Road Trip

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03-01-06, 09:52 AM
KaiGywer

Road Trip

On the 10th, I will drive from Minnesota to Florida. Between myself, my wife, and her sister, we should be able to drive non-stop (not counting filling the tank on the car, and emptying our internal tanks).

Here is my itinerary, if you know something of interest along the route, let me know Also, I will be using Priceline for the first time to get a hotel in Pensacola.

Mar 10th: Leave Trimont, MN. Drive I-90 to I-35. Then, I don't know if I wanna go I-35 all the way to Des Moines, and hit I-80 there, or cut across IA-20 to I-380 in Waterloo. Going 20 to 380 is 65 miles shorter, but I'm assuming the speed limit is lower on IA-20. Anybody from Iowa care to enlighten me? Either way, hit I-80 in Iowa City, I-74 in Moline to Champaign, I-57 all the way to I-24 which I then follow before taking state roads to Murray, KY. Depending on how tired we are, we might take a night in Bloomington, IL.

Mar 11th: Arrive and spend the day in Murray, KY.

Mar 12th: Go from Murray to Mammoth Cave. Mapquest says to go the Western KY Parkway, but it's a lot shorter to go KY-68 all the way there. Is the Parkway really that much faster? After spending the day at Mammoth Cave, we'll hit I-65 south, which we'll follow all the way through Alabama to AL-113 which become US-29. Then we'll arrive in Pensacola.

Mar 13th-15th: Waste away in Pensacola.

Mar 15th: Leave Pensacola on I-10 to Mobile. Another option I looked at is to go along the gulf to Ft Morgan and take the Mobile Bay Ferry to Ft Gaines. Anybody driven this route before? Is it worth it? We'd then take AL-193 to Mobile. From Mobile we'd take US-98 to Hattiesburg, MS.

Mar 16th: Ceremony for the soldiers going to Iraq. My bro-in-law is one of them.

Mar 17th: Going down to New Orleans for the day. Any suggestions on what to do that is fast enough to do in a day, while still having time for boobs on Bourbon St?

Mar 18th: Start heading back home. US-49 to Jackson, MS. Then I-55 all the way to St Louis where I wanna see the Arch.

Mar 19th: Head up either I-55 to I-155 and then I-74 to I-80 and back the same way we came. Or I-70 to Kansas City and then hit I-35 all the way up to I-90.

Total distance: just over 3100 miles

Now, questions: Reading this, are there better routes to go? Keep in mind, I prefer Interstates (or other roads you can go fast) and that none of us have ever driven in those parts of the country, so no shortcuts unless they are obvious Members from the states we're going through, what are the speed limits in your states? I hope all interstates are at least 70 these days.

Thanks,
Kai
03-01-06, 11:10 AM
Dudleydoright

Hi Kai,
Two areas that I want to cover. I work secondary for a local hotel. They don't do priceline but a couple of the other online services. If you know where you want to stay sometimes it's better to call the hotel directly and make your reservation. Less snafu's and some hotels only gurantee that you get a room through the online services. Again, I have no experience with priceline. I'm in the St. Louis area and if you're interested in doing more than the arch contact me. Especially if you have kids and I'll try to help you with some neat things to do. Have a great trip and be safe.
03-01-06, 11:25 AM
Ken K

IA Hwy 20 is pretty much 65, but cutting the miles could be worthwhile. You can still run around 72-74 on that OK.

Coming home from St Louis consider Hwy 61 in Mo. I'ts 4 lane most of the way to Hwy 218 in Ia which takes you to Ia City and I-80. Hit some two lane but it still moves along.

I just like to cut miles regardless of the speed. I would never go back into Ill on the Interstate to get I-80 when coming back to central Ia from there. Too many miles for me.

Just me.
03-01-06, 02:12 PM
KaiGywer

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dudleydoright

Hi Kai,
Two areas that I want to cover. I work secondary for a local hotel. They don't do priceline but a couple of the other online services. If you know where you want to stay sometimes it's better to call the hotel directly and make your reservation. Less snafu's and some hotels only gurantee that you get a room through the online services. Again, I have no experience with priceline. I'm in the St. Louis area and if you're interested in doing more than the arch contact me. Especially if you have kids and I'll try to help you with some neat things to do. Have a great trip and be safe.

