Driving from Florida to Oregon next Wednesday

[camfused]

Don't mean to be picky but I looked at the route in your first post, and don't understand why you are going that way. If you follow the Google suggested route (I-75 to Chattanooga, I-24 to St Louis, then I-70, I-80, and I-84, you cut off a few hours (and a few million people) from that southern route. I suspect snow will not be an issue at this point. My $.02.

 

[Bamaman]

Your proposed itinerary is taking you far, far out of the shortest way to Portland. And I'm not talking hundreds of miles out of the way either.

I always check out Google Maps anywhere I'm going to be driving. It suggests two diagonal routes through the U.S. I suggest going up to I-40 through Little Rock and Ft. Smith and taking the parkway through Tulsa and north into Salina, Kansas and I-70.

I also check Accuweather for specific cities along the route, especially this time of the year. Spring has sprung, and weather's up and down right now--mostly rainy.

Good luck on your trip.

 

[Clone]

We boogied home from Arizona this past Friday and Saturday. I-17 to I-40 to I-35. Stayed overnight in Amarillo. We stopped at truck stops (Loves in particular), and had no problems. They were paying a lot of attention to cleaning. No problems with getting gas. We did stop a bit more frequently to stretch our legs. The hotel was maybe half full, and they had a breakfast bag instead of a breakfast bar. They were also cleaning.

I would stop at a truck stop over a rest area anytime. Much cleaner. We took food and snacks with us, but there was food at the truck stops also. We are hunkered down now and have a bit more room to maintain social distancing from each other. 400 square feet is not enough! Towards the end, DW was threatening me with having to sleep in the shed, and there is no bathroom out there. But I think the neighbors would understand?

 

[RunningBum]

Someone said that state and national parks are closed. Not true, at least that I've seen. Shenandoah NP is closing access to a couple of very crowded and popular trail heads, but the rest is open, for now.

If hotels are closing, consider airbnb/vrbo.

In public places, use gloves, your elbow, shirt sleeve pulled down over your hands, or whatever to avoid contact with doorknobs, faucets, etc. For doors that push out, use your backside to go through them.

 

[Helen]

We were suppose to leave Palm Springs on the 31st of March and drive home to Portland. We decided it is safer to stay in Palm Springs. We have our bikes down here and the condo complex has tennis courts and swimming pools. Our landlords are excellent and have extra food and a lot of toilet paper they said we can use. They reduced our rent for April and said they will reduce it more if we want to stay into May. They really couldn't be kinder.

I suspect by April it will be even worse in terms of the number of people infected. We will just wait it out and see.

Best of luck neihn, I hope you will keep us posted.

 

[neihn]

Don't mean to be picky but I looked at the route in your first post, and don't understand why you are going that way. If you follow the Google suggested route (I-75 to Chattanooga, I-24 to St Louis, then I-70, I-80, and I-84, you cut off a few hours (and a few million people) from that southern route. I suspect snow will not be an issue at this point. My $.02.

We went that route couple times, the only reason we avoid that route is the possibility of snow. We have enough stress as it is

 

[neihn]

We were suppose to leave Palm Springs on the 31st of March and drive home to Portland. We decided it is safer to stay in Palm Springs. We have our bikes down here and the condo complex has tennis courts and swimming pools. Our landlords are excellent and have extra food and a lot of toilet paper they said we can use. They reduced our rent for April and said they will reduce it more if we want to stay into May. They really couldn't be kinder.

I suspect by April it will be even worse in terms of the number of people infected. We will just wait it out and see.

Best of luck neihn, I hope you will keep us posted.

Thanks Helen, my son and daughter in law is in Irvine CA, they have no kid yet. The daughter in law is ER nurse and currently in the front line, I bet they have plenty stress.

Talked with them today, they are okay if we stop by and spend sometime with them. I am not sure I want to bother them.

