AARoads Forum

Since nobody has started this thread yet, I thought I'd add one for generic 2023 road trips.

So, what is everybody's plans?

At least one of mine will be the standard NYC-Long Island Trip that I didn't get the chance to take in 2022. But I'm also seeking more "local" trips, so to speak.

I also want another trip to Folkston, GA, and I want to do it this month. But if I can't for some reason, it'll have to be early next year.

This may be the first time I've done a Mexico trip by way of Monterrey (NL) instead of Monclova (Coah) since 2014.  However, I do not plan on taking I-35 through Fort Worth.  Instead, I plan to take an extra hour and do this route (https://goo.gl/maps/DZntS975VJPLMMfo9) to Cotulla (TX).

1.  I'm seriously considering the OKC bypass that people on here have suggested:  Kilpatrick Turnpike to Sara Road.  Is there still a lot of road construction on Sara Road?

2.  The 301-mile stretch from Abilene to Dilley will be all new mileage for me.  In that part of Texas, I've never ventured between US-277 and I-35.

3.  On the Mexican side, this will be the first time I've driven the new toll road south of the old km-26 checkpoint (just south of Nuevo Laredo, down to the cuota/libre split at km-146).  I transited the northbound lanes by bus back in March of this year, but this will be my first time by car.

4.  One last stretch of new mileage will be this (https://goo.gl/maps/Bk2Z1qfbje1TeVj18), from Fed-85 to NL-40D.  The reason for going to Monterrey on this trip is that part of our group will be flying into MTY, and the rest of us will meet up with them there.  I flew into MTY back in March, but we had lunch in the old town part of Monterrey before heading west, so we took NL-40D south from the airport that day.

Still unsure if I'll be tagging along with my brother to Arizona and have some days for solo travel while he's hiking down into the Grand Canyon.

And I still need to get up to Point Pleasant to drive the new section of US 35.

Other than that, I don't foresee anything but short day trips in my area for the rest of my life.

I'm hoping we get to visit my sister in CO this summer - we had to cancel last summer. We'd take I-70 one way, I-80 the other.

So far I have two ski trips booked for January:
1) Driving to Stowe, VT (accommodation in Eden). I'll get some new counties and roads in NY, QC, and VT.
2) Flying from Toronto YYZ to SLC to ski at Park City, UT. I may not get any new roads, but that's okay, the skiing should be great!

I haven't booked anything else, but I'd like to do one or two trips to see Indycar/NASCAR this year (I enjoyed my two F1 trips, but the tickets are more expensive and don't seem worth the extra markup). I also plan on seeing Indycar in Toronto, but that's too close to count as a road trip.

Quote from: 7/8 on December 07, 2022, 09:28:56 AM
So far I have two ski trips booked for January:
1) Driving to Stowe, VT (accommodation in Eden). I'll get some new counties and roads in NY, QC, and VT.
2) Flying from Toronto YYZ to SLC to ski at Park City, UT. I may not get any new roads, but that's okay, the skiing should be great!

I haven't booked anything else, but I'd like to do one or two trips to see Indycar/NASCAR this year (I enjoyed my two F1 trips, but the tickets are more expensive and don't seem worth the extra markup). I also plan on seeing Indycar in Toronto, but that's too close to count as a road trip.

Go to Indy and see both.

Nothing planned yet, but 2023 is looking wide-open for me now that our wedding & honeymoon are in the books in addition to passing the PE exam a couple weeks ago.  So hoping to take advantage of the added free-time coming up and get out more again - one idea I've kicked around is a day-drive to clinch the Garden State Parkway in one go.

And this would technically still be 2022, but here's a long day-drive I'm thinking about doing sometime in the next couple weekends to celebrate:

-Leave the Baltimore area on I-70
-Drive the length of I-68 and head south on I-79 from there
-Drive the entirety of Corridor L (and maybe stop at the New River Gorge)
-Briefly get on the WV Turnpike (and check out the current Beckley Service Plaza prior to its upcoming demolition - I checked out both Bluestone & Morton on a previous drive a few months back where I clinched the WV Turnpike in one go)
-Head east on I-64 all the way to Richmond
-Bypass Richmond on I-295, then head north on I-95
-Take VA 207 to US 301 in order to check out the new Nice Bridge
-Return to the Baltimore area via either MD 5 to I-495 to I-95 or US 301 to MD 3 to I-97

We have a trip to Florida booked to visit our relatives, but we're flying down to Fort Lauderdale to save time because we only have a week. The road-related aspect of interest is that I've booked a Tesla Model Y as the rental car–it seemed like an ideal opportunity to try out an EV and see what we think of it, and the cost of that rental plus the airfare still worked out to less than the Auto Train (plus gas and tolls between Sanford and Broward County) would have been in the high-volume period when we are going.

Quote from: NWI_Irish96 on December 07, 2022, 09:35:27 AM

Quote from: 7/8 on December 07, 2022, 09:28:56 AM
I haven't booked anything else, but I'd like to do one or two trips to see Indycar/NASCAR this year (I enjoyed my two F1 trips, but the tickets are more expensive and don't seem worth the extra markup). I also plan on seeing Indycar in Toronto, but that's too close to count as a road trip.

Go to Indy and see both.

That's a fair suggestion. Indy isn't too far away and it's convenient to have both in one weekend. I guess the only downside is it feels odd to have my first NASCAR race be a road coarse instead of an oval. I was thinking a short oval would be nice for NASCAR since you can easily see the full coarse.

Quote from: jmacswimmer on December 07, 2022, 09:52:25 AM
Nothing planned yet, but 2023 is looking wide-open for me now that our wedding & honeymoon are in the books in addition to passing the PE exam a couple weeks ago.  So hoping to take advantage of the added free-time coming up and get out more again - one idea I've kicked around is a day-drive to clinch the Garden State Parkway in one go.

And this would technically still be 2022, but here's a long day-drive I'm thinking about doing sometime in the next couple weekends to celebrate:

-Leave the Baltimore area on I-70
-Drive the length of I-68 and head south on I-79 from there
-Drive the entirety of Corridor L (and maybe stop at the New River Gorge)
-Briefly get on the WV Turnpike (and check out the current Beckley Service Plaza prior to its upcoming demolition - I checked out both Bluestone & Morton on a previous drive a few months back where I clinched the WV Turnpike in one go)
-Head east on I-64 all the way to Richmond
-Bypass Richmond on I-295, then head north on I-95
-Take VA 207 to US 301 in order to check out the new Nice Bridge
-Return to the Baltimore area via either MD 5 to I-495 to I-95 or US 301 to MD 3 to I-97

Better pack an overnight bag, or expect to do a lot of driving in the dark.

Planning a family trip for next summer
Birmingham to Seattle (I-65 to Chicago, I-90/94 primarily to Seattle)
South on I-5 to Portland to begin our way back via I-80/84 to at least Illinois, still figuring out the exact route home from there to maximize roads and/or counties)

Quote from: hbelkins on December 07, 2022, 01:14:13 PM
Better pack an overnight bag, or expect to do a lot of driving in the dark.

I would plan to get an early start in order to put the dark portions closest to home on roads I'm more familiar with.  When I did the day-trip I mentioned above to clinch the WV Turnpike in August, I left around 5 am & got home a little before 7 PM (granted, there's much more daylight in August than December).  The route I took for that trip was:

-Left Baltimore area on I-95 SB, then I-495 Outer, I-66 WB, I-81 SB, I-77 NB, I-79 NB, US 48 EB, WV 92 SB, US 33 EB, WV 32 NB, US 48 EB, WV/VA 259 NB, US 50 EB, VA 37 NB, US 11 NB, I-81 NB, & finally I-70 EB back to the Baltimore area

I think the drive I'm planning should be an hour or 2 shorter with the Corridor L shortcut plus using I-64 versus dipping all the way down to Wytheville. If I did a similarly early start, I'd get sunrise before leaving Maryland and sunset maybe somewhere around the Nice Bridge.

