Boston travel to North Carolina

Old Jul 27th, 2015, 06:35 AM
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Boston travel to North Carolina

Hi taking my daughter back to school in one day what is the best route from boston to Greensboro area,
best time to leave in AM? Thoughts on places to get a bite to eat after I get through the major cities.
Any other thoughts helpful.
Thank you!
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Old Jul 27th, 2015, 07:49 AM
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We made trip north of Boston to that area many times - brutal one-day trip, even with 2 drivers. Something always happens in NJ. MassPike to I84 thru Hartford to Tappan Zee Bridge. Garden State Parkway to NJ Turnpike. Thru DC area (several alternate routes, but in the end you need to get by Baltimore and DC) and then south to NC.

We tried more western route thru Pennsylvania once - longer, but fewer cities. Not sure it got us anything.

Leave Boston area before 6 AM. That puts you in NYC area after rush hour and if you are lucky, past DC before rush hour.

Get a toll transponder - it saves a little time. Buy gas in NJ - it is cheaper and they pump it. Make limited stops to eat and use BR until you are past Richmond, VA. By the time you get to NC, you will be so happy to get out of car.

If you are driving back alone, it really is worse than brutal to make trip alone. We found Aberdeen, MD area was a good place to stop for the night. Lots of inexpensive hotels right off the highway and you deal with Baltimore-Washington area on Day 1.

What college?
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Old Jul 27th, 2015, 07:50 AM
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There is no great way, partly because it makes a surprisingly big difference where you are starting from in "Boston".

I drove Boston (Milton) to Chapel Hill for six years, then Boston waterfront to Chapel Hill for another.

If you are coming from along the MassPike or anywhere north of it, take it to 84, 84 and 78 to Harrisburg, and 81 to Lynchburg to pick up 29.

If you are coming from south of Needham/Westwood/Dedham, you might as well take 95 and 85.

The problem on 95 southbound is Washington. If you get to the Beltway any time after 3 PM, it may take you three hours to go the next 45 or so miles to Fredereicksburg. It is guaranteed if you arrive at 4:00. So what google shows as 11h45m becomes something like 14, and Google does not count stops to eat, buy gas, or use the toilet. If you can get on the road by 5 AM and don't dawdle, you can get around DC, especially if you are willing to use the expensive new high speed lanes.

There is no place on the route other than rest areas on 95 to eat and places at exits on 81 and 85. They exist, but you don't have time to find them on a one day trip.

Gail drove her daughter from Boston to Elon, NC, IIRC, and she may have a more positive take.

TL;DR the I-81 route makes a great day and a half route with beautiful scenery. I-95/85 is faster, assuming you have an EZ Pass.
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Old Jul 27th, 2015, 08:00 AM
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Hi, Gail!

Great take, if not more positive!
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Old Jul 27th, 2015, 11:36 AM
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If you can get on the road by 5 AM and don't dawdle, you can get around DC, especially if you are willing to use the expensive new high speed lanes.

I would amend your comment to add that the I95 express lanes in Virginia are reversible. They flow south (direction the OP will be heading) beginning around 1 pm on weekdays.

There is no place on the route other than rest areas on 95 to eat and places at exits on 81 and 85. They exist, but you don't have time to find them on a one day trip.

If the OP can make it to Ashland just before Richmond (exit 92A off of I95 in VA) there is a good opportunity for coffee and some very good food.
Homemades by Suzanne is a wonderful place 5 minutes directly off the highway on England Street (VA-54). Classic southern food - sandwiches, salads, quiches, deviled eggs, pies and cookies. Located right after the railroad tracks next to the little train station/tourist bureau.

Next door is Ashland Coffee & Tea which serves some decent sandwiches. Coffee is fine esp. if you like to patronize indies. There is also a drive thru Starbux in Ashland.
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Old Jul 27th, 2015, 12:21 PM
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Ackislander and I often post as if separated at birth - since we seem to post similar things at identical times.

Some things to keep in mind. Forget about eating anything civilized along the way if you want to make it a one-day trip. If you are like many New Englanders, a road trip without good coffee, iced in summer, would be unthinkable. Apparently no one south of DC drinks iced coffee (lots of sweet tea, just no iced coffee). At a point in your trip when a caffeine jolt would be essential, keep this in mind.

Some people try to get time and miles by driving at night. I can't stay awake to do that, but keep in mind that there are many big scary trucks on that route at night. Car traffic will be lighter, but fatigue and fear factor increase.

Sounds like your kid might be a freshman. Wherever they are going to school, on this trip find a hotel you like. Stay there every visit and drop-off/pick-up trip. Southerners seem to remember faces and names and it matters. Find out how far in advance they take reservations for Commencement week and make them 1 second after they start taking reservations.
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Old Jul 27th, 2015, 12:36 PM
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Forget about eating anything civilized along the way if you want to make it a one-day trip.

Try Ashland. It's worth five minutes off the road for the places I mentioned.

