Travel

[filkertom]

Didn't get all that far last night. I was freakin' tired. I did get some sleep, though, so I'm hoping to do better today. Home? We'll see.

The core of the plan is getting to Knoxville and turning right on I-75, the highway I know and love best. Even through Tennessee and Kentucky, it's better than the I-77 through the Virginias was.

What are your favorite, and least favorite, roads for distance travel? I adore the Ohio Turnpike and the PA turnpike up to Pittsburgh... at which point, from just south of Steel City all the way to Philly, it's pretty much hell on burnt toast. I'm also very fond of I-94... as long as I don't have to go into Chicago. And I-10 across Texas was amazing -- wide-open, not too many trucks, beautiful landscapes, ten thousand heads of cattle, the whole ball o' wax.

Comments

[jenrose]

I-5.

[jenrose]

(is my answer for both favorite and least for long distance)

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

Similarly to jenrose1, but on the other side of the continent, I-95 has both some of the best and some of the worst stretches for distance travel from Massachusetts (because I haven't been north of there on it) to Florida.

I also like segments of I-84 and I-80, and each also has their bits of feh.

[liddle-oldman.livejournal.com]

It's pretty clear and uncomplicated until at least Augusta.

Nowhere near as interesting as 1 used to be -- but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

[banjoplayinnerd.livejournal.com]

I-90 has some boring stretches, like the long straight bit up around Moses Lake, Washington, but also some of the prettiest stretches of road you're ever going to see (taking into account that it is an interstate), especially up through Snoqualmie Pass and over the mountains, roughly between Spokane and Bozeman.

There's also a section of US 101 through the Olympic National Park that has little waterfalls on one side, a big ol' lake (Crescent Lake) on the other, and mountains all over the place.

I used to think the Jersey Turnpike was pretty awful once you got past about Trenton into the big urban swath leading up to NYC. I haven't driven it in over 35 years, but it doesn't seem likely that it's gotten any better.

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

Gotta second part of this; prettiest stretch is I-90 from Snoqualmie Pass to 4th Ave S, down the pass and across the floating bridge and into the stadia area. (Rivaled in the fall by I-81 down the Shenendoah Valley from Charlottesville to roughly Abingdon.) Oh, 'nother pretty stretch is I-26 down Hogback Mountain around about the NC/SC border... and WHEEEEEEEEE look ma no feet...

Favorite to drive, if I've got a good car, is CA 17 from south of San Jose over to Santa Cruz. 'course I also forgot CA 1 from the Presidio to the tunnel across the Golden Gate, but that's much better as a passenger...

Suckiest? I-5 from Seattle to Centralia. cflute and I have fought that stretch far too many times... there's almost always a jam in front of Ft. McChord, due simply to bad design of the interstate...

Also, I-40 eastbound from downtown Nashville out to about the Percy Priest Lake exit. Used to be, anyway, there were two lanes, and two lanes of I-24, merging into.... two lanes, in about a mile. Ga-ron-teed traffic jam. Every. Single. Day.

[ericcoleman]

I don't remember the number of the road at the moment, but the highway between central NC and central WV has one of the most amazing views as you're coming down off the mountain. For that matter the whole drive through the mountains is pretty spectacular.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

That could be I-77. I will agree, the view was incredible. Absolutely some of the most gorgeous mountain terrain I have ever seen. Except that i was too terrified careening up and down the bumpy, curved, truck-filled road to look at it.

[crwilley.livejournal.com]

The one time I've driven I-77 through that area was in the summer, and I think I might have enjoyed it if it hadn't been a) 3 AM, and b) raining. I just drove 55 mph in the right lane and let all the jerks pass me...although I agree that it might have been a different story in the winter.

The New York/Massachusetts turnpike between Albany and Boston was also a beautiful, beautiful drive.

I hate driving I-75 through Kentucky, because without fail, I will get stuck in a traffic jam for 2 hours somewhere in the state. US-25 is well-maintaned and pretty much parallels the freeway the entire length of the state; as long as you've got a map to get through Lexington you're in business.

