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Going off-route on your travels

Started by Mike_OH, January 21, 2014, 04:55:02 PM

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bugo

It depends.  I don't like driving through towns with speed limits, lights, and Barney so I usually stick to freeways.  Sometimes I'll take a new way but I usually stick to the fast way especially at night.


hotdogPi

Quote from: bugo on January 25, 2014, 02:08:17 PM
I don't like driving through towns with speed limits, lights, and Barney

All towns have speed limits. Do you mean "reduced speed limits put in place by the town"?

I assume "lights" means traffic lights, not street lights.

And if you don't like driving through towns with Barney, that means no Bennington VT. It has a Barney Rd.
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.

Buck87

If possible/practical I usually try to go back a different way than I came.

1995hoo

Following on a comment froggie made earlier about how sometimes you just want to get somewhere, my inclination to go off-course will vary depending on the type of trip I'm taking. If I'm going to one place for the whole trip–say if we're heading to Viera to visit my sister-in-law for the week at Thanksgiving or Christmas–I'll consider all sorts of different routes because I'll be driving less when I'm there and I won't have as much opportunity to explore new roads and places. I'll use non-Interstates and two-lane roads (within reason!) on the trip to or from Florida just to find something new.

But if we're going to a series of places, like in July 2008 when we drove all over Nova Scotia stopping for one to three nights in all sorts of different places (e.g., three nights at the Keltic Lodge, a night at the Glenora Distillery, two nights at the Digby Pines, etc.), I'm more likely to stick to the Interstate or comparable-grade roads on my way to and from the general destination and to take a relatively direct route unless there's a backup or a wreck. Then when we get there I'll usually stay off the main highways (such as there are) in favor of more scenic routes when it's feasible to do so. In this case driving around the destination is a major part of the trip and I'd rather just get there sooner. Of course, I may still use an alternate route if feasible–next time we go to Quebec I may try to use I-89 since I've never been that way (been up I-81, I-87, and I-91, but never I-89). I might try to use I-88 as well for the same reason.

At some point, of course, you encounter situations where it's just hard to find a new route through familiar territory (example might be going from Fort Myers to Miami–there just aren't too many alternatives that don't require going way too far out of the way).
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

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

hbelkins

I have been on I-79 and I-68 so many times that these very scenic routes are getting old. Unfortunately, there are really no other routes to use to reach the destinations to which those routes lead. One option is I-77 to US 50 and then rejoin I-79, but it's longer. If there was a good alternate route to get to the Northeast, I'd take it


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

hotdogPi

Quote from: hbelkins on January 25, 2014, 08:21:16 PM
I have been on I-79 and I-68 so many times that these very scenic routes are getting old. Unfortunately, there are really no other routes to use to reach the destinations to which those routes lead. One option is I-77 to US 50 and then rejoin I-79, but it's longer. If there was a good alternate route to get to the Northeast, I'd take it

Would I-80 work?
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.

Alps

Quote from: 1 on January 25, 2014, 08:37:30 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on January 25, 2014, 08:21:16 PM
I have been on I-79 and I-68 so many times that these very scenic routes are getting old. Unfortunately, there are really no other routes to use to reach the destinations to which those routes lead. One option is I-77 to US 50 and then rejoin I-79, but it's longer. If there was a good alternate route to get to the Northeast, I'd take it

Would I-80 work?
No.

Brandon

Quote from: 1 on January 25, 2014, 03:17:07 PM
Quote from: bugo on January 25, 2014, 02:08:17 PM
I don't like driving through towns with speed limits, lights, and Barney

All towns have speed limits. Do you mean "reduced speed limits put in place by the town"?

I assume "lights" means traffic lights, not street lights.

And if you don't like driving through towns with Barney, that means no Bennington VT. It has a Barney Rd.

He means Barney Fifes.  It's a slang term used for overzealous small town cops.  See The Andy Griffith Show for more.
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

froggie

Leaning off-topic here, but I don't think I'd call Barney overzealous.  Overeager perhaps, but not overzealous.

Back on topic, I did a daytrip down to Raleigh yesterday.  Normally takes 3-3.5 hours to get to Raleigh.  I took 9.

