunday morning around 5 am, arrived Sunday evening around 10:23 pm. 1122 miles in 17:23. Ran into construction going through Cincinnati and Atlanta.

Just returned, straight through. Left on Saturday morning 5 am, arrived Saturday evening at 9:24 pm 16:24 1126 miles. Had to take a 3 mile detour due to freeway construction in Detroit. That added maybe 10 mins.

Going down I stuck strictly to the speed limit i.e cruise control set. Coming back I set the cruise at 5 over and gained an hour.

If you look at my first post, when we went down last Feb on Super Bowl Sunday I made it in 15 and a half hours. No construction, fair weather. I don't remember what I set the cruise control on but I'd guess 5 over. This time going down, it was icy and snowing through Michigan and northern Ohio which reduced my speed to about 50-55. Hit traffic slow downs due to construction in Cinnci and Atlanta.

This time coming back we hit Atlanta early enough on Saturday morning to avoid the usual traffic jams and Cinnci late enough on Saturday early evening to avoid the typical bumper to bumper stuff. Both had slow downs just not the stop and go stuff.

However gaining an hour lost 4 mpg. Of course I filled up before I left, get about 450 miles on tank so had to stop twice. Three tanks of gas but less left over at the end.

Difference in price between going the speed limit and 5 over was $14 in gas. So the question is whether gaining an hour is worth $14?

Headed back to Florida the last week of January for a cruise out of Tampa on Feb 4. Will be driving straight through to The Villages again.

Just an added note....coming home this time we stopped for gas at a new place In Kentucky called Buc-Eees. Not sure how long they've been around. Don't remember seeing them last Feb. But they are in GA, TN & KY at least. Kind of a giant Cracker Barrel, Walmart and Cabela's rolled in to one with at least 100 gas pumps. Gas was about the cheapest $2.62/gallon. The place was packed. Walked inside to use the bathrooms, it was like a redneck heaven in there. Apparently they have good pulled pork and brisket sandwiches but we didn't hang around or eat.

[bdcochran]

Responding to long driving.

1. the saved $14 is actually more when you factor in that this after paying income taxes.

2. my father was proud that he was capable of driving 800 miles a day in his '80s.

I am a different person. Despite driving for over 60 years without a chargeable accident, I consider myself a bad driver.

I have had depth perception and cognitive problems for a long time. As a result if I drive a long distance, I stop every 45 minutes to an hour for just about 5 minutes. A professional truck driver friend recommended that I simply drive within the speed limit and stay to the right. One time I drove from Los Angeles to Jackson, MS and did not pass one vehicle, not even a truck.

I have a brother with a serious medical condition who lives a few hundred miles away. So, I have to go every once in a while and take care of him. I have to plot rush hours and stops in advance. Otherwise, my normal driving is about 300 miles a month.

One day, I went to the DMV to renew my driver's license. My license had been suspended because of a serious surgery (that happens in my state because doctors report you). I never got a notice and hadn't received ticket in years, so I didn't know.

The hardest part of getting old is accepting that you are getting old. An older medical doctor relative did not accept that he was getting old. One rainy night in the dark and his final accident killed two people in the other car.

[Mac66]

Well...I'm in the prime of life, Just turned 68 so I have a few more good years ahead of me hopefully.

BTW, my wife got a good deal on Sirius satellite radio recently so we listened to non stop music all the way down and back. I never listen to the car radio anymore. I usually download audio books and play them through the car's blue tooth radio* but we wanted to try the Sirius radio. 17 hours, never an ad or the same song twice.

*used to be books on tape (cassettes) then on CD, now blue tooth.