For Memorial Day weekend, I'm taking a trip to Nashville. In the latter part of June, I'll be on the road again, this time to the Orlando area (though I don't know how much driving--if any--I will be doing). I may possibly take a day trip to New Orleans in July or early August with my girlfriend and her kids. We've only talked about it, but we haven't put together anything yet.
Had one last weekend - clinched a few roads in the Adirondack area south of Potsdam. Next Sunday is clinching the eastern end of NY 3, stuff on the I-89 corridor north of I-189, and border roads. Maybe some stuff in Canada if the Montreal min-meet happens. Hoping for the Ottawa meet as well.
I intend to use my existing trips between Rochester and Potsdam this summer to clinch some highways in the northern finger lakes and northwest of Syracuse. Also expecting the Binghamton road meet in late summer/early fall (September).
Our summer trip to visit relatives in Florida may provide me the opportunity to finish off I-95 in that state. My brother-in-law lives in the Miami area and my sister-in-law lives in the Space Coast area and I'd normally use the Turnpike to go from one to the other, but since the portion of I-95 from the Golden Glades Interchange to Fort Pierce is one of the two major segments I have yet to cover, I might make an exception this time just to cross that off my list.
I've contemplated taking US-41 across the Everglades instead of I-75, but I doubt I ever will. We took that road west to go to Shark Valley last summer and it wasn't at all interesting. Prior to that trip I think I had an incorrect mental image of the Everglades as being more like a bayou than as miles and miles of, essentially, scrub.
I'd like to make a run down to the Keys but I doubt there will be time, and I think we'd rather spend the limited time with our relatives.
Depends on what meets are scheduled, and when. I've pretty much been combining road trips with meets the last few years, and taking an extra day for route and county clinching, as opposed to taking a trip for its own sake. Environment first, transportology second, you know. :-D
Had planned on going to the DC meet in a couple of weeks, but there have been no details announced so I may have to forego, especially since I have committed to a conference in Frankfort on the day prior.
I would like to get to North Carolina to clinch the counties there. I've had to postpone a couple of planned trips to accomplish that, but I still have my route prepared in case the opportunity presents itself. Next potential state county clinches are New Hampshire (if the meet that Doug and John have talked about doing comes together) and Illinois.
We'll be co-leading a mission trip to México from June 2 through June 10. It's not easy to stop for photo opps when travelling with a group, but I'll post what I'm able to get. Not sure yet if I'll post everything together, or divide them up between the most appropriate threads. I'm also planning to record all fuel stops and post the list to the oil/gas prices thread.
This Saturday, my 4-year-old and I are going camping with some friends out at Toronto Lake. Since he and I will be driving out there by ourselves that afternoon, I'll try to stop for some photos.....assuming I remember the camera, that is.
Colorado for us! Durango/Silverton train, whitewater rafting in Moab, Arches NP, Rocky Mtn NP, Colorado Springs, Mt Evans, Pikes Peak. 12 days/11 nights!
Another adventure along the Trans Labrador Highway......lots more paving this summer (and construction too!!)
I may go to Baltimore to see the "Battle of the Vowels" (Orioles vs. Athletics, aka O's vs. A's) the next time the A's are there in late July, and I'll be taking my usual day trips on off weekends. It also depends on meets; it's looking less likely I'll be able to make the DC meet but if any other regional meets are scheduled for the summer I should be able to make one.
Most of my trips are to & from my Renaissance shows, but some of them I'll factor in an extra day or two to go exploring.
Ideally, I'd love to take a week and explore US71.
This summer will definitely include our annual pilgrimages to New Hampshire and Maine in late-June/early July, and upstate New York in August. I'm going to try and squeeze in a trip up to Montreal after New York is done, since I've been trying my hardest to get back up there. I also would like to try and get a meet going down in Wilmington, DE the first weekend of August.
Since I'll also be buying my first car very soon, I'll likely be taking numerous road trips by myself throughout the vacation.