Thing 342

#34
I generally like to go off route when I travel. However, my father is the exact opposite. We would generally go to Columbia, SC about five times per year, and we would ALWAYS take I-95/I-20, no matter what. That's how I memorized every single billboard on I-95 between Emporia, VA and Florence, SC. Nowadays, I generally like to take 64->I-85->I-77, or US-13 -> US-64 -> US-1 -> I-20

hbelkins

Quote from: Steve on January 26, 2014, 12:41:43 AM
Quote from: 1 on January 25, 2014, 08:37:30 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on January 25, 2014, 08:21:16 PM
I have been on I-79 and I-68 so many times that these very scenic routes are getting old. Unfortunately, there are really no other routes to use to reach the destinations to which those routes lead. One option is I-77 to US 50 and then rejoin I-79, but it's longer. If there was a good alternate route to get to the Northeast, I'd take it

Would I-80 work?
No.

Right, because you have to get to I-80 somehow.  :bigass:


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

vdeane

Quote from: Brandon on January 26, 2014, 07:49:19 AM
Quote from: 1 on January 25, 2014, 03:17:07 PM
Quote from: bugo on January 25, 2014, 02:08:17 PM
I don't like driving through towns with speed limits, lights, and Barney

All towns have speed limits. Do you mean "reduced speed limits put in place by the town"?

I assume "lights" means traffic lights, not street lights.

And if you don't like driving through towns with Barney, that means no Bennington VT. It has a Barney Rd.

He means Barney Fifes.  It's a slang term used for overzealous small town cops.  See The Andy Griffith Show for more.
I thought he meant the purple dinosaur...
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

corco

#37
Quote from: 1995hoo on January 25, 2014, 05:28:34 PM
Following on a comment froggie made earlier about how sometimes you just want to get somewhere, my inclination to go off-course will vary depending on the type of trip I'm taking. If I'm going to one place for the whole trip—say if we're heading to Viera to visit my sister-in-law for the week at Thanksgiving or Christmas—I'll consider all sorts of different routes because I'll be driving less when I'm there and I won't have as much opportunity to explore new roads and places. I'll use non-Interstates and two-lane roads (within reason!) on the trip to or from Florida just to find something new.

Funny- that's the exact opposite of what I do. If I have a specific destination, I'm a lot less likely to veer off because I typically want to get to that destination. I guess most of my other vacations are roadtrips for the sake of roadtrips, and in that instance I'll typically drive over new road until I can reasonably not do that, and then I'll switch it up. In that case though, the off-route travel IS the destination, so I guess that's different.

That said, to get from here to, say, Nebraska, I'm running out of reasonable routes. I've driven the entire Wyoming highway system and US 212 is really the only reasonable way to head southeast from Montana without really entering Wyoming, so I'm kind of boxed in- if I'm headed southeast I have eight hours of driving on familiar road before I get to anything new.


D-Dey65

Nope. I always have a purpose when I go off-route. More often than not, it's either because there's something I want to see and take pictures of, or it's because I want to avoid traffic jams.


NE2

Quote from: vdeane on January 26, 2014, 03:21:17 PM
Quote from: Brandon on January 26, 2014, 07:49:19 AM
Quote from: 1 on January 25, 2014, 03:17:07 PM
Quote from: bugo on January 25, 2014, 02:08:17 PM
I don't like driving through towns with speed limits, lights, and Barney

And if you don't like driving through towns with Barney, that means no Bennington VT. It has a Barney Rd.

He means Barney Fifes.  It's a slang term used for overzealous small town cops.  See The Andy Griffith Show for more.
I thought he meant the purple dinosaur...


Close enough?
pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

1995hoo

Quote from: corco on January 26, 2014, 03:49:35 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on January 25, 2014, 05:28:34 PM
Following on a comment froggie made earlier about how sometimes you just want to get somewhere, my inclination to go off-course will vary depending on the type of trip I'm taking. If I'm going to one place for the whole trip–say if we're heading to Viera to visit my sister-in-law for the week at Thanksgiving or Christmas–I'll consider all sorts of different routes because I'll be driving less when I'm there and I won't have as much opportunity to explore new roads and places. I'll use non-Interstates and two-lane roads (within reason!) on the trip to or from Florida just to find something new.