 

[Another Reader]

Thanks Helen, my son and daughter in law is in Irvine CA, they have no kid yet. The daughter in law is ER nurse and currently in the front line, I bet they have plenty stress.

Talked with them today, they are okay if we stop by and spend sometime with them. I am not sure I want to bother them.

I would not visit. As an ER nurse, she is high risk for getting the virus. I would also give some thought to the alternate routes. Check the weather before you have to make the decision to cut north. In your shoes, if it looked ok, I would take the more northerly route.

 

[retired1]

Just drove back from FL to IL last Saturday. It was nice to travel in isolation (in my car) and less traffic both on the road as well as gas stations. Gas prices are low which helps also. I enjoyed it to be honest !

 

[mystang52]

I hope you have lots of alcohol wipes and/or Lysol spray for hotel rooms. If not be careful what you touch, especially the remote and toilet flush handles. Since you're driving, bring your pillow to sleep on.

 

[homestead]

Here in Oregon...
The weekend weather was beautiful and thousands of folks decided to go
to the coast but the coastal towns didn't like that. They gave them 24 hrs to leave.

Today the Oregon governor shut down all non-essential trips from your home and non-essential gatherings
of any size.
State Parks & campgrounds and hotels are closing too.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Just got home to Oklahoma from Georgia. States traveled were: GA, AL, MS, TN, AR and OK. Traffic was similar to Christmas day...pretty light and made excellent time. Only saw two speed traps in about 1,000 miles which is really out of the ordinary. Every restaurant was drive through only and the hotel we stayed in (Holiday Inn Express) had a total of 3 rooms rented. As you might guess, the fitness center, pool, and breakfast bar were all closed. Stopped at rest stations twice and bathrooms were open.

I-40 from Memphis through Oklahoma was a breeze...very little traffic. Thankfully, still a lot of trucks but no real bottle necks that I am used to seeing on that route.

It was really very surreal and depressing passing by all the road side businesses that had almost no cars in the parking lots. Sure, this isn't an apocalypse, but even as a "small dose" of what that might be like...no thanks.

 

[Aerides]

I would not visit. As an ER nurse, she is high risk for getting the virus. I would also give some thought to the alternate routes. Check the weather before you have to make the decision to cut north. In your shoes, if it looked ok, I would take the more northerly route.

Don't visit. I'm sure your daughter said yes, because it's impossibly hard to say know to your family, but you shouldn't. Take the shortest route home.

 

[neihn]

Don't visit. I'm sure your daughter said yes, because it's impossibly hard to say know to your family, but you shouldn't. Take the shortest route home.

Thanks Arides and Another - we wont visit them.

 

[Splash]

Drove from the Florida Keys to Northern Wisconsin (FL, GA, TN, KY, IL, WI) on Friday and Saturday. Traffic was heavy in FL and GA with all the northerners heading home. We drove the length of Illinois without any problems even though IL was on lock down. There was very little traffic even in Chicago and we only saw 1 airplane in the air near O'Hare.

We normally spend 2 nights in a hotel but drove long days and spent only 1 night in TN. We checked the Coronavirus maps by state and county to decide where to stay. Then used Booking.com on the fly to find a hotel that was open and had excellent cleanliness reviews. We were selective where we stopped for gas and restroom breaks. The places we used all had very clean bathrooms and hand sanitizer everywhere, even at the pump.

Every state (sometimes every county) is different and things change every day which makes it challenging. For example, hotels were closed in the Florida Keys when we left although Florida was not on lockdown but hotels were open in Illinois because they were considered essential businesses. I don't think you will run into any problems that you cannot overcome. Safe travels and be well.

 

[CrazyHamsterLady]

Harris County, basically most of Houston, just issued "shelter in place order." New Braunfels did too (up the road from Houston). Governor getting flak for not issuing statewide order. Seems to be aimed at keeping non-essential workers from traipsing to & from, and party animals from gathering. Here's a link to the order: https://www.readyharris.org/Stay-Home

Oh boy, but thanks for your reply.
My brother is in Houston TX and my son is in Irvine CA, that is my plan B. I am going to book my hotels in Baton Rouge LA, El Paso TX and Bakersfield CA, see if they let me book.

