[Mr Hanky]

Originally Posted by VillagesFlorida

Hubby is a retired professional truck driver who, over the years made many trips down I 95 through the Bronx, across the GW bridge, etc. So many times travelling southbound he saw cars that had broken down and were abandoned. When he returned northbound, a few hours later, the vehicles were stripped of tires and anything else that could be removed and many had been burned out. In some areas along this route there is almost no place to pull over if you DO break down. It's a good thing that a lot of folks like the I 95 route. That helps to keep I 84 to I 81 pretty stress free.

I avoid the 10 mile back-ups on I-95 conn and cross Bronx whenever and however possible. I have even sat on the GW Bridge @ midnight for hours, even on weekends due to construction and or bombscares.
If you get lucky you can get From Boston to Jersey in 4.5 hrs on a weekday morning if you leave boston @ around 6:am. Ideal time to slip thru the Cross Bronx is around 10:am. BUT that is nonstop and then you still have to deal with Delaware ,Maryland and the pm DC traffic nightmare.
I personally go around at all cost and am driving thru Penn,West Vrginia,Smokies durring the daylight hours. More cruise control than brakes for sure.

[marennorge]

...for the input on which route to take. I think I will stick to 84, Saw Mill River Parkway, across the Tappan Zee Bridge, onto Garden State, NJ Turnpike, etc.
The PA and VA route looks like a good pick for warmer weather.

We usually get to Fredericksburg, VA, on the first day, Savannah, GA, the second, then from there into The Villages going through the Ocala National Forest.

[PennBF]

Villageflorida. You remind me of one of the funny experiences I saw in NY City when I worked there for a number of years. First by the WT Towers and then up on Third Avenue.
On the lower side by the towers we had the need to call in some Price Waterhouse Accountants to perform some audits. One drove his VW Bug from Texas and the first day parked it on the street outside the building. When he returned at the end of the day his radio and hifi were gone. He came in the next day and said it was OK as they got what they wanted. We had warned him to use one of the garages near by. When he went out the next day they had taken his tires, his fendors and some other parts they could sell. They completely stripped his car. It was a shame.
We use to tell visitors to follow 3 rules in the City. (a) If you see something going down just keep walking, (b) if the street does not look right it probably isn't and to take another street and (c) avoid eye to eye contact as some consider that threatening. If they follow those rules they will never get in trouble.

[BostonCelt]

Originally Posted by marennorge

...We usually get to Fredericksburg, VA, on the first day, Savannah, GA, the second, then from there into The Villages going through the Ocala National Forest.

A question.....regardless of the chosen route, is it to be every bit of a three-day trip?? Any idea of the "typical" driving hours for the main choices? I'm Quincy, MA-to-TV in mid Jan (I hope!) for a 1/27 closing. Clue free on what the weather will be, of course, but will carjack Santa's sleigh if need be....

A second question...marennorge....re: Clinton, MA....at Ridgefield '85-'98...you??

Safe travels!

[Pat_RI]

I've driven it in 20 hrs from RI with getting stuck in NY and DC traffic. I did really drive overly fast either just went with the flow of traffic. I didn't stop except for gas and bathroom breaks though while on the road.

[VillagesFlorida]

Originally Posted by BostonCelt

A question.....regardless of the chosen route, is it to be every bit of a three-day trip?? Any idea of the "typical" driving hours for the main choices? I'm Quincy, MA-to-TV in mid Jan (I hope!) for a 1/27 closing. Clue free on what the weather will be, of course, but will carjack Santa's sleigh if need be....

A second question...marennorge....re: Clinton, MA....at Ridgefield '85-'98...you??

Safe travels!

It can be as many days as you want! Our rule of thumb is that we don't travel more than 600 miles per day. Our trip to Maine is 1500 miles so the first day, northbound we stay in Smithfield, NC...good exit, fairly new Sleep Inn that we like. Day 2 is around 500 miles on up to the Scranton, Pa. area. It's 400 miles from there to our destination in Me. On the southbound trip we stop night 1 in the Chambersburg, Pa. area, night 2 somewhere around Florence, SC. We eat the continental breakfast in the motels, stop every 2 hours and walk up and down the rest areas, stretch and bend, stop for lunch and supper. Too much sitting can cause problems with blood clots. We do NOT check in and then go out for supper......older relatives of ours did that in a Hampton Inn in Fayetteville, NC. The place had extrerior doors and apparently someone saw them leave. When they returned from their meal they had been robbed...suitcases taken, etc. So, once we check in we are in for the night. If you are going to be traveling around the middle of January, keeping an eye on the weather forecast is a must. Leave early if it means beating a storm. You could run into bad driving conditions all the way to Georgia. Congratulations on the new home! You are going to love it here!

[marennorge]

We are usually on the road by 6:30 or 7 at the latest. The goal is to get by NYC by mid-morning and Washington DC in early afternoon. Day 1 and 2 are about 10 hours including rest stops and lunch. Day 3 is about 5 to 6 hours so we picnic lunch in the Ocala Natl Forest and arrive in TV around 2 to 2:30. The drive through the national forest is lovely and a nice change from the interstates.

After selling my 3-family house in Attleboro, I lived in Clinton in an apartment on Oak Ridge Drive from 1996 to 2000, when I finally bought a house in Shrewsbury. I actually considered the Ridgefield condos but did not like their pet policy. (Getting permission from your immediate neighbors before acquiring a pet.)