Having never cared much for flying in the first place and after reading and researching the recent air incidents and imagining the possiblities thereof, I have decided to make our trip to Arizona in August a road trip. There will be 4 adults traveling from western PA. Does anyone have a good feel for the minimum time in which we can realistically do this? We are prepared to drive overnight.

Now what do we do with the 4 nonrefundable (but transferable) cheapo Southwest tickets to Phoenix?

Hi zelien,

A quick look on www.mapquest.com shows Pittsburgh to Phoenix is 2111 miles and takes 32 hours.

Not sure about the tickets - since they are transferable, would you be able to sell them on ebay? I just don't know the rules, but someone here probably will.

Karen

go to freetrip.com enter your starting and finishing points, and as you scroll down to submit, check off the price range for the hotels you want to stay in. This will allow you choose your hotel in the milage range you want to drive.

and so the terrorists claim another victim.

Zelien(ople?), realisically, add 10% to whatever Mapquest says the miles are. They calculate from city limit to city limit, from the outermost edges of each city. I have driven from Grand Rapids, MI to PHX in 34 hours in a rental truck. My family in Gibsonia, PA have made the drive in about the same time tha I did. Have a great trip!!

I know, I know...but this was only the last straw in an already unstable haystack. I was always a nervous flyer on my very infrequent flights. Why put myself through the angst just to prove a point?

To save 34 hours of driving?

Have a good time.

Hi zelien! I hear you! And yes you can do this! And you don't have to drive overnight IMO.

First, how much time do you have? And where exactly in AZ are you headed? Will you be starting on I 70 to 44 to 40?

Will all four adults take turns driving? If you alternate driving, i would guestimate you'd arrive on the 4th day after three days of 10-12 hour drives, WITH stops, including some actual site-seeing to sweeten the drive!

Give us more specifics, number of days available, where exactly you're headed etc etc, we can help you further.

Yes, formerly of lovely Zelienople. I sure know where Gibsonia is. Thanks to everyone for the info. We are actually getting excited about making this trip by land.

I may try to sell the plane tickets via Ebay or just hang onto them as gifts. They are valid and transferable until May, 2005.

Hi

I'd like to add a little encouragement too!!

We were headed from Washington DC to a wedding in Tulsa Ok and decided to make a road trip of it.

We checked out the various routes and decided to stop in Nashville TN and enjoy the sights and Opryland and then headed to Memphis for some BBQ, bourbon, and Elvis, and then onto Li'l Rock to enjoy some of Bill's old hangouts.

We had a very enjoyable trip - couldn't have asked for it to be any better. When we arrived in Tulsa we had a great B^B to stay at for a few days and to visit the great town after the wedding.

On the return trip we stopped in Branson, then louisville Ky, then up through Charlestown WV (incredible views) and on to Monticello and Charlottesville VA. This stands as one of the best vacations and trips that we've taken.

If kaudrey's estimate is correct of 32 hours, then I have this suggestion. Drive about 25 hours or so rotating drivers, then stop at a destination you all would enjoy and get a good night's rest before you finish off the last day's drive. If you don't mind night driving, it's often much easier to do the bulk of the driving at night (or perhaps my dad just trained me that way on our family trips and it's too ingrained now!)

I have driven to my favorite destination that is 25 hours away non-stop many, many times. I can't imagine driving much further than that. You don't want to be totally exhausted before your trip actually begins.

I'd make a stop at the library and rent a stack of books on tape to listen to on the way.

I like that website, Ronkala! I'm going to use freetrip.com in the future!

Based on the info from that website (and using Pittsburg as a departure and Scottsdale as arrival points), Alb., NM is about 5 hours drive away from destination. I'd stop detour up for an hour's drive to rest and relax and enjoy Santa Fe. GREAT destination in itself and then you would be rested for the planned vacation to begin!

I think that a 2,100 mile trip in 32 hours, which would be averaging nearly 70 mph, sounds like an extremely generous estimate, especially since in most places, 65 is max, you need to allow for stopping in traffic, for food & bathroom breaks, etc. It's probably more like 40 hours.

