News:

Thank you for your patience during the Forum downtime while we upgraded the software. Welcome back and see this thread for some new features and other changes to the forum.

Main Menu

Ridiculously long day trips

Started by bandit957, March 09, 2015, 04:57:43 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Dr Frankenstein

For a single-day roundtrip, my longest is probably Montreal to SE Massachusetts and back. The company that made my father's kit car (Factory Five Racing, based in Wareham) was revealing a new model, and he needed a second driver. We left at midnight after the Vancouver 2010 opening ceremony, arrived for breakfast, left after lunch time and got home for dinner.

It was also the first trip that I actually enjoyed from a roadgeek mindset.


catch22

Quote from: vegas1962 on March 18, 2015, 11:29:06 PM
I also used to work with a older gent, who was a field sales rep for the company I worked for at the time.  He and his wife were empty-nesters, and one Saturday a month they would leave home at 8:00 AM, pick a direction, drive for 5-6 hours, stop for lunch, then turn around and come home.  From Detroit, a five-hour drive could land you in Chicago, Indy, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Buffalo-Niagara, or the U.P.  And they always had the freedom to extend the drive and/or spend a night on the road if they wanted.  I remember thinking that was a pretty cool thing.

I can relate.  My wife and I started going on short day trips on Saturdays after our household chores were done almost from the time we got married in 1980.  Initially, these were to destinations 1 or 2 hours away from our home in the western Detroit suburbs.  We started calling these trips "going out for ice cream" since that was usually part of the routine.

Now that we are both retired, these trips have gradually gotten longer and now fill the entire day.  Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Cleveland and even Pittsburgh have been destinations.  We take an overnight bag with us in case we decide to stay over, but we've only done that a handful of times.  My wife, who accepts but doesn't really understand the road geek in me, always mentions while rolling her eyes that our route to any particular destination and back has never been the same from one trip to the next.  I don't see a problem with that.  :)

We still call it "going out for ice cream" even though some trips center around lunch and/or dinner instead.

jp the roadgeek

Longest daytrips from my home in Central CT:

1. Kittery, ME and Manchester, NH.

2. Riverhead, NY.  Sure it's 60 miles as the crow flies, but it's 160 as the car drives.  By the time you get out there, all the Hartford and New Haven stations are back on the radio and you feel like Alice on the other side of the looking glass.

3. Cooperstown.  Left 10 AM.  Did the Ommegang Brewery tour and the Baseball HOF, and made it back by 1:30.

Bonus:  Edgewood, MD to Atlantic City.  Left at 1 pm.  Stayed 5-midnight.  Back by 3:30.
Interstates I've clinched: 97, 290 (MA), 291 (CT), 291 (MA), 293, 295 (DE-NJ-PA), 295 (RI-MA), 384, 391, 395 (CT-MA), 395 (MD), 495 (DE), 610 (LA), 684, 691, 695 (MD), 695 (NY), 795 (MD)

MillTheRoadgeek

I went from Northern Virginia to Enfield, CT (one-way), one day in the summer of 2009. We actually started at, like 11:00 AM, I guess.

Zeffy

Hmm, probably the best one I've had was my 11th grade field trip to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. We left at like 6 AM (!) and didn't get back until after midnight. The drive there took about 3.5 hours - after the museum tour, we got to walk around Capitol Hill and explore the various monuments in the city. I love that place. Definitely need to go back, and soon, because that was one of my favorite experiences I've had, and more shocking that it was a school trip.
Life would be boring if we didn't take an offramp every once in a while

A weird combination of a weather geek, roadgeek, car enthusiast and furry mixed with many anxiety related disorders

Pete from Boston


Quote from: iBallasticwolf2 on March 18, 2015, 08:13:14 PM
I've gone from Cincinati to Clevland, Cincinati to Bowling greeen, Sarasota to Key West. And for vacations I go from Cincinati to Sarasota in about 16 hours

You went on a day trip from Cincinnati to Sarasota?

People, a "day trip" is a trip from starting point to somewhere and back in a day, without staying over.  Contrast it with "overnight trip."  It does not simply mean "trip made in one day," which is covered in other threads.

lowerdeck

I went from Northeast CT to Brattleboro VT, to Kittery ME, and back home in the same day.  All six New England states in maybe 10 hours.