Going to Memphis for the International Blues Challenge, in January.
I was going to do Upstate New York & New England in the spring, but I think I'll push that back into the summer to coincide with the Buffalo roadmeet.
Nothing else concrete for travel, outside of Ohio, beyond those two for the upcoming year.

Quote from: kphoger on December 06, 2022, 11:23:59 AM
This may be the first time I've done a Mexico trip by way of Monterrey (NL) instead of Monclova (Coah) since 2014.  However, I do not plan on taking I-35 through Fort Worth.  Instead, I plan to take an extra hour and do this route (https://goo.gl/maps/DZntS975VJPLMMfo9) to Cotulla (TX).

1.  I'm seriously considering the OKC bypass that people on here have suggested:  Kilpatrick Turnpike to Sara Road.  Is there still a lot of road construction on Sara Road?

2.  The 301-mile stretch from Abilene to Dilley will be all new mileage for me.  In that part of Texas, I've never ventured between US-277 and I-35.

3.  On the Mexican side, this will be the first time I've driven the new toll road south of the old km-26 checkpoint (just south of Nuevo Laredo, down to the cuota/libre split at km-146).  I transited the northbound lanes by bus back in March of this year, but this will be my first time by car.

4.  One last stretch of new mileage will be this (https://goo.gl/maps/Bk2Z1qfbje1TeVj18), from Fed-85 to NL-40D.  The reason for going to Monterrey on this trip is that part of our group will be flying into MTY, and the rest of us will meet up with them there.  I flew into MTY back in March, but we had lunch in the old town part of Monterrey before heading west, so we took NL-40D south from the airport that day.

Forgot to mention:

I also plan a slightly different route for the return trip through Texas, through Kerrville (routes shown here (https://goo.gl/maps/mGp2ruGFSw784Gkr5)).  The 122-mile stretch from Devine to Junction will also be new mileage for me.  Kind of different, considering I don't usually even bother looking at a map anymore when we drive to Mexico.  But I've had to get more creative for this trip, because I'm juggling three factors:

1.  I still refuse to drive through Dallas—Fort Worth (to/from Galveston last year was a reluctant exception to this rule).

2.  We need to stop at the airport in Monterrey along the way.

3.  I'm planning around hotels that offer three-bed suites, now that our three sons are old enough to not cram into one bed anymore.

So I guess the master plan looks something like this:  https://goo.gl/maps/FJb3x4CSUQdNAvpP8

I'm going to be driving to Crater Lake, Oregon during the last week of June, which is when the road has always been reopened at the latest in the past (June 24 is the latest recorded day the west road has opened up). My vacation runs mid July- mid July (based on my first day of employment).

I have two weeks of vacation and am still trying to figure out where to use my other week of vacation. Got it narrowed down to 1 of these 3 I think.

Option 1) Mississippi River Delta region
Option 2) Clinch remaining counties in AZ and NM
Option 3) MX 16, MX 45, MX 10 in Chihuahua, MEX.

Seems Colorado is probably on the menu for May.  Unclear at this point if it will be overland trip or by plane.  Seems one the objectives my wife has is it drop her Mom off to see family in Denver.  I foresee a grand circle of the four national parks since my wife has seen none of them.

I'm saving for a wedding (among other related things) so I'm not planning much in the way of travel. Probably just going to clinch the remaining Richmond-area state routes I haven't yet (there are five, and two of them share and endpoint and the other three are all in the same general area). Otherwise I want to check out a few old state routes and probably make a trip to Virginia Beach when the Nando's there opens.

Probably nothing significant for us, considering the trips we took this last summer basically wiped us out financially.  (Something about grossly overestimating the gas mileage for a van and trailer.) 

It seems for me that a trip to Kansas City might be in order sometime in the next couple of months.

I plan on buying a car at some point next year. Not long after the purchase, I plan on taking a long-ish trip to celebrate this purchase I have saved for and to give the vehicle its first true test. As for where this trip will be, I won't decide until I pull the trigger on the vehicle purchase.

I'll be taking a few trips up to Northern New England as I am a skier and want to go during school break. The other guaranteed is our usual summer pilgrimage to Ocean City, NJ. As far as the rest of 2023, hard to say.

Quote from: BlueOutback7 on December 15, 2022, 09:34:51 AM
I'll be taking a few trips up to Northern New England as I am a skier and want to go during school break. The other guaranteed is our usual summer pilgrimage to Ocean City, NJ. As far as the rest of 2023, hard to say.

If you're passing by I-93 or I-495 in the Lowell/Lawrence/Haverhill area, I'm willing to meet you for lunch, or possibly dinner depending on time (last bus leaves the station at 7, or 6 if I need a transfer).

So far, I've met SectorZ and noelbotevera and his father in person, as well as going to the Newburyport road meet.

This applies to anyone, by the way, not just BlueOutback7.

I haven't been west since 2019 (except for a whirlwind 2020 trip), so I would like to do something in Colorado/New Mexico, but I've been thinking bigger than that as in potential international trips for next year.

January: Going to visit the BC Interior for the first time as part of a ski trip up in the Kelowna area. Will be crossing that border a few times later in the year:

June: Something cross-country, hopefully. Looking at picking up new states in the North with a goal of driving to Philadelphia and onward to New England if I can. Will be saving most of the South for 2024's total eclipse.

September: Looking into a drive that takes me through Denver and Nashville to follow the Sounders on their road trip. Open to any suggestions/routings I should take.

January: LA to San Fran, up US 101.

March: State College -> DC -> Nags Head (?), routing TBD.

May: Aarhus, Denmark -> Amsterdam. Excited to take the Autobahn.

Summer: State College, PA to Vancouver, Washington and back a month and a half later. Routing TBD. Open to suggestions! The idea I've got now is I-80 to Toledo, OH, then US-23 to Flint, MI, and I-75 to St. Ignace, MI. From there, it would be US-2 (or maybe cut across the UP on MI-28 instead?) west, and west, and west... all the way to Havre, Montana. Then, I'd take US-87, MT-200, and US-12 west to near Kennewick, WA, where I can hop south onto I-84 to the Portland area. But any ideas are welcome - if you've driven a route like this and have recs I'm here for them!

I guess this is as good of a place as any to post this.

I have a trip booked in June where I'll be visiting Thailand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, and Japan. The only real roadtrippy part will be around Leh, Ladakh, India where I'm planning on taking the road to Pangong Lake which crosses Chang La Pass at an elevation of 17,688 feet, which will be a new high for me. I'd love to get permission to travel over Umling La Pass, which is the highest motorable road in the word at 19,024 feet, but apparently, it's exceedingly rare for foreigners to get permission right now.

I'll also be crossing the Wagah Border between India and Pakistan before I attend the border closing ceremony, which is one of my bucket list travel items. So I'll be on some Indian & Pakistani national highways I can cross off the list.

I haven't planned anything concrete. I don't really have anyone to travel with, unless I want to drag mom and dad on some trip. Or maybe I can find a friend or two who might actually want to do something. I'm not sure. Since I just got out of college, everything's in transition and I'm admittedly a bit isolated from friends.

I'd like to plan out some local day trips that I can do on my own though. There's no shortage of mileage I can still get and routes I can still clinch around Chicagoland. And unless gas spikes up dramatically this year (higher than in 2022), I'll be out on the roads quite a bit when I can.

I would also be interested in attempting a longer trip though. For example, I've never been to Minnesota. Not even once. The closest I've been was an evening in La Crosse with a group from university, but we never went across the river. I think it would be great to finally get to Minnesota this year, even if it's only by one county. In a similar vein, it would be fun to go on a county-clinching spree in Wisconsin, I still have over half the state to go.

