September 14, 2010: 11 Hour Drive

Today begins a new trip. This is more of a "destination" visit in that I have three states where I plan to spend some time. In the past, I've picked a region of the country and tried to find something to do in each state along the way. Now, I'm breezing through a lot of states just to get to the ones where I have plans. As of last spring when I added California to my list of visited states, I have now visited 47 states. Louisiana is the only missing state in the lower 48 and I do NOT anticipate visiting it in this trip. So, this will be the first trip west of New York that does not involve a visit to a new state.

As is usual for these driving trips, I got out of the house late. This was probably one of the worst occasions as I left around 3pm and had an eleven hour drive ahead of me. That is the most ambitious drive I have ever tried in a single day. Ordinarily, I never go more than eight hours. But, with limited days for this trip I wanted to maximize it by getting most of the driving out of the way when I could. The next day would be even worse.

My destination was Columbus, Ohio. I chose that city because it has an inexpensive hotel under the Choice Hotel brands, and they're giving away big points again. I'll get some free stays during this trip. Columbus is also roughly halfway through to Springfield, Missouri.


View Larger Map

Normally, it takes a couple of days to build up momentum. Leaving at 3pm, I was really nervous about being out so late and driving so long. This time, I must have been either hungering for a trip or else I've built up enough "reserve" momentum from my past trips. I was not seriously tired at any point on the trip.

The logical way to do this would have been to take I-90 across NY. Of course, that involves about $14 in tolls, and I figured that would be better spent on gas. So, I planned to take I-88 to the Southern Tier Expressway (aka "I-86").

The GPS was obnoxious. I knew what I needed to do to get as far as Ohio so I really didn't need the GPS until that point. But, it is good for calculating mileage until the next turn and destination time. As I got on I-88 it kept wanting me to turn around to get back on I-90. I finally was tired of hearing it complain, so I shut it down until I was so far onto I-88 that it had to reroute me through I-86.

I've never gone west on US 17/I-86 in the daylight. I've come back that way in daytime, but the only time I went out that way (in summer 2008), it was already dark. It always seems to be different from my recollection when I travel that route. This time was no exception. There was also a great deal of road work this time. But aside from that, the landscape still seemed different throughout.

It felt so good to start traveling again. This summer has been intense with lots of things happening at home. So, it's great to get out and at least go halfway across the country again.

As is usual in Western NY, gas was more expensive than the Clifton Park area. I fueled up a bit, expecting to finish it off once I crossed the Pennsylvania line. Typically, the TA store along I-90 is cheaper than western NY prices. When I arrived, it turned out to be exactly the same. Filling up and then having some pizza as insurance to stay awake, I began driving again.

Ohio is also typically even cheaper than PA (and thus also cheaper than NY). It turned out Ohio gas prices were the same or higher than PA, making Ohio, for the first time I have ever seen, more expensive than Clifton Park, NY.

There is heavy construction on I-90. At one point, you could even pick which part of the construction zone you wanted to drive in. It forked there is a huge grassy median between the two westbound lanes. I took the right side.

My next interstate was I-271. Getting on there was a feat with so many ramps for I-271 closed.

As time went on, I became worried about getting tired. But, it never happened. In fact, I seemed more energized as it got later. I-271 ended and I went onto I-71. I-71 was a pleasure to drive at that hour with nobody else on it. It can become busy during normal hours.

As I-71 and I-70 merged in different places, along with a few other US routes (other states like to merge interstates and US routes), things became confusing and of course I took an incorrect ramp. It's wonderful to have a GPS.

The hotel in Columbus was very inexpensive but was definitely quite nice. I got in a little after 2am. There was still stuff to do so I ultimately never got to sleep until 3:30am.