I've done Danbury CT to Baltimore and back in the same day three times

slorydn1

Quote from: Pete from Boston on March 20, 2015, 09:43:34 PM

Quote from: iBallasticwolf2 on March 18, 2015, 08:13:14 PM
I've gone from Cincinati to Clevland, Cincinati to Bowling greeen, Sarasota to Key West. And for vacations I go from Cincinati to Sarasota in about 16 hours

You went on a day trip from Cincinnati to Sarasota?

People, a "day trip" is a trip from starting point to somewhere and back in a day, without staying over.  Contrast it with "overnight trip."  It does not simply mean "trip made in one day," which is covered in other threads.


So, I take it your middle name is Webster? Your definition of a day trip and my definition of a day trip might differ slightly, no need to call others out because you don't like their definition.


1 Day=24 hours


My definition of a day trip is to leave home and return home in the same trip without staying over somewhere and doing it within a single 24 hour period...hence a day.



Please Note: All posts represent my personal opinions and do not represent those of any governmental agency, non-governmental agency, quasi-governmental agency or wanna be governmental agency

Counties: Counties Visited

The Nature Boy

Quote from: slorydn1 on March 21, 2015, 06:56:05 AM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on March 20, 2015, 09:43:34 PM

Quote from: iBallasticwolf2 on March 18, 2015, 08:13:14 PM
I've gone from Cincinati to Clevland, Cincinati to Bowling greeen, Sarasota to Key West. And for vacations I go from Cincinati to Sarasota in about 16 hours

You went on a day trip from Cincinnati to Sarasota?

People, a "day trip" is a trip from starting point to somewhere and back in a day, without staying over.  Contrast it with "overnight trip."  It does not simply mean "trip made in one day," which is covered in other threads.


So, I take it your middle name is Webster? Your definition of a day trip and my definition of a day trip might differ slightly, no need to call others out because you don't like their definition.


1 Day=24 hours


My definition of a day trip is to leave home and return home in the same trip without staying over somewhere and doing it within a single 24 hour period...hence a day.

Google Maps has Cincinnati to Sarasota as a 13.5 hour drive (or 27 hour day drive) so it actually CANNOT be done as a round trip in 24 hours.

jeffandnicole

Quote from: slorydn1 on March 21, 2015, 06:56:05 AM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on March 20, 2015, 09:43:34 PM

Quote from: iBallasticwolf2 on March 18, 2015, 08:13:14 PM
I've gone from Cincinati to Clevland, Cincinati to Bowling greeen, Sarasota to Key West. And for vacations I go from Cincinati to Sarasota in about 16 hours

You went on a day trip from Cincinnati to Sarasota?

People, a "day trip" is a trip from starting point to somewhere and back in a day, without staying over.  Contrast it with "overnight trip."  It does not simply mean "trip made in one day," which is covered in other threads.
So, I take it your middle name is Webster? Your definition of a day trip and my definition of a day trip might differ slightly, no need to call others out because you don't like their definition.
1 Day=24 hours
My definition of a day trip is to leave home and return home in the same trip without staying over somewhere and doing it within a single 24 hour period...hence a day.

The linked examples above aren't day trips; they are a drive from one city to another in one day, which almost everyone can provide pretty good examples of doing.

Having said that, this is your quote:

Quote from: slorydn1 on March 10, 2015, 03:49:38 AM
12 hours and 865 miles later we were at our family condo in Hallandale Beach eating some of our garlic rolls, and freshening up for our return trip to New Bern.... 11 and a half hours after that we were back here at the house getting ready for bed.

That would be an average of 72 mph on the way down...including stops for gas, facilities, etc.  On the way back, you averaged even faster: 75 mph, including stops.  In general, most people can only average 60 - 65 mph tops, regardless of their normal highway speed, due to necessary stopping.

And even so, unless you ate and freshened up in about 30 minutes, you didn't even meet your own definition of a day.


Pete from Boston

Quote from: slorydn1 on March 21, 2015, 06:56:05 AM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on March 20, 2015, 09:43:34 PM

Quote from: iBallasticwolf2 on March 18, 2015, 08:13:14 PM
I've gone from Cincinati to Clevland, Cincinati to Bowling greeen, Sarasota to Key West. And for vacations I go from Cincinati to Sarasota in about 16 hours

You went on a day trip from Cincinnati to Sarasota?

People, a "day trip" is a trip from starting point to somewhere and back in a day, without staying over.  Contrast it with "overnight trip."  It does not simply mean "trip made in one day," which is covered in other threads.


