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Trip report: Grand Rapids MI to Miami and back

Started by A.J. Bertin, December 11, 2016, 07:05:56 PM

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A.J. Bertin

It's been a while since I posted a road trip report on here, so I figured why not. My husband and I took a pretty long road trip that started at our home in Grand Rapids MI, stopped in Miami, and returned home via a different route. (We took a 7-day cruise to the eastern Caribbean that started and ended in Miami.)

Day 1 (Wednesday, Nov. 23): Grand Rapids, MI to Peru, IN

Local roads -> M-6 west -> I-196 west -> I-196/US-31 south -> US-31 south/I-94 west -> US-31 south (through South Bend and along the newer freeway portion of the 31 freeway) -> our hotel in Peru for the night.

I am very familiar with this portion of the drive as I've done it many times. Nothing all that exciting to report.

Day 2 (Thursday, Nov. 24): Peru, IN to Valdosta, GA

US 31 south -> I-465 east (then south) -> I-65 south -> I-24 east -> I-75 south -> our hotel in Valdosta for the night.

Traffic on Thanksgiving Day was fine. We didn't really run into any issues. We ended stopped for lunch at a Bojangle's in Murfreesboro TN. I was very disappointed by how poorly signed US-231 is through there. We had gotten off I-24 at I-840 to find Bojangle's, but getting back to I-24 via US-231 wasn't as clear as it could have been. 

Driving along southbound I-75/85 in downtown Atlanta is very impressive. I had never done that before. I loved weaving in and out of the skyscrapers!

One thing I will say about Georgia (at least, the stretch of I-75 in Georgia) is that I love how it's consistently six lanes down the entire state - except for a segment in Macon. It's interesting that it would have been faster if we would have bypassed Macon and taken I-475. However, I of course wanted to make sure I clinched the entire stretch of I-75 in Georgia. It caused us no trouble.

Altogether it took us 14-15 hours to do the drive from Peru to Valdosta. (We purposely did not make a hotel reservation in advance because we weren't sure whether we were going to make it to Valdosta or if were going to perhaps stop in an earlier town along I-75... such as Tifton.

Day 3 (Friday, Nov. 25): Valdosta, GA to Mulberry, FL

I-75 south -> I-4 east -> local roads to FL-37 to my in-laws' house for the night.

I loved how most of I-75 in Florida is six lanes! Very nice. We had lunch with one of my husband's friends in the Tampa suburb of Wesley Chapel before going to my in-laws' house in Mulberry for the night.

Day 4 (Saturday, Nov. 26): Mulberry, FL to Miami, FL

FL-60 west -> I-75 south -> FL-826 south -> FL-836 east to downtown Miami for the night.

After having lunch in the Tampa suburb of Brandon with an old high school friend of mine, we headed down I-75 so I could clinch the section of that Interstate between Tampa and Miami. I was surprised by how busy southbound I-75 was between Tampa and Naples. Unfortunately, I have a gap in that section of 75 between Exits 167 and 164. There was an accident on that section of 75, and we made the decision that saving time was more important than me avoiding the gap. This diversion from 75 took us through the towns of Charlotte Harbor and Punta Gorda... nice little communities with a bridge that carries US-41 over the Peace River.

Alligator Alley was kinda fun to drive on, but it wasn't as interesting as I had expected. There are a couple of rest areas along that stretch of 75, but I swear... one of them was announced in advance as a "Service Plaza". When I think of a "Service Plaza", I think of a stop that has a rather large food court, concession stands, etc. This so-called "service plaza" had a few vending machines but no counter you could order food or beverages from.

Day 5 (Sunday, Nov. 27): Miami hotel to the Port of Miami

We stayed in a downtown-Miami hotel that was only a couple miles from the Port of Miami. I don't know if anyone reading this has ever taken a cruise out of the Miami port, but it was horrendous. The signage was terrible, we didn't know where we were supposed to park, and there was a problem with the cruise ships which meant that the passengers boarding our ship had to stand in the hot sun for 2 hours in a shipping yard - rather than the actual cruise terminal building. After a lot of frustration, we were finally able to park the car and board the ship.

(We were cruising from Days 5 through 11 and returned to Miami on Sunday, Dec. 4.)

Day 12 (Sunday, Dec. 4): Port of Miami to hotel near the Miami airport

Not much to report here - other than the fact that we drove down to Key Biscayne and got some awesome photos of the Miami skyline from FL-913.

