Driving South, Pup needs a hotel, Help please!
 

My head is spinning and I cannot seem to get this worked out..I need help!

We will be leaving NYC around 2-3 in the afternoon, in January, on our drive South!
Pup riding in the back with his fave toys and blankee.
We want to stop once overnight on this drive, it is a 16 hour trip in all.
Where do we stop ?
I thought Washington DC?
Or Maryland? or should we push it until Virginia? I cannot figure out the miles/time to these places, we always fly!!
We found some Pup friendly hotels, but I must book them. So I cannot be carefree and just drive until we feel like stopping :(
My Yankee thinks we will just be able to stop wherever we wish, he puts too much faith in my powers of persuasion! Or Pups charm, whatever, we must make reservations and I need help~

Would someone give me a suggestion? I am pathetic, I cannot make these plans without your help.
Thank you ever so much for any help or just for showing some pity ((F))

"Push it to Virginia"? Uh-oh, Scarlett, I think you need to look at a map. You are about to do a long drive -- about 950 miles and a good 15 hours not including any stops. The half-way point between NYC and Jacksonville is Rocky Mount, North Carolina. There are many motels along I-95 in that area. My knowledge of which ones will allow Pup is minimal except that I know all Motel 6's allow dogs.

Now if you wanted to push on even futher, you could make it across the South Carolina border to the famous "South of the Border" which caters to dogs, cats, gerbils, tourists, Martians, and any possible traveler known to man. You can even get a bumper sticker to commemorate the stop!

Scarlett, Do you want to split the trip in half and drive equal times each day? Or since you're leaving late on day one, do you want that day to be shorter. Yahoo maps says the trip is 14.5 hours and 943 miles. If you drive 7 hours your first day (stopping at 9 pm) you could get as far as Rocky Mt. North Carolina.

I think you have to decide how long you'll be comfortable driving day one (and how much Pup can take).

At any rate, start with Yahoo Maps, and play with distances along the route. It will help you figure out where good stopping places might be.

LOL, Patrick, you took pity on me!
I am figuring that we will have to stop about 6-7 hours after leaving NYC. Which would put us near NC?
SC is waaay too far the first night. I will skip South of the Border, thank you very much, I grew up in NC and have a vague memory of the cheesiness,even back then!
So, do you ever make this drive or do you always fly?
If we were leaving early in the am, it would be easy-it is the leaving in the afternoon that has me boggled.
(Boggling me might be easy these days)
We found a Suite hotel outside of DC that takes dogs Pups size.
Grasshopper!
I almost posted without seeing your response..you are so sweet! Yes, because the first day is a late start, I am afraid we will have to just go for about 6-7 hours..the next day, hopefully we can be up early enough and make the rest of the trip in one day.
Thanks so much~

Ah Patrick... How funny that we came up with the same stop! But do you really think that Scarlette would stay at a Motel 6?!!!!

Hee hee, yes, Grasshopper, you know me!
La Quinta welcomes pups and we could stay in one in Savannah but that is only two hours from our destination!

Yes, Scarlett, I've made that drive quite a few times. But don't forget I start in Naples, so you have to add another 5 to 6 hours to the total! For me the best stop if going straight through is Charleston or Savannah, and worth a trip off the interstate for a nice meal and atmosphere. But of course, those are much too close to your new home to be of much use to you. I'd definitely try to get well beyond Richmond in any case and also avoid the early morning traffic in that area -- it is brutal. I'd really try to make it into North Carolina if I were you. The second day always seems longer than the first, so if you don't complete half-way the first day, you'll be regretting it the second.

I can see Scarlett now, sitting on one of those little carnival rides at South of the Border, the ties on her huge straw hat blowing in the wind. And I'm sure Scarlett could survive a Motel 6 -- Pup, I'm not so certain about. I think Pup is used to a finer life.

Richmond is just under 5 hours, and Rocky Mount is just over 7. Who's driving; you or the Yankee? Who's got a led foot? In my experience, the Yahoo estimates are usually on the long side. I'd shoot for Rocky Mount. Maybe you can get away a little earlier?

La dee da, Patrick, you are so right about Pup ((&))
Thank you sooo much! We will just drink a lot of coffee and drive to NC!
I will now look up the best hotel that is pupfriendly..I keep imagining these places that reek of eau de pup and seeing the Yankee and I rising in the morning, covered with flea bites!
Pup doing everything he can to avoid getting back into that car!!
At least there is a lovely house at the end of this trip! or actually, another hotel :) We are not sure the house is going to be ready for us!! But we are certainly ready for it!