If I can get something planned, I'll try to remember to come back and write about it.

Quote from: JoePCool14 on January 04, 2023, 12:43:28 PM
I haven't planned anything concrete. I don't really have anyone to travel with, unless I want to drag mom and dad on some trip. Or maybe I can find a friend or two who might actually want to do something. I'm not sure. Since I just got out of college, everything's in transition and I'm admittedly a bit isolated from friends.

Solo trips are the best. You are on your own schedule, you can turn up the stereo as loud as you want and play whatever tunes, podcasts, or stations you want. You stop when you want to and don't have to structure your trip around someone else's bladder or stomach.

But if you get drowsy, there's no one else to switch off with.  That's the hardest part for me.

The worst was when I took my sons camping at Great Sand Dunes National Park and drove there via US-160 and CO-12.  Even with the boys in the car, it was brutal trying to stay awake across the wide open of southeastern Colorado in the afternoon sun.

Quote from: hbelkins on January 04, 2023, 05:56:27 PM

Quote from: JoePCool14 on January 04, 2023, 12:43:28 PM
I haven't planned anything concrete. I don't really have anyone to travel with, unless I want to drag mom and dad on some trip. Or maybe I can find a friend or two who might actually want to do something. I'm not sure. Since I just got out of college, everything's in transition and I'm admittedly a bit isolated from friends.

Solo trips are the best. You are on your own schedule, you can turn up the stereo as loud as you want and play whatever tunes, podcasts, or stations you want. You stop when you want to and don't have to structure your trip around someone else's bladder or stomach.

You also don't have to justify taking some stupid alignment for a clinch.

I am a go for an overland drive from Fresno to the Denver area during mid-May.  I have a generally mapped out plan to hit six National Parks and undercut any reservation systems coming post Memorial Day in Colorado.  My wife has family in Denver and hasn't seen any of the six Parks, not new territory for me.

I'm kicking around a 3-4 day road trip this Spring/Summer. Would start/end in the Chicago area and hit some of the following:

I-75 between Sault Ste Marie and Flint
I-77 between Cleveland and Canton
I-94 between Detroit and Port Huron
I-94 between St Cloud and St Paul
I-235 in Iowa
I-275 in Michigan
I-280 in Ohio
I-380 in Iowa
I-535 in MN/IA

I know it's a long shot but if this sounds like fun to you, let me know.

It's always dependent on work and finances, but I'm hoping to take this Nebraska trip I considered last year (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=30980.0) sometime during the summer.

Quote from: NWI_Irish96 on January 10, 2023, 06:24:45 PM
I know it's a long shot but if this sounds like fun to you, let me know.

It does sound fun to me, but why do you ask? Are you inviting us?  ;-)

Quote from: webny99 on January 12, 2023, 04:26:28 PM

Quote from: NWI_Irish96 on January 10, 2023, 06:24:45 PM
I know it's a long shot but if this sounds like fun to you, let me know.

It does sound fun to me, but why do you ask? Are you inviting us?  ;-)

I wouldn't mind a companion.

I'm planning a road trip to the Orlando, FL area, leaving from western Wisconsin, in the first half of March. 

On the way down, I'd be doing most of the drive on a weekend.  On the return trip, I'll have to do some of it on a Friday. 

I'm thinking the trip down would be a good time to not worry so much about using the interstates to go through the major city centers of St. Louis, Nashville, and even Atlanta.   Is my thinking here correct, or should I expect traffic snarls in any of these places even on a weekend?  (Atlanta would likely be on a Sunday morning or lunchtime.)
(assuming decent weather too)

On the return trip, I'm thinking about heading further west before turning north to go through Alabama and clip a corner of Mississippi, and thus not worry about Atlanta.  Any watch-outs on this sort of a route?

Baltimore area to the Myrtle Beach area for Labor Day weekend NASCAR in Darlington

It should be noted that I took the daytrip to Folkston, Georgia in late-December 2022, and it even included Waycross.

However, my next one will probably be another one to St. Augustine.

I'm still going to make another one to Folkston (though I don't know when), and more glass runs to Polk County.


And I still want one to the NYC Tri-State area this spring, despite the spike in crime.

As an adult caregiver, any "road trips" will be limited to day trips from the DFW area, some with my mother, some without.

Change of plans. Tomorrow I'm going on a glass recycling run to Polk County, FL, and there are a few sites within the county I want pictures of.

Driving to England this summer. Also visited a new state, Utah, for the first time in 6 years.

Quote from: thspfc on February 22, 2023, 10:29:56 PM
Driving to England this summer. Also visited a new state, Utah, for the first time in 6 years.

Driving to England from where?

Quote from: Rothman on February 22, 2023, 11:16:24 PM

Quote from: thspfc on February 22, 2023, 10:29:56 PM
Driving to England this summer. Also visited a new state, Utah, for the first time in 6 years.

Driving to England from where?

US. It will be an experience.

My wife is going out of town for her spring break (she's a teacher) and taking my son, so I'm kicking around the idea of a little road trip. Since I work remotely, I was going to work during the day and then driving during the afternoons. At this point, I think it'll be a county clinching trip in eastern Wyoming, western South Dakota, eastern Montana, and southwestern North Dakota. I haven't been to North Dakota since 2007, my 2nd longest lapse, and I also plan to cross the NE/SD border as well as the hard-to-get SD-MT border to cross a couple of those off my list. Still planning the exact route, however.

Quote from: thspfc on February 23, 2023, 10:07:33 AM

Quote from: Rothman on February 22, 2023, 11:16:24 PM

Quote from: thspfc on February 22, 2023, 10:29:56 PM
Driving to England this summer. Also visited a new state, Utah, for the first time in 6 years.

Driving to England from where?

US. It will be an experience.

So you're going via Long Island so you can pick up one of MMM's car-in-the-water devices?

I just thought of a new day trip I'm interested in taking; US 19-98-Alternate 27 in the Fanning Springs Area. Why? Because there's only one pic of that road Gilchrist County.

I still want St. Augustine.

I'm still going to make Polk County glass runs.

I still want Folkston, Georgia again.

And I still want the New York Tri-State Area.

Quote from: CoreySamson on December 14, 2022, 04:07:37 PM
It seems for me that a trip to Kansas City might be in order sometime in the next couple of months.

Well, that ended up not happening, and barring the unlikely scenario of ORU playing an NCAA tournament game in KC, this probably won't happen until at least next semester or next year.

However, I may try to visit Stillwater and/or OKC in the next couple months.

Quote from: thspfc on February 23, 2023, 10:07:33 AM

Quote from: Rothman on February 22, 2023, 11:16:24 PM

Quote from: thspfc on February 22, 2023, 10:29:56 PM
Driving to England this summer. Also visited a new state, Utah, for the first time in 6 years.

Driving to England from where?

US. It will be an experience.

You're going to need a bigger boat.

My Canyonlands trip with my brother is off the table, but I'm going to tag along with him this coming weekend when he goes down to Tennessee and Alabama to scout out some fishing spots. I may pick up a few new Alabama counties on the journey, but the downside is that we'll probably be camping every night. That means I'll be sleeping in the vehicle. Camping holds no appeal for me. Plus I'll have to figure out what I can take to eat.

Quote from: CoreySamson on February 24, 2023, 06:01:45 PM

Quote from: CoreySamson on December 14, 2022, 04:07:37 PM
It seems for me that a trip to Kansas City might be in order sometime in the next couple of months.

Well, that ended up not happening, and barring the unlikely scenario of ORU playing an NCAA tournament game in KC, this probably won't happen until at least next semester or next year.

However, I may try to visit Stillwater and/or OKC in the next couple months.

That's too bad. I love KC.

KC > Denver
Colorado >>>>> Kansas or Missouri

If you ever make it up there, I can give you some good recommendations of good places to eat on a college budget.

