Chicago to Florida By Road - USA holiday 3 weeks (Marion: 2014, hotel)

[wsrinivas]

Hi Guys

Read some great advice so thought might ask you all.

My Wife, me and our 2 Years old Daughter are flying from London to Chicago in Dec 2013, Flying back on 2nd Jan 2014.

We will meet and spend couple of days in Chicago, with my friend.

From there we all 2 couples and 2 kids (under 3) are planing to Travel by Road to Florida.

We want to make the most of our trip to the USA.

We were even considering to hire a RV, so we can save money on the hotel stays.

Please suggest us a good way of traveling and a good route, things to see and do, considering it will be winter.

Thanks for reading
Sri

[chet everett]

The problem with attempting to make any sort of "road trip" with pleasant stop overs out of the journey from Chicago to Florida is the unpredictable weather!

The "highlights" of such a trip usually include places like Louisville, Nashville, and Atlanta but all of them can be quite damp / cold in December, hardly conducive to "exploring" especially with a toddler as part of the expedition -- no one wants to deal with a sick child.

You can play around with interactive routing like that provided by google maps but you have to realize that starting with a trip of almost 1400 mi, 20 hours of driving it really gets tedious to "add" excursions to places like perhaps St. Louis, Memphis, Birmingham or Asheville for dubious returns on the time / mileage invested. Further, depending on where in Florida you are ultimately headed the boring expanses of flat highway down that state inspire many folks to just cram the trip into as little "driving" as feasible to maximize "beach time"...

[chirack]

I should also add that Florida might not be all that pleasant that time of year. It will be warmer than Chicago for sure but that really is kind of the off season for tourism there and the beaches might be a bit too cool for sun bathing(i.e. the average winter high that time of year is 72F or 22C!). Nice, but not quite lie out on the beach and get in the water type weather(i.e. 80ies esp. high 80ies).

I think I would fly if I were you as that is an extremely long drive. I would suggest taking a more winter oriented trip somewhere further north or going to the caribbean or further south if you want warm weather.

[Tenzo]

Originally Posted by chirack

I should also add that Florida might not be all that pleasant that time of year. .

Compared to London it will be a vacation

Road trip is fine. I've driven it in 24 hours back when I was in college.
Its a fun trip

[chirack]

Originally Posted by Tenzo

Compared to London it will be a vacation

Road trip is fine. I've driven it in 24 hours back when I was in college.
Its a fun trip

I once took a bus that way and know of an husband and wife who drove(many years ago) with their child. The bus trip was 24 hours non stop driving by different drivers and I promised myself that I would never to take a bus that far again. The road trip ended with the wife begging to fly home on the return trip! She left with their kid and flew back home the husband had to drive the car back all alone!

[NARFALICIOUS]

It's a 24-25 hour trip. It took me 30+ hours one time because I was by myself and slept a bunch of times. Not the most fun route I've driven, but definitely decent. Lots of fun stops.

Ended up doing the trip 3 times total, during winter-ish months in Chicago.
What I enjoyed most the first time I made the trip, was that by the time I was around Orlando or farther, I put my shorts on and it felt great!!!

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by NARFALICIOUS

It's a 24-25 hour trip. It took me 30+ hours one time because I was by myself and slept a bunch of times. Not the most fun route I've driven, but definitely decent. Lots of fun stops.

Ended up doing the trip 3 times total, during winter-ish months in Chicago.
What I enjoyed most the first time I made the trip, was that by the time I was around Orlando or farther, I put my shorts on and it felt great!!!

?

Caves are big.
Missouri Tourist Attractions

There is some odd stuff too -- Habitat for Humanity's Slum Theme Park, Americus, Georgia

[Isotope-C14]

I've taken a similar trip, though my goal was acquisition of nice rocks/minerals/geodes/crystals, and it was September some years back. I also ended up in Savannah, which is an absolutely beautiful town.

If any of you are into geology, at all, I strongly recommend to go to the Ben E. Clement museum in Marion KY. I thought it was a pretty amazing museum for being in a reasonably low-travel area. This would certainly be on your way south, if you took 57 South toward Nashville.