Day 13 (Monday, Dec. 5): Miami airport area to Daytona Beach, FL

Local roads -> FL-836 east -> I-95 north -> US-92 east -> FL-A1A north to our hotel.

Not much to report here. I thought it was kinda cool how the Florida Turnpike almost parallels I-95 for a little while. Coming in to Daytona Beach along US-92 is neat because you get a nice view of Daytona International Speedway from there.

That evening, we decided to take a jaunt up to St. Augustine to see all the Christmas lights in that town. I had never been to St. Augustine before. What a neat place with lots of history. Very nice for taking photos and walking around. Going up to St. Augustine we took FL-A1A... right along the shore. On our return trip to Daytona Beach, we took US-1 out of St. Augustine and hopped on I-95 south from there.

Day 14 (Tuesday, Dec. 6): Daytona Beach, FL to Savannah, GA

I-95 north -> I-16 east -> I-516 east -> GA-21 east -> GA-204 south to our hotel.

This was a pretty nice drive... one of our shortest days on the trip. Nothing all that exciting to report - other than the fact that we were very disappointed with Savannah. I had heard such good things about that city, but it didn't live up to the hype. It seemed dirty, my husband swears he stumbled upon a couple of guys looking to make a drug deal, and it just seemed like the only thing Savannah is good for is shopping. Yes... there is some history there, but we unfortunately weren't impressed with it. Maybe it was just a bad day for us... I don't know.

Day 15 (Wednesday, Dec. 7): Savannah, GA to Asheville, NC

GA-204 north -> GA-21 west -> I-516 west -> I-16 west -> I-95 north -> I-26 west -> I-240 east to our hotel.

This was a pretty good day - although the temperature change from being in Florida earlier in the week was pretty drastic. We had been used to morning temperatures in the 70s previously; we were now seeing morning temps in the lower 50s. It was mostly cloudy in South Carolina until we got to Spartanburg area or so. Driving along I-26 toward Asheville is very scenic. I had done that drive back in 2005, so it was nice to do it again.

Asheville is really neat city. I definitely want spend more time there one day.

Day 16 (Thursday, Dec. 8): Asheville, NC to Roanoke, VA

US-74A east -> Blue Ridge Parkway north -> US-221 north (near Blowing Rock, NC) -> US-321 north -> US-421 south -> I-77 north -> I-81 north -> I-581 south -> local roads to our hotel.

The goal for this day was to drive on as much of the Blue Ridge Parkway as possible between Asheville and Roanoke. Unfortunately, a section of it about 5-10 miles northeast of Asheville (about maybe a 10-mile stretch) was closed due to a rock slide. We had to take a diversion that involved I-40, US-70, and NC-80 back to the Parkway. Altogether we lost about an hour of time. After having lunch in the sleepy town of Blowing Rock, we decided not to return to the Parkway but instead take the most direct route possible to Roanoke.

Day 17 (Friday, Dec. 9): Roanoke, VA to Lexington, KY

(After checking out the famous Roanoke Star) US-220 north -> I-581/US-220 north -> I-81/US-220 north -> US-220 north -> I-64 west -> US-68 west to our hotel in downtown Lexington.

After considering a couple of different route options, we decided on the US-220 route to I-64. It gave me an extra county or two and gave me some additional mileage on I-81 and I-64. US-220 between I-81 and I-64 is a very nice road! Most of it, especially on the southern end, is 4 lanes with a median.

I wasn't sure how the toll situation would be on I-64/77 on the West Virginia Turnpike (whether they accepted cash, whether there were toll collectors, etc.). It turns out that there are two toll plazas going northbound, and it looked like there were a few places where you could exit the turnpike without having to pay a toll which was interesting.

Nothing much to report about I-64 between Charleston WV and Lexington KY other than that a major accident had westbound I-64 shut down at Exit 123. Fortunately we had stopped at the Kentucky Welcome Center where the friendly staff person told us about the closure. We avoided it by getting off I-64 at Exit 137 and taking a detour which involved KY-32, the town of Morehead, US-60, KY-211, some back roads, and KY-36 which led us back to I-64. Fortunately I had data on my phone which helped me to navigate the back roads!

Lexington seems like a nice city. It's another city that I'd like to spend more time in someday.

Day 18 (Saturday, Dec. 10): Lexington, KY to Grand Rapids, MI

US-25 north -> KY-1973 south -> I-75 north -> US-33 west -> US-27 north -> local roads around Fort Wayne IN for a late lunch -> I-69 north -> I-94 west -> US-131 north -> local roads to home.

