Driving to Florida from western Canada

[zetwo]

On next Sunday (February 13) we begin to drive to Florida.
2005 Ex - already 184K km = 108.9 K miles
with no single problem with this car.

Seeking friendly info and advice from American friends
about freeway conditions from:
1/
Helena, Billings in Montana via Sheridan in Wyoming
to Rapid City, Sioux Falls in S. Dakota
then to Omaha, Kansas City, St. Louis to Atlanta ...and so on...

2/
Or maybe better will be to take from Sheridan, Wyoming freeway I-25
and continue driving south to Cheyenne and then take freeway I-80 east Omaha then on I-29 south Kansas City and so on..

Thanks for you thoughts and any additional ideas....

Greetings,

[cnn]

I went from Omaha, NE to Atlanta in Aug 2010.

1. Omaha NE ---> St Louis MO: 7h.
Use I-29 South, then I-70.
Sleep in Columbia MO, cheaper than St Louis.
- Hotel: Hampton Inn & Suites 5650 Oakland Ave., St Louis; Clean and good, rating is 4/5.


2. St Louis MO ---> Nashville TN: 4.5h
- I-64, I-57, I-24
- Hotel: Holiday Inn, 2613 West End Ave.: Tight space, so not recommended.
- Restaurant: "Sole Mio" Italian restaurant is very good, authentic food, a bit expensive.


3. Nashville TN ---> Atlanta GA: 4h
Chattanooga TN is beautiful, mountainous drive.
- I-24, I-75
- Atlanta is tough city, so stay out of bad places. Maybe stay in suburb.

That is all I can say, always watch weather channels and check each state DOT (Dept of Transport) websites for road conditions (construction, snow etc.).

PS: On long steep downhill, if you think you will use the brake more than 30 seconds continuously, downshift to a LOWER gear to slow the car, otherwise, the brake can overheat!

[dvpatel]

Wow. Long drive. Good luck with your trip. Sorry can't give any recommendations as I only do up and down the east coast.

[akaBobbys2k]

Safe journey.

Your option 2 will take you thru the Cheyenne mountains which have several 6% grade so pls. take extra precautions when passing thru that area. If possible go thru that area during the day as it may be a bit more challenging at night.

Both options will probably get you to your destination in the same amount of time. Do you have a CB radio? Truckers almost always broadcast real time road & weather conditions and other information so it would help if you have one.

As always, check everything in your Ody for peace of mind.

[zetwo]

Thank you so much : cnn, dvpatel and akaBobbys2k.

Your input I take under consideration. Of course I am going to check on regular bases the weather channel and US Roads conditions. With last few days of enormous snowfall it is i obvious that I have to on hourly bases be ready to change driving plans.

Long trip?

We love it. We have done it many times across Canada and USA. Every time we see something new. Fantastic way to see countryside, meet people and learn so much about almost any subject that any text books are nothing to compare to our travels.

Again thank you ...

[cnn]

For long trips, you may want to review this thread below.

EMERGENCY TRUNK KIT......My "Bag of tricks"

EMERGENCY TRUNK KIT......My "Bag of tricks"

[Ody_girl]

And while you are in Florida, don't forget to visit some of the local beaches! Don't just stick to Disney My personal favorite? Siesta Key - Sunny beaches with crystal-white, powdery sand that stretch for miles. Shops from the chic and elegant to the hip and funky, with all sorts of fashion, beach accessories and souvenirs. Restaurants where you can go to grab a quick breakfast or lunch in your flip-flops and sandy toes, or to relax in style over an extraordinary dinner.

[zetwo]

Hi Ody-girl,
Thank you for your advice to not stick to Disney only ) As a matter of fact we did not even go there!

As you probably noticed we did this journey in February-March 2011. It was great sightseeing, visited many places in Florida from area of Tampa , Everglades, Key West to Okeechobee Lake with all National Parks along our way to St. Augustine etc.... Many great places unfortunately are by -passed by average traveler. However as a freelance travel photographer I did my detailed homework before our travel to Florida. Final result, over 8000 HD photos, driven over 20K km, plus we have seen the last space shuttle Discovery launch on February 24, 2001 at 16:53:24 Eastern - observed from cca 11 miles away - in Titusville including two weeks cruise along Caribbean Islands from Fort Lauderdale.
Every year we do extensive travel by car to some selected states. Last year (2012) we did drive across New Mexico and Texas..Visited almost all great National Parks and be able to see spectacular scenery. Always every travel to States is very inspirational to say the least. Again I took over 8000 HD photos and 18K km driven.
On the final note Honda Odyssey is perfect car to do that. Cheers, zetwo.

btw. Above my posting someone advertise "Smart Photo Editor". Even any advance photographer will tell you that manual setting on your camera and your familiarity with exposure you should achieve much better creativity and results without any photoshop manipulations.

[cahaak]

It is kind of a toss up on that route, except that I80 kind of starts heading back north as you get past Lincoln towards Omaha, so I guess that I could recommend that you head through SD and catch 29 in SF. Then to KC, east through SL and 64, to 57 to 24 down through Nashville. Then to Chattanooga and down through GA. The Drive through SD is nice of nice, black hills area and then some areas around the Missouri river. You are very close to Devils tower in Eastern WY in you can to stop and then through the Black Hills area which is nice. The main issue is weather and you will have to watch that, because getting stuck anywhere out on the plains with snow and wind is a mess. Once you get to KC or SL, most of the snow issues should be behind you. There is a very nice scenic rest stop on I24 just before you get into Chat. - right on the river and vey pretty. Long drives are fun, you will enjoy it.

[PhilZJ]

Well I'm late to this thread, I am glad to see you enjoyed your visit to Florida.
Anyways, to anyone driving from ga to Florida via I75. South Ga is often littered with cops, a lot of construction (been doing that drive for 6 years always construction).
Also when it rains heavily and the lanes are uneven water can pool up, just our last trip a 3series spun right infront of us and smashed into the cement wall (and since its all construction there is no runoff.)
Anyways safe driving through there and I do hope someone sues ga over their permanent construction just so they can double those speed fines!