Memorial Day: State routes of Maine's coast (tentative)
Weekend after: State routes of Maryland in northwest Delmarva
Sometime in June or July: Cairo, IL and Land between the Lakes, KY
July 7: To Detroit and back for a wedding
? (profit)
Labor Day: The entire old NY 17, up to Buffalo, and US 20A on the way back (tentative)
For the next 6 weeks I'll be taking 9793 miles of roadgeeking trips to clinch the AZ highway system and then head over to the southeast
The big ones are the four day to clinch OK-3, US-371, US-266, and US-380, then another four day to get the NE Arizona highway system and then loop through Colorado, clinching US-350 and then most of US-50 and US-160 in that state, then one up to Vegas to get the Arizona strip highways
I'll probably drive to Idaho and back in August too, but that will be under time constraint so new routes will be minimal
Quote from: Steve on May 03, 2012, 06:53:55 PM
Land between the Lakes, KY
Word to the wise: The Land Between the Lakes isn't very pretty during a drought. Enquire locally to see if it's worth the drive.
Quote from: kphoger on May 03, 2012, 09:14:51 PM
Quote from: Steve on May 03, 2012, 06:53:55 PM
Land between the Lakes, KY
Word to the wise: The Land Between the Lakes isn't very pretty during a drought. Enquire locally to see if it's worth the drive.
I think he's more interested in the bridges, specifically the one that's being rebuilt and is supposed to be in service by Memorial Day.
Quote from: kphoger on May 03, 2012, 01:53:01 PM
This Saturday, my 4-year-old and I are going camping with some friends out at Toronto Lake. Since he and I will be driving out there by ourselves that afternoon, I'll try to stop for some photos.....assuming I remember the camera, that is.
You know you're a roadgeek when you make your 4-year-old drive so you can take pictures. :-D
Last week in June, I plan to visit New Jersey (my home state) and also head up to Upstate NY and do some road trip hopefully to Thousand Islands during the trip.
I would like some I-81 pictures and just to see it as its been years since I have been on it north of Binghamton, NY. Hell, I want to see the horeshoe curve on NY 17 at Wurtsboro again and video it!
I'll be going from a mission trip around Grand Rapids, MI to a music camp in Greensboro, NC around the end of June, and then back to Davenport when the camp is over in late July.
Quote from: Scott5114 on May 04, 2012, 09:53:11 PM
Quote from: kphoger on May 03, 2012, 01:53:01 PM
This Saturday, my 4-year-old and I are going camping with some friends out at Toronto Lake. Since he and I will be driving out there by ourselves that afternoon, I'll try to stop for some photos.....assuming I remember the camera, that is.
You know you're a roadgeek when you make your 4-year-old drive so you can take pictures. :-D
It's OK as long a there are no cops around. :thumbsup:
I'll be going back to Louisiana pretty soon, nothing too out of the ordinary, for my mom's college graduation. After that, I'd like to do some trips to the Outer Banks and maybe revisit Knotts Island with better photography skills.
Quote from: Sanctimoniously on May 05, 2012, 07:19:14 PM
After that, I'd like to do some trips to the Outer Banks and maybe revisit Knotts Island with better photography skills.
That's another general area I've been meaning to visit for awhile; I have family in Currituck County and I haven't been down there in 2005. Maybe we could coordinate something.
Quote from: Scott5114 on May 04, 2012, 09:53:11 PM
Quote from: kphoger on May 03, 2012, 01:53:01 PM
This Saturday, my 4-year-old and I are going camping with some friends out at Toronto Lake. Since he and I will be driving out there by ourselves that afternoon, I'll try to stop for some photos.....assuming I remember the camera, that is.
You know you're a roadgeek when you make your 4-year-old drive so you can take pictures. :-D
:-D
Early June, from Seattle to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Primary purpose is to see the Transit of Venus -- Yellowknife should have a view of the whole transit from beginning to end just before sunset, and a reasonable chance of clear weather. Science project for the 10-year-old! Also it should be a beautiful drive, and the farthest north I've ever been.
