One Way Road Trip from NY to Houston with Family and Dog (Nash: movers, hotel) - Texas (TX) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

Prey521 · 12-07-2012, 06:44 PM

Oh wow...thanks for all of the info...will go over it with the wife to process it all. Our plan is to leave on the 26th late in the afternoon and drive through the night, with her taking the first shift while I sleep for the night shift. The Blue Ridge Parkway looks absolutely amazing! I have to look it up along the route to see if it's on the way.....I don't want to veer too far off course.

My wife and I are born and bred NY'rs so moving to Houston will be quite the culture shock. I've been there a few times already for my job, but last week during our house hunt, was my wife's first time and she was amazed at how friendly everyone is, even on the roads, and at how clean it was everywhere! She's very excited about the move and dying to get away from the cold weather. We live in the Hudson Valley in NY and we get brutal cold and winters. She used to live in Florida for a few years so the Texas scorching heat won't trouble her much if at all.

I'll have to admit that Texas is probably the most Patriotic state I've ever been to.....even more so than NY! Loved seeing all of the Texas flags everywhere.

EasilyAmused · 12-07-2012, 07:10 PM

The Blue Ridge Parkway is lovely, but this is really the wrong time of year, ice, and max speeds are 35 mph...so um yeah.

AL and MS will be the hardest part of the trip. Do it fast and save the new movies for that section.

Prey521 · 12-07-2012, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

The Blue Ridge Parkway is lovely, but this is really the wrong time of year, ice, and max speeds are 35 mph...so um yeah.

Well that answers that question LOL Thanks

CAHomeschoolMom · 12-07-2012, 11:10 PM

We are moving from CA to Houston, and we have three kids, 2, 4 and 6. No dog, though. We are doing 8 hours a day ( or 500 miles a day..depending on stops, it might end up being more like 9-10 hrs) . Anyway,I wouldn't go beyond that with little kids.....it's just a lot to ask of them.we got them Leap Pads for gifts this year, so they will have those to entertain them, and we do have a DVD player in the car as well. I am going to plan out where to stop for meals, etc. To make sure everyone's needs are met.

Good luck...sounds like quite an adventure!

UpstaterInBklyn · 12-08-2012, 10:42 AM

I suggest closely studying weather reports for the points along the journey.

We moved here in Feb '10 from NYC and planned a leisurely 3-day trip down the spine of Appalachians . However a huge snow storm was about to hit the mid-Atlantic that weekend, so I spent a lot of time researching different routes and weather predictions and figured out that the only way to make it was to leave the evening before our planned departure and head directly south on I-95 to end up in a non-snow area ahead of the storm. We got from NYC to Rocky Mount, NC in one evening, arriving around 1am. We were on a mission, driving in the dark, pre-packed sandwiches in the car, minimal quick bathroom stops, etc. That was a key action because overnight the entire region from NYC to VA and as far west as Ohio was experiencing snow and ice and we were far enough south that it was just rain.

The problem is that we were so far east that it took basically an extra day to track westward across SC-GA-AL-MS, but I can't imagine the difficulty of trying to navigate mountain roads in a snow or ice storm.

houston-nomad · 12-08-2012, 10:46 AM

Oh, and if your copilot can check traffic on google maps as you go, you can save hours by avoiding big freeway messes and rerouting. We tried to check at least every 30 minutes, to see what was ahead.

Lunababy · 12-08-2012, 11:45 AM

I drove from upstate NY (Syracuse area) to Houston this summer with my 25 pound dog and fiance. We made the trip in two 12 hour days of driving, stopping in Kentucky overnight. It was really fun. We only had to stop about every four hours to give the dog (and ourselves) a break. A lot of hotels are accepting of dogs (though mine was a lot smaller than yours- so can't comment there). The first hotel we tried let us stay there with our dog for a 15$ fee.

Prey521 · 12-08-2012, 12:31 PM

Thanks for all the tips guys, but it seems like my wife's had a change of heart. The 4 of us will be leaving on the 26th of this month and we're sending our dog a few days earlier by herself on American Airlines and will stay with my boss for a few days. Was really looking forward to the road trip, but I can understand my wife's apprehension at such a long drive with toddlers and a dog! :-(

migee · 12-09-2012, 01:48 AM

If you are going at the last week of the year, there is always a potential for a snow storm. And if you get caught on some roads such as I-78, you are in big trouble. The truckers like taking it as an alternative - but in snow, they can jack-knife. You may find yourself in your car for 8 hours waiting for it to clear.

And with some of these interstates, there are very long distances between exits, or exits that go nowhere (that is, no easy alternate to another interstate).

Stick with I-95 until you get into the south - then start looking for the north south inter-states that will bring you to the New Orleans area (I think it is around Petersburg VA that you can start going west on a good interstate, then look for one going south)- Then take I 10 across to Houston.

It's a long trip - don't take chances. You will have your family with you, and after 2 days in the car, they will get very bored and uncomfortable.

Willsson · 12-09-2012, 07:07 AM

Use the Weather Underground (or weather service of your choice) to check weather in advance for different areas. Seems this year that cold weather is tracking east bound across the northern tier of states and is unusually warm in the south. A little research and advance notice will help plan a trip.

http://www.wunderground.com/