So, I take it your middle name is Webster? Your definition of a day trip and my definition of a day trip might differ slightly, no need to call others out because you don't like their definition.


1 Day=24 hours


My definition of a day trip is to leave home and return home in the same trip without staying over somewhere and doing it within a single 24 hour period...hence a day.

This is what "day trip" means–there and back in the same day, without staying over, not simply a trip made in one direction in one day before stopping for the night.  You can call your shoelace a "day trip" for all I care, but the phrase has a commonly accepted meaning, and abiding by those is what helps us understand one another.

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/american-english/day-trip

"a visit to a place in which you return home or to your hotel on the same day"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day-tripper

"A day-tripper is a person who visits a tourist destination or visitor attraction from his/her home and returns home on the same day."

KEVIN_224

From New Britain, CT for day trips?

Portland, ME
Concord, NH
Brattleboro, VT
White River Junction, VT (1992)
Philadelphia
Baltimore
Washington, DC with Arlington, VA (last done in 2004)

J N Winkler

Some day trips I have done:  Manhattan, Kansas, to . . .

*  Minden, Neb. (208 miles)

*  Grand Island, Neb. (207 miles)

*  Hastings, Neb.  (187 miles)

*  Aurora, Neb. (186 miles)

*  Lincoln, Neb. (135 miles)

*  Omaha, Neb.  (169 miles)

*  Des Moines, Iowa (306 miles)

*  Hays, Kansas  (159 miles)

*  Burlington, Colo. (328 miles)

*  Fulton, Mo.  (274 miles)

*  Tulsa, Okla.  (271 miles)

*  Oklahoma City, Okla.  (292 miles)

*  Mitchell, South Dakota (387 miles)

All of the distances quoted are the minimum mileage Google reports one-way.  In many cases the route actually travelled was much longer--for example, the Mitchell trip was a sort of loop with a total roundtrip length of at least 827 miles in KS, NE, IA, SD, and MN.

All of these were in the mid-nineties at a time when I was racking up 30,000 miles a year.  I don't do that kind of mileage anymore.  During parts of the Mitchell trip I was struggling to stay awake despite multiple cans of Mountain Dew, and I was fortunate to have an unblocked full moon to light my way down US 81 in Nebraska.  After that trip I realized I had to set some one-way mileage limits on my day-tripping.  I chose 100 miles for casual half-day trips, 200 miles for full-day museum visits, and 300 miles for special trips.

I was usually able to accomplish day trips of up to 100 miles one-way without altering my sleeping schedule, but trips of up to 200 miles with sightseeing at the destination usually meant getting up two or three hours early with in-car eats substituted for breakfast, and going to bed perhaps an hour or two later than usual.  The Mitchell trip was damn near a 24-hour affair (departure perhaps around 5 AM, return around 3 or 4 AM).

These days I live in Wichita and am no longer an undergraduate in Manhattan with relatively easy access to the curiosity-shop strip in Nebraska (the motivation for most of these trips).  I am slowly getting back into daytripping, but so far most of my excursions have been sightseeing loops through parts of this and the neighboring counties with which I have very little familiarity, with most of the mileage travelled being on city streets and paved county roads rather than state highways.

The last "destination" daytrip I made was Oklahoma City in November, to visit the Oklahoma History Center, the state capitol, the (gentrified) Bricktown district, and the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.  I structured the trip around the OKCMOA and deliberately left and returned late in order to take advantage of a steep discount for evening admission there (regular adult admission of $12, drops to $5 after 5 PM on Thursdays).  I left around noon.  On arrival I discovered two hours was really not enough for the Oklahoma History Center.  There was more art than I expected on display in the capitol, some of it good, some of it more civic-minded than aesthetic.  When I ate dinner in Bricktown at what turned out to be a chain restaurant, the waiter, angling for a bigger tip, carded me.  The OKCMOA proved surprisingly hard to find despite repeated Google Maps checks, because it does not have its own freestanding building--instead, it has four floors in a structure that houses an auditorium and other cultural facilities.  It runs interesting temporary exhibitions which, however, do not quite disguise its lack of permanent collections, so I was quite happy to get my money's worth rather than pay full whack.  After some casual roadgeeking, including a drive up and down the new Crosstown freeway, I pointed my car north and got home around midnight.  I felt I had had a satisfying day but was very exhausted.