Google Maps had recommended that we take US-30 toward Fort Wayne instead of US-33, but we decided on US-33. It was easy enough. Just funny how US-33 exits itself near the town of St. Mary's OH and the freeway continues along OH-29.

It was nice driving through downtown Fort Wayne again.

Nothing much to report other than the fact that the road conditions were starting to get pretty wintry while we were on I-94 west of I-69. Instead of taking M-37 north to Grand Rapids, we decided to stick with the freeways and take US-131 instead. It seemed like a logical decision.

All in all, we had quite a blast. Approximately 3,900 statute miles and 2,200 nautical miles covered. I need to update my travel mapping file, but I've already updated my mob-rule page. 23 new counties for me... putting my total at 960.
-A.J. from Michigan


Max Rockatansky

I'd recommend US 27 south to Miami if you have to swing out as far east as FL 37 around Mulberry anyways.  South of FL 60 the traffic drops off dramatically and is virtually non-existent south of Sebring.  The whole route is expressway standards and takes about roughly the same amount of time if not being a little quicker to Miami.  You'll pass right by Lake Okeechobee and have a different perspective on the Everglades. 

hbelkins

Just some general comments and observations.

*I drove US 231 from Lebanon to Huntsville when I went to the Guntersville meet a couple of years ago. Unless something has changed, US 231 was pretty well signed through Murfreesboro. There was some construction in the area at the time, however, and it's possible that some signs were taken down and not replaced. You made good time to get from Peru to Valdosta, but that was probably aided by light Thanksgiving Day traffic in Indy, Louisville, Nashville, Chattanooga and Atlanta. You must have done a lot of non-daylight driving, which is something I purposely avoid, especially on interstates (for fear of hitting a deer at highway speeds and the inability to see very much along the route).

*In that area south of Blowing Rock, where US 221 and the BRP parallel one another, the BRP is actually the better route. 221 winds around the side of the mountain. A better route, still, is NC 105, which I think is signed Truck 221. Three children routes of US 21 used to meet in downtown Boone, but since 221 was routed around a bypass on the southeast side of town, this is no longer the case.

*US 220 is a pretty nice drive from the Roanoke area up to I-64. In fact, eastbound I-64 lists Roanoke as a secondary destination where southbound 220 departs at Clifton Forge. I really love that section of I-64 between Clifton Forge and White Sulphur Springs.

*You can shunpike those two mainline toll plazas on the West Virginia Turnpike reasonably easy. I'm not sure that the lost time is worth the toll savings, however.

*I wasn't working Friday (was en route to Bloomington, Ind.) but I heard about that bad wreck on I-64. Apparently a vehicle crossed over the median and hit another. The most direct route would have been to take KY 32 into Morehead, and then follow I-64 west into Owingsville, then east (actually south) on KY 36 to rejoin the interstate. The routing along KY 211 was a bit out of the way, but may have been less heavily traveled than US 60 if all the I-64 traffic was spilling onto it. It's also a pretty scenic part of the state.

*Where did you stay in downtown Lexington? Maybe it's my familiarity, but I don't find a lot fascinating with Lexington. As you know, I've toyed with the idea of a meet there, but honestly don't know what to feature. If you were downtown and then headed out north on US 25, you didn't see the construction of the Newtown Pike Extension (was just a bit south of where 25 and 421 split just west of downtown) or the DDI at KY 4 and US 68. You guys should have gone out to the Kentucky Horse Park at night and seen the Southern Lights holiday display.

*At the Fort-to-Port meet a few years ago, I took OH 309 (former US 30S) to US 30 to get to Fort Wayne. Coming back, I took US 30 to US 127 to US 33 (destination was Columbus that night). Coming back from Battle Creek, my goal was to clinch US 33 so I followed it out of Elkhart. It's a pretty good road, although the twists and turns just before the road crosses into Indiana are interesting. I, too, find that freeway at St. Marys interesting. That OH 29 freeway doesn't continue very far past where US 33 leaves the freeway, and I don't know why it was necessary to build a full freeway from I-75 west to that point.



Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

coatimundi

Quote from: hbelkins on December 11, 2016, 10:57:45 PM
Maybe it's my familiarity, but I don't find a lot fascinating with Lexington.

Living in Bloomington, we were friends with a couple who were enamored by Lexington. They would talk about going down there all the time (though I think they only went twice) and how great it was. I've only been once, and I thought it was really charming and pretty, but I don't know that it's quite as great as they made it out to be. They were both urban planners though, and I think Lexington in that respect really appealed to them.
Then again, I always really liked both Louisville and Frankfort. Maybe it's something about Kentucky cities. Everyone else seemed to love Bloomington, but we would just complain about it all the time.