[ruisseau.livejournal.com]

I loathe I-57 in Illinois. It's possibly one of the most boring stretches of road anywhere, especially in winter, when everything is brown, brown, brown. I-70 between KC and St. Louis has its moments of boredom, too, but at least there are *rivers* to cross.

US-17 between Charleston and Savannah can be quite fun, except for where it briefly joins I-95 near Hilton Head and immediately becomes a traffic nightmare. Otherwise it's all beautiful lanes through oak-covered forest and marshes.

[ericcoleman]

And somewhere on I-70 there is a drive-thru porn shop ...

[drzarron.livejournal.com]

I'm with you, the drive to Pittsburgh from here is a very pleasant drive.

A couple of years back, several of us were going to Vegas for CES. Flying into Vegas was nearly impossible so we opted to fly to LA and drive. Its only a four hour drive from LA to Vegas across the high desert. On the one hand, its a vast empty waistland, but in its emptiness, its beautiful. Really enjoyed that drive.

Hard to pick a least favorite.. 94 to Chicago is pretty dull, especially around Gary IN. The 401 from Windsor to London across southern Ontario is wildly dull.

[ericcoleman]

Oh, and an about 30 mile stretch of Hwy 20 on the way into Dubuque coming from Rockford. That area of the road runs along a ridge and it's a lovely view.

[kestrels-nest.livejournal.com]

I'm with you on that. :) I travel it a fair amount, too; my near-sister lives in Rockton.

[raven-ap-morgan.livejournal.com]

I'm also very fond of I-94... as long as I don't have to go into Chicago.

Maybe it's because I'm a Chicagoan, but there's something to be said for coming from the outskirts in through downtown, within a few blocks of the Sears Tower and other buildings of that height, then right back out again, all at about 2:00am, when there's no traffic to slow you down. Just like cruising Lake Shore Drive at that hour, when it's you, a few other cars, and the lake.

Raven (humming "Red Barchetta"...)

[crwilley.livejournal.com]

I can see what you're talking about there - but at any other time of day, that drive will take you six hours.

[pjhandley.livejournal.com]

I actually enjoy traveling down I-77, and will be doing it again in about a month (for Stellarcon in High Point). I-75 is not too bad, depending on the time of year. Although, taking I-65 south from Bowling Green down to Nashville is a pretty drive. I loathe driving I-80 from IL to Des Moines, talk about BORING.......

[kestrels-nest.livejournal.com]

Favorites: Hwy 1 northbound and 101 either way through California, both once you're north of Santa Barbara. I also like I-90 east of Chicago and again once it gets into Wisconsin, I-70 through eastern Ohio. And S.R.37 down past Bloomington, or U.S. 231 the entire length of Indiana, are just lovely. Of course, they are also hilly and curvy, but I learned to drive in the Cascade Mountains, so hilly-curvy doesn't phase me much.

Least favorites: Anything through Chicago. :) I do it all the time, but it's no fun. Route 1 southbound in CA, with a sheer precipice down the ocean and intermittent guardrails (at least last time I was there, solidly 20 years ago) is white-knuckle driving for me.

[liddle-oldman.livejournal.com]

We took, I think, I-70 across Ohio last year, and what sticks in my mind was that Ohio seemed to be The Land Of Carrion. I have never seen so many dead animals -- including half a dozen deer -- by the road before or since.

(I realize this is not actually what you asked!)

[hms42]

Least favorite? Getting off of Long Island, Especially via Staten Island. (Bridges are narrow on the NJ side.)

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

Even in Lawn Guy Land, there are better and worse roads, though. I always preferred the Northern or Southern State Parkways to the World's Longest Parking Lot, and Northern Boulevard (25A) has a great deal to recommend it, in terms of being pretty. NYC is best traversed at 1AM-4AM, when there's less likely to be traffic (although you take your chances with construction on the bridges and tunnels at that hour).