Mid April: Long weekend to Salt Lake City. Nothing particularly interesting or new road wise, probably will stick to I-84/I-15.

End of July: The big road trip of this year. Boise to Vancouver, BC for a few days (overnight near Everett). Then down to Seaside, OR for a while. Then up to Spokane, WA for a couple days, then back down to Boise.

I don't think I'll hit any new or interesting highways though, other than I-5 north of Everett and the highways around Vancouver which I haven't driven on myself. I imagine we'll stick to I-84/I-82/I-90/I-5 from Boise to Vancouver. Anything else would add a ton of time (and we already did the US-97/US-2 diversion last time, no need to repeat that this time).

Seaside to Spokane, last time we used US-12 from I-5 to Yakima, so we'll probably skip that and just use I-84/US-395 this time around. No other route really makes sense there.

Spokane to Boise you can stick to the freeways or go down US-195/US-95, but I've done both routes many times so nothing new there. We might make this a "game day decision". I would have liked to squeeze in some stuff in the more interior of BC and/or northern WA at some point in the trip, but doesn't really fit the schedule this time around, due to the "empty week" between our concrete plans in Vancouver and Spokane that we're spending in Seaside (family there).

No other road trips are nailed down, but we have a trip to Portland and Seattle by plane and train this weekend (driving would be possible, but hotel parking in downtown Seattle makes the cost not worth it, plus weather is hit or miss in early March). Also have a short ~2 day plane trip to LA in late March with a couple friends. We will likely take a short trip (~2 days) to either Denver or Dallas in June. Dallas would be plane for sure, Denver would probably be by plane, but driving would be a possibility. I'm holding off final decisions hoping that airfare goes down a bit.

We're likely going to San Antonio by plane sometime in October, but haven't booked anything yet. If Alaska keeps their direct BOI-AUS flights around (and they're not overpriced like they are right now, placeholder pricing/schedule I think), we may fly to Austin and drive down to San Antonio.

Quote from: JayhawkCO on February 25, 2023, 09:21:21 PM
That's too bad. I love KC.

I must say, I think Kansas City must be one of the most underrated travel destinations.

Quote from: kphoger on February 28, 2023, 10:28:40 AM

Quote from: JayhawkCO on February 25, 2023, 09:21:21 PM
That's too bad. I love KC.

I must say, I think Kansas City must be one of the most underrated travel destinations.

Great food, architecture, neighborhoods, museums, sports, etc. Crappy weather in the heat of summer for sure, but I definitely agree.

Quote from: doorknob60 on February 27, 2023, 07:30:00 PM
Mid April: Long weekend to Salt Lake City. Nothing particularly interesting or new road wise, probably will stick to I-84/I-15.

End of July: The big road trip of this year. Boise to Vancouver, BC for a few days (overnight near Everett). Then down to Seaside, OR for a while. Then up to Spokane, WA for a couple days, then back down to Boise.

I don't think I'll hit any new or interesting highways though, other than I-5 north of Everett and the highways around Vancouver which I haven't driven on myself. I imagine we'll stick to I-84/I-82/I-90/I-5 from Boise to Vancouver. Anything else would add a ton of time (and we already did the US-97/US-2 diversion last time, no need to repeat that this time).

If you haven't been on it yet, SR 11 (Chuckanut Drive) between Burlington and Bellingham is well worth the extra 30 or so minutes it takes over I-5. Plus, Fairhaven is a nice little stop to do some strolling.

Also should note that SR 529 on the north side of Everett is another fun alternative if you like grungy old bridges in industrial zones. It also avoids I-5, which will be under some level of lane-reducing construction for many summer weekends.

Next weekend, I think my wife and I are going to NE Iowa to visit a maple syrup bottler and that should get me parts of US 18 that I don't have.

There's a good chance I may have to postpone my Northern Florida day trip I was planning for tomorrow, due to a sinus infection.  :angry:


UPDATE; March 18, 2023; I'm taking this trip on March 23 no matter what.

Sometime after Memorial Day weekend, I am planning a trip through western Pennsylvania through West Virginia, Ohio, and Maryland and hope to travel and possibly clinch some new routes while I'm out that way. Will be visiting Pittsburgh, so I hope to try to clinch the newly completed section of PA 576.

I'll throw out an update out on here.

Still going to Crater Lake NP, Oregon in June via the Loneliest Road across Nevada.

Then next winter I want to go back to Mexico again. Wanting to drive through the cities of Monterrey, Saltillo, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Leon, Guanajuato, Irapuato, Celaya, Queretaro, and San Luis Potosi. That would add 6 states to my Mexico count and bring my total up to 15.

On March 23, I took a day trip to Fanning Springs. Keystone Heights, and Saint Augustine, and sadly most of the pics I took from the first two locations turned out like crap. Only today I was able to rename and post the one photograph from FL 100 in Keystone Heights that was worth using. I have a good mind to send my dog to my mother, and haul ass back up to the Fanning Springs some midday. However, since my next trip will involve recycling some glass in Polk County, I'll have to postpone those plans.

Earlier this year: short weekend trip to the Eastern Sierra, was hoping to get to Mono Lake. No luck. However, it seems 395 is now fully reopened, so I might try again this weekend.

Then in late May/early June, want to drive through Yosemite (Tioga Pass, CA-120). I must have done this when I was younger but strangely I have very little memory of Yosemite, somehow I've avoided it almost my whole life. Really need to change that.

This September, planning a two-week NorCal driving trip.

Week 1: Lassen Volcanic National Park + Lava Beds National Monument
Week 2: Redwoods

Ideally my plan is this: CA-27 to CA-118 to CA-23 to CA-126 to CA-150 to CA-33 to CA-41 to Fresno. CA-41 to CA-49, clinch all of CA-49, then take CA-70 to US-395 to Susanville. However, I might consider one of the Sierra crossings. I did a similar trip in 2020 and did Sonora Pass (CA-108). This time, I'm thinking of doing either CA-4 to CA-89, or CA-88. I've not driven on either of these, and either of these would have be skirt around the Tahoe area. On the other hand, I've never clinched CA-49 and it would be neat to do the entire highway.

The second week is a lot easier. I intend to finally drive on and clinch all of CA-96, then CA-299 into Eureka. Good groves to the south and north (Crescent City). Always at the mercy of road conditions in this part of the state, though.

Quote from: Quillz on April 10, 2023, 04:01:13 AM
Then in late May/early June, want to drive through Yosemite (Tioga Pass, CA-120). I must have done this when I was younger but strangely I have very little memory of Yosemite, somehow I've avoided it almost my whole life. Really need to change that.

There's no way this is going to be doable in May or early June, I'm afraid. From Yosemite's website:

Quote
Yosemite has received near-record snowpack during the winter of 2022—2023. In years with somewhat similar snowpack, Tioga Road has opened in late June or early July. There is no way to provide a more precise estimate.

Well then July-August is fine. Just whenever it opens.

Quote from: Bruce on March 02, 2023, 08:50:01 PM

Quote from: doorknob60 on February 27, 2023, 07:30:00 PM
Mid April: Long weekend to Salt Lake City. Nothing particularly interesting or new road wise, probably will stick to I-84/I-15.

End of July: The big road trip of this year. Boise to Vancouver, BC for a few days (overnight near Everett). Then down to Seaside, OR for a while. Then up to Spokane, WA for a couple days, then back down to Boise.

I don't think I'll hit any new or interesting highways though, other than I-5 north of Everett and the highways around Vancouver which I haven't driven on myself. I imagine we'll stick to I-84/I-82/I-90/I-5 from Boise to Vancouver. Anything else would add a ton of time (and we already did the US-97/US-2 diversion last time, no need to repeat that this time).