Maybe you could push ahead and stay with Patrick! Patrick, are you Pup friendly? :-)

Ha! Patrick would be out of the way, but I do hope that sometime in the future, Pup, Yankee and I will get to have a drink with him when we visit the West Coast.

Scarlett, we've done the drive from NY to FL a couple of times, and generally go to NC the first day--it's really not that bad, and leaves you a better 2nd day than if you only went to Virginia the first day.

Just say the word, Scarlett. I'm always ready for a drink. And yes, we are "out of the way" from anything way down here in Naples. Do you know how far we have to drive to get out of Florida??

Scarlett, this has nothing to do with anything, but I've been curious for a while -- what kind of pup is pup?

I've always envisioned Pup as half St. Bernard and half French poodle. He carries a mean keg of French brandy round his neck!

I agree with the others who recommend passing the NC border from NY the first day. If nothing else you'll pass most of the urban traffic choke points.

Residence Inn's cater to big puppies.

Happy trails and new year!

FRENCH BRANDY??? I smell Degas around here somewhere!

We have a 100 lb dog and stayed in Lumberton NC in a Best Western in mid October (on our move to FL as well). It was fine for the night, and not very expensive.

Scarlett, my parents make this drive often and it is about 11 hours from NYC to the SC border down I-95.

My father isn't a speed demon at all, he's one of those old guys in a Lincoln. Traffic on I-95 flies!

living just north of baltimore, a suggestion to speed the trip from nj/nu area; in baltimore stay on 95, and outside dc, go ccw, not cw on the beltway, avoiding traffic buildup. youll never get to rocky mount in 7 hours, better to shoot for richmond, va. South of Richmond on 95, so many seedy motels you'll be able to take your dog into any of them. no need to reserve.

Now there's a word combination I never expected to see on this life: Scarlett and seedy motels.

Unless I missed it, I did not see whether you'll be travelling on a weekday or weekend. On a weekday, heading south out of DC, traffic will be a mess until well after 7PM. I'd have a good dinner somewhere on the north side of DC then barrel on trhough to Richmond in the late evening.

On a weekend, you should be able to breeze on through, barring storms or accidents.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

We will look into reserving a Residence Inn. Somewhere into NC. I don't want to regret not getting farther when we get back into that car on the second day.

Pup is a Standard Poodle.

We will be on the road as soon as the movers drive away! I do wish we could put the car in the truck and go with them~sigh~

The Yankee has the lead foot :) But I have been known to zoom along the highway myself, having lived in California and practiced fast driving on the San Diego Freeway at 2 in the morning ... hee hee...

postergirl, I believe DWooddon said it well ! Seedy and Scarlett just don't go together, thanks anyway~ Besides, Pup would never forgive me!

Patrick, I have heard about how long one has to drive just to get OUT of Florida!! Don't forget, that drink is in our future~

You have all been soo helpful, thanks so much!
Scarlett ((F))
the Yankee and Pup ((&))

*PS* Beanbag/Postergirl, surely you have something better to do with your time than to follow me around on Fodors?
Thank you for the attention, Lord knows, Scarlett loves attention, but I think your attention must be needed somewhere else.
Ciao~

???? maybe you need a break from packing, you asked for the help. packing can be a bust, I know from our recent move to delaware. anyway, if you dont know nc, that area is rural, kind of rough, and residence inns arent up to the standard you may be used to. suggest you stop in the richmond area, we can offer one or two decent places that take dogs. sorry you feel the need to insult people who try to help you.

Yikes! What will you do with the Pup when you get to Jax and the house is not finished, Miss Scarlett! Maybe you've got a plan for a dog-friendly hotel in Jax. Not to worry. Florida loves travelers with all sorts of attachments. Dogs, Yankees, fodorites. We take just about anybody down here, but we're specially pleased when we get some good ones.

Be careful on the highways. This goes for all you holiday travelers as well.

Want to add, I-95 is a mess around Florence, SC and doubt they've finished all the construction around Lumberton, NC. Be careful and safe traveling!

Tandoori Girl,
The Pup in Florida is no problem, we have a really nice hotel near the house that is ready and waiting for all of us .. although, the house is supposed to be ready by then.
GoTravel, thanks! I think it will all be fine and the worst that can happen, aside from bad weather, is that we will have to drive longer than we feel like, but there is that lovely house waiting at the end of the trip, and that lovely weather...so we will be just fine~
Thank you all for being sooo helpful and for all the good wishes!~