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#1
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driving across the usa - the developments
thanks for all the advice so far
I am continuing to plan the trip over christmas / new year and have fortunately gained an accomplice called Enen - she will share the driving and partly the expense - though i suspect will go for more upmarket hotel rooms than i might - the return fare - London to NY and return direct from San fransisco to london was only £328 - so that was a reasonable deal - the car hire is not so reasonable - £500 for the 3 weeks - but an extra $500 to leave it at a different place to where you to pick it up - it means that buying a car for a $1000 and selling it at the other end would be cheaper.......... but i'm wondering the feasability of the enterprise now - I've looked at the mileage involved - to New Orleans 2000 miles - arrive at 13/12/03 in NY - I planned this trip with the idea that 200 miles a day was about right - you can have a days driving and relax for a day - I've done a recalculation of the planned route (New York to New Orleans to San Fransisco over 3 weeks ) and what I thought when I first looked at it was 4000 miles has now become 6000 miles - i confess to underestimating the size of your country - in the planned southerly journey - it is 4700 miles from NY to SF - but that's the cold northern roads - this means that the average becomes 300 miles a day - probably on the extreme of being too much - so I am suggesting a possible redefinition of The Adventure - see what you think: 131203 12:30 arrive in New York: pick up car to drive to Philadelphia - 170 miles - through the middle of new york and out to the other side (first question: what's the best way of driving from JFK to the other side of NY and still do it ( on a saturday) to see the city and the best bits and still come out the other side heading for Philadelphia) - arrive evening - hotel booked - its historic quarter..... - we drive to New Orleans (2000 miles) - this is either Plan A: (13th to the 20th ) 7days (average 300 miles) or Plan B13th to the 23rd ) 10 days (average 200 miles) - here we have the alternatives: to arrive for two days in New Orleans : Plan A: to carry on driving (from 21st -24th dec) for 3-4 days across Texas for 1800 miles to El Paso Plan B: leave car and FLY (on 24th) from New Orleans to El Paso - (you get another 3 days taking it easier down the east coast/mountains) - miss out the Texas completely (leave it like NY for another time) - miss out 1800 miles of driving - jump from NO to EP by plane - what do you think? - the initial question is: is it probably going to be possible to do the Appalachian Mountain route at that frozen time of year(and which set of roads do you suggest) or do we have to go a more coastal direction........ - am i a wimp? - should i just get on the road and drive all the way? - it's just about on the limit of pleasure - what do you think?........ |
#2
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driving across the usa - the developments
It's a very BIG country,especially when you're driving coast to coast.
To give you some idea,the entire U.K. will fit inside the state of Oregon. R On Wed, 24 Sep 2003 02:29:12 +0100, "rob tyler" wrote: i confess to underestimating the size of your country |
#3
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driving across the usa - the developments
this means that the average becomes 300 miles a day -
probably on the extreme of being too much That won't leave much time for sightseeing, especially since daylight hours are short in December. Plus if you're unlucky and there's a snowstorm in the northern states, it could easily put you way behind schedule. You might want to consider a backup plan of flying from New York directly to a southern state if the weather is bad. James ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Remove "NOSPAM" from my address when sending me e-mail. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ - |
#4
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driving across the usa - the developments
"rob tyler" staggered to the nearest
keyboard and wrote: but i'm wondering the feasability of the enterprise now - I've looked at the mileage involved - to New Orleans 2000 miles - arrive at 13/12/03 in NY - I planned this trip with the idea that 200 miles a day was about right - you can have a days driving and relax for a day - I've done a recalculation of the planned route (New York to New Orleans to San Fransisco over 3 weeks ) and what I thought when I first looked at it was 4000 miles has now become 6000 miles - i confess to underestimating the size of your country - in the planned southerly journey - it is 4700 miles from NY to SF - but that's the cold northern roads - this means that the average becomes 300 miles a day - probably on the extreme of being too much - so I am suggesting a possible redefinition of The Adventure - see what you think: I've not read the details of the route you're taking (not having the patience to deal with text that denies the reader the aid of conventional capitalization and punctuation); however, 300 miles a day is not at all "extreme" by American standards. You may want to plan your route so that you are mainly on the Interstate highways, where you can cover the 300 miles in 4 or 5 hours, with diversions to places that you want to see more closely. Often people will recommend that you avoid the Interstates because you don't see the "real America." That's true to some extent but after the 87th small town you'll probably long for a more expeditious route. -- |