If you haven't been on it yet, SR 11 (Chuckanut Drive) between Burlington and Bellingham is well worth the extra 30 or so minutes it takes over I-5. Plus, Fairhaven is a nice little stop to do some strolling.

Also should note that SR 529 on the north side of Everett is another fun alternative if you like grungy old bridges in industrial zones. It also avoids I-5, which will be under some level of lane-reducing construction for many summer weekends.

Good ideas, I may check those out. We need to be in Langley, BC by 1:30 PM, so if we're able to get a quick start out of Marysville, should leave plenty of time for some detours, even leaving a cushion for the border crossing. I'll probably check out SR 529 heading up to our Marysville hotel after visiting the Funko HQ in Everett (assuming we can make it there before they close; we succeeded last time even with our Leavenworth detour).

We just came back from a short trip to Phoenix. I was there for work and my wife went as well to visit her brother, who lives in the area. Unfortunately, work didn't leave me much time for sightseeing or exploring the roads, and our flight to Arizona on Saturday night was delayed three and a half hours because the plane was late on its prior flight . That meant we arrived after midnight, so I just took the most direct route through the streets to the hotel. Plus eastbound I-10 was closed in the area near the airport, and then yesterday I again needed to take the most direct route because we had to return the rental car by 8:30 AM. End result: I knocked off a new piece of I-17 on our way to my brother-in-law's house on Sunday, but I now have 5.9 miles of said route left to complete a clinch and I don't know when, or if, I might get back out there.

For those of you who are NFL fans, I passed Ed Hochuli's law office a couple of times while walking to and from work. Didn't encounter him, though.

Quote from: doorknob60 on February 27, 2023, 07:30:00 PM
Mid April: Long weekend to Salt Lake City. Nothing particularly interesting or new road wise, probably will stick to I-84/I-15.

Update, we got back from this trip, and decided to take a detour on the way back. We decided we wanted to visit a shop we like in Idaho Falls. We took the opportunity to divert onto US-91 through Logan and Preston, then we took ID-34 up to US-30 (I wanted to add Caribou County to my map). From Idaho Falls back to Boise, we used US-20 which is always my preference over I-15/I-86/I-84. We also took a side trip on Saturday to Park City then down US-189 down to Provo, adding a couple new counties there.

ITD really needs to repave US-20, most of the highway from Idaho Falls to ID-75 is kinda bumpy. It was like this in 2021 and it hasn't gotten better. West of ID-75 it's mostly fine. Still fine to drive at 65-75 no problem, but the bumps get annoying after a while. All the other highways we used were in good shape. I was a big fan of that stretch of US-30. Mostly 4 lanes, 65 MPH Speed Limit, and very little traffic. Pretty scenery too. I'd like to drive through there again, maybe all the way into Wyoming as an alternate to I-80/I-84.

My April glass run to Polk County was done on the 19th. So I have to decide if I want to go to St. Augustine again, or Folkston, Georgia next. I also have to stay alert for the health of one of my ailing relatives up north. Because if they die, my mother and I will have to drive up I-95 for the funeral.

Unfortunately, this may not provide me with the chance to take any pictures in the Five Boroughs, Long Island, or Upstate, New York.

UPDATE: Instead of St. Augustine, Folkston, or a Polk County glass run, I drove to the Big Bend today. I wanted to gather some pics I failed to get in Fanning Springs last time. I also wanted to get more along US 19 from Perry, and points north to I-10.

I might be going on a trip to Georgia on Thursday, though not a very high chance.

Just took a trip from Kansas City, MO to just outside of Natchitoches, LA.  Took a detour where I-49 ends in Fort Smith, AR to take in the "scenic route" in Oklahoma.  Back on US-71 in southern Arkansas.  It was only on planning my trip that I found out I'd be driving through a small part of Texas  Just went straight through on US-71 on the way back.

If you happen to be in Shreveport for lunch or dinner, head downtown and stop in at Pepitos XO.  Fantastic food.  The floutas may not be on the menu yet, but ask for them, anyway.

The only other thing I have planned is a friend's wedding has me taking the much-trod I-70 to St Louis next month.

Quote from: BlueOutback7 on April 02, 2023, 12:30:30 PM
Sometime after Memorial Day weekend, I am planning a trip through western Pennsylvania through West Virginia, Ohio, and Maryland and hope to travel and possibly clinch some new routes while I’m out that way. Will be visiting Pittsburgh, so I hope to try to clinch the newly completed section of PA 576.

So it looks like my itinerary has changed a bit and I will instead be heading further west to Columbus, Ohio then drive back to Massachusetts via I-71 and I-90. The Morgantown/Cumberland part of the trip looks to be a bit far out of the way for my personal schedule. I also plan to do a road trip out to Michigan sometime in October.

Going to Calgary and Banff next weekend. Anyone have suggestions on things to look out for up there in terms of road happenings? I know that part of the beltway is still under construction and plan on checking it out.

United just launched non-stops from Denver to San Juan, so the wife and I are going and I got permission to clinch all of the PR Interstates.

Quote from: JayhawkCO on May 25, 2023, 12:09:49 PM
United just launched non-stops from Denver to San Juan, so the wife and I are going and I got permission to clinch all of the PR Interstates.

At what cost?

Quote from: Rothman on May 25, 2023, 12:29:03 PM

Quote from: JayhawkCO on May 25, 2023, 12:09:49 PM
United just launched non-stops from Denver to San Juan, so the wife and I are going and I got permission to clinch all of the PR Interstates.

At what cost?

The ticket? Or for my relationship? :)

We're spending most of the trip in San Juan itself, but I sold it as a chance to see more of Puerto Rico than just San Juan. She likes road trips too, and it least it isn't her tagging along with me to clinch some eastern Wyoming state highways.

Just got back from a trip to Memphis to see family. I was able to experiment with two new routes heading there and coming back.

On the way there, I generally followed the future I-69 corridor, mostly using US 59, I-20, US 167, and US 79, as well as a few Louisiana back roads (detouring out of the way of a bridge under construction in the process) in order to avoid traffic on I-30 and I-40 in Arkansas. On the way back, I used I-55 south out of Memphis to I-10, except I bypassed Baton Rouge to the north using the Audubon bridge to avoid traffic (which was another chaotic mix of backroads).

Planning a road trip to Halifax in July. The route I'm planning to take is through Quebec, around Gaspé, down the east side of New Brunswick, and crossing into PEI to pick up the counties there, too. I plan to finish the counties of NB, NS, and PEI.

I had an NC trip on the 18th. I got a few new counties in VA and NC. The Georgia trip may happen next Sunday.

Quote from: algorerhythms on May 28, 2023, 07:22:13 PM
Planning a road trip to Halifax in July. The route I'm planning to take is through Quebec, around Gaspé, down the east side of New Brunswick, and crossing into PEI to pick up the counties there, too. I plan to finish the counties of NB, NS, and PEI.

I got all the NS and PEI counties two years ago on my trip to the region, but couldn't make all of the NB ones make sense. Beautiful part of the world.

My plan for NB is to enter at Campbellton, go down the eastern side, stay the night in Moncton (crossing the river to pick off Albert County). Then on the return trip, going down NB 1 to St. George, then backtracking up NB 7 to NB 2/TCH back to Quebec.

In July, we're doing a rerun of one of my all-time favorites - Pigeon Forge, TN (from Metro Detroit).  It's where my wife and I went on our honeymoon 25 years ago (although we flew down for that trip, but we've gone there a couple times since then).  My favorite part (until we go into the Great Smokies) is the mountain scenery on I-75 south of Lexington to Knoxville.  We do the 563 miles over two days; we can't handle more than 5 or 6 hours driving a day, plus you need a rest after the combination of Ohio cornfields and the stressful Dayton-Cincinnati stretch.