A group of nine from our church (our family of four plus five others) went on a short-term mission trip from Wichita, Kansas, to Parras, Coahuila, México. We left June 2 and returned on June 10. We made the drive in two vehicles. On June 6, our family and one other guy made a side-trip to Saltillo. Here are the road-related pictures from our camera. I'm hoping our friend Adam has more on his camera, but I'll have to wait until he goes through his 2000+ pictures before I can start cherry-picking them.
SCENES FROM TEXAS
Southbound I-35 in Texas. I believe it's just south of the Oklahoma line, though I'm not certain.
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Southbound I-35W in Fort Worth. I was trying to capture small green sign on the bridge, but took the picture too soon for it to be legible.
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I believe this is the interchange of I-35W and I-20 in Fort Worth.
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I-35W passing under I-35E right before they merge near Hillsboro, TX.
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After the I-35W/I-35E merge, the roadway remains four lanes for a while.
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Southbound I-35 passing under TX-6 on the south side of Waco, TX.
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I'm not exactly sure where this one is. Somewhere in Texas on southbound I-35, possibly the same interchange as the one right above it.
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Southbound I-410 passing under I-37 on the southeast side of San Antonio, TX.
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I love having bridges named after me.
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ROAD SIGNS FROM OKLAHOMA & TEXAS
Southbound on I-35 in Texas, approaching the Camino Colombia. Notice that México is listed as a destination.
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A sign for Bigfoot. If you look closely, you can see Bigfoot coming out from behind a tree.
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On westbound FM-462 in Moore, TX. My, that weight limit is very specific!
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An example of two exit numbers for one exit. Northbound I-35 in Texas.
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Exit sign, meet warning sign. Northbound I-35 in Texas.
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Northbound on I-35 in Oklahoma. JCT should have been omitted from the sign. The advance guide sign also had it on there.
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THE U.S.—MEXICAN BORDER at COLOMBIA, N.L.
The official boundary marker over the RÃo Grande (a.k.a. RÃo Bravo).
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Seven out of nine of us, on the Colombia Solidarity Bridge.
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Looking back at the tollbooth and U.S. immigration before heading to Mexican immigration. You can tell by the pavement where the border is.
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SCENES FROM MÉXICO
The new Mega distribuidor vial EL SARAPE, which replaced the old CFI interchange known as EL INDIO on the east side of Saltillo, Coah. Sorry about the poor quality of these photos. There was no place to stop, we were in traffic, and my wife (not a roadgeek) didn't really know what to take pictures of.
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The desert road approaching the Outreach Center (where we stayed) just outside of Parras, Coah. I couldn't remember exactly which road led to the Outreach Center, so this was actually the third desert road we drove down when we got in on June 3.
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Here's a view of the road from the Outreach Center where it spills out onto Coahuila state highway 103.
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The road to Ganivete. If you want to search for Ganivete on the map, you're going to have to use Bing Maps. It's six miles down a desert road, with a population of about 180.
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Driving through a dust storm (shortly after driving right through the middle of a dust devil) on the way to Ganivete. It was worse than a blizzard, especially since I couldn't watch for obstacles on the road.
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Ganivete in the distance. The six-mile drive took about 20 minutes. A lot of our driving on this trip was on desert roads; that kind of average speed with the air conditioning on gave us some really crappy gas mileage.
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Entering Ganivete. We actually drove around the west side of town on what I don't think was really a road; I guess in the desert it doesn't really matter. Sorry about the poor picture quality; you may have noticed that the road was a little bumpy.
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As you can see, "street" is a relative term. Basically, if it's dirt, you can drive on it. Our church's children's department had sent $200 with us to donate to a school in México, and you can see the school in this picture. The red building in the foreground is the bathrooms. It has toilets, but they're not hooked up to running water. To flush the toilets, the kids get water out of a holding tank with a bucket, then manually flush with that. When the water is below half-full, the youngest children can't reach the water with the bucket. The money we gave will be used to install plumbing works, allowing for true flush toilets.
