Driving from Houston to Chicago; how taxing would be 2 days drive? (Waco: how much, moving)

[hendersj31]

I have done this drive many times like some of the other posters. As mentioned the Memphis area is about halfway and I would have a hotel picked out ahead of time so you know exactly where you are heading and can plan. You can also do some research on the safety of the location and cleanliness.
Driving through Northeast Texas can be bothersome. There will be many speed traps and small town type settings you have to drive through and it is more exhausting as opposed to just cruising along at a constant speed.

You can absolutely make Sikeston by dinner if you leave early (like 5-6am) and keep your stops brief. And by brief I mean get gas, hit the restroom, grab a snack and get back on the road. Depending on gas mileage of your vehicle you may only need to stop once.

For what its worth I have done the trip in 16 hours both alone and with my brother. We stopped twice and kept those under 10 minutes each. We did speed a little but nothing excessive. This was of course without kids. If for some reason you decide to drive through without stopping I suggest being well rested and leaving at night. Maybe 10pm this time of year. This way when you get to the end of the trip and are getting tired it will still be daylight and you won't struggle with visibility on top of being fatigued.

In my opinion you would not need to rely on the GPS very much.

[nana053]

Originally Posted by sgo

Thanks for the replies everyone. I am driving with my wife, but it will be me who would do the driving. I know, I would've opted for a flight (and got it reimbursed too, instead I could only claim gas and not for the hotel charges at the stopover point) if I was not staying in Chicago for 3 months, and hence I need my car to move around. I also felt that I should push for a 10-12 hrs drive at the very first day, that would make it easier on the second day. Another thing I wanted to ask, do I need to rely a lot on my GPS during the drive (I am pretty dependent on GPS whenever I leave Houston, bad with directions)....it is showing signs of wearing out, and I would think to replace it, if it would be of great help during the drive,

Where are you staying and working in Chicago? You may not need a car to get around if you are close to the "el" or metra trains depending on where you need to go. The buses there are decent as well, though I prefer the trains. Chicago is easy to get around, btw. Just know where the Lake is and you can get anywhere because Chicago is on a grid. There are only a few diagonal streets.

I don't know about the GPS. You will be mostly on the interstates if you are driving, so you should not get lost. It's not like you will be on a bunch of local streets until you get into Chicago itself.

[KatieKennedy]

If you decide to spend the night in West Memphis, you can go across the bridge from Arkansas into Tennessee and get some great BBQ at the Rendezvous downtown. There are also a lot of nice hotels in downtown Memphis near the river, the Peabody and a very nice Residence Inn.

[sgo]

Originally Posted by nana053

Where are you staying and working in Chicago? You may not need a car to get around if you are close to the "el" or metra trains depending on where you need to go. The buses there are decent as well, though I prefer the trains. Chicago is easy to get around, btw. Just know where the Lake is and you can get anywhere because Chicago is on a grid. There are only a few diagonal streets.

I don't know about the GPS. You will be mostly on the interstates if you are driving, so you should not get lost. It's not like you will be on a bunch of local streets until you get into Chicago itself.

Thank you, I would be working at Lemont (at ANL)....and may be we'll go for short trips when/if time permits; I find in the US having a car around is generally helpful. I love riding trains, and I am quite eager to explore them during my visit - can you suggest a nice route?

[Michelle Morris]

I did this drive (Mostly) when I moved here from Indianapolis. I had 2 kids and a cat in the car with me, we left Indy at about 7 pm, drove to Sikeston, and then got to Houston the next day at about 9pm. No big deal. I guess it just depends on how you feel about driving, how well you can entertain yourself in the car, etc. I really enjoy being in the car, so for me it was fun.

[Denali1005]

I just did this drive in March. My husband and I drove down from Chicago to Houston. The way down wasn't so bad, we drove all the way to Little Rock, slept for 2 hours and continued on to Houston. We took 55 your route on the way down and in total it took us about 19 hours on the way down. We ended up taking 57 on the way back through Illinois. We were dodging a major snow storm and ended up making the drive from Houston straight through. It was the longes 19 hours of my life, lol.

[JasonAndJulie]

Went last summer from Houston to Des Moines, by myself, with five small children. You'll be just fine. Bring some books on CD for the boring parts with no good radio stations. Books on CD make it very tolerable. I also always travel with AAA, a weapon, a blanket, snacks like nuts and fruit, and water. You probably won't need any of it but better safe than sorry! Good luck and enjoy your trip

[kreeyax]

Originally Posted by sgo

Another thing I wanted to ask, do I need to rely a lot on my GPS during the drive (I am pretty dependent on GPS whenever I leave Houston, bad with directions)....it is showing signs of wearing out, and I would think to replace it, if it would be of great help during the drive,

If you don't know the route - take your GPS, a road atlas, and a printout of the driving directions from Google Maps. Shouldn't get lost that way.

[smuggy_mba]

Originally Posted by sgo

Thanks for the replies everyone. I am driving with my wife, but it will be me who would do the driving. I know, I would've opted for a flight (and got it reimbursed too, instead I could only claim gas and not for the hotel charges at the stopover point) if I was not staying in Chicago for 3 months, and hence I need my car to move around. I also felt that I should push for a 10-12 hrs drive at the very first day, that would make it easier on the second day. Another thing I wanted to ask, do I need to rely a lot on my GPS during the drive (I am pretty dependent on GPS whenever I leave Houston, bad with directions)....it is showing signs of wearing out, and I would think to replace it, if it would be of great help during the drive,

Totally doable, no problems at all. I drove 800 miles from Houston to Atlanta in 11 hours in one day with 3 Redbulls and only 2 5 mins stops at gas stations. Leave early in the morning on the weekend so traffic is light, don't go 8/9 miles over speed limit, have a cooler with red bull and Gatorade. GPS and iphone should have all the direction related help you need. Drive safe and enjoy in Chicago; great city and I'm sure you'll enjoy. Always have AAA or the insurance provided emergency roadside assistance.

[brucerby]

I've done the drive 3 times RT from Chicago burbs to Houston. Like others have said, just stop after about 10 hours and either rest or stay overnight. I did it over 20 years ago, so gas was way cheaper and motels too, but I found it to be just about as far as I'd ever want to drive.