Ben E. Clement Mineral Museum

Their website has been updated since I'd last visited, and the photos, although gorgeous do not capture how gigantic some of these Fluorite crystals are. They also have other fluorescent crystals that they will show you. There's a whole room dedicated to them, and they turn on these black-lights that make them fluoresce in totally unexpected colors.

The state mineral of Illinois is Fluorite. Sadly, from last I read, our mines are completely off limits. Kentucky is kind enough to allow some mining when it is nice out, and you can certainly show up at the museum listed above. Fluorite is a low-hardness crystal that industrially is used to make Hydrofluoric Acid. During WWII it was processed to make Uranium Hexafluoride gas for the isotopic separation so that the US could make it's first atom-bomb.

They processed the bulk fluorite, but they saved the absolutely amazing crystals from being turned into gas or liquid, and made a museum. Pretty impressive. This museum is about 7 hours south of Chicago in perfect travel conditions. We do get snow here though, from time to time

It is probably too cold to do geode hunting, but Kentucky is the place for that if you choose to come in a warmer season. There are a number of rock collector forums that can hook you up with farmers who want nothing more than you to take the rocks that their horses break their ankles on.

Kentucky is also known for many bourbon tasting rooms. For those that like the brown hard stuff, I hear that it is a real treat for whiskey lovers.

Trip Planner - Kentucky Bourbon Trail

Above is a link for planning a Kentucky Boozing Excursion. I have not done it, nor do I like hard liquor terribly, but that would be one way to do it.

I had a ton of fun in Kentucky and found the locals to be quite friendly. Dining options are a bit limited compared to Chicago. They also have some weird local ginger soda which I kinda thought was gross, but when in Rome...

Ale-8-One - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There is also Mammoth Cave, located in KY, which I plan to go to someday. The visitor center appears to be open in the winter as well.

Operating Hours & Seasons - Mammoth Cave National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
Mammoth Cave National Park - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I would absolutely include Savannah in your plan if possible. Savannah has some pretty amazing architecture, and the climate should be pretty nice even in the winter. They have tons of different available cuisines available, and there are places to go to get your fix of BBQ. I love the mustard based BBQ sauces, and these are very easy to find in their neck of the woods. They also have Brunswick stew which is amazing. There are quite a few high-end dining options there as well...

Savannah, Georgia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the most part you can just use any available driving direction program to figure out which way to go is best for your group.

It doesn't appear on the NASA website that there would be any rocket launches during your stay. I would still head south of Savannah and check out the Cape Canaveral area. Who knows, they might be testing rockets or something cool!

Ok, good luck on your trip.

[snoylekim]

Corvette Plant and Museum ..Bowling Green , Kentucky . Home of the original and still kicking American Sports Car ..if you're a car fan /buff, do not miss this ..

[Irishtom29]

I've made the trip many times. Take I-65 to Nashville, I-24 to Chattanooga, I-75 from Chattanooga to northern Florida, I-10 East to I-95 and I-95 down to Miami.

Along the way see the Corvette Museum, Mammoth Cave, Nashville sights, the many American Civil War battlefields around Chattanooga including Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. In any event drive up to the top of Lookout Mountain and go to Point Park for the magnificent view of Chattanooga in the valley of the Tennessee River. Between Nashville and Chattanooga you'll climb and descend Monteagle Mountain, famous from a Johnny Cash song about the long steep grade.

There's more Civil War stuff along I-75 between Chattanooga and Atlanta plus Atlanta itself. South of Macon, in Vienna Georgia, go to Ellis Brothers pecans; you don't want to miss that.Ellis Bros. Pecan Rub | Ellis Brothers Pecans

Stop at St. Augustine in Florida, oldest city in The United States, founded by the Spanish in 1565. Lots of very old stuff (by our standards) and the Spanish fortress that repelled two 18th Century English attacks still guards the harbor. See the outstanding alligator farm in St. Augustine; old time tacky American tourism at it's best. South of St. Augustine take State Road A1A along the coast to Daytona, very pretty ride, you might see whales by Flagler Beach. Stop at Cape Canaveral. I don't go south of there along the east side of the state but I recommend crossing over to the Gulf side to see the nice beaches around Sarasota on Anna Maria Island and Siesta Key.