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Here we are actually giving the money to the president and treasurer of the school parents' association. I include this picture because I'm usually not in any of the pictures. I'm the white guy :).
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A new flyover on the north side of Monterrey, NL. This is eastbound on the free bypass (municipal route 910, signed as federal highway 40) at its interchange with Nuevo León state highway 1.
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Passing over a train outside of Nuevo Laredo, Tamps. This is on the outer bypass on the west side of the city, signed as federal highway 2, at its interchange with Tamaulipas state highway 1.
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ROAD SIGNS FROM MÉXICO
J N Winkler, these are for you. Real-life examples of tertiary route shields. These are all along the two-lane free portion of federal highway 40 between Saltillo and Paila.
Most major highway intersections have overhead signs like this. This one appears to be a new installation, as GMSV doesn't show any overhead.
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Here's the ground-mounted one below it.
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Some miles down the road, I found this beauty. The great thing is that I remember the sign being in this condition back in March 2011, and it's still standing.
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AND NOW. . .
This is our youth pastor's car. He was in SUV heaven down there, with all the mud puddles and off-road opportunities. He was so disappointed when a gas station attendant cleaned the windows while he was in the bathroom, because the layers of dirt were like a badge of honor.
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He was worried that having an expensive SUV in México would make him a target of vandalism or violence. They funny thing is, having a really dirty expensive SUV ended up making him a target of close police/military scrutiny. Apparently that's one of the things they look for. Instead of being a target of the drug cartels, he wound up looking like one of them. At one military checkpoint between Monterrey and Nuevo Laredo, they even saw one guard nod to another, who then radioed ahead; then their car was flagged over and everybody had to get out for a thorough vehicle search. Even in central Texas, he had a state trooper eyeing his car carefully.
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awesome post!
I had no idea those tertiary route shields existed. at some point, could you get us some extreme closeups for the shield gallery?
Quote from: agentsteel53 on June 13, 2012, 12:05:38 PM
awesome post!
I had no idea those tertiary route shields existed. at some point, could you get us some extreme closeups for the shield gallery?
I don't know when our next time down there will be, but I'll get some extreme closeups of route shields whenever that is. Our goal is to go there to serve long-term, but we have to get out of debt first. Until we figure all of that out, you'll just have to wait until the next short-term trip.
The route shield pictures were taken during our side trip to Saltillo. I wasn't about to stop both cars on the drive down or back just so I could take a picture of a highway sign. Well, OK, I did stop everyone for the Bigfoot photo, just because I knew at least one person would happily volunteer to play the part of Bigfoot, and we were stopping for gas anyway (at the Shell station in the next picture). I had meant to get a closeup of the Loop-82 reassurance marker right by our motel in San Marcos on the way north, but I forgot.
I'm really hoping our friend Adam got some film footage of Coahuila state highway 103 between General Cepeda and Parras. I'll never take that highway again if I don't have to, because much of it was a sea of potholes. I mean, in a few places, it was literally impossible to avoid them because they stretched across the entire width of the roadway. The 16.8 km that Google Maps says we saved definitely did not translate into a faster drive. I'm glad we did it once (my wife would disagree), just for the experience and the closeup mountain scenery, but it's definitely on my list of highways to avoid in the future.
I thought I would share a reply from a friend of mine who is a bridge engineer. Please feel free to comment, as it only makes about 81% sense to me.
QuoteTwo interesting pics to me:
Interesting how they are adjusting the vertical depth of the girder at the inverted-t cap. I've never seen this on steel box girders before. The inverted-t cap must have been a vertical clearance issue where the 5.5 m vertical clearance sign is (18'). Often designers will elect instead to make a steel integral cap, but this has its own issues...
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See all the little vertical ridges in the side of the steel girder? Makes me nervous: those are apparently vertical stiffeners on the inside of the tub girders (steel box girders). I wonder if the web of the girder is so sin that it is reflecting through???
