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Ridiculously long day trips

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

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bandit957

Anyone here ever do day-long trips that cover a ridiculously long distance?

This past Saturday, my brother and I drove from Cincinnati all the way to Grand Rapids MI and back. And we still had time to see the Gerald Ford Museum. This was all within a calendar day. The whole outing was maybe 15 hours.

We used to do this a lot, especially in the early '90s. I think the longest was Madison WI. There was also Rome GA, Birmingham AL, Roanoke VA, Cape Girardeau MO, Greenville SC, an earlier visit to Grand Rapids, a little bit into Canada, and other outposts of amazingness. And we actually stopped at interesting things along the way, and we didn't even take the quickest routes.

It was mostly his idea, since this started when I was still in high school.

I remember the Greenville outing. That was the same Saturday that there was a 'Cops' marathon on TV, and I had set the VCR to tape it. But another family member had needlessly unhooked the cables for the TV, and it didn't tape. Aah, memories!
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bandit957

Oh, and there was also the Michigan's Thumb thing in 2003 that the Sesame Street Krew missed.
Might as well face it, pooing is cool

bugo

I drove from Knob Noster, MO to Ft Wayne via Indianapolis, then east into the corner of Ohio and up into southern Michigan because I had never been to either of those states, then to Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, LaCrosse, Albert Lea, Des Moines, Kansas City, and back to Knob.

I also drove from Kansas City to Pittsburgh via Springfield and Urbana to Youngstown back to Pittsburgh to Columbus to Cincinnati to Louisville to St Louis back to Kansas City.

I've driven between Minot, ND to Mena, AR or Tulsa several times.

Alps

I've driven 21 hours in a day. Actually my longest day away from home was 23 hours, leaving at 1:30 AM to Pittsburgh and not getting home till after midnight. Not doing that one again for oh so many reasons.

hbelkins

I used to do quite a few of them, but not for quite some time now. I don't like to drive unfamiliar roads in the dark because the dark impedes photography, and I don't like to drive freeways after dark because of the deer hazards.

I did a few forays out into far western Kentucky several years ago. I also did a Greenville, SC trip a few years ago, but of course I live about 2.5 to 3 hours closer to Greenville than you do.

Quote from: Alps on March 09, 2015, 09:44:58 PM
Actually my longest day away from home was 23 hours, leaving at 1:30 AM to Pittsburgh and not getting home till after midnight. Not doing that one again for oh so many reasons.

Because it involves going to/through Pennsylvania?


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

1995hoo

Funny, prior to seeing this thread I was using mapping software to try to assess whether it would be practical to do a roundtrip day trip from Albuquerque to Copperas Cove, Texas (answer: no way!). My wife has a four-day business trip to Albuquerque later this year and I may tag along and do my own thing while she's in meetings and such, and then we'd drive from there to visit relatives in Phoenix. So the idea of going to Texas to see where I was born crossed my mind.....until I saw I'd need to drive about 21 hours roundtrip (and that's using the most direct route in both directions, which would take a lot of the fun out of driving). Forget it. I'm not THAT interested, even if I split it over two days. It's been almost 41 years since I've been to Copperas Cove, so it won't matter if it's a few more! I'm not gonna drive 1300 miles roundtrip just to see a house I don't even remember living in.

About the weirdest single-day driving I've done was the time I made two roundtrips from Charlottesville to Fairfax in a single day during exams one year. I was moving stuff out of my apartment in Charlottesville at the end of the school year and my car was a 1982 Accord (smaller than the current Civic), so I was limited in how much I could take at a time. So I loaded up the car, drove home to Fairfax, unloaded, drove back to Charlottesville, loaded up again, drove to Fairfax again, unloaded, and drove back to Charlottesville yet again to continue with exams.
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KG909

A few weeks ago me and my family went from my city Fontana, Ca to Hesperia, Ca, back to Fontana, Ca but not stopping then Santa Monica, CA then back home. It was a 200 mile ride.
~Fuccboi

Pete from Boston

I can't mentally handle extreme drives anymore.  Too confining and wasteful of places along the way.  An all-day drive now requires a deadline.

That said, the silliest amount of driving I've done for the least return has been a drive from Massachusetts to Montréal for dinner at a falafel shop, a single beer, and back.  Only 5 hours' drive each way, but still.

Customs was not impressed by our feat, in either direction.

jakeroot

Quote from: Pete from Boston on March 10, 2015, 12:17:06 AM
Customs was not impressed by our feat, in either direction.

I like day trips to Canada but they're tough...the borders are a bitch, particularly the I-5 crossing. Ergo, most of my trips to Canada are at least two days.




