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brapper · Mar 14, 2005, 12:44 PM

So I'm thinking of driving down to Palm Beach from Toronto. The plan is to drive down, sit in the sun for a couple of days, and then drive back just in time for everyone else to be finishing up their exams...
According to Mapquest it's a 22hr drive, so we're thinking it can be done in two days, but maybe longer 'cause we're allowing the possibility of stopping places to see funny ****.
This is the drive we're looking at:

Any suggestions on what to see, how to keep this drive cheap as possible (poor students...), or anything else that comes to mind?

I'm so excited for this, and I think the drive down and back could be half the fun

turtle777 · Mar 14, 2005, 12:57 PM

Originally posted by brapper:
Any suggestions on what to see, how to keep this drive cheap as possible (poor students...), or anything else that comes to mind?

Uhm, I guess you are talking LEGAL options, right ?

E.g. stealing gas would make it cheaper

-t

JLFanboy · Mar 14, 2005, 12:57 PM

My main piece of advice is to drive during the day. The temptation to drive through the night is gonna be pretty great, but don't. On top of the possibility of getting stuck in the middle of nowhere at 3 in the morning, you're gonna want to actually see the country around you, not just the strip on the highway. So go to bed early, get up at 6 o'clock, and drive til dinner.

Beyond that, if you're a member of CAA or AAA, get the free Tourbooks. (I think you can buy them if you're not a member). They'll have comprehensive listings of every motel on your route, and you can find some pretty great deals. Also, if you're a member, you can get additional discounts at a lot of places.

All in all, I'd say you've got a leisurely 3 or 3 1/2 day drive. Should be plenty of time.

Good luck.

brapper · Mar 14, 2005, 12:59 PM

Originally posted by turtle777:
Uhm, I guess you are talking LEGAL options, right ?
E.g. stealing gas would make it cheaper

-t

hey, we'll see how things unfold.

MilkmanDan · Mar 14, 2005, 01:06 PM

Me and 4 of my college roomies are taking a 10 day trip. We're driving from Minnesota to Baltimore, going to see DC, then to New York, then to Boston, then visiting Penn State, then up to Toronto, and back to Minnesota.

Gotta love Spring Break.

dreilly1 · Mar 14, 2005, 01:13 PM

Originally posted by MilkmanDan:
Me and 4 of my college roomies are taking a 10 day trip. We're driving from Minnesota to Baltimore, going to see DC, then to New York, then to Boston, then visiting Penn State, then up to Toronto, and back to Minnesota.

Gotta love Spring Break.

MIN -> State College, PA -> DC -> NY -> BOS -> TOR -> MIN

makes more sense geographically.

dreilly1 · Mar 14, 2005, 01:21 PM

Originally posted by brapper:
So I'm thinking of driving down to Palm Beach from Toronto. The plan is to drive down, sit in the sun for a couple of days, and then drive back just in time for everyone else to be finishing up their exams...

I'm so excited for this, and I think the drive down and back could be half the fun

It's a leisurely 3 to 4 day drive, which makes it a batshit-crazy 2 day drive. Have fun!

If you do have CAA, see if they know about any construction on your route. When you're counting on driving 500+ miles in a day, it's kind of a bummer when you get stuck for an hour in a construction zone.

Yose · Mar 14, 2005, 02:40 PM

Brapper, do you work for the TDSB?

dcmacdaddy · Mar 14, 2005, 03:07 PM

Originally posted by brapper:
So I'm thinking of driving down to Palm Beach from Toronto. The plan is to drive down, sit in the sun for a couple of days, and then drive back just in time for everyone else to be finishing up their exams...

Any suggestions on what to see, how to keep this drive cheap as possible (poor students...), or anything else that comes to mind?

I'm so excited for this, and I think the drive down and back could be half the fun

Go to Letchworth State Park in Western NY, about an hour SE of Buffalo; It's called the "Grand Canyon of the East" for a reason.
US 78 in East-central PA has the world's largest miniature village, also a kick-ass Cabela's.
Visit Harper's Ferry West Virginia.
Take Skyline drive through Shenandoah National Park in VA.
Come East a bit to DC to see all the crap we got here--I'll take you and your mates out for beers at this place if you do come this way, though.

I don't know much about all the crap there is down South but I am sure there is some. Lood for good barbecue in NC.

villalobos · Mar 14, 2005, 04:10 PM

Originally posted by dcmacdaddy:
[LIST]

I don't know much about all the crap there is down South but I am sure there is some. Lood for good barbecue in NC.

My vote for some good pulled pork barbecue, and dem boiled peanuts.

JustAnOl'Broad · Mar 15, 2005, 12:16 AM

Originally posted by brapper:
Any suggestions on what to see, how to keep this drive cheap as possible (poor students...), or anything else that comes to mind?
I'm so excited for this, and I think the drive down and back could be half the fun

[/B]

I'll second the tip about Harpers Ferry. (scenic area/historical, etc)
Horse tracks and gambling in Charles Town, nearby.
(grew up there - now I'm homesick)

Definatley take the DC guy up on the trip to DC; especially if you
get to see any of the Smithsonian.
There are big amusement parks along the way too -if you're into that.
Busch Gardens and Disney World. Williamsburg, VA would be nice
if you're into history.
Maybe go inland on the way South, and head back North along
the Coast.