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QuoteTwo interesting pics to me:
Interesting how they are adjusting the vertical depth of the girder at the inverted-t cap. I've never seen this on steel box girders before. The inverted-t cap must have been a vertical clearance issue where the 5.5 m vertical clearance sign is (18'). Often designers will elect instead to make a steel integral cap, but this has its own issues...
this means that the girder (the red painted steel) slopes upwards at the inverted T (the concrete horizontal element which indeed looks like an inverted "T"). I do not know what a "steel integral cap" is, alas, but I can surmise that those four diagonal breaks are weaknesses in the design. (my mechanics knowledge is pretty damn rusty, though, going back to one freshman class in college).
QuoteSee all the little vertical ridges in the side of the steel girder? Makes me nervous: those are apparently vertical stiffeners on the inside of the tub girders (steel box girders). I wonder if the web of the girder is so sin that it is reflecting through???
"thin", not "sin" first of all, and as for "reflecting through" I think he means that the vertical ridges are bulging through the red planar sidewall element. to me, the implication is that the planar element is more decorative than functional, and the vertical ridges (as well as, quite likely, some diagonal ridges we do not see) are providing the actual strength.
but, I am not a mechanical engineer by any stretch of the imagination. again, I took one mechanics class and it was over 12 years ago. (I got an A :) )
Quote from: agentsteel53 on June 13, 2012, 10:38:09 PM
I think he means that the vertical ridges are bulging through the red planar sidewall element. to me, the implication is that the planar element is more decorative than functional, and the vertical ridges (as well as, quite likely, some diagonal ridges we do not see) are providing the actual strength.
Or more like, the flanges of the girder are providing the actual strength and the web just holds them together. Maximum forces from bending moment are in the top and bottom of any beam, and moment of inertia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_moment_of_area) (warning: link contains greek letters and calculus), or in plain English, resistance to bending, is provided more by area which is further from the centroid (a.k.a. the middle). In fact, it's a square relationship. A beam with the same cross-sectional area but twice the height has four times the resistance to bending (vertically, anyway). This is why steel beams are I-shaped. The top and bottom are more important than the middle. As for the vertical stiffeners, those are carrying the shear, thus making the web even less important.
I'm going to try to make one to Long Island this summer, but I'm not making any promises.
I didn't take the road trip to Florida. Some family members backed out and so did my mom and brother, so I decided not to go.
It's looking like there's a decent chance I'll be heading up to Montreal later this summer. Just passed in my passport information, and should be expecting it in 6 weeks tops! I'm excited for that trip, since I've been trying to get back up there since 2008 when I was last there.
Quote from: golden eagle on June 18, 2012, 10:29:34 AM
I didn't take the road trip to Florida. Some family members backed out and so did my mom and brother, so I decided not to go.
You only take road trips when you're with family members or other people? Whatever floats your boat. I tend to go alone.
Went to PA, NY, and NJ.
Flew in to PHL. Drove I-95 SB, I-476 NB, I-81 NB to Watertown, NY.
Day two we drove I-81 NB to last US Exit, then Island Road (found out it is the old highway before I-81 while on it), Jefferson County Route 100 on Wellesley Island, back on I-81 SB, NY 12 NB, Alexandria Bay, NY 26 SB, NY 37 WB, US 11 SB, NY 12 SB, NY 5 EB( I think I was on I-790 for a bit), I-87 NB, US 9 NB to South Glens Falls.
Day Three we drove US 9 SB, I-87 SB, NY 29 EB (plus local streets to connect between I-87 and NY 29), US 4 SB, NY 146 WB, I-87 SB, I-90 EB, Taconic Parkway SB, Sprain Brook Parkway SB, Bronx River Pky SB, Pelham Pky EB, Hutchinson River Pky SB, Tremont Avenue ( visited grandparents grave at St. Raymonds), I-95 SB, I-80 WB, NJ 20 SB, US 46 WB, NJ 21 SB, I-78 WB, I-287 SB, US 202/206 SB, and US 22 EB to Bridgewater, NJ.