My wife & I recently took a week-long trip thru Upstate NY & New England with multiple stops, resulting in quite a bit of new interstate (and backroad) mileage for me. Spent nights in Lake George NY, Springfield MA, Stowe VT, Portland ME, Bar Harbor ME, and finally Boston MA (mainly to break up the drive from Bar Harbor back to Maryland).

Some of the non-road highlights included rail-biking on an abandoned railroad near Hadley NY, a steamboat cruise on Lake George, multiple waterfall hikes near Stowe, doing the Mt. Washington Cog Railway (worked out perfectly that it was on the way from Stowe to Portland), checking out Portland Head Light, a sailing cruise out of Bar Harbor, and of course Acadia National Park. Meanwhile, road highlights included driving the Thruway (exits 15 to 24 & B1 to Mass) for my first time post-AET conversion and getting to check out the recently-reopened Plattekill Service Area (CFA had quite the line while BK & Starbucks were deserted), scenic views on I-91 & I-89 throughout VT, US 302 thru Crawford Notch & the White Mountains in general, the Cadillac Mountain Road (and the rest of the Acadia road network), the Maine Turnpike and their mainline toll plazas redone to include ORT (may have also clogged a toilet at the West Gardiner Service Plaza - oops), the Tobin & Zakim Bridges & O'Neill Tunnel in Boston, and finally a rare congestion-free trip thru Connecticut on I-84, I-91 & the Wilbur Cross/Merritt Parkways followed immediately by an equally-smooth trip over the Tappan Zee.

Touched on a few of the routes above, but the routes each travel day were:
-I-83 NB, US 30 EB, US 222 NB, I-78 EB, I-287 NB, I-87 NB to Lake George
-I-87 SB & I-90 EB to Springfield
-I-91 NB, I-89 NB, VT 100 NB to Stowe
-VT 100 NB, VT 15 EB, US 2 EB, I-91 SB, I-93 SB, US 302 EB, ME 113 SB, ME 25 EB, ME 112 EB, ME 114 SB, I-295 NB to Portland
-I-295 NB, I-95 NB, I-395 EB, US 1A EB, ME 3 EB to Bar Harbor
-ME 3 WB, US 1A WB, I-395 WB, I-95 SB, I-295 SB, Falmouth Spur WB, I-95 SB, US 1 SB, I-93 SB to Boston
-I-90 WB, I-84 WB, I-91 SB, CT 15 SB, I-287 WB/SB, I-78 WB, US 222 SB, US 30 WB, I-83 SB back to Maryland

Total tolls for the trip were $24 (would have been much higher if I had used the I-95 corridor from MD to NY) broken down as follows:
-$7.00 to MeTA
-$6.95 to NYSTA
-$6.80 to MassDOT
-$2.00 to NHDOT
-$1.25 to DRJTBC

It's really something how much tolling technology has changed - every single toll point I passed was either AET or hybrid conventional/ORT. The only 2 times I had to pass thru a conventional lane was in order to access a rest area just beyond the toll plaza that can't be accessed from the ORT lanes (I-295 SB for the West Gardiner Service Plaza & I-78 WB for the Pennsylvania Welcome Center).

Next trip: Seattle to Glacier National Park. Will be taking US 93 up from Missoula and likely returning back the same way.

Currently in the planning stages but I am planning a trip down the East Coast towards Atlanta towards the end of August to early September. Would involve taking I-81 and down I-26 through Tennessee on the way. Probably would return home via I-85/I-95.

I'm likely going to Ocean City, MD in August. Probably taking US 29-I-66-I-495-US 50 there.

Quote from: Hunty2022 on July 21, 2023, 08:59:15 PM
I'm likely going to Ocean City, MD in August. Probably taking US 29-I-66-I-495-US 50 there.

The trip is tomorrow, August 9-13. I also took a pre-trip today to Charlottesville, and got almost 400 photos, and 3rd in most photos for a single trip. I will likely beat my current record of 921 from the NC Trip tomorrow.

Finalized my October driving trip!

One week in the Susanville/Lassen area, followed by one week in the Eureka/redwoods area. Last visited Lassen Peak in 2020, want to ascend it again. Might also do an additional day trip to Mt. Shasta.

So for the drive up, gonna take the "West Side Highway" through the Central Valley. CA-33 all the way from the 101 to the 41. That will get me to Fresno. Then from there, I plan to clinch all of CA-49. Originally I was gonna cut across one of the Sierra passes (I've still yet to do CA-4, CA-88, US-50). But I've also never been on the 49 north of Sonora so I want to finally get it done. I figure some other trip I can get one of those Sierra passes out of the way.

Also going to get some other clinching done during the second week. CA-161 and CA-96. Going a bit out of my way here, but I want to hit up Lava Beds National Monument, and I just love the Klamath Range and following the river. Yet somehow I've never actually been on any part of 96 north of the 169 junction. Beyond that pretty bog standard redwood trip for me, I usually drive up to Crescent City so I can hit the Jed Smith groves. Then go south of Eureka for the Avenue of the Giants. Then in between there is Prairie Creek.

Quote from: Hunty2022 on May 28, 2023, 09:28:17 PM
I had an NC trip on the 18th. I got a few new counties in VA and NC. The Georgia trip may happen next Sunday.

The Georgia Trip is happening this Friday. I will likely stay there for 4 days, and possibly go into Florida during the trip.

Probably taking I-95 from VA-288 or I-295 to around Savannah, GA.

EDIT: I will probably take US 29 to Greensboro, NC, then take either I-73 or I-85. I would likely get onto US 1 to US 52 if I take I-73, and I-77 to I-26 if I took I-85. I would get onto I-95 at either Florence (US 52), or east of Orangeburg (I-26). I would then take I-95 to around Savannah, GA.

My trip down to the Smokies has been finalized. Will be driving from Massachusetts to Harrisonburg, VA on 8/28. I will be taking I-78 and I-81. Was originally going to clinch I-66, but won’t be due to DC traffic.

Afterwards I will be driving to Asheville, NC taking I-26 through Tennessee. From there I will pass through Knoxville and take I-75 towards Atlanta possibly detouring into Alabama. Will then pick my mother up in Charlotte and drive back to Massachusetts.

Driving to KC at the end of September and plan on getting a county clinch for Kansas as well as knocking out the Oklahoma panhandle counties.

Quote from: JayhawkCO on August 22, 2023, 12:44:53 PM
Driving to KC at the end of September and plan on getting a county clinch for Kansas as well as knocking out the Oklahoma panhandle counties.

Eddie's Steaks and Seafood in Guymon is a great place for a KC Strip if you catch the area at mealtime.

Quote from: BlueOutback7 on August 22, 2023, 11:26:55 AM
My trip down to the Smokies has been finalized. Will be driving from Massachusetts to Harrisonburg, VA on 8/28. I will be taking I-78 and I-81. Was originally going to clinch I-66, but won't be due to DC traffic.

Afterwards I will be driving to Asheville, NC taking I-26 through Tennessee. From there I will pass through Knoxville and take I-75 towards Atlanta possibly detouring into Alabama. Will then pick my mother up in Charlotte and drive back to Massachusetts.

Unless you have a specific reason for that Asheville-Atlanta route, why not take US 23?

Quote from: MikieTimT on August 22, 2023, 01:27:54 PM

Quote from: JayhawkCO on August 22, 2023, 12:44:53 PM
Driving to KC at the end of September and plan on getting a county clinch for Kansas as well as knocking out the Oklahoma panhandle counties.

Eddie's Steaks and Seafood in Guymon is a great place for a KC Strip if you catch the area at mealtime.

Not sure if I'll get that far into Oklahoma. Was planning on just crossing the border and flipping around. As it stands, I'm making an 8.5 hour drive into a 12.5 hour drive. :)

Quote from: Hunty2022 on August 22, 2023, 11:07:21 AM

Quote from: Hunty2022 on May 28, 2023, 09:28:17 PM
I had an NC trip on the 18th. I got a few new counties in VA and NC. The Georgia trip may happen next Sunday.