#5
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driving across the usa - the developments
"rob tyler" wrote in message ... thanks for all the advice so far I am continuing to plan the trip over christmas / new year and have fortunately gained an accomplice called Enen - she will share the driving and partly the expense - though i suspect will go for more upmarket hotel rooms than i might - the return fare - London to NY and return direct from San fransisco to london was only £328 - so that was a reasonable deal - the car hire is not so reasonable - £500 for the 3 weeks - but an extra $500 to leave it at a different place to where you to pick it up - it means that buying a car for a $1000 and selling it at the other end would be cheaper.......... but i'm wondering the feasability of the enterprise now - I've looked at the mileage involved - to New Orleans 2000 miles - arrive at 13/12/03 in NY - I planned this trip with the idea that 200 miles a day was about right - you can have a days driving and relax for a day - I've done a recalculation of the planned route (New York to New Orleans to San Fransisco over 3 weeks ) and what I thought when I first looked at it was 4000 miles has now become 6000 miles - i confess to underestimating the size of your country - in the planned southerly journey - it is 4700 miles from NY to SF - but that's the cold northern roads - this means that the average becomes 300 miles a day - probably on the extreme of being too much - so I am suggesting a possible redefinition of The Adventure - see what you think: 131203 12:30 arrive in New York: pick up car to drive to Philadelphia - 170 miles - through the middle of new york and out to the other side (first question: what's the best way of driving from JFK to the other side of NY and still do it ( on a saturday) to see the city and the best bits and still come out the other side heading for Philadelphia) - arrive evening - hotel booked - its historic quarter..... - we drive to New Orleans (2000 miles) - this is either Plan A: (13th to the 20th ) 7days (average 300 miles) or Plan B13th to the 23rd ) 10 days (average 200 miles) - here we have the alternatives: to arrive for two days in New Orleans : Plan A: to carry on driving (from 21st -24th dec) for 3-4 days across Texas for 1800 miles to El Paso Plan B: leave car and FLY (on 24th) from New Orleans to El Paso - (you get another 3 days taking it easier down the east coast/mountains) - miss out the Texas completely (leave it like NY for another time) - miss out 1800 miles of driving - jump from NO to EP by plane - what do you think? - the initial question is: is it probably going to be possible to do the Appalachian Mountain route at that frozen time of year(and which set of roads do you suggest) or do we have to go a more coastal direction........ - am i a wimp? - should i just get on the road and drive all the way? - it's just about on the limit of pleasure - what do you think?........ I'm confused. Why are you coming to American and skipping New York City? Would you expect a first time visitor to England to skip London? PLAN C: Fly as much as you can and spend a few days in the Big Apple. |
#6
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driving across the usa - the developments
"rob tyler" wrote in message ... Plan B: leave car and FLY (on 24th) from New Orleans to El Paso - El Paso gets my vote as the ugliest city in the States. I'm too lazy to read you earlier threads, but why would anyone be interested in El Paso? |
#7
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driving across the usa - the developments
cold northern roads - this means that the average becomes 300 miles a
