Am I crazy to drive down in Feb ???

[chach]

We are planning a trip to Disney for 2 weeks, the last week
of February 2003 and the first week of March 2003. We will be
departing from Southern NH. Has anyone ever driven down at this time of year or is the weather too unpredictable ???
thanks

 

[travelbug]

I've driven down in February from Michigan on several occasions. Guess I've always hit it pretty lucky where winter weather is concerned, because driving at that time of year hasn't really been a problem so far. But I'm a pretty determined driver when it comes to travel plans, so it would take a major snow event to delay my plans to drive.

Maybe winter weather is pretty different over in your neck of the woods, though. Some of your New England neighbors can probably give you a more helpful response.

I'll wish BOTH of us good luck -- you for your car trip in Feb. and me for our car trip in Dec.

 

[ckj]

ya never know with the weather up here. I drove down with my family a few times from Mass (boston area) and only once did we hit bad weather , it was coming back and snowing real hard between ct and mass. We ended up staying in a hotel in RI to wait for the storm to pass and the roads to get plowed.
We usually made the trip with 1 night stay in the fayetville, NC area. Leaving around 2-3 am to get past NY would have us in NC in the afternoon. If it's really gonna be an el nino winter around here then I'd say go for it!

 

[buzz5985]

I drove last February. Left on a Saturday Morning at 4 am. There was no other cars heading west on the Mass Pike. LOL Went around NYC around 8 am. We made great time. Only traffic around Washington DC, accident, extra 20 minutes. Stopped every 2 hours in rest areas (had our dog with us too!!!) First night stayed in Mount Royal, NC or was it Royal Mount - something like that. Then we had a shorter drive on Sunday, arrived the AsMo at 3 PM. We had great weather driving down. Same on the way home. I drive a SUV so snow didn't really worry me, but we had padded extra days on the beginning and end of the trip "in case" we had to stop. Plenty of cheap hotels right of of I-95. My parents drive down to Marco Island FL every year, for the past 10 years, the week after Presidents Day week, havent' had any trouble. They just take 3 days to drive. They stop in Fredricksburg VA, and then around Myrtle Beach SC.

As a family we really enjoyed the drive. My son was 5 at the time and we listened to the Harry Potter books on tape, which I rented from the library. I also had the FunTV video player. Plus he had coloring books etc. And Bonnie - my 11 yo poodle mix, just loved being with us, and enjoyed her stay at the AK Kennel.

 

[chach]

Has anyone driven from New England in February ?

 

[Candlelady]

DH and I drove last year the 2nd week of Feb from northern CT. We didn't hit any bad weather, but planned to stop if any storms were predicted. It's a looong drive but doable. I enjoy road trips and drove the entire way. Stopped in NC for the night and arrived in Orlando by 3:30 the next day. The only traffic we hit was Orlando. Took us 2.5 hrs from Orlando to Disney property.

There's not much you can do if the weather takes a turn for the worse except to find a place to stay till it's over. Bad weather can affect you wether you drive or fly. Last year I worried about the weather because we were driving, this year I'm worrying about the weather because we are flying.

Have fun.

 

[bscs]

We are from northern Maine so I know what you are talking about as for bad weather! We are flying down in mid Feb. but the airport is 4 hours away. So we are also a little conserned about storms. My father in-law drives down every year taking off on March 1st. He's never had any major problems but just be prepared to stop for an extra night on the way down if the weather gets bad. Drive safe and say a prayer.

 

[EmptyNester]

We only go for 7-9 days - I don't want to waste my vacation "on the road", so we fly. If we had two weeks we'd probably try it at least once. Although, I don't know if I'd want to do it in February!

 

[denisenh]

Yes, chach, we have driven to Florida from Southern NH in February.

It was a few years ago. We haven't had the time to take a road trip in the past few years. We have had several 4 - 7 day trips over the last couple of years and have had to fly.
But we are going to drive down in a few weeks as we managed to have 2 weeks to do it in! We can't wait.

We have had no problems on prior drives and anticipate none when we go this February.

We left late in the afternoon and DH drove thru the night. He had napped during the day and was well rested. (Had his dunkin donuts thermos handy as well.) We arrived in NC at about 6 am. Had our breakfast at a rest area and arrived in Orlando at about 4pm.

Keep in mind, it is highway and eventually you hit a warmer climate. We were able to open our car windows in NC. Of course this depends on the weather pattern which varies.

We do not plan to drive straight through this time, mainly because we are older. We do have 2 elementary age children as well.
We plan to stop about halfway there for the night.
Good luck! Have fun!

 

[roadtripper]

As you can see from my name, that's the ONLY way we can afford to go to FL. We drive from central MA during President's Week. The biggest nightmare last year was the traffic-- everywhere-- on 95. This year we are going to try an alternate route through PA. The other crazy thing we do is drive straight through the night. The kids fall asleep in NJ and wake up in SC, where we have breakfast. I am also looking for an alternate route in Florida to avoid route 4 if at all possible. Still ,with traffic and some pretty long stops (over an hour) we made it in 24 hours last year. Good Luck!

 

[ncligs]

Originally posted by chach
Re: Am I crazy to drive down in Feb ???

We also don't like wasting 2-3 days (of vacation) in a car.

 

[buzz5985]

When we drove last year (me 42, DH 43, DS 5), we didn't look at it as a waste of time. I work nights, DH works days. Was a great way to spend time together. Reading books aloud - listening to Harry Potter tapes on cassette. Just talking face to face instead of over the phone!!!! My DS loved learning about the states we were driving in.

I also love to drive. I must have been born in a car. LOL My parents drive to FL every year. Can't wait to retire so I can drive all over this country!!!