Longest day trip for me was Seattle to Portland and back. Hardly impressive but I grow restless after a while.

slorydn1

About 10 years ago, early one Saturday evening I was sitting in this very chair at my house lamenting the fact none of the Italian restaurants near me had garlic rolls anywhere near as good as Mario's on W Dixie Highway in N Miami.  My wife got tired of hearing me whine about it simply said "Shut up, we'll go get some."

I looked at her, looked at my watch, crunched the mental numbers as to whether it would be possible to get there and back before I had to get ready to go back to work Monday morning (with a good nights sleep in there somewhere).

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.

My truck smelled real nice for a while after that :biggrin:
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wphiii

Quote from: Pete from Boston on March 10, 2015, 12:17:06 AM
I can't mentally handle extreme drives anymore.  Too confining and wasteful of places along the way.  An all-day drive now requires a deadline.

Amen. I'm fine being on the road for 12-13 hours in a day, but only if there are a handful of stops along the way and/or it's not limited access highway driving.

My worst episode was the time I suddenly found myself not having to go to work on a Monday and decided to make a day trip to Richmond, VA to see some old friends and catch a minor league baseball game. I left at about 7 a.m., took a slightly longer route and stopped to walk around Winchester for a little bit, so I was approaching Richmond around 1 p.m. when my friends informed me that something had come up and they wouldn't be able to meet until just before the game. On a whim, I decided to go check out Appomattox, so that was another couple hours of driving each way. Got back to Richmond in time to get to the 6 p.m. game only about an inning late. It turned out to be one of those real ugly grinders of a game, and took nearly four hours to complete. After dropping my friends off, I got on the road to get home at around 10:30, already expecting to get home no earlier than 4 a.m. Of course, there was something going on at the 95/Beltway junction, and even at nearly midnight it was bumper to bumper through there. I didn't end up getting home until after 5, and had to go to work that day.

Never again.

AsphaltPlanet

I do this.

I have a tendency of starting off with the intention of only driving into town to go and get a coffee and then ending up in the next province.
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texaskdog

I used to do that, now our max for a day trip is probably 3 hours each way.  Getting too old for long drives!

hotdogPi

Try driving a 28-hour day trip. (Hint: You need to start in Eastern Daylight Time and end in Pacific Standard Time.)
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

roadman65

Closest thing I ever did was with my family as a twenty three year old.  We went on a trip one fourth of July Weekend from Clark, NJ to Mystic, CT and back in one day.  We did however, take an overnight bag and a change of clothes just in case we stopped along the way, but we did not.

We left New Jersey via the Goethals Bridge and across Staten Island.  Then we took the Belt Parkway, Laurel Parkway, LIE, NY 24, NY 25, and drifted along county roads of Suffolk back to NY 25.  It was mid day and the ferry was full at Orient Point.  We made reservations for the next ferry, so to kill time we ate at a seafood restaurant near the ferry landing.  Then after lunch we arrived for our voyage across Long Island Sound which was awesome.

After arriving in CT, we took I-95 to Mystic. Looked at the town from the rest area along I-95 that has an ideal view of Mystic. We then went into town, and got gas along US 1 where someone deliberately cut the gas pump hose which spilled fuel all over my dad.  He was pissed!  Told off the station attendant and had the car stink of gasoline from my dad's clothes.

We drove back I-95 toward home, and we stopped at the Connecticut Valley Railroad, rode the steam excursion, and then took some photos around the terminal.  We got back on I-95 to go home, but when it got to be supper around New Haven we found that Valles Steak House was no longer in business, so my parents craved a Pizza from Pizza Hut.  We got off of I-95 in Milford to look for one, and found no Pizza Hut's from Milford to Bridgeport.  We got back on I-95 then where darkness came. 

Considering we have covered a lot and did not travel all the time, it sure was a long day in sunlight so far, but still hungry.  My folks were both obsessed with Pizza Hut and would not settle for anything else until we arrived at Nanuet, NY where we ate at a local Chinese Restaurant along NY 59.

We then headed home via The Parkway and that is the closest we went hundreds of miles within one complete day and covered three states, and that meaning that I consider Long Island to be separate from Upstate NY.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

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Pete from Boston

Quote from: 1 on March 10, 2015, 04:47:50 PM
Try driving a 28-hour day trip. (Hint: You need to start in Eastern Daylight Time and end in Pacific Standard Time.)

I was going to say this is ridiculous, but since the country narrows in the south you could do it on I-10 and I-8 if you averaged at least 73-74 mph or so.  You can surely go much faster in the desert, which is good because you'll need to make up for gas stops.  Most bathroom needs can be accommodated in the car, so long as you go easy on the coffee and fiber (start clenching exercises now to be ready).  Leave in the early evening and you'll be past San Antonio before the morning rush.  Clear sailing from there to the Colorado.