Wife and I are 23. Her sister is 17. We won't have much time in St Louis, I just thought it would be cool to stop on our way back. We'd leave Hattiesburg, MS Saturday morning/early afternoon and need to be in Minnesota by Sunday night. As far as hotels, I figured I could try a low bid, and if I get it, good, if not, I can order online directly with the hotel. We don't care about the quality of the hotel, just a place for us to sleep. Alternative is camp ground ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken K

IA Hwy 20 is pretty much 65, but cutting the miles could be worthwhile. You can still run around 72-74 on that OK.

Coming home from St Louis consider Hwy 61 in Mo. I'ts 4 lane most of the way to Hwy 218 in Ia which takes you to Ia City and I-80. Hit some two lane but it still moves along.

I just like to cut miles regardless of the speed. I would never go back into Ill on the Interstate to get I-80 when coming back to central Ia from there. Too many miles for me.

Just me.

That's what somebody else told me too. I think I'll be doing that. Especially if the difference is only 5 mph.

Thanks to both of you :)
03-01-06, 02:21 PM
Magnum440

Trip from Murry to Mammoth Cave. Yes, take highway 68. It is four lane. Speed limit is 55 though, but you still save time in lieu of taking Western Parkway. Have safe trip.
03-01-06, 02:26 PM
irishlad2nv

Kai:

I49 does not start until Lafayette, LA. To get to Jackson, MS from NO, the best route is to take I55.
If you are going to take I 49, you would have to take I10 from NO to Lafayette, get onto I49 and then get off I 49 around Alexandria, LA.
03-01-06, 02:48 PM
kdm0409

I will tell you one thing, I traveled I 55 to I 10 to N.O. from Nashville, DONT stop to get gas in Enterprise MS... There is nothing there lol. We made the mistake of stopping there. We were on our way heading south and we went through Meridian MS and needed gas, there was a sign that said there was gas on the next stop. We pulled off the interstate at Enterprise and boy were we shocked. It was almost 5pm, the first gas station we pulled up to was closed down (for a long time) tumble weeds rolling by lol, well we drove down the road, next station closed at 5, it was 5:01..this sucks, I am in my bro's Durango and it says .5 miles to empty !!! Well, some guy tells us the next station is around the corner, over the railroad tracks, when you see the old police car take a left, then it is up the road and around the next curve. I was haulin ass, didn't know where I was at all.. The speed limit is like 25MPH, we pass a patrol car, I didnt hit the brakes and neither did he lol.. Made it to the gas station and I noticed, we were the only ones not wearing flannel and playin banjos on the front porch... I didn't want to go in and pay, the people were freaky! We finally got back on route and didn't have another problem the rest of the trip.

Just a side note if ya take I 55 make sure you get gas before you pass Enterprise !! :)
03-02-06, 10:56 AM
KaiGywer

Quote:

Originally Posted by irishlad2nv

Kai:

I49 does not start until Lafayette, LA. To get to Jackson, MS from NO, the best route is to take I55.
If you are going to take I 49, you would have to take I10 from NO to Lafayette, get onto I49 and then get off I 49 around Alexandria, LA.

We'd be going back to Hattiesburg after NO. So, we'd take Hwy 49 (not I-49) to Jackson.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kdm0409

I will tell you one thing, I traveled I 55 to I 10 to N.O. from Nashville, DONT stop to get gas in Enterprise MS... There is nothing there lol. We made the mistake of stopping there. We were on our way heading south and we went through Meridian MS and needed gas, there was a sign that said there was gas on the next stop. We pulled off the interstate at Enterprise and boy were we shocked. It was almost 5pm, the first gas station we pulled up to was closed down (for a long time) tumble weeds rolling by lol, well we drove down the road, next station closed at 5, it was 5:01..this sucks, I am in my bro's Durango and it says .5 miles to empty !!! Well, some guy tells us the next station is around the corner, over the railroad tracks, when you see the old police car take a left, then it is up the road and around the next curve. I was haulin ass, didn't know where I was at all.. The speed limit is like 25MPH, we pass a patrol car, I didnt hit the brakes and neither did he lol.. Made it to the gas station and I noticed, we were the only ones not wearing flannel and playin banjos on the front porch... I didn't want to go in and pay, the people were freaky! We finally got back on route and didn't have another problem the rest of the trip.

Just a side note if ya take I 55 make sure you get gas before you pass Enterprise !! :)

Must be small. It's not even in my road atlas :D