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driving across the usa - the developments



 
 
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  #1  
Old September 24th, 2003, 02:29 AM
rob tyler
external usenet poster
 
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Default 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  
Old September 24th, 2003, 04:32 AM
richard
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Posts: n/a
Default 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  
Old September 24th, 2003, 04:50 AM
JamesStep
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Posts: n/a
Default 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



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Remove "NOSPAM" from my address when sending me e-mail.
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  #4  
Old September 24th, 2003, 06:06 AM
Charles Hawtrey
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Default 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  
Old September 24th, 2003, 07:20 AM
Hiloman
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default 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  
Old September 24th, 2003, 07:26 AM
Hiloman
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default 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  
Old September 24th, 2003, 08:09 AM
John W
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default 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  
Old September 24th, 2003, 01:04 PM
Barbara Vaughan
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default 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  
Old September 24th, 2003, 01:06 PM
Barbara Vaughan
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default 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  
Old September 24th, 2003, 02:56 PM
MTV
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default 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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