Gail, your generalizations about "southerners" sound a little foolish. If you and Ackislander were separated at birth, he must be the positive minded one.
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Old Jul 27th, 2015, 02:12 PM
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Uh, ask the mods to untag this - it's not a trip report. You may have lost some helpers . . .

Considering that you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a Starbucks in this country, Gail's comment "Apparently no one south of DC drinks iced coffee (lots of sweet tea, just no iced coffee)" is one of the dafter ones of the day.

Obx: I think the "anything civilized" meant non-fast food/non-rest stop food.
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Old Jul 27th, 2015, 04:17 PM
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I guess it is no sense of humor day on the US Board. Eating anything civilized referred to anywhere between Boston and NC - since I have described it as a brutal 1-day trip, it does not matter much to me when making such a trip how many minutes off the road - by civilized I meant sit down, place an order, eat sitting at the same table, use the restroom and resume trip. The minimum 45-60 minutes more that takes on a 12-16 hour trip adds to the difficulty, especially when one is racing to avoid Bos-NYC-DC rush hours and then finish trip without having to do a lot of night driving.

I have driven this trip at least a dozen times - the last being about 4 years ago, however. Again, efficiency of food and beverages being my primary goal on the trip, I was unable to find iced coffee within a very short distance of exit ramp. Perhaps if I had brought along a dead cat to swing, I would have found some. But considering how much clothing and pairs of shoes my daughter brought back and forth each year, there would not have been room in the car.
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Old Jul 28th, 2015, 03:11 AM
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I skimmed the posts--is no one suggesting I81 to miss DC?
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Old Jul 28th, 2015, 03:43 AM
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I did suggest I-81, Gretchen, but it is enough farther that it would make a brutal one day trip. It can be a really nice 1.5 day trip.

Obxgirl, I am glad to learn that the new pay lines in NOVA switch over to southbound at 1300. It could make a huge difference, but the key will be how much traffic they siphon off after people start getting off work. And d they go beyond Quantico yet?

We have had lunch at Suzanne's in Ashland a couple of times. The food is good, but the service is very slow. I would chew my fingernails to the quick to take that much time for something to eat.

BigRuss, once you leave the service plaza world behind -- I think the last one on this route is in Maryland -- you leave the EZ-off, EZ-on Starbucks behind. There are Starbucks in Richmond, but none closer than Broad St IIRC and you can't buy gas there, so it is two stops in addition to driving to and from the interstate. Not an option on this route.
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Old Jul 28th, 2015, 08:28 AM
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Obxgirl, I am glad to learn that the new pay lines in NOVA switch over to southbound at 1300. It could make a huge difference, but the key will be how much traffic they siphon off after people start getting off work. And d they go beyond Quantico yet?

The I95 express lanes have been fully up & running since late last year. I think it goes 10 miles or so past Quantico. I doubt it's a panacea but local reports have been positive. Rush hour is still rush hour and that is never going to be a minor thing in metro DC. I will say on Monday at the tail end of rush I was more than happy to pay $5 to easily get downtown in plenty of time for an appointment.

The reversible lanes on weekends seem directed southbound on Saturday and northbound on Sunday -- presumably to accommodate beach related traffic.
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Old Jul 28th, 2015, 08:37 AM
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obxgirl, that is really good news!

Just for fun, I did a Google map search for "Starbucks near I-95 and I-85" between Northern Virginia and Greensboro. Except for two in Richmond, one of them on West Broad, there were no hits between Richmond and Greensboro itself. From there, they are fairly common to Charlotte.

Now I will try "Dunkin Donuts".
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Old Jul 28th, 2015, 09:43 AM
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Just for fun, I disagree. There are plenty of Starbucks off I95 between Springfield and Richmond. I can think of a dozen places but I usually wait until the traffic congestion breaks up.

There are 3 off the highway in F'burg (Exit 130), one of them with a drive through open 24/7. In that same small shopping center there is a mediterranean market with good sandwiches (Nile) and a place with pretty good BBQ (Dixie Bones).

Exit 92, Ashland (they should pay me) has a drive thru Sbux right off of I95. You passed it on your way to Suzanne's (order take out -- no lingering wait there). Lots of non-VA car plates there so someone got the memo.

There is also another one somewhere way south of Richmond before you hit the NC border. Been there but couldn't tell you where it was. You can see it from the highway. After that I guess I'm more like Gail if I'm in a hurry. Hold my nose & cross my legs until I reach my destination.

But if you're desperate, as of at least as a couple of weeks ago, I95 NC rest stop vending machines were dispensing Dunkin Donuts coffee. I must have missed the sweet tea machine which, in accordance with state law, must be there.

I guess it's what you're used to. I find service plazas one stop congestion. Lines for everything from gas to toilets to crappy food. The line for coffee is usually prohibitive so there is some time savings there.

I don't do 12 hour drives if I don't have to and I wish the OP luck on this one.
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Old Jul 28th, 2015, 12:33 PM
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"I don't do 12 hour drives if I don't have to and I wish the OP luck on this one."

Completely agree, but I think it is likely to be more like 14!
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