Travel on 441 through Georgia (Hawkinsville: island, driving, interstate)

[DJDeadParrot]

Downtown Milledgeville, Madison, Watkinsville, and even Eatonton are all worth cruising through.

Further into the mountains, Tallulah Gorge is an interesting stop. And a meal at the Dillard House in Dillard [last town in GA before NC line] is an absolute must.

[popcorn247]

Originally Posted by DJDeadParrot

Downtown Milledgeville, Madison, Watkinsville, and even Eatonton are all worth cruising through.

Further into the mountains, Tallulah Gorge is an interesting stop. And a meal at the Dillard House in Dillard [last town in GA before NC line] is an absolute must.

I will have my two dogs with me. Can I get take-out at the Dillard House?

[DJDeadParrot]

I don't think so. Its family-style dining, so they bring out a large tray with one of each dish they make. Check their website at dillardhouse dot com.

[popcorn247]

Just want to report that I am back from my road trip up to the Smokies. I loved 441 through Georgia. I went on 441 from Lake City, FL to Athens, Ga and then up to Cherokee, NC. The road is 4 lane some places, 2 lane others with many 3 lane passing zones. A really lovely way to travel. I loved seeing the small towns along the way. Thanks for all the suggestions....and keep them up! I am planning on doing this again next spring!

[popcorn247]

any more comments about 441? Have there been any recent improvements to this road? Are there any detours one should be aware of?

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by popcorn247

any more comments about 441? Have there been any recent improvements to this road? Are there any detours one should be aware of?

I believe the 441 bypass around Dublin is now complete, which means you can pretty much bypass ATL via 4-lane all the way from the NC mountains south to I-16, between Macon and Savannah. MAJOR TIME SAVER!

[pgans]

I plan on traveling from Venice, Florida to Raleigh. I am at the age that I only like to endure less that 8 hours driving per day. I absolutely hate I 95 and don't like I 75 much better.

To avoid I95, it looks like I need to take I75 north to GA-27 to Hawkinsville and on to 441. Then take 441/1 to Augusta where I would pick up interstates 20/95 into Raleigh.

Can anyone suggest a better way. I'm not too concerned about time. I plan to take 2 days.

Or, should I just grit my teethe and take I-95 ?


TIA

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by pgans

I plan on traveling from Venice, Florida to Raleigh. I am at the age that I only like to endure less that 8 hours driving per day. I absolutely hate I 95 and don't like I 75 much better.

To avoid I95, it looks like I need to take I75 north to GA-27 to Hawkinsville and on to 441. Then take 441/1 to Augusta where I would pick up interstates 20/95 into Raleigh.

Can anyone suggest a better way. I'm not too concerned about time. I plan to take 2 days.

Or, should I just grit my teethe and take I-95 ?


TIA

Unless you would prefer to spend an extended period of time exploring rural southeastern Georgia, I would just grit my teeth and take I-95.

I know that an Interstate superhighway like I-95 has lots of traffic.

But an Interstate superhighway like I-95 also is basically a straight shot between Florida and the North Carolina Triangle (Raleigh area).

I-95 also has lots of exits with services (food, restrooms, fuel, etc) and lots of good spots to pull over and rest when needed.

If I was driving between two locations like the Florida Suncoast and the North Carolina Triangle, I would want to attempt to get the trip over as soon as possible and not waste any unnecessary time sightseeing through rural southeastern Georgia if I did not have to and did not want to.

Sure, I-95 has its issues. But I-95 probably is still the best option and most direct route when traveling between two locations like the Florida Suncoast and the North Carolina Triangle.

If you want the trip along a roadway like I-95 to be more bearable, try listening to your favorite music (by way of a music streaming service, satellite radio, terrestrial radio, compact disc, etc) and/or by making more frequent stops when and as needed (rest, food, snack, get out and stretch/walk around, restroom break, etc) to attempt to break up the monotony as much as possible along an I-95 route that can be known to be monotonous through some stretches... Particularly through the South Carolina part of such a trip between Florida and the North Carolina Triangle.

Something that often works to help me break up the monotony of longer road trips is to break up my meals between multiple stops along the route of a long road trip.

Instead of eating a full meal at one stop, I will often eat one part of a meal or snack at one stop (or exit with lots of services) and then travel several miles farther up my route to another area with lots of services where I might have another portion of a meal or a small snack, and so on, and so on...

Just do whatever you can come up with to break up the monotony of such a longer road trip, no matter how creative or unorthodox.

[DJDeadParrot]

Originally Posted by pgans

To avoid I95, it looks like I need to take I75 north to GA-27 to Hawkinsville and on to 441. Then take 441/1 to Augusta where I would pick up interstates 20/95 into Raleigh.

Can anyone suggest a better way. I'm not too concerned about time. I plan to take 2 days.

Why not take the 301 all the way to South Carolina, then the 601 up to US 1, if you're really bent on avoiding I-95?

[Saintmarks]

One thing I often do on a long interstate road trip when the interstate gets tiring and/or too many trucks to deal with is find the corresponding US Highway that is roughly paralleling the interstate. For instance US 17 parallels I-95 in most of Georgia. US 15 and US 301 in South Carolina, etc etc. Since the interstate is right nearby there is rarely any thru traffic on these roads, they are US highways so nicely maintained and speed limits not too low.

With the interstate usually just a few miles away, if I feel like I'm taking too much time, I can always jump back on the interstate. If I am approaching a larger city and don't feel like bogging down in urban traffic, I can jump on the interstate and bypass the core (what I would recommend if you do this on 95 around places like Jacksonville and Savannah).