Extreme daytripping is, I think, a young person's game.
"It is necessary to spend a hundred lire now to save a thousand lire later."--Piero Puricelli, explaining the need for a first-class road system to Benito Mussolini

vdeane

I think my longest day trip was Rome, NY to Lebanon, NH.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

1995hoo

#39
Quote from: The Nature Boy on March 21, 2015, 05:01:50 PM
Quote from: slorydn1 on March 21, 2015, 06:56:05 AM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on March 20, 2015, 09:43:34 PM

Quote from: iBallasticwolf2 on March 18, 2015, 08:13:14 PM
I've gone from Cincinati to Clevland, Cincinati to Bowling greeen, Sarasota to Key West. And for vacations I go from Cincinati to Sarasota in about 16 hours

You went on a day trip from Cincinnati to Sarasota?

People, a "day trip" is a trip from starting point to somewhere and back in a day, without staying over.  Contrast it with "overnight trip."  It does not simply mean "trip made in one day," which is covered in other threads.


So, I take it your middle name is Webster? Your definition of a day trip and my definition of a day trip might differ slightly, no need to call others out because you don't like their definition.


1 Day=24 hours


My definition of a day trip is to leave home and return home in the same trip without staying over somewhere and doing it within a single 24 hour period...hence a day.

Google Maps has Cincinnati to Sarasota as a 13.5 hour drive (or 27 hour day drive) so it actually CANNOT be done as a round trip in 24 hours.

It probably CAN be done in 24 hours if you drive fast enough. Google's time estimates factor in the speed limit. Google Maps says it's an hour three minutes from my house to the Cheasapeake Bay Bridge (61 miles). I made it in 40 minutes once 12 or 13 years ago (had to be prior to 2004 since it was in my previous car), quite early in the morning going far in excess of legal speeds (IIRC I seldom slowed down as low as 80 mph).

This is not meant to say it's realistic to think anyone could sustain such speeds for 24 hours (other than professional racers at Le Mans or the like)–I'm just saying its theoretically possible. I've sustained average speeds in excess of 70 mph for over four hours at a time down South, but that's definitely been the exception and not the rule.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

leroys73

I believe this thread was about a ROUND TRIP IN A DAY (24HRS).  A "round trip in a day" is when you start at point A and return to point A in 24 hours or less. 
'73 Vette, '72 Monte Carlo, ;11 Green with Envy Challenger R/T,Ram, RoyalStarVenture S,USA Honda VTX1300R ridden 49states &11provinces,Driven cars in50 states+DC&21countries,OverseasBrats;IronButt:MileEatersilver,SS1000Gold,SS3000,3xSS2000,18xSS1000, 3TX1000,6BB1500,NPT,LakeSuperiorCircleTour

froggie

As part of the Virginia Highways Project, Mapmikey has done some pretty epic (typically 16-17 hour) daytrips around Virginia and into North Carolina.  I've joined him for a couple.

I've done a fair number myself, typically in the 12-14 hour range ranging from wherever I was stationed at the time (Mississippi, Norfolk, or DC).  The Quebec City meet last October was a day-trip for me (my longest one within the past year).

I've done at least one lengthy (12+ hour) daytrip each with Alex Nitzman, Billy Riddle, Monte Castleman, and Adam Prince.

Though not particularly long, Billy Riddle and I did a pre-roadmeet "daytrip" together the morning before the 2004 Gastonia meet.  We ranged west on US 74, caught the sunrise near Columbus, NC, got as far west as SC 130, and even "bumped into" (not literally) Carter Buchanon on I-85 on his way to the meet.

Mapmikey

I've done numerous 16+ hour daytrips (several a year), up to 19 hrs.  Distances range from 750-1050 miles depending on the amount of freeway involved.  These days I'm spread out more geographically in the quest to "clinch everything" - In the last year or two I've reached SC, TN, KY, OH, and NY.  I have one in mind that I think I can accomplish that will get into MA and CT.

The two trips I've done with Froggie are the only ones I've done with someone else.

On cross country vacations with the wife, I try to stick to under 12 hr days for her sake although in 1997 we made it to northwestern Montana in 2.5 days from Virginia.  She did have me drive 15 hrs from Mississippi back home at the end of a business trip recently because she missed her cats.  We also drove from Ellensburg WA to Miles City MT more recently in one day.

