We spent a few days visiting my parents last week. They live 300 miles away, and WAZE is always optimistic that we can make the trip in about 4 hours and 15 minutes. Of course by the time we take the non-interstate routes, stop at the post office in rural north Florida to buy my stamps (the postmaster there is so sweet), and stretch our legs at the rest stops, the four hours easily turns into five. Then a few days later, we get back in the car and drive the same 300 miles back home, minus the post office stop.
When we got home from this most recent visit, we were both feeling a bit stiff and cramped from the car ride. And thought, have we over-estimated our ability to travel long distances, and however will we make it through our Middle States trip?!
Well, not to worry, friends! That's why it's going to take us 46ish days. We only have two days that we are planning to go over 300 miles , and that would be the first day (310) and the last day (300). We have 12 days that we'll be driving between 200 and 300 miles, 10 days with 100-200 miles, and six days less than 100 miles. Now some of those shorter mileage days may take us longer to get from point A to point B, but that's because we have places to see and things to do along the route.
We've also scattered multi-night stays throughout the trip so that we have some time to take care of business, explore the area in more detail, and do laundry. Staying in the same place for more than once night will give us a chance to let our bodies sort out any stiffness from being in the car so many days. (This is one thing we love about cruising - you get where you're going without having to be confined to a small space with limited ability to move around.)
A bonus about our car for the trip is that it has heated seats in the front AND the back, and the heat really does help alleviate some of the stiffness while riding in the car. And if we pack carefully, we'll have at least one side of the back seat available so if one of us (okay, that would be me!) needs to stretch our legs for a bit, it's easier to do when you can stretch without interfering with the driver.
Maybe because we're getting older, but the thought of being in the car 6-10 hours (or more!) in a day is more than we want to do. We know many of our friends and acquaintances will hop in their car and drive those long hours so as to maximize their time at their destination. (And they are often zonked out for the first day.) But for us, and especially for this trip, it's about the journey. So if we speed-demon through it, we'll miss out on most of what will make this a memorable experience.
~ Cindy D.