Rothman

Have to agree that Lexington just isn't that exciting. 
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

A.J. Bertin

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on December 11, 2016, 10:50:08 PM
I'd recommend US 27 south to Miami if you have to swing out as far east as FL 37 around Mulberry anyways.  South of FL 60 the traffic drops off dramatically and is virtually non-existent south of Sebring.  The whole route is expressway standards and takes about roughly the same amount of time if not being a little quicker to Miami.  You'll pass right by Lake Okeechobee and have a different perspective on the Everglades. 

Thanks for this suggestion. We ended up taking I-75 for two reasons: 1) we were having lunch with friends in Brandon, and 2) I wanted to clinch a significant number of I-75 mileage in Florida that I didn't already have. My in-laws have a winter home in Mulberry. In the future if we ever do a drive from Mulberry to southeastern Florida, I'll certainly consider US-27.
-A.J. from Michigan

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: A.J. Bertin on December 12, 2016, 10:38:28 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on December 11, 2016, 10:50:08 PM
I'd recommend US 27 south to Miami if you have to swing out as far east as FL 37 around Mulberry anyways.  South of FL 60 the traffic drops off dramatically and is virtually non-existent south of Sebring.  The whole route is expressway standards and takes about roughly the same amount of time if not being a little quicker to Miami.  You'll pass right by Lake Okeechobee and have a different perspective on the Everglades. 

Thanks for this suggestion. We ended up taking I-75 for two reasons: 1) we were having lunch with friends in Brandon, and 2) I wanted to clinch a significant number of I-75 mileage in Florida that I didn't already have. My in-laws have a winter home in Mulberry. In the future if we ever do a drive from Mulberry to southeastern Florida, I'll certainly consider US-27.

Gotcha on the back track to Brandon.  You actually pop into the Miami area just near the eastern gate to Alligator Alley.  I always thought that four-lane expressway south from Canal Point to I-75 was incredible.  Basically you are surrounded completely by the Everglades on both sides and you have more open access to it than I-75 does as far as things like boat ramps or fishing.  The Mulberry area in general is fantastic for derelict old Florida roadways in Bone Valley, Old FL 37 comes to mind.

A.J. Bertin

#7
Quote from: hbelkins on December 11, 2016, 10:57:45 PM
Just some general comments and observations.

Thanks for your comments!

Quote from: hbelkins on December 11, 2016, 10:57:45 PM
*I drove US 231 from Lebanon to Huntsville when I went to the Guntersville meet a couple of years ago. Unless something has changed, US 231 was pretty well signed through Murfreesboro. There was some construction in the area at the time, however, and it's possible that some signs were taken down and not replaced.

Yeah... I really don't know what the deal was there. I was navigating with Google Maps on my phone while my husband was driving, and there was a point where I almost waited too long to tell him to get into the left turn lane. I was relying a bit more on signage than I should have given the fact that I was using Google Maps.

Quote from: hbelkins on December 11, 2016, 10:57:45 PM
You made good time to get from Peru to Valdosta, but that was probably aided by light Thanksgiving Day traffic in Indy, Louisville, Nashville, Chattanooga and Atlanta. You must have done a lot of non-daylight driving, which is something I purposely avoid, especially on interstates (for fear of hitting a deer at highway speeds and the inability to see very much along the route).

Yep. I was quite pleased by how much ground we covered on Thanksgiving Day. We left Peru around 7 a.m. and pulled into our motel in Valdosta around 9:30 or 10 p.m.  I was expecting the daylight to be completely gone by the time we made it to Chattanooga, but it stuck around until somewhere between Atlanta and Macon. I'm not really a fan of nighttime driving either. Sometimes it's a necessary evil - especially in the winter months when daylight is scarcer.

Quote from: hbelkins on December 11, 2016, 10:57:45 PM
*In that area south of Blowing Rock, where US 221 and the BRP parallel one another, the BRP is actually the better route. 221 winds around the side of the mountain. A better route, still, is NC 105, which I think is signed Truck 221. Three children routes of US 21 used to meet in downtown Boone, but since 221 was routed around a bypass on the southeast side of town, this is no longer the case.

Interesting. Boone did seem like a neat little town. We weren't looking too closely at routes such as NC-105. I can't remember whether we took a suggestion of a route from Google Maps or if I just came up with the idea of US-421 to I-77, but US-421 is a pretty nice highway between Boone and I-77.