[awfulhorrid.livejournal.com]

I-65 between Chicago and Louisville qualifies for both a favorite and a least-favorite at the same time! It's a favorite, because no matter which direction I go, I've got a lovely sweetie waiting for me at the end of drive. (OK, on the North end, I've still got to get through the Chicago area and back to the wilds of WI, but I'm narrowing this down to a specific road!)

It is a least favorite, because the 5 or six hours of driving through Indiana seem to take forever! There's nothing but corn, flat empty fields, and ... well, nothing, really, for most of the entire drive. At least I can go 75 mph most of the time and I do get through a lot of podcast back log. I listened to almost all of the Union Dues storyline in one drive last fall.

[bosswriter.livejournal.com]

I-44. From Missouri west it follows old route 66 most of the way so you get see a lot of the sights from the old Mother Road.

[archiver-tim.livejournal.com]

I knew it would take three days of travel to get back from my friend's place near Daytona Beach after we seen the shuttle launch. So, I opted to start my northward drive a few blocks away at the Atlantic Ocean shore and travelled A-1A next to the ocean for most of the way up to St. Augustine. There I was put on US 1. It was a bit hectic there as going by the Fort there was the big crowd Sunday thing. Did most of the rest of Florida on US 1, except to use the freeway to get around Jacksonville. The relativly new eastern loop was a pretty good drive. I did travel US 1, state-line to state-line in Georgia, as I had done before. Being a Sunday, if there was any truck traffic, they were back over on I-95. I got to Augusta after dark and would have been better off getting on the freeway (I-20) to get to Columbia, SC, but I stayed on US 1. Lower amount of traffic, but the town and country just did not look good in the dark. Otherwise, I enjoyed the drive with a lot more detail than the freeway gives you. I-77 north from Augusta was the target way home after that.
I did find the Shooney's restaurants having a breakfast buffet. In one spot on the trip, only $4.99 in direct competion with the breakfast at burger joints, but also much better than the Waffle House next door, which would have been the target if I did not catch their ad on TV the night before.

[ashkitty.livejournal.com]

In eastern Washington, the last 15 miles between Colfax and Pullman are the LONGEST 15 MILES IN THE UNIVERSE.

[jss]

Don't have a real favorite. I-94 usually zooms along except for construction and rush hour, and it's nearby where I've lived in both the past (Chicagoland, Minneapolis) and the present (A²), but it's boring.

Least favorite has got to be Hillside IL, where I-88 ends at I-290 and I-294, and the eastbound lanes go from 14 down to 4, when you include the non-Interstate roads there (Mannheim Rd). It ain't called "the Hillside strangler" for nothing. Next least favorite is any freeway in Los Angeles.

[axegrrl.livejournal.com]

They have done MAJOR rework on the Hillside Strangler in the last five years. If you haven't driven it recently, it's very little like you remember. It's still Not Fun, mind, but it's nowhere near as sucktacular as it used to be.

[hiddenkrypt.livejournal.com]

I'm a big fan of I-75 myself, but I just love US-41. I'd have to say the 30 miles of M-28 known as the Seney Stretch would be my least favorite, but it is the shortest route from marquette to the bridge.

[chaosdancer.livejournal.com]

I bet you already passed through Berea. If you hadn't I would have invited you to lunch! If not, send a note and I'll show you where they keep the good pizza.

[chaosdancer.livejournal.com]

Oh, and regarding your question, one year when I had a GPS it routed me along this little bitty road through Latrobe, PA, up a mountain in a blizzard - but when it finally stopped snowing, it was the most beautiful drive! I had no intention of going that way, and I wish I remembered what it was.

[dr-zrfq.livejournal.com]

Most likely either PA-982 or PA-217... though the old Lincoln Highway (US-30) is a possibility, I just wouldn't consider that one a little bitty road.

[bruinson.livejournal.com]

I like driving the Ohio Turnpike, I live between to exits just west of Toledo and use it for half my drive to work everyday and many longer weekend trips. Chicago has gotten a lot better in the last year or so, I prefer driving there than I do Detroit any day. For long trips heading south/southwest from Toledo area we have found the Turnpike to I-69 south is often a lot better than I-75 south even if it is slightly longer on a map.