Mapmikey

wphiii

Quote from: Pete from Boston on March 20, 2015, 09:43:34 PM

Quote from: iBallasticwolf2 on March 18, 2015, 08:13:14 PM
I've gone from Cincinati to Clevland, Cincinati to Bowling greeen, Sarasota to Key West. And for vacations I go from Cincinati to Sarasota in about 16 hours

You went on a day trip from Cincinnati to Sarasota?

People, a "day trip" is a trip from starting point to somewhere and back in a day, without staying over.  Contrast it with "overnight trip."  It does not simply mean "trip made in one day," which is covered in other threads.

To be fair it was phrased exactly like this in the OP

Quote from: bandit957 on March 09, 2015, 04:57:43 PM
Anyone here ever do day-long trips that cover a ridiculously long distance?

D-Dey65

Quote from: Pete from Boston on March 20, 2015, 09:43:34 PM
People, a "day trip" is a trip from starting point to somewhere and back in a day, without staying over.  Contrast it with "overnight trip."  It does not simply mean "trip made in one day," which is covered in other threads.
Oh, well in that case, in August 2001 I drove from Shady Hills, FL to Winter Park, FL to see the 2001 cult classic "Ghost World," because after some serious online discussions with my fellow Daria fans I was convinced that no movie theater in the Tampa Bay Metro Area was going to show it.

On May 8, 2014 I drove to DeBary, FL to ride SunRail for free and snap some pictures for Wikipedia. Sadly, I didn't do enough. As of this writing, the Sanford, Altamonte Springs, and Maitland station articles still need them, and Lake Mary needs something way better than what's there now.

I've had other daytrips in the state, but I'm not sure I want to list them all now.

And I've taken quite a few on Long Island and New York City too.


adamjackson

By most standards, every weekend is a ridiculously long road trip compared to most people's drives.

Woke up at 3AM on Saturday morning, made some coffee and drove to Portland, ME...166 miles, 2.5 hours. Arrived at Allagash brewery and bought 4 bottles of their new beer. GF and I were first in line. Then we had breakfast in Portland at a small diner and drove straight back home. Were back home by noon.

I drive up to the NEK in Vermont (Northeast Kingdom) every week or every 2 weeks just to buy beer. That's 77 miles each way and always a day-trip with a stop for pizza and a beer in St. Johnsbury VT.

Finally, about a month ago we drove up to Montreal, overnighted there, then to Quebec city, overnight there and back home on Sunday. Not a day trip but was a LOT of driving.

Luckily, I have a really fun little car for these road trips. Great for 2 people and a day-bag with room for beer :)





I bet you guys don't see ice accumulation like this down-south. took this in February while driving home from Boston:

I'm a project manager for North America and other regions for TomTom!

Tell us about map changes you observe on Map Share Reporter
http://www.tomtom.com/mapshare/tools/

Pete from Boston

You must have gotten a very coastal version of our snow, because very little of we got was wet enough to form ice.  However, it was definitely shitty driving, as my terrible snowboarding habit continually made me aware.

I am trying to think if I ever drove from the New York area to Massachusetts and back twice in one day.  I have done at least three of those legs in one day (during a couple of moves, there and back with a van, then one more time with the car).  If there was, it would be the longest combined pair of daytrips I'd done in a single day.

vdeane

That actually looks a lot like freezing rain.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

Scott5114

#48
From Goldsby, Oklahoma up to Boise City in the Panhandle (this was before the truck trarffic had been elimitanted, mind you), then north on 287 to snag Baca County, CO, then west of OK-325 to snag Union County, NM and clinch NM-406, then back to Boise City...at which point I was confronted with a random mileage sign to Oklahoma City and I realized what a terrible mess I had gotten myself into. South on 287 to Dumas, TX, where I turned east and clinched TX-152, and followed OK-152 until it met up with I-40. I-40 all the way back to the OKC area.

Ended up being ~900 miles (Google Maps says 877 mi and 14½ hours) and I flat out did not remember parts of the way back. I remember being in El Reno and then suddenly rolling into the west side of Oklahoma City with no memory of Yukon in between. So yeah, no more 900-mile trips.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

Scott5114

Quote from: J N Winkler on March 22, 2015, 01:16:58 AM
When I ate dinner in Bricktown at what turned out to be a chain restaurant, the waiter, angling for a bigger tip, carded me.

Which restaurant was it, if you don't mind me asking?
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.