The Georgia Trip is happening this Friday. I will likely stay there for 4 days, and possibly go into Florida during the trip.

Probably taking I-95 from VA-288 or I-295 to around Savannah, GA.

EDIT: I will probably take US 29 to Greensboro, NC, then take either I-73 or I-85. I would likely get onto US 1 to US 52 if I take I-73, and I-77 to I-26 if I took I-85. I would get onto I-95 at either Florence (US 52), or east of Orangeburg (I-26). I would then take I-95 to around Savannah, GA.

I took the US 29/I-85/I-77/I-26/I-95 route to Georgia. I am also about to go to Florida today.

I had a road trip plan to spend a few days with my mother up in Oklahoma City and visit some museums. This is a 200 mile / three hour drive each way. I had the hotel booked and was going to have the cat boarded.

My 82yo mother insisted that I cancel and to possibly make it a day trip. :pan:

So I'm on my vacation now. Presently staying in Susanville as I'm visiting Lassen a few times this week (already walked up the peak earlier today). Will be visiting Lava Beds National Monument at the end of the week, so I'll probably clinch CA-161 as a result.

So I finally clinched all of CA-49. Drove the entire route start to finish after a long day of driving. I was really impressed by the Auburn area, lots of nice stuff along the American River I may want to check out. I also never realized it's basically another route that crosses the Sierra, with a significant west-east portion north of I-80.

Also did the last segment of CA-41 I've never been on before, the segment between US-101 and CA-46. I way pointed in Fresno and did so via the "old world" Central Valley routes. (Mainly CA-33 and CA-41). Also clinched CA-153, notable for being the shortest signed route in the state.

Next week, I will be clinching all of CA-96 as my second week will be in the redwood curtain. Never driven on it except for the southernmost portion.

The segment of 41 between 46 and 101 is an underrated fun drive.  Hard to believe east of Creston that it was US 466 until 1958.

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on October 03, 2023, 08:37:06 AM
The segment of 41 between 46 and 101 is an underrated fun drive.  Hard to believe east of Creston that it was US 466 until 1958.

All of 46 east of Paso Robles is a wide expressway, reminds me a lot of US-395. If I hadn't already known it used to be US-466, I would have still believed it was. The rest felt much more like the typical Central California routes, that portion of 41 felt a bit like the 46 between the coast as Paso Robles, narrower and curvy but had some good scenery.

Coming up in just over a week is a trip around Southern California for our first wedding anniversary. We're flying into & out of LAX, but from there will be driving all over to Santa Monica, Long Beach, Joshua Tree, Palm Springs, San Diego, Laguna Beach, Anaheim, DTLA, Hollywood, Thousand Oaks & Malibu. Anticipated freeways we'll hit include the 5, 8, 10, 15, 60, 91, 101, 105, 110, 215, 405, & 710. In particular from that list I'm looking forward to checking out the Arroyo Seco Parkway & the Figueroa Street Tunnels, as well as the Vincent Thomas Bridge & Long Beach International Gateway by the ports.

If you're going to Thousand Oaks, you'll also likely be on the freeway portion of CA-23. Thousand Oaks isn't that exciting, although if you are continuing on to the Oxnard Plain (and places like Camarillo or Ventura), well, I'd recommend that. Some nice beaches in Ventura and the weather is always good.

Specifically, why not drive the entirety of PCH from Dana Point to Oxnard? You'll go through Malibu and there are some great views. Some famous beaches as well, including Zuma. Point Dume is a good stopping point, you can park and walk up to the top of it, there are some short trails in the area.

2023 isn't over yet, so I have a trip to report. Two days ago, I took a drive to St. Augustine. But before I went there, I had to go southeast to the rest areas of I-4 in Polk County to get rid of some glass for recycling. From there I took a convoluted route around most of the traffic of Metro Orlando. I say "most," because I needed to go through some of it to get some pics of Intercession City.

From there I took Poinciana Boulevard to get to US 192, and took that to US 27. I drove from Four Corners to Leesburg, and I got a couple of shots of the Florida Citrus Tower between Clermont and Minneola, and got some of the scenes revolving around the northern interchange with the Turnpike. I'm still kicking myself for not capturing the southern Turnpike interchange and the accompanying one with FL 19.

I've never been able to get a good shot of anything along US 441-FL 44 between Leesburg and Mount Dora. This time was no exception.

My pics of the replacement for the FL 44 Bridge over the St. Johns River have improved.

To my surprise, I was able to capture some scenes along FL 442, US 1 between New Smyrna Beach and Port Orange, and FL 5A. I also encountered Biketoberfest if anyone here is interested in that.

And yes, I got a lot of the sites I wanted in St. Augustine... which wasn't much this time.

 
The next trip will be to Folkston, Georgia, and any NYC trips seem to depend on whether or not some of my relatives up there will die.

Quote from: jmacswimmer on October 03, 2023, 01:35:40 PM
Coming up in just over a week is a trip around Southern California for our first wedding anniversary. We're flying into & out of LAX, but from there will be driving all over to Santa Monica, Long Beach, Joshua Tree, Palm Springs, San Diego, Laguna Beach, Anaheim, DTLA, Hollywood, Thousand Oaks & Malibu. Anticipated freeways we'll hit include the 5, 8, 10, 15, 60, 91, 101, 105, 110, 215, 405, & 710. In particular from that list I'm looking forward to checking out the Arroyo Seco Parkway & the Figueroa Street Tunnels, as well as the Vincent Thomas Bridge & Long Beach International Gateway by the ports.

Quote from: Quillz on October 03, 2023, 02:01:05 PM
If you're going to Thousand Oaks, you'll also likely be on the freeway portion of CA-23. Thousand Oaks isn't that exciting, although if you are continuing on to the Oxnard Plain (and places like Camarillo or Ventura), well, I'd recommend that. Some nice beaches in Ventura and the weather is always good.

Specifically, why not drive the entirety of PCH from Dana Point to Oxnard? You'll go through Malibu and there are some great views. Some famous beaches as well, including Zuma. Point Dume is a good stopping point, you can park and walk up to the top of it, there are some short trails in the area.

Looping back to this now that the trip is complete:

Main reason Thousand Oaks was on the list was that I have extended family there - didn't go any further west or north beyond there, and didn't utilize CA 23 at all - just US 101.

While we didn't have the time to hit the PCH in one go as you described, we did hit pieces of it on different days - from Dana Point to Laguna Beach one day (and then took CA 133 thru the Laguna Canyon up towards Anaheim), followed by Santa Monica to Malibu another day (and then up Malibu Canyon Road to Thousand Oaks from there). We were on this stretch of the PCH around 6 PM, so we pulled off at Topanga Beach to catch the sunset there.

Overall, the trip was fantastic - might get around to posting some road photos in another thread at some point, but I certainly had a blast driving the SoCal freeways (while strategically avoiding the worst of rush hour). I did end up hitting every freeway on my initial list, with 2 additions: CA 56 & 163 in San Diego. As for major bridges, I added the Coronado Bridge in addition to the Vincent Thomas Bridge & Long Beach International Gateway. As a final side note, LAX terminal 1 is gorgeous post-renovation as well!

Heading to Puerto Rico next weekend where the plan is to clinch all of the PR interstates and also knock out some of my "lowest number you haven't traveled on" routes.

Just over a weekend?  To get all the PR Interstates would seem to take up much of that time.

Quote from: JayhawkCO on October 25, 2023, 11:13:06 AM
Heading to Puerto Rico next weekend where the plan is to clinch all of the PR interstates and also knock out some of my "lowest number you haven't traveled on" routes.

Yeah, Puerto Rico has route-numbers all over for that.  Hopefully, you get to post tons of photos for even a few of the obscure ones.