day - probably on the extreme of being too much - so I am suggesting a possible redefinition of The Adventure - see what you think: 131203 12:30 arrive in New York: pick up car to drive to Philadelphia - 170 miles - through the middle of new york and out to the other side (first question: what's the best way of driving from JFK to the other side of NY and still do it ( on a saturday) to see the city and the best bits and still come out the other side heading for Philadelphia) - arrive evening - hotel booked - its historic quarter..... Bear in mind that to get to NY at 12:30 you will have probably been up since about 5am (and 12:30 NY time is 5:30 your time) allow an hour to get through immigration etc (although if you're unlucky it can take longer) It could easily take another hour to get to your car (once the bus has picked you up and driven half way round the airport then you allow 30 mins actually in the car hire office). Even if you jump straght into the car and drive to Manhattan you won't be there until well after 15:00. Then you won't see a thing until you've parked somewhere - this will cost you a fortune ($10 for an hour is easily spent)... by which stage it'll be getting dark. (and you'll want a sleep). My advice is to get the subway from JFK to Manhattan - stop in a hotel for a couple of days (although if you're trying to keep costs down don't do this on a weekend) then pick up the car and drive off - if you're not planning to drop the car back where you picked it up then you would probably save loads of cash by getting a bus to Philadelphia and picking the car up there (Car hire from NY is outrageous - we recently realised that for 2 weeks we could save more than £200 if we picked up in Boston - and the bus was about £25 each - as you're hiring for longer I assume you would save more - if you're heading for the historic district in Philly then you could easily forgo the car for another couple of days and save on the hire (and the parking) again. As for the rest of your plans - then, if you've never driven in the US before you'll probably be pleasantly surprised as to how easy it is and how you can drive 200 miles without a thought at swearing at someone (apart from the people that decide what goes on the street signs) and if you use interstates you will probably only take about 3.5 hours. The downside is the time of year - if it rains it could slow you down seriously - its not unusual for people to pull onto the hard shoulder in heavy rain because you just can't see where you're going and in any event it could easily double your days journey time. As far as the choice between driving and flying, I would say that it depends upon what you want to see en route - if you're just planning to drive and drive then you might prefer to fly but you risk remembering your holiday by soulless airport lounges (if you thought UK airports were boring then wait till you've spent a few hours in the far more utilitarian US ones - this isn't an insult, just an observation!) Remember that they say "its better to travel than to arrive" and many of the highlights of my holidays to the states have been the things that I've done along the way - not part of sightseeing at all, just those things that you need to do to keep you going on the road - its all part of the experience for me. Having flights prebooked will also mean you're much less flexible in your approach then you would be if you were in full control of your transport all the time. |
#8
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driving across the usa - the developments
rob tyler wrote: thanks for all the advice so far ... but i'm wondering the feasability of the enterprise now - I've looked at the mileage involved - to New Orleans 2000 miles - arrive at 13/12/03 in NY - I planned this trip with the idea that 200 miles a day was about right - you can have a days driving and relax for a day - I've done a recalculation of the planned route (New York to New Orleans to San Fransisco over 3 weeks ) and what I thought when I first looked at it was 4000 miles has now become 6000 miles - i confess to underestimating the size of your country - in the planned southerly journey - it is 4700 miles from NY to SF - but that's the cold northern roads - this means that the average becomes 300 miles a day - probably on the extreme of being too much - so I am suggesting a possible Perhaps you could plan a combination of leisurely driving days, where you do 200 miles on small roads, and burn-the-asphalt days where you stay on the Interstate and cover lots of miles in parts of the country where there is little of interest. My husband (Italian) and I (American living in Italy) helped my daughter with a long-distance move in the US this summer. We combined several days of intense driving and several days of sightseeing. On the intense driving days, we found that we could drive for four to six hours without any fatigue. (That would be two to three hours' driving apiece.) A lot depended on whether we had the sun in our faces or if there were other unpleasant driving conditions. On the Interstate system, you can usually cover 300 miles in little over four hours, and you could probably cover 400 miles in six hours. It partly depends on the speed limits, which vary by state, and by population density within each state. If you drive 3 hours in the morning, have a nice relaxing lunch and see a bit of your surroundings and then drive another three hours, each time switching drivers once, you could cover enough miles to let you do a scenic country road tour the next day. Barbara redefinition of The Adventure - see what you think: 