Leaving next Saturday, June 18 from central Ohio to the Destin area (actually just east of there). In the past, we've done I-71 to Louisville, then I-65 to Georgiana, AL (past Montgomery), then down to the beach using state/US highways. Of course, this entails driving through Nashville, then the infamous Birmingham-Montgomery stretch on I-65, both of which are tons of fun.
Looking at an alternate route (sorry, can't figure out formatting of using bullet points) -
I-71 to Cincinnati
I-75 to just north of Atlanta
I-285 on the west side of Atlanta
I-85 S to I-185 north of Columbus
US-80 around Columbus/Phenix City
US-431 to Dothan
Ross Clark Circle around Dothan
US-231 to I-10
I-10 W to US 331
US 331 to US 98
This alternate route is around 40 miles longer and various map sites claim it's around 45 minutes longer. Even though US 431 and US 231 are both four-lane undivided roads, my fear is getting stuck in traffic heading to the beach (just like I-65 south of Birmingham). Is anyone familiar with the route, especially from Atlanta area south? I would like to take the alternate route, but I don't need to hear my wife bitch and moan about traffic if we get stuck getting from Phenix City down to I-10.