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driving/traffic question
We are driving to SC for the annual family vacation in a few weeks. We're driving ~ 1/2 there the first night/afternoon. According to Google, its 5 hours, 9 minutes to our destination (hotel). We want to clear DC/NOVA traffic before the worst of rush hour sets in. Our plan is leave home/daycare no later than 2 pm (hoping for 1 though) and to be south of the Mixing Bowl by 4 pm. Does that sound reasonable for a Friday afternoon? Our main issue here is trying to avoid getting stuck in rush hour traffic 6 hours and then having to continue on to for several hours.
We want to get to the hotel by dinner time. If we have to, we'll stop and have dinner somewhere else and then go to the hotel. I jsut don't want to drive all night and then get to the hotel at 11 pm w/ a kid who won't go back to sleep in a strange place.
Re: driving/traffic question
Ditto... I would TRY my hardest leave between 1-1:30 though. I have a feeling you will hit some traffic where the HOV lanes end and merge into 95 in VA.
Honestly I wouldn't risk it. That area around the mixing bowl is like the inner circle of hell and it pretty much sucks no matter what time of day it is. I would think leaving on a Friday in the summer you'll run into a lot of other people ducking out early and trying to get home. In that area most of the traffic is heading south so you'll just be getting in line with like 9 million other people.
If anything I would maybe suggest leaving just after morning rush hour since around that time most of the traffic is coming into DC north on 95 rather than heading south away from the city.
hmmmm - yeah - that's not a bad idea either. We need to do some kid-free prep, but we can probably still do all our stuff and maybe pick up DD before lunch and then go and be on the road by 11 or 12.
I agree, I feel like Fridays in the summer the traffic starts pretty early in that area as people are traveling through on vacations and are leaving work early. I would try to leave earlier if possible.
I always think that ends up to be about the same. We may go west out 70 and down 15.
If you can swing this it's definitely a good idea. You never know what you're going to hit - but your chances of clearing hell in less than 3 hours are much better if you're well clear of 495 and surrounding roads by early afternoon at the latest.
lovelylittleworld
BFP#2 1/12/12 ~ Missed M/C 8w2d
I would leave between 9 and 1. I would not leave at 2. You'll hit the other side of DC and it will just be hellish. Last year we drove to the Outer Banks - left at 130 on a Wednesday afternoon. Zipped around DC and then came to a screeching halt once we crossed the Potomac. It was horrendous. There wasn't an accident or anything. It cemented my belief to never live in DC
But when I used to drive to Atlanta from Baltimore regularly leaving at 9 was okay, bc by the time you hit DC a lot of the traffic had cleared out.
For family vacations we always left at 4 or 5 am if we were going through DC or we did not leave until 10. 301 is not a bad option, it is sometimes slower but not always (this is a constant debate between my father and my grandmother.) Also there are tricky ways to sort of skirt through DC in routes that skip most of the backup but I can never remember them. My father can get through DC and safely on the other side in like 10 or 15 minutes though.
I dont think 70 would buy you anything because around 230 or 3 oclock the 270-70 merger starts getting ugly, especially on a Friday in the summer. (and you have to go through that to get to 15, right?)
If you left early enough you could definitely make it all the way down to your destination in one day w/o it being a major issue.
I was bracing for the worst w/ our drive to Duck, but it worked out really well. We left our house at 9:20, DS fell asleep in the car and DD was happy watching cars, playing, etc. until lunch time- we stopped and ate, then drove about another hour and stopped at a TJ's to stock up on wine. Both kids got to walk around there, have a snack, etc. Then we got back in the car and both of them napped pretty much the whole way to the beach house.
How long of a nap does your E. take?
I wouldn't not take advantage of driving while she is napping.
For all the years we've been going down to OBX, the route we take depends on the time of day we leave. Going down 3 has never been bad, unless they are working on the bridge (which I think they are done) and at that time of day you would probably be fine if you went 3. We have also gone 50 to Kenilworth/295 through the city (getting off on the S.Capitol exit and getting on 395) to 95, but that 95/495/395 mixing bowl is the problem. I used to drive around VA all day with my old job and during the summers it really didn't get bad any earlier than it did in the fall /winter (I think you really only see that on 50E going over the Bay Bridge), but I would try and leave closer to 1 so that you'll hit that area around 2ish.
Ella naps about 1-3. I'm sure she'll nap a bit longer in the car though.
We could do the whole trip in a day, but there's really no point. We can't get into our house until Sunday anyway and my ILs, SIL and her DH and kids are just hanging around a motel pretending they're not bored silly waiting. Keep Ella occupied and safe in that situation doesn't sound fun, so we're doing a slow drive and then going to a water park for a few hours on Saturday that's near the motel and then get there around dinner time.
I forgot that they were the ones who stayed in a motel for a day before checking into the house.
They (MIL, FIL, SIL, BIL, 11 yo and 8 yo) are all driving down TOGETHER on Wednesday. And, have no plans and are staying at a motel on the highway. I would SLIT my wrists if I had to do that for 4 days.
WHY?? will they at least be at the beach?
That's crazy!
Because they are BSC?? They are at the beach, but the place we go is mostly private beach, so I doubt they will actually go to the beach until we get into our house. FIL is a loon to begin with (in the best way, I love him, but he's a nut) and is stressed out about driving/traffic so they leave earlier every year. MIL goes goes along with it though. She also insists on bringing everything imagineable for this trip for everyone - bedding, towels, toys, kitchen & household supplies, beach chairs, rafts, etc., etc. plus fishing and golf gear. They have to rent a little trailer for everything. SIL and BIL hitch a ride w/ ILs - they both work for the school system they are off for the summer anyway so it doesn't really matter when they leave. And, I'm pretty sure ILs pay for them anyway, so I think they just go with it.
That is all just totally and completely insane. The trailer part is really nuts- they really affect your gas mileage. It might actually be cheaper to rent a house for 2 weeks. It's not like you are going some place so remote that there aren't supermarkets right? and with getting there so freakin' early you could totally go grocery shopping and not feel like you are missing anything.
Duude - I know. There's a Costco about 30 minutes away and 3 decent grocery stores where they could buy everything. I have suggested this several times, but you know, they are fixated on this. I also recommended renting the house for 2 weeks. I just go along at this point and let them be crazy.