Days 4, 5, and 6 spent riding around North Jersey as it is my home state and was on too many roads including the Garden State Parkway, NJ Turnpike, and US 22. Visited relatives, went to beach, etc.
Last day we drove CR 633, CR 533, Camplain Road, US 206 SB, and then I-95 SB back to Philly, I-676 WB, Ben Franklin Parkway SEB, Arch Street EB, PA 611 SB, and then I-95 back to PHL.
Have some pictures posted on flickr.com jerseyman65 is my handle. Will be posting more in the next couple of days.
Leaving soon for this one (which I think is very much on-topic but this thread looks like the right place for it):
3 days to get to KC area from Amsterdam, NY, via Niagara Falls, across southern Ontario, (night in Port Huron), I-69 through Michigan, at least some US 20 across Indiana, I-55 to Springfield, IL (night there), then I-72 and US 36 across Illinois and Missouri.
Next, US 50 for a while, possibly cut up to I-70 after Jeff City, to get across to St. Louis. A couple days there.
Then, on to Naples, Florida. I-55 to Memphis, US 78/Future I-22 across Mississippi and Alabama, maybe US 82 across to I-75 and on down.
After a couple weeks in Naples, back up the east coast on what will almost exclusively be familiar roads.
Routes chosen to be reasonably fast while still giving me some new counties and CHM-clinchable highways (and hopefully some interesting things to see).
Some questions for the group:
I'm pretty confident in US 36 across MO being reasonably quick, but how about US 50 as an alternative between KC and StL? The western half doesn't worry me too much, but I'm thinking we might be better off cutting up US 54 to take I-70 and I-64 in eastern MO.
The last time I did a ride from the Montgomery, Alabama, area over to I-75, we did US 231 to US 84. I'm vaguely considering I-20 to I-75 to fill in a gap in I-20 there but probably not this time.
I am always interested in food recommendations. I know we're planning on Duff's for wings in Amherst, NY, and will hit Ted Drewes with friends in St. Louis, but not much else planned yet. We'll probably be looking at a dinner around Sarnia or Port Huron, a lunch around or a little west of South Bend, dinner close to Springfield, and another lunch somewhere along US 36 in MO. For the second major leg of the trip, I'd like to aim for Memphis for lunch. I like to try some local or regional stuff, some of which would be fast food.
Quote from: Jim on June 23, 2012, 12:09:11 PM
I'm pretty confident in US 36 across MO being reasonably quick, but how about US 50 as an alternative between KC and StL? The western half doesn't worry me too much, but I'm thinking we might be better off cutting up US 54 to take I-70 and I-64 in eastern MO.
Drove both of them last spring. US 50 was not a bad drive at all from where it departs I-44 westward. Light traffic on the two-lane portions and it was still a pretty fast drive.
US 36 is four lanes the entire way and there are only a couple of traffic lights along it.
Okay, I think the Colorado Springs leg of our trip is out the window :( Poor CS :(
Looks like I'll be headed up to Michigan for vacation this year. Plan is I-44 to US 60 to I-57 (with a brief detour to clinch KY) to I-94 to Ann Arbor, then I-75 to US 2 to I-35 back to Oklahoma. Overnight stops are probably in the vicinity of Mt Vernon, IL, Ann Arbor, Marquette, and Minneapolis.
Of course, a lot depends on the conditions in Duluth. Backup plan in that case is to just drop down I-75 to I-80 and take I-80 to Des Moines and head south down I-35.
I'll take a flooded Duluth over Des Moines any day
Quote from: hbelkins on June 23, 2012, 02:34:46 PM
Quote from: Jim on June 23, 2012, 12:09:11 PM
I'm pretty confident in US 36 across MO being reasonably quick, but how about US 50 as an alternative between KC and StL? The western half doesn't worry me too much, but I'm thinking we might be better off cutting up US 54 to take I-70 and I-64 in eastern MO.