Quote from: hbelkins on December 11, 2016, 10:57:45 PM
*US 220 is a pretty nice drive from the Roanoke area up to I-64. In fact, eastbound I-64 lists Roanoke as a secondary destination where southbound 220 departs at Clifton Forge. I really love that section of I-64 between Clifton Forge and White Sulphur Springs.

I agree completely about US-220 and the section of I-64 that you're referring to. A very pleasant drive on a Friday morning... not much traffic at all.

Quote from: hbelkins on December 11, 2016, 10:57:45 PM
*You can shunpike those two mainline toll plazas on the West Virginia Turnpike reasonably easy. I'm not sure that the lost time is worth the toll savings, however.

I think we only paid $4 in tolls. Shunpiking is something I might try to do the next time I'm passing through there. It's always interesting how different states handle their toll roads - whether it's a ticket system (where you only pay once), periodic booths with human attendants, a toll-by-plate system, etc.

Quote from: hbelkins on December 11, 2016, 10:57:45 PM
I heard about that bad wreck on I-64. Apparently a vehicle crossed over the median and hit another.

Ouch. I hope no one was too seriously injured or killed. The lady at the Welcome Center told us that westbound 64 had been shut down since the morning, and it was around 3 p.m. that we were taking the detour.

Quote from: hbelkins on December 11, 2016, 10:57:45 PM
The most direct route would have been to take KY 32 into Morehead, and then follow I-64 west into Owingsville...

You probably meant to say US-60 here.

Quote from: hbelkins on December 11, 2016, 10:57:45 PM
then east (actually south) on KY 36 to rejoin the interstate. The routing along KY 211 was a bit out of the way, but may have been less heavily traveled than US 60 if all the I-64 traffic was spilling onto it. It's also a pretty scenic part of the state.

Yeah... I guess your suggestion would have made more sense. I wasn't thinking about the fact that we could have crossed over I-64 along US-60 and approached I-64 from the north (as opposed to the south) on KY-36. I was only thinking of the fact that 64 was shut down between Exits 123 and 121 and entering on from Exit 123 was not an option, so I didn't even consider the route through Owingsville. I will say, though, that our detour via KY-211 was quite fun! Instead of taking 211 south all the way to 36, we cut a big corner by taking very narrow side roads that led us to the tiny community of Olympia and back to KY-36. There were maybe two cars that were traveling those roads in the opposite direction, and we were glad those roads were paved!

Quote from: hbelkins on December 11, 2016, 10:57:45 PM
*Where did you stay in downtown Lexington?

We stayed at the Hilton.

Quote from: hbelkins on December 11, 2016, 10:57:45 PM
Maybe it's my familiarity, but I don't find a lot fascinating with Lexington.

It very well could be your familiarity. For me, I am pretty much "fascinated" by any city of significant size that I am visiting for the first time.

Quote from: hbelkins on December 11, 2016, 10:57:45 PM
As you know, I've toyed with the idea of a meet there, but honestly don't know what to feature.

Yeah... I was telling my husband about the possibility of a road meet taking place in Lexington. If you were to host a meet there, I'd definitely try to attend. If you end up not hosting a meet there, no biggie... it would mean one less meet for me to try to squeeze in for 2017. I'm somewhat intrigued by KY-4 because it does a ring around the city, but I don't imagine that it's a roadmeet-worthy feature.

Quote from: hbelkins on December 11, 2016, 10:57:45 PM
If you were downtown and then headed out north on US 25, you didn't see the construction of the Newtown Pike Extension (was just a bit south of where 25 and 421 split just west of downtown) or the DDI at KY 4 and US 68. You guys should have gone out to the Kentucky Horse Park at night and seen the Southern Lights holiday display.

I would have probably enjoyed seeing all of those things. Unfortunately, we didn't have that much time in Lexington. We arrived around 4:15-4:30 p.m. on Friday and left around 9 a.m. Saturday. We had dinner at the Raising Cane's location near UK's campus which was pretty good (my first time eating at one of those). We ended up spending most of our evening just hanging out at the hotel, relaxing, and then going to bed at a reasonable hour. Fortunately, we got some good photos around downtown after we checked in at the hotel and while we still had daylight.
-A.J. from Michigan

A.J. Bertin

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on December 12, 2016, 10:49:12 PM
You actually pop into the Miami area just near the eastern gate to Alligator Alley.