Thanks again.

 

[ivinsfan]

Don't visit. I'm sure your daughter said yes, because it's impossibly hard to say know to your family, but you shouldn't. Take the shortest route home.

Seems like an ER nurse with more potential exposure should say no to other family members for their protection...

 

[RobLJ]

I drove from Reno to Ft. Worth & back twice two years ago.

I'd suggest I-20 to I-40, then 93 up to Vegas, and 95 up through Nevada, then 395/139 to Susanville & Klamath Falls. Not sure where in Oregon you're going; the section down the Willamette Pass is the only area where you'd see much snow. Pretty drive (except for I-20).

Thanks for your suggestion. I am familiar with I-70, I-80 - having done that route couple times, however, I would like to avoid the snowy roads, as this time of the year, there still may be snow up there.

 

[neihn]

We arrived to our hotel in Baton Rouge LA, the road is almost empty especially LA. Just checked in for the next stop in El Paso TX. We will see if they open tomorrow - keep my fingers crossed.

 

[PoorOldCountryBoy]

I will start my trip from SW Florida to Portland OR this coming Wednesday right after signing the closing paper works for my Florida home.

It is going to be four days travel mostly I-10 then I-5 (TN,LA,TX,AZ,CA).

What would happen if the Federal government orders a total lock-down, say on Thursday (where we start our second day of the trip from Baton Rouge to El Paso)

Many counties in California are locked-down? How is I-5 and the gas stations? Are they opened for travelers?

Thanks.

We went FL to MA just as things were closing, based on that a couple tips:

1. Bring extra food with you. The Holiday Inn express we stayed at gave us a grab-n-go bag with 3 tiny items and a cup of coffee. Fortunately we loaded up a small cooler so we were quite self sufficient.

2. Bathrooms--Rest areas may close somewhat but convenience stores that pump gas like 7-11, Wawa, Cumberland Farms etc were open and had nice facilities. This may not be true for states now in full lockdown (CA).

2.5 I would try I-15 to I-84 through Utah to Portland, but check the weather. I-5 is definitely better if you can make it work, although the gas will be pricey in CA.

3.There is little traffic now! We did the trip in 21 driving hours, usually takes about 24. Went through D.C. at noon at 65 mph, through NJ and over the George Washington Bridge ($16 toll--ouch!) and through the Bronx at 5PM "rush hour". Very few on the road. Not a huge problem doing the I-10 route, but CA may be pretty good.

Good luck and stay well

 

[Another Reader]

We arrived to our hotel in Baton Rouge LA, the road is almost empty especially LA. Just checked in for the next stop in El Paso TX. We will see if they open tomorrow - keep my fingers crossed.

Our fingers are crossed for you as well.

 

[USGrant1962]

Our brand new next door neighbors arrived in Maryland today finishing a 6-day trip from Oregon. They close Monday and the Realtor brought them to the house for the family to see it, so I said hi to them in the yard. Their only complaint was all the hotels except one had closed the pool.

They have 6 kids!

 

[neihn]

Arrived to our hotel in El Paso TX. Rest area in Texas are open, gas stations all have great facility. Next stop is Bakersfield CA.

 

[NW-Bound]

Almost 1,000 miles/day. It's been many years since I drove that kind of long stretch.

When I was young, the longest I did non-stop was 700 miles, but that was during the 70s energy crisis, and the freeway speed limit was 55 mph.

 

[EastWest Gal]

I don't think your comment about sleeping in a vehicle in a rest stop is correct, that's one reason they are there.

It varies from state to state. There is a difference between taking a several hour break and overnighting in a rest area. Some limit you to 6 hours, some8 hours, some 12. Some have no overnight “camping”. RV blogs may have some information.