OracleUsr

Yep, did it in 2013.  Marquette, MI, up to Calumet, then back to Saginaw (was headed back to Detriot Wayne Airport but wound up stopping at a motel about 3am.

Lesson learned...don't say "just one more lighthouse" even to yourself, on the UP.
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Brandon

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

It's practically my road trip MO, even for road meets.

I did a loop through Iowa one day (July 4th of all days).  I-80 west to I-380, north to Waterloo, then east to Dubuque.  After that, it was US-52 back to I-39 and I-80.  Got back in time to watch the fireworks.

Another was a loop through Fort Madison, IA; Hannibal, MO; and Quincy, IL; to hit some missing Illinois counties and cross the Fort Madison Toll Bridge in the free direction.

Then I did one that got me down to Evansville, IN and got the part of I-64 I was missing.

I also did the Cincinnati, Dayton, Cleveland, Appleton, Wausau, Port Huron, Flint, and both St Louis road meets that way.  Why spend money on a hotel?

I figure 6-8 hours in one direction is do-able.
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dgolub

From my apartment in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, to Cape May, New Jersey, at the beginning of the year for the road meet there.  Took the subway and LIRR to Flushing to meet up with Anthony and Alyssa, and we drove from there via Staten Island.  On the way back we clinched NJ 35 and then I picked up an NJ Transit train in Linden.  Overall, probably a good 3+ hours each way but totally worth it.

D-Dey65

Quote from: bandit957 on March 09, 2015, 04:57:43 PM
Anyone here ever do day-long trips that cover a ridiculously long distance?
Pretty much every time I drive up north and back.

leroys73

#20
I assume we are talking round trips with at least some sort of pleasure or business in between the two segments.

Yep, more than once by car and motorcycle.

The first one I remember was in my early years while living in Munich, Germany.  I had friends with whom I graduated from HS with that was a 6 hour drive in those days.  I wanted to see them but only had one day.  I got up early, jumped in my old VW Beetle, and drove to Baumholder. I got some visiting in while stopping at a couple of our favorite watering holes.  I left for home around diner time.  It was only 12hr of total driving time but a lot of visiting in between.

I've done more day trips of 600 total miles round trip of this type than I can count.

Somewhat recently I rode my motorcycle from Dallas to San Angelo, TX by secondary roads, toured Fort Concho, then rode back home.  I put 750 miles on that day.  Another and longer round trip was a motorcycle ride to Van Horn and Sierra Blanca, TX, for a look around then back home the same day for 1150 miles which qualified me for the Iron Butt Association Saddle Sore 1000, 1000 miles by motorcycle in less than 24 hrs.   

I've done numerous 1000+ mile one day trips, one direction.   

 
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iBallasticwolf2

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
Only two things are infinite in this world, stupidity, and I-75 construction

JakeFromNewEngland

When I was out West in April 2014, our drive from Carmel to LA took around 9-10 hours. About 2 of those hours were spent in Santa Barbara, or in LA traffic. I think that's the longest I've ever been in a car. Usually the road trips I go on last around 4-5 hours.

vegas1962

Two stories:

First:  one year on St. Patrick's Day, my mom and I left our house in Livonia, MI around 9:00 am, drove to Ann Arbor and picked up my sister who was at U-M at the time, then drove to Chicago via South Bend (I-94/I-69/Indiana Toll Road).  Got off the road in South Bend and took a quick tour of the Notre Dame campus, then got back on the highway to Chicago.  Once in Chicago, tooled around downtown, saw the Chicago River dyed green, took a boat tour, had lunch, got back in the car and drove home (all I-94 in Michigan), stopping only to drop my sister off at school.  Got home mid-evening, distance of close to 500 miles.

Second:  many summers ago, a buddy and I did a sports weekend in Chicago and Milwaukee.  We left Detroit on Friday morning, saw Cubs-Astros at Wrigley that afternoon, had dinner at Harry Caray's after the game, then spent the night in Racine, WI.  The odyssey came the next day.  We had tickets for Brewers-Angels at County Stadium Saturday night (this was when the Brewers were still in the AL), so we had all day to kill.  So, we drove to Milwaukee and took the Miller Brewery tour (beer samples at 11:00 am!), then up to Green Bay, cruised around town, did the Lambeau Field stadium tour and toured the Packers Hall of Fame.  Drove back to Milwaukee and arrived about an hour before first pitch, just enough time for a brat and a brew.  Slept that night back in Racine.  Total mileage that day was only about 300, but at least we had things to do and didn't just spend the whole time on the road.

We've done a bunch of sports-related road trips like that, but never just day trips.  Sometimes we covered a lot of miles in one day, but we had destinations to get to.

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.

OracleUsr

Two more:

Bangor, ME, to Newark, NJ, 2009
Burlington, NC to Cape May, NJ, 2007.
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