Alligator Alley was not quite as exciting as I had hoped it would be. I can't put my finger on why. It was just a little different than I was expecting.

Quote from: hbelkins on December 11, 2016, 10:57:45 PM
I always thought that four-lane expressway south from Canal Point to I-75 was incredible.  Basically you are surrounded completely by the Everglades on both sides and you have more open access to it than I-75 does as far as things like boat ramps or fishing.

That sounds really cool.

Quote from: hbelkins on December 11, 2016, 10:57:45 PM
The Mulberry area in general is fantastic for derelict old Florida roadways in Bone Valley, Old FL 37 comes to mind.

It sounds like I need to check out more of the Mulberry area the next time I'm down there.
-A.J. from Michigan

coatimundi

Quote from: A.J. Bertin on December 12, 2016, 11:13:17 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on December 11, 2016, 10:57:45 PM
Maybe it's my familiarity, but I don't find a lot fascinating with Lexington.

It very well could be your familiarity. For me, I am pretty much "fascinated" by any city of significant size that I am visiting for the first time.

I'm the same way. Even Amarillo was interesting for me the first time I visited (but I try to avoid it now). Every time I'm in a new city, of almost any size, I check out its Downtown area and try to either eat a meal or hang out in a little coffee shop to sort of get a feel for it. And, of course, check out any interesting road-related stuff.

Quote from: A.J. Bertin on December 12, 2016, 11:13:17 PM
We had dinner at the Raising Cane's location near UK's campus which was pretty good (my first time eating at one of those).

They seem to be in the midst of an over-expansion. I mean, they're in Arizona now. Kind of ridiculous.

A.J. Bertin

#10
Quote from: coatimundi on December 13, 2016, 01:26:52 AM
Quote from: A.J. Bertin on December 12, 2016, 11:13:17 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on December 11, 2016, 10:57:45 PM
Maybe it's my familiarity, but I don't find a lot fascinating with Lexington.

It very well could be your familiarity. For me, I am pretty much "fascinated" by any city of significant size that I am visiting for the first time.

I'm the same way. Even Amarillo was interesting for me the first time I visited (but I try to avoid it now). Every time I'm in a new city, of almost any size, I check out its Downtown area and try to either eat a meal or hang out in a little coffee shop to sort of get a feel for it. And, of course, check out any interesting road-related stuff.

I like to do the same thing. The first thing that I want to see in a city is the downtown... just to get a feel for it and take photos of some of the streets/skyscrapers that provide a good representation. I like to explore the downtown (both on foot and by car), and I always enjoy driving on the major highways in and around the city to get a sense of what some of the main infrastructure is like.

For me though, I also have an obsession with hotels. I guess you can say I'm a bit of a "hotel connoisseur". The best way I can say that I "experienced" a city in addition to seeing the downtown is staying at a hotel in the area. If I can combine those two obsessions by staying at a downtown hotel, that takes the cake - especially when it's a nice hotel. Unfortunately though, many nice downtown hotels are expensive and charge for overnight parking which I sometimes deal with. However, my husband travels a lot for work and is a Hilton Honors member so he can rack up a lot of points and get a lot of free overnight stays. On this long road trip, we stayed at seven Hilton properties for (seven nights out of the nine) that we stayed in hotels. In addition to staying overnight in downtown Lexington, we also stayed at downtown hotels in Miami, Daytona Beach, and Roanoke. I consider myself to be extremely grateful to have been given these opportunities.

Quote from: coatimundi on December 13, 2016, 01:26:52 AM
[Raising Cane's seem] to be in the midst of an over-expansion. I mean, they're in Arizona now. Kind of ridiculous.

We had dinner at the Raising Cane's location near UK's campus which was pretty good (my first time eating at one of those). My husband had been to a Raising Cane's once for work a while ago and he really enjoyed it. For a while he'd been wanting to take me to one, and fortunately we were able to find them in Lexington. I would love to see them come to Michigan. Are you not a fan?
-A.J. from Michigan

hbelkins

I can't tell much difference between the chicken at Raising Cane's and Zaxby's. There's probably a difference in the house sauces, which I don't eat anyway. There's definitely a difference in the fries. Zaxby's are seasoned, whereas Cane's aren't. And Cane's toasted bread has too much garlic for my tastes.

I was a frequent customer of the Cane's on US 60 east near I-75 back when I was making regular trips to visit my dad in a nursing home in Wilmore. There aren't as many Cane's locations in central Kentucky as there are Zaxby's, which seems to be undergoing a decent expansion program in this area.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.



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