Funny- that's the exact opposite of what I do. If I have a specific destination, I'm a lot less likely to veer off because I typically want to get to that destination. I guess most of my other vacations are roadtrips for the sake of roadtrips, and in that instance I'll typically drive over new road until I can reasonably not do that, and then I'll switch it up. In that case though, the off-route travel IS the destination, so I guess that's different.

That said, to get from here to, say, Nebraska, I'm running out of reasonable routes. I've driven the entire Wyoming highway system and US 212 is really the only reasonable way to head southeast from Montana without really entering Wyoming, so I'm kind of boxed in- if I'm headed southeast I have eight hours of driving on familiar road before I get to anything new.



Yeah, I know exactly what you mean because there are times when I'd like to find another route due to boredom with the same old, but my wife wants to get somewhere sooner. I can't really blame her. Our relatives in Fort Myers have three kids, all younger than 10 years old, and our relatives in the Miami area have two kids I think are 10 and 7. We don't get to see them often, twice a year at most, and so when we're going to visit my wife usually wants me just to get us there promptly so we can spend as much time as we can seeing the kids. I understand that.

I can usually justify alternate routes for at least the northern part of the trip between Virginia and Florida due to I-95 traffic and road construction. Even if the distance is longer, skipping the segment between DC and Richmond is always fine with her as long as I don't overdo it. An example of what would probably be overdoing it would be taking the route I'd like to try–going down to Tennessee and then taking I-26 south. It's just a long way out of the way, we both hate I-81 in Virginia, and most importantly it's around 380 miles from our house to Bristol and I think she'd be quite vexed if we were still in Virginia after 5+ hours when we can be out of the state in under three hours if I use a more direct route!

I guess to some degree it's similar to what you note. There are some options for the southbound trip, but regardless of which one I use, we will seldom get to use one we haven't used before.

Northbound is similar in terms of not having any new routes unless I take the Northeast Extension, but I have an easier time justifying alternate routes on the trip north due to New York/New Jersey traffic.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

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

D-Dey65

Quote from: NE2 on January 26, 2014, 04:17:12 PM

Close enough?
I've seen that plenty of times. It's on a farm along Hernando County Road 476 east of US 41.


SSOWorld

#42
A good point guys

I ran out of routes between where I'm at and Milwaukee; Rhinelander (WI), most of those to Chicago, and anywhere within 150 miles of my frequent spots. 

I'm even running out of counties to clinch toward St Louis ;)

When I go east to NYC I have no intent to county hunt in IN or OH for time's sake, but I will be doing so in PA but not to great extent.  I intend on grabbing a bunch around Jersey, Delaware and on Long Island.  I'm not going after any single-year records anymore now that I have put that way the hell out of reach last year.

Routes?  Yeah there are plenty - past Pittsburgh  :bigass:

On the CHM topic - I've been hoping for CA to be activated - but I realized how annoying it may be for the developer of the route package it may be with the state's segmenting of the system (for instance the sections of SR 2 - and SR 1 - in Santa Monica.)
Scott O.

Not all who wander are lost...
Ah, the open skies, wind at my back, warm sun on my... wait, where the hell am I?!
As a matter of fact, I do own the road.
Raise your what?

Wisconsin - out-multiplexing your state since 1918.

leroys73

absolutely and often.  I have no trouble turning a 200 mile trip into a 400 mile trip.
'73 Vette, '72 Monte Carlo, ;11 Green with Envy Challenger R/T,Ram, RoyalStarVenture S,USA Honda VTX1300R ridden 49states &11provinces,Driven cars in50 states+DC&21countries,OverseasBrats;IronButt:MileEatersilver,SS1000Gold,SS3000,3xSS2000,18xSS1000, 3TX1000,6BB1500,NPT,LakeSuperiorCircleTour

froggie

Even with a snowstorm, I found it impossible to take the straight/direct route back this morning.

Pete from Boston

Really, would we be on this board if we willingly took the reasonable route anyplace?



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