Ah, but should tertiary routes count? :D

Quote from: 74/171FAN on October 25, 2023, 11:29:50 AM

Quote from: JayhawkCO on October 25, 2023, 11:13:06 AM
Heading to Puerto Rico next weekend where the plan is to clinch all of the PR interstates and also knock out some of my "lowest number you haven't traveled on" routes.

Yeah, Puerto Rico has route-numbers all over for that.  Hopefully, you get to post tons of photos for even a few of the obscure ones.

The total length of all Puerto Rico's Interstate highways comes to only 250 miles.  Even assuming one has to double back on the entire length of PR-3, it's still less than 300 miles total.

Quote from: kphoger on October 25, 2023, 11:33:51 AM

Quote from: 74/171FAN on October 25, 2023, 11:29:50 AM

Quote from: JayhawkCO on October 25, 2023, 11:13:06 AM
Heading to Puerto Rico next weekend where the plan is to clinch all of the PR interstates and also knock out some of my "lowest number you haven't traveled on" routes.

Yeah, Puerto Rico has route-numbers all over for that.  Hopefully, you get to post tons of photos for even a few of the obscure ones.

The total length of all Puerto Rico's Interstate highways comes to only 250 miles.  Even assuming one has to double back on the entire length of PR-3, it's still less than 300 miles total.

Right, but then you have to take into account traffic and how long it actually takes to get from points A to B in Puerto Rico...It's not like the Mainland...

Quote from: Rothman on October 25, 2023, 11:40:03 AM

Quote from: kphoger on October 25, 2023, 11:33:51 AM

Quote from: 74/171FAN on October 25, 2023, 11:29:50 AM

Quote from: JayhawkCO on October 25, 2023, 11:13:06 AM
Heading to Puerto Rico next weekend where the plan is to clinch all of the PR interstates and also knock out some of my "lowest number you haven't traveled on" routes.

Yeah, Puerto Rico has route-numbers all over for that.  Hopefully, you get to post tons of photos for even a few of the obscure ones.

The total length of all Puerto Rico's Interstate highways comes to only 250 miles.  Even assuming one has to double back on the entire length of PR-3, it's still less than 300 miles total.

Right, but then you have to take into account traffic and how long it actually takes to get from points A to B in Puerto Rico...It's not like the Mainland...

We're going to leave pretty early on Monday morning to get out of San Juan before rush hour. Do the interstates first with a couple of side trips to get my lowest missing numbers that are only a couple of miles off of the highway. Then finish off I-PR3 and then have lunch on the beach somewhere around Ceiba and then head to Yunque Rainforest for some hiking. Should be a pretty nice day. The rest of the trip will just be spent in San Juan and surrounding areas.

United just launched Denver-San Juan non-stop, so should be a fun long weekend.

Quote from: JayhawkCO on October 25, 2023, 11:48:48 AM

Quote from: Rothman on October 25, 2023, 11:40:03 AM

Quote from: kphoger on October 25, 2023, 11:33:51 AM

Quote from: 74/171FAN on October 25, 2023, 11:29:50 AM

Quote from: JayhawkCO on October 25, 2023, 11:13:06 AM
Heading to Puerto Rico next weekend where the plan is to clinch all of the PR interstates and also knock out some of my "lowest number you haven't traveled on" routes.

Yeah, Puerto Rico has route-numbers all over for that.  Hopefully, you get to post tons of photos for even a few of the obscure ones.

The total length of all Puerto Rico's Interstate highways comes to only 250 miles.  Even assuming one has to double back on the entire length of PR-3, it's still less than 300 miles total.

Right, but then you have to take into account traffic and how long it actually takes to get from points A to B in Puerto Rico...It's not like the Mainland...

We're going to leave pretty early on Monday morning to get out of San Juan before rush hour. Do the interstates first with a couple of side trips to get my lowest missing numbers that are only a couple of miles off of the highway. Then finish off I-PR3 and then have lunch on the beach somewhere around Ceiba and then head to Yunque Rainforest for some hiking. Should be a pretty nice day. The rest of the trip will just be spent in San Juan and surrounding areas.

United just launched Denver-San Juan non-stop, so should be a fun long weekend.

Most excellent.

I'm going on the Blue Ridge Parkway today, how far south? I don't know yet.

Quote from: Hunty2022 on November 11, 2023, 10:34:40 AM
I'm going on the Blue Ridge Parkway today, how far south? I don't know yet.

I decided to go on Skyline Drive instead, entered at US 33, and took it north to Pinnacle Overlook in Rappahannock County. I then turned around to went to the first east-facing overlook south of US 33, before turning back around and going home.

I took 825 photos during this trip.

I took my trip to Folkston yesterday. I decided to take FL-GA 121 all the way there from Gainesville, with a short detour onto CR 231 and FL 18. My camera battery died on me at the approach to the FL 121 truck weigh stations. I had no way of charging it up, and because the camera took EN-EL-19 batteries, I couldn't find anybody who sold them. All of my chargers sucked, my car can't charge anything to save my life, and even my jump starter wasn't able to do anything for me. I finally decided to use my cell phone despite the lack of space on it, and it forced me put the thing in self-portrait-mode, which I couldn't get out of. As I was waiting for the next train, my phone started to die on me too. So, I had to just pack up and go home! :verymad:  :thumbdown:

I'd be exaggerating if I said this was the worst Folkston trip ever, but it was still pretty bad for me.

Quote from: D-Dey65 on November 29, 2023, 04:23:06 PM
I took my trip to Folkston yesterday. I decided to take FL-GA 121 all the way there from Gainesville, with a short detour onto CR 231 and FL 18. My camera battery died on me at the approach to the FL 121 truck weigh stations. I had no way of charging it up, and because the camera took EN-EL-19 batteries, I couldn't find anybody who sold them. All of my chargers sucked, my car can't charge anything to save my life, and even my jump starter wasn't able to do anything for me. I finally decided to use my cell phone despite the lack of space on it, and it forced me put the thing in self-portrait-mode, which I couldn't get out of. As I was waiting for the next train, my phone started to die on me too. So, I had to just pack up and go home! :verymad: 

I'd be exaggerating if I said this was the worst Folkston trip ever, but it was still pretty bad for me.

You must have an old car.

Quote from: Rothman on November 29, 2023, 05:27:25 PM
You must have an old car.

2002 Toyota Camry. It runs fine, and evidently gets some decent gas mileage. But charging your stuff with the thing has always been a pain in the ass.

I want to get a new front bumper that can handle my foglights. The bumper pods on mine are fake. Being forced to take care of the family dog kind of gets in the way of that.

Quote from: D-Dey65 on November 29, 2023, 06:13:49 PM

Quote from: Rothman on November 29, 2023, 05:27:25 PM
You must have an old car.

2002 Toyota Camry. It runs fine, and evidently gets some decent gas mileage. But charging your stuff with the thing has always been a pain in the ass.

I want to get a new front bumper that can handle my foglights. The bumper pods on mine are fake. Being forced to take care of the family dog kind of gets in the way of that.

21 years = old car.

Yes, it's old. But that charging issue has been around for a long time.

Quote from: clong on December 07, 2022, 01:46:30 PM
Planning a family trip for next summer
Birmingham to Seattle (I-65 to Chicago, I-90/94 primarily to Seattle)
South on I-5 to Portland to begin our way back via I-80/84 to at least Illinois, still figuring out the exact route home from there to maximize roads and/or counties)

Shortened the route and turned around in Southern Idaho opting for a separate WA/OR/Northern ID/Western MT trip in the future, but did most of what we planned in late June/early July.

Today I'm going on a surprise redo of my December 10, 2022 trip to Waynesboro. Harrisonburg is also a possible extension.

The next, and probably last one for 2023 is going to be another glass run to Polk County.