US 36 is four lanes the entire way and there are only a couple of traffic lights along it.
As of yesterday, US 36 had no traffic lights east of Cameron. RMcN needs to update US 36 to show 4 lanes in eastern MO.
Quote from: Scott5114 on June 28, 2012, 11:20:40 PM
the vicinity of Mt Vernon, IL, Ann Arbor, Marquette, and Minneapolis.
If you have a little bit of extra time, you might consider taking IL-37 from West Frankfort to Mount Vernon. It has heavy traffic and will probably add ten minutes to your drive, but it has pleasant scenery and allows you to see a more typical southern Illinois scene. If you want to avoid downtown Mount Vernon, you can get back on I-64 and wrap around to the I-57 exit.
You may want to avoid I-57 in Southern Illinois south of where I-64 heads west. Marion to Mt Vernon is a parking lot most days while they widen from 4 to 6 lanes.
Quote from: dirtroad66 on June 29, 2012, 01:51:30 PM
You may want to avoid I-57 in Southern Illinois south of where I-64 heads west. Marion to Mt Vernon is a parking lot most days while they widen from 4 to 6 lanes.
In that case, you can take IL-148 from exit 45 through Herrin (El Jalisco is a great Mexican restaurant) and Christopher to get to Mount Vernon.
Quote from: 1995hoo on May 03, 2012, 11:04:19 AM
Our summer trip to visit relatives in Florida may provide me the opportunity to finish off I-95 in that state. My brother-in-law lives in the Miami area and my sister-in-law lives in the Space Coast area and I'd normally use the Turnpike to go from one to the other, but since the portion of I-95 from the Golden Glades Interchange to Fort Pierce is one of the two major segments I have yet to cover, I might make an exception this time just to cross that off my list.
I've contemplated taking US-41 across the Everglades instead of I-75, but I doubt I ever will. We took that road west to go to Shark Valley last summer and it wasn't at all interesting. Prior to that trip I think I had an incorrect mental image of the Everglades as being more like a bayou than as miles and miles of, essentially, scrub.
I'd like to make a run down to the Keys but I doubt there will be time, and I think we'd rather spend the limited time with our relatives.
We just returned from our trip yesterday. Didn't finish off I-95 for a number of reasons, so I have yet to do the portion from the Golden Glades to Fort Pierce (this was due primarily to timing issues). I did finish the other portions I had remaining and it looks as though the construction north of the Bee Line will last at least another year.
We did take a bit of a side trip on Saturday near the GA/SC line. I-95 ground to a standstill at Exit 105 so I had the sat-nav find a detour. It took us around via GA-21, GA-25, and SC-170 (the latter amusingly named "Alligator Alley") to US-17 back to I-95 in Hardeeville. Easy detour and there was almost nobody on the road, so frankly it was nice just to get off the Interstate for a while. Stopped for the night in Manning, SC, and then finished the drive on Sunday. LOTS of convoys of electricity-service trucks that were presumably bound for the DC area (thankfully, our neighborhood was unscathed and never lost power). The trucks slowed the traffic due to left-lane-hogging car drivers, but we still managed 74 mph from Manning to the northern I-295/I-95 junction in Virginia, at which time I-95 slammed to a stop and I bailed for US-1. Nice drive as far as Fredericksburg, 60 mph most of the way (lowered my average speed on that tank of gas to 70 mph, but I still managed 30 mpg average in an Acura TL), and then we stopped for gas and lunch.....and it then took an hour 45 minutes to go the remaining 45 miles home. Ouch. I think next year if we go in June again we'll take the Auto Train both ways just because Virginia can be such a hassle. Last year we came back the Saturday before July 4 (which was a Monday last year) but didn't have traffic issues because we passed the Richmond area on I-295 around 9:30 to 10:00 at night. Hitting it during the day on a Sunday.....forget it.