As someone else said, try to drive during the day and relax at nite.
When near big cities, hotels should be cheaper.
Food is generally cheaper at Indian Casinos and truck stops.
As for construction; years ago, the West Virginia turnpike was constantly
under construction.
Also, States that have bad winters tend to have crappy roads in the spring.
PA turnpike...nuff said.

Have a ball!

AppleCello · Mar 15, 2005, 04:40 PM

Originally posted by dreilly1:
MIN -> State College, PA -> DC -> NY -> BOS -> TOR -> MIN

makes more sense geographically.

when are you passing through?
Patrick

Xeo · Mar 15, 2005, 05:04 PM

The summer between high school and college, a friend and I drove straight through from MN to NYC. We planned on it taking 2 days but made it in 20 hours. We decided the drive-for-5-hours-and-switch thing was working out well enough that we kept going. Got to see a pretty cool MWNY00.

MilkmanDan · Mar 15, 2005, 05:05 PM

Originally posted by dreilly1:
MIN -> State College, PA -> DC -> NY -> BOS -> TOR -> MIN

makes more sense geographically.

Actually, we're making the one roomie who needs to go to Penn State go on his own for the day... so yeah. It should be fun though. 5 guys, a car, and 4 laptops. Should be well entertained.

Xeo · Mar 15, 2005, 05:12 PM

Originally posted by MilkmanDan:
Actually, we're making the one roomie who needs to go to Penn State go on his own for the day... so yeah. It should be fun though. 5 guys, a car, and 4 laptops. Should be well entertained.

Can't really beat a mobile Halo party. Figure something out to use as a desk. Maybe a board to go all the way across the back so all 3 can use a mouse.

Goldfinger · Mar 15, 2005, 05:47 PM

How many km is that (from Toronto to south Florida)?

brapper · Mar 15, 2005, 06:47 PM

Originally posted by Yose:
Brapper, do you work for the TDSB?

nope, no I don't.

brapper · Mar 15, 2005, 06:50 PM

Originally posted by Goldfinger:
How many km is that (from Toronto to south Florida)?

1494, can be done in 23hrs.

MilkmanDan · Mar 15, 2005, 09:01 PM

Originally posted by Xeo:
Can't really beat a mobile Halo party. Figure something out to use as a desk. Maybe a board to go all the way across the back so all 3 can use a mouse.

We were thinking mobile something party, though the lack of mouse space would be bad. Now if only one of us had a cell phone with internet access then we could have a fun old time.

Xeo · Mar 15, 2005, 09:10 PM

Originally posted by MilkmanDan:
We were thinking mobile something party, though the lack of mouse space would be bad. Now if only one of us had a cell phone with internet access then we could have a fun old time.

4 people sharing a 9600 bps connection. Whoo-hoo!

(That's what my phone dials-up at.)

DeathToWindows · Mar 16, 2005, 01:16 PM

we'll want pics... you know that, right?

Randman · Mar 16, 2005, 01:34 PM

From Raleigh, I'd suggest going coastal and hitting Myrtle Beach and on down that way. Plenty of places to stop along the way (and lots of snow birds from Canada). Can also see Charleston, SC, and Savannah, Georgia (and even Hotlanta if you wish).

AppleOptionFour · Mar 16, 2005, 02:41 PM

Originally posted by brapper:
I'm so excited for this, and I think the drive down and back could be half the fun

Please say you have an airport card.

You should take a picture of all the places you find a wireless signal and post a message from there.

wdlove · Mar 16, 2005, 02:52 PM

I wish for you an awesome trip. Just relax and have fun.

brapper · Mar 16, 2005, 09:00 PM

Originally posted by dcmacdaddy:

Come East a bit to DC to see all the crap we got here--I'll take you and your mates out for beers at this place if you do come this way, though.

Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll save DC for another trip. We kinda want to maximize the time in the sun so we can come back for the end of exams with tans and huge smiles on our faces.
I'd love to hit DC sometime soon though.

brapper · Mar 16, 2005, 09:08 PM

Originally posted by AppleOptionFour:
Please say you have an airport card.

You should take a picture of all the places you find a wireless signal and post a message from there.

Yeah, I'll for sure take some ridiculous pictures.
Don't know if I want to bring the laptop with me though as it'll be a pain to carry around, and I don't know where I'll be crashing.
Haha, I'll probably convince him to bring his Albook

King Bob On The Cob · Mar 16, 2005, 09:39 PM

Originally posted by AppleOptionFour:
Please say you have an airport card.

You should take a picture of all the places you find a wireless signal and post a message from there.

OMG We'd have 10,000 pictures
Most Truckstops have them now-a-days. I know I was war driving down the interstate.

AppleOptionFour · 12:15 AM

Originally posted by King Bob On The Cob:
Most Truckstops have them now-a-days. I know I was war driving down the interstate.

Damn...I should have whipped mine out at a couple of stops on the way to Louisiana last week.

Well based on that premise...maybe you/we could start a thread called: Places that should have spent money on remodeling instead of a wireless router.

Then take a pic to prove you whipped it out.

(Waiting for a "whipped it out" joke)