2023 Road Trip Plans

[jmacswimmer]

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.

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!

[JayhawkCO]

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.

[Rothman]

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

[74/171FAN]

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.

[Rothman]

Ah, but should tertiary routes count?

[kphoger]

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.

[Rothman]

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...

[JayhawkCO]

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.

[Rothman]

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.

[Hunty2022]

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

[Hunty2022]

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.

[D-Dey65]

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!  

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

[Rothman]

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!  

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.

[D-Dey65]

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.

[Rothman]

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.

[D-Dey65]

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

[clong]

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.

[Hunty2022]

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

[D-Dey65]

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