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[Duke87]

So, as some of you may have heard, right after Thanksgiving I am going to be headed down to Georgia to visit my best friend down there.

My plan for the way down is as follows. Starting from Connecticut on Thanksgiving day:
- I-84 west
- I-476 south
- US 1 south
- spend Thanksgiving with family in Chester County, PA

I expect to be dodging the inevitable hell on the NJ Turnpike by doing this... and hey, I get to clinch I-476 in the process. Which I'm assuming won't pick up too much extra traffic since it isn't a major northeast corridor highway.

Day 2:
- US 1 south
- MD 24 south
- I-95 south
- drive brand-spankin' new ICC to Georgia Ave and back
- I-95 south
- I-495 around west side of beltway
- I-95 south... and south... and south
- I-20 west

Out of this comes question number one: I'm doing this on black friday. Is it at all reasonable for me to be able to expect to make this whole trip in one day or am I crazy to even attempt it? I can stop somewhere and finish Saturday if necessary, but I'd rather not.

My plan to return is as follows. Day 1:
- US 25 south
- US 80 east
- clinch I-16
- I-75 north
- brief stop in Atlanta to ride the subway there just to stay I've done it
- I-20 west
- US 431 north (stop in Anniston, put feet on ground, officially declare that I've been to Alabama)
- I-59 north
- stop in Chattanooga, spend night somewhere in that vicinity

This is the following Friday. So, question two: any potential traffic issues to watch out for here? And, question three: anything else along that way I might want to stop and check out?

Trip home, day 2:
- I-75 north
- I-40 east
- I-81 north
- I-66 east
- spend night somewhere in vicinity of DC

Saturday now. Questions four and five are the same as questions two and three above.

Trip home, day 3:
- attend second weekend ICC meet
- I-66 west
- I-81 north
- I-78 east, back to New York

No questions here, just throwing it out for completeness' sake.

[froggie]

I expect to be dodging the inevitable hell on the NJ Turnpike by doing this... and hey, I get to clinch I-476 in the process. Which I'm assuming won't pick up too much extra traffic since it isn't a major northeast corridor highway.

You'd be surprised.  Past experience with I-476 over Thanksgiving is that it's pretty busy, especially at the Mid-County Interchange (with I-276 and the toll booth there).

- I-495 around west side of beltway

Unless you have a compelling reason to go on that side, I'd suggest sticking with the east side of the Beltway.  Shorter...less traffic...and between HOT lane construction and Black Friday, the area around Tysons is going to be a mess.

Out of this comes question number one: I'm doing this on black friday. Is it at all reasonable for me to be able to expect to make this whole trip in one day or am I crazy to even attempt it? I can stop somewhere and finish Saturday if necessary, but I'd rather not.

It's doable, but I wouldn't suggest dilly-dallying, and plan on at least a couple hours of no-sun driving.  As it is, you got close to 700 miles to cover.

Any reason for backtracking back to I-81 after Steve's ICC gathering?  You're adding A LOT of mileage onto what's already going to be a lengthy nighttime trip home.

[Duke87]

Unless you have a compelling reason to go on that side, I'd suggest sticking with the east side of the Beltway.  Shorter...less traffic...and between HOT lane construction and Black Friday, the area around Tysons is going to be a mess.

I still need to clinch the west side south of 270, but I've already done the eastern half.

Although, it does occur to me that there's no reason for me to go back to 95 after driving the ICC. I can just go down 270 and U-Turn.

Any reason for backtracking back to I-81 after Steve's ICC gathering?  You're adding A LOT of mileage onto what's already going to be a lengthy nighttime trip home.

To finish clinching I-81. And I expect that meet to break up fairly early, so there should be time.

As for driving after dark, I don't consider it to be a big deal and don't mind... just means I can't take pictures is all. And if it's 2 AM when I get home, so be it. That Monday is included in my vacation from work so it's not like I have to get up the following morning.

[Alps]

Unless you have a compelling reason to go on that side, I'd suggest sticking with the east side of the Beltway.  Shorter...less traffic...and between HOT lane construction and Black Friday, the area around Tysons is going to be a mess.

I still need to clinch the west side south of 270, but I've already done the eastern half.

Although, it does occur to me that there's no reason for me to go back to 95 after driving the ICC. I can just go down 270 and U-Turn.

I was going to say the same thing.

Any reason for backtracking back to I-81 after Steve's ICC gathering?  You're adding A LOT of mileage onto what's already going to be a lengthy nighttime trip home.

To finish clinching I-81. And I expect that meet to break up fairly early, so there should be time.

As for driving after dark, I don't consider it to be a big deal and don't mind... just means I can't take pictures is all. And if it's 2 AM when I get home, so be it. That Monday is included in my vacation from work so it's not like I have to get up the following morning.

The way you described it, you'd be coming back home on Monday...

As a final note, I'm not sure how copacetic you'll be driving I-81 to I-66 into DC on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Seems like that might be a fairly popular route, especially closer into the city?

[froggie]

I still need to clinch the west side south of 270, but I've already done the eastern half.

Fair enough.  Just plan on it being really slow around Tysons.  And for that matter, probably the same on I-95 South from the Beltway to Dumfries.

Although, it does occur to me that there's no reason for me to go back to 95 after driving the ICC. I can just go down 270 and U-Turn.

FYI, you'll either have to go down to Connecticut Ave (MD 185) to U-turn, or take Rockville Pike (MD 355) south to Alta Vista Rd/Bellevue Dr to U-turn.  No U-turns possible at the MD 355 interchange proper and they're prohibited on MD 355 at Pooks Hill Rd.

As a final note, I'm not sure how copacetic you'll be driving I-81 to I-66 into DC on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Seems like that might be a fairly popular route, especially closer into the city?

He should be okay in the morning.  By mid-day, it could be interesting, though in my experience I-70 from Hancock east and I-270 before Germantown are the bigger holiday concerns.

[Duke87]

As a final note, I'm not sure how copacetic you'll be driving I-81 to I-66 into DC on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Seems like that might be a fairly popular route, especially closer into the city?

Maybe this wasn't entirely clear from the way I outlined it, but I will be doing that the Saturday after the Sunday after Thanksgiving. December 3rd. None of the trip home is happening on a holiday weekend.

I'm actually spending a week in Augusta, not just driving down there and boomeranging.