I think transferable but not cancelable tickets means that you (and only you) can use them at a future time, generally within a year. I don't know of any airline who sells you a ticket & allows you to re-sell it to someone else, although I suppose w/Southwest, anything's possible.

Do you really want to waste 6 days of vacation driving to a destination you can reach in 5 hours? Not to mention the possibility of an accident is greater on the road than in the air.

Just a p.s. to my last....6 days is both ways!

I was a truck driver, and have done lots of road trips over the years, so here are my thoughts:

1. Mapquest's distance is accurate. No need to add any miles from city center to city center.

2. For most of this trip, traffic is not a problem, especially afte you go past St. Louis. Speed limit is 70 or 75 after you cross into Missouri, so you can easily average 80mph for 2/3 of your trip. Therefore, 2,100 miles can be done in <30 hours of DRIVING TIME.

3. Even if all 4 people rotate to drive, doing it non-stop is still going to be very tough and tiring. UNLESS you have a large SUV or van so that one can lay down flat. Otherwise, you'll be dead tired after arriving, even if each person has only done <8 hours of driving.

4. I totally agree with others that the most reasonable way is to do it in 3 days each way. About 10 hours of driving is pretty easy unless only one person drives. And you'll have some time to enjoy meals or go for a little bit of sightseeing.

Re the tickets: SW tells me that, though the tickets we purchased are nonrefundable, the purchase price can be applied by anyone to any SW flight within a year of purchase.

Re the trip: We have two weeks. Our original plan was to fly into Phoenix and spend a week driving to Utah, Mexico, and in between.(Done this before-we like to drive.) We would take the second week another time. Now we are thinking about making that second week into the road trip, leaving the Pittsburgh area and probably arriving in northern AZ. Don't know which route is best. There are 4 adults traveling, and we would take turns driving. I'm hearing some great experiences from you all and from friends.

And, yes, I know all the statistics regarding air vs. land travel. It's an irrational fear. I feel the same about snakes and won't hike certain places at certain time.

You can easily make this a great circular road trip. Take I-70 across the Colorado Rockies and visit all the national parks in Utah, down through Grand Canyon and/or Las Vegas to Phoenix. On the way home, take I-40 east to Albuqueque and then up I-25 to visit Santa Fe, Taos, Raton Pass, and then cut through SE Colorado and Kansas to get back to I-70 home.

Or do it in reverse.

I love the idea of the circular road trip and the thought of seeing the Rockies, the Utah parks, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe. It sounds as though planning at least 6 days in travel time out and back would be reasonable. I'm encouraged by those who have driven those long distances before and excited to get going!

zelien...sorry if I appeared to be picking on you earlier on...I just get frustrated. To be honest, I think that it is more important now than ever to suck up some courage and take any flights you have planned. If the incident with the musicians is what got you going then you should look a little harder. The actually were musicians and actually did play a gig in San Diego.

Having said that, if you have never driven across the country before then I think you should do it. Sure it is a long drive but it will be an adventure that I think everyone shoud have at least once in their life. Even Kansas is an amazing place as endless as it will seem (and the goes for Oklahoma nd Nebraska too). You're liable to meet some great folks along the way. I've done this many times and,although I don't plan on doing so again, I think it is an experience every American should have...get out and learn what this great nation is like from sea to shining sea.

I wish you the best and have a great adventure (and don't forget to check your oil level and tire pressure regularly).

peterboy: It has been over 3 years since I have flown and it took all the courage I could muster to purchase our plane tickets in May. Then I discovered the musician story. In coming to the truth in that story, however, I uncovered so many other "incidents" or security breaches, etc. that played on my mind. I'm afraid I would end up beig the next Annie Jacobsen. Anyway, I know where you're coming from, and I haven't sold the tickets yet. But the road trip is beginning to sound more and more exciting.

Leona: I'm curious about your statement that with Southwest anything is possible. You seem to love flying. Was there more to that statement? I know that they are small, but are they considered to be an inferior airline. We have traveled Continental, American, and USAir in the past