131203 12:30 arrive in New York: pick up car to drive to Philadelphia - 170 miles - through the middle of new york and out to the other side (first question: what's the best way of driving from JFK to the other side of NY and still do it ( on a saturday) to see the city and the best bits and still come out the other side heading for Philadelphia) - arrive evening - hotel booked - its historic quarter..... - we drive to New Orleans (2000 miles) - this is either Plan A: (13th to the 20th ) 7days (average 300 miles) or Plan B13th to the 23rd ) 10 days (average 200 miles) - here we have the alternatives: to arrive for two days in New Orleans : Plan A: to carry on driving (from 21st -24th dec) for 3-4 days across Texas for 1800 miles to El Paso Plan B: leave car and FLY (on 24th) from New Orleans to El Paso - (you get another 3 days taking it easier down the east coast/mountains) - miss out the Texas completely (leave it like NY for another time) - miss out 1800 miles of driving - jump from NO to EP by plane - what do you think? - the initial question is: is it probably going to be possible to do the Appalachian Mountain route at that frozen time of year(and which set of roads do you suggest) or do we have to go a more coastal direction........ - am i a wimp? - should i just get on the road and drive all the way? - it's just about on the limit of pleasure - what do you think?........ |
#9
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driving across the usa - the developments
Charles Hawtrey wrote: "rob tyler" staggered to the nearest keyboard and wrote: I've not read the details of the route you're taking (not having the patience to deal with text that denies the reader the aid of conventional capitalization and punctuation); however, 300 miles a day is not at all "extreme" by American standards. Actually, I also got burned out and stopped reading. A new paragraph every now and then would have helped as well. Barbara |
#10
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driving across the usa - the developments
rob tyler wrote:
thanks for all the advice so far I am continuing to plan the trip over christmas / new year and have fortunately gained an accomplice called Enen - she will share the driving and partly the expense - though i suspect will go for more upmarket hotel rooms than i might - the return fare - London to NY and return direct from San fransisco to london was only £328 - so that was a reasonable deal - the car hire is not so reasonable - £500 for the 3 weeks - but an extra $500 to leave it at a different place to where you to pick it up - it means that buying a car for a $1000 and selling it at the other end would be cheaper.......... but i'm wondering the feasability of the enterprise now - I've looked at the mileage involved - to New Orleans 2000 miles - arrive at 13/12/03 in NY - I planned this trip with the idea that 200 miles a day was about right - you can have a days driving and relax for a day - I've done a recalculation of the planned route (New York to New Orleans to San Fransisco over 3 weeks ) and what I thought when I first looked at it was 4000 miles has now become 6000 miles - i confess to underestimating the size of your country - in the planned southerly journey - it is 4700 miles from NY to SF - but that's the cold northern roads - this means that the average becomes 300 miles a day - probably on the extreme of being too much - so I am suggesting a possible redefinition of The Adventure - see what you think: 131203 12:30 arrive in New York: pick up car to drive to Philadelphia - 170 miles - through the middle of new york and out to the other side (first question: what's the best way of driving from JFK to the other side of NY and still do it ( on a saturday) to see the city and the best bits and still come out the other side heading for Philadelphia) - arrive evening - hotel booked - its historic quarter..... - we drive to New Orleans (2000 miles) - this is either Plan A: (13th to the 20th ) 7days (average 300 miles) or Plan B13th to the 23rd ) 10 days (average 200 miles) - here we have the alternatives: to arrive for two days in New Orleans : Plan A: to carry on driving (from 21st -24th dec) for 3-4 days across Texas for 1800 miles to El Paso New Orleans to El Paso is 1100 miles Plan B: leave car and FLY (on 24th) from New Orleans to El Paso - (you get another 3 days taking it easier down the east coast/mountains) - miss out the Texas completely (leave it like NY for another time) - miss out 1800 miles of driving - jump from NO to EP by plane - what do you think? - the initial question is: is it probably going to be possible to do the Appalachian Mountain route at that frozen time of year(and which set of roads do you suggest) or do we have to go a more coastal direction........ - am i a wimp? - should i just get on the road and drive all the way? - it's just about on the limit of pleasure - what do you think?........ |
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