[dr-zrfq.livejournal.com]

I'm from the East Coast which should explain my choices some. I've driven out to the Midwest many times (Minneapolis, St Louis, New Orleans, Chicago, various places in Ohio) but none of the roads there are near either extreme on my list.

Favorites:

I-81 from Scranton PA to Canada. The scenery in northern PA, and between Binghamton and Syracuse NY, is gorgeous. And the feeling when the 1000 Islands Bridge appears almost out of nowhere is magical.

US-15 between Frederick MD and Harrisburg PA. It;s a good thing I like this road because I use it a *lot*.

US-40 (National Pike) in southwestern PA, and I-68 in western MD. Slower than the PA Pothole, but if you've got the time it's worth it. Scenery and history. Uncle Tucker's (east of Cumberland) makes great pizza and brews their own beers *including* root beers and other soft drinks.

And one from blessed memory since I suspect it's not *nearly* as much fun of a drive as it once was: the Garden State Parkway.

Least favorites:

I-95, just about anywhere between New Haven CT and South Carolina. Either the traffic is horrible or the road is utterly stultifying. Malus points to I-95 South in North Carolina, with signs every mile or two for South of the Border. Frickin' Chinese water billboard torture.

I-40 between Raleigh and Wilmington NC. You never see anything off to the side but pines and scrub oaks, and even the stuff at interchanges appears to have been very carefully hidden from the view of the drivers on the highway. And it's totally flat. Gaaaaaaah.

Pretty much all of the highways in the DC FedroSplat. Not pretty, lots of traffic. Same goes for the Chicago area, where the traffic isn't quite as bad but the road construction is worse.

[gorgeousgary]

I was going to cast a "favorite" vote for US-15 from Frederick all the way up to Corning, NY. The mix of rural, small-town, and occasionally urban scenery makes up for the occasional stuck-behind-a-slow-moving-truck-in-a-40mph-zone. And more of it is turning into highway, which will eventually shave more time off the DC-to-FKO run.

I also like I-68. It's the default now for getting from DC up to Pittsburgh.

I despise the NJ Turnpike, traffic or no traffic. Too many trips up and down the NE Corridor over the last 30+ years. Boooooring!

I-76 is boring too.

[jasperjones22.livejournal.com]

Since I was a truck driver at one time, I have traveled more than I ever wanted to. My favorite bit of road and least favorite at the same time is US163 through monument valley. It is a breathtaking stretch of road that I enjoyed, but I'd have enjoyed it more without 20 tons of phonebooks behind me...some skinny roads there. I hope I can take my motorcycle there someday...

[tigertoy.livejournal.com]

If you didn't like I-77 through WV, I heartily dis-recommend taking US 60 instead. I went that way on my way to Myrtle Beach last summer. It was absolutely beautiful, but it was pretty white-knuckley the whole way, constant curves and hills.

The interstates in central IL are all deadly boring, but I-39 is one of my favorite roads for getting where I'm going efficiently. I travel between Champaign and Milwaukee fairly often, and unless I would hit Chicago at a very low traffic time, I take I-75 to I-39 to I-43 just to avoid Chicago. It's a lot longer but much lower stress.

I-17 from Phoenix to Flagstaff is one of my best long-distance driving experiences ever. Steady 80 MPH almost legally (speed limit 75), and fascinating and beautiful country, transitioning from the high desert of Phoenix through the red rock at Sedona up into the Oak Creek Canyon area south of Flagstaff. If you go to visit the area, I recommend two things: first, when you take the side road that goes through Oak Creek Canyon (and you should), time it so you're going the opposite direction from the day trippers from Phoenix. I spent the night in Flagstaff and came south in the morning while the whole population of Arizona appeared to be coming north, and if I'd been caught in the traffic going the other way, it would have frustrated me so much that I would have been unable to appreciate the place at all. And second, while the natural area is stunning, the town of Sedona itself is the most Godforsaken pit in the whole country. If you aren't driving alone, arrange to have someone else driving so you can keep your eyes closed.