Road Trip - 3586 miles - 20 states later

[CRIANA]

In May, I will be embarking on a Road Trip from Connecticut to the Ozarks of Arkansas, then to New Orleans, and then Pensacola, Florida and then back to Connecticut.

Total trip miles: 3,586 miles (excluding sight seeing)

We will be traveling through 20 states total:
•Connecticut
•New York
•Pennsylvania
•Ohio
•Indiana
•Illinois
•Missouri
•Arkansas
•Tennessee
•Mississippi
•Lousiana
•Florida
•Alabama
•Georgia
•South Carolina
•North Carolina
•Virginia
•Maryland
•Delaware
•New Jersey

--

I'll be traveling with my laptop, camera, GPS, and cell phone. I will be doing a service on the CRV before we go.

I'm wondering if any of those who have done major road trips before could shed some light on vehicle prep, things to bring along?

Also, on a tech note, is it possible to use a bluetooth cell phone as a dialer for my laptop which has bluetooth? and if so how? I want to be able to get online, and post pics of the trip as we go :-)

Thanks! :-D

[CrvTiff]

WOW!!!!!! you go girl!!!! ggee!!! that's trip alone is about half of the mileage I have on my V.

[Alpine]

Good luck on the trip, looking forward to dozens of great photos! Drive safely.

[SuperG]

What, no detour through Scenic Wisconsin??!!?! You know we have Cheese and Brats, right? And Kringle too!

That's a heck of a drive.....can't wait to see the write up.

[2000crvlx]

Hey I live in Pensacola, Stop by and visit if you like!

[CR-Vince]

Now that's a road trip, Criana. I think it would be fun to see how many HondaSUV members you can bump into along the way.

20 states, eh? Not bad, but many of them appear to be on the smaller side to me. :lol:

[wildswing]

Wow! Roadtrip? That's an understatement! Quest is more like it!

What, no detour through Scenic Wisconsin??!!?! You know we have Cheese and Brats, right? And Kringle too!
...Ya, what he said...and what about Canada, eh? I suggest a slight detour, so you can visit us all...

[CRIANA]

Hey SuperG,
You'll never believe but I have been to Wisconsin. Started off in Milewaukee, then to Madison, then up to Osh Kosh and then finally ending in Green Bay. Go Packers!!! btw - I really like Wisconsin :-)

Wildswing -
Have done the Canada drive too :-) Drove to Woodstock, New Brunswick on one trip. And then for my honeymoon, drove to Quebec City :-)

2000crvlx -
I am actually making my trip to Pensacola not only for the beautiful beaches I've heard about but also to meet up with another HondaSUV member from that area. I will be in Pensacola for 3 days (Wednesday-Sat early AM).

If anyone sees there town on one of the routes, I will be more than glad to try to incorporate a quick stop into the trip plans.

I figure, not too often that I'm going to be passing through these areas, so why not meet some people I would never normally meet :-D

[2000crvlx]

I am actually making my trip to Pensacola not only for the beautiful beaches I've heard about but also to meet up with another HondaSUV member from that area. I will be in Pensacola for 3 days (Wednesday-Sat early AM).


Cool. We should meet up. Who is the other person you are meeting up with? Not too many Members down here, although I do see a buch of CRV's here.

[Blaine1437]

ME!

[CRIANA]

Hahahahaha

Yes, I'll be meeting up with Kevin (blaine1437).

I know what you mean about not too many members, yet lots of CRVs. I pass tons of CRVs up here in Connecticut. Yet I believe I am the only active member of about 15 members from Connecticut.

I think the only Kevin won't really be available is Friday. I'll be coming in Wednesday afternoon to Pensacola, and then heading out Saturday morning. That's my schedule :-)

[CRIANA]

Now that's a road trip, Criana. I think it would be fun to see how many HondaSUV members you can bump into along the way.

20 states, eh? Not bad, but many of them appear to be on the smaller side to me. :lol:

Everything is bigger than Connecticut :lol:

Alpine
I definitely plan to take many many pictures :-)

[StephenF]

If you come down to Miami, look me up!

[CRIANA]

Hey StephenF,
This trip I won't be heading down quite that far. But I'm sure I will be back down that way, my husband wants to drive to Disney at some point. So a little further wouldn't kill us :-)

It's so funny for me looking at these maps of all the states, having grown up in New England, I can travel to several other states all within 3 hours of me. I was looking at one part of our trip, from Fayetteville to New Orleans, we are covering the whole state of Mississippi, which when I take a measurement of that, is like me driving from CT, through MA and all the way to the top of NH. :shock:

I may never leave New England after this trip :lol:

[Racoon]

Well, since you're passing through Indianapolis, maybe we can set up something here! My May schedule is a little vague at this point, but I'm sure we can work something out if I'm in town.

:)

[mezz64]

well i'll chime in on the technical questions :) from what i've found you can connect via bluetooth but it depends alot on what phone/phone services you have. Here are some links i've found:
http://hacks.oreilly.com/pub/h/310
http://www.jiwire.com/cellular-data-introduction.htm
http://homepage.mac.com/jrc/contrib/tzones/

Most of the sites refrence setup on Mac's versus PC's so I'm not sure if thats good for you or not. :) And if you need more info just search google. :)

[StephenF]

DISNEY!!!!

GREAT lets go!

[2000crvlx]

What dates are you going to be in Pensacola? I want to get some members to meet up if we can.

[tnuhn]

When I bought my 02 CR-V my wife and I drove from Edmonton Alberta to Toronto then down to Miami and back again. 12,000 kms. Was a great way to break it in. The only thing I wish I had was satellite radio. But other than that was a great vehicle to travel in.

[perro_loco]

Holy crap you roadtrip Queen you. I thought I was rackin' up miles on my trip to CO but you've got 40 miles on me. And I thought I was bad :mrgreen: sheesh. Well I definately look forward to seein' some pics and don't forget the AAA card, I never leave home without it hehehe.

[peahen]

I'm in Frederick, MD, about 50 miles east of Baltimore. You'll probably shoot right through down 95, huh??? "Traffic"

[CRIANA]

Mezz,
Thank you so much for the links, those helped alot. I'm using a new PowerBook running OS X. It looks like I'll be getting the Sony Ericsson T616.

Racoon
I think that may very well work out for meeting up in Indianapolis, I wonder if Paul Arbouw is around. We'll be there I believe Saturday morning (5/8). As the date gets closer, we can try for a specific meet up.

Perro
Wasn't I just saying to you, "wow driving all the way to Florida, that's a long trip :lol:

tnuhn
WOW, is all I can say, that is one LONG road trip, covering ALOT of miles.

Peahen
I will actually be going home (up) 95. So this trip I may not get to see you. BUT, I have family in Virginia, and when I come down to visit them, I come through Frederick MD on Rt. 15(?) to rt. 7 in Leesburg (family is in Reston). I'm sure I'll be going back down there later in the year.

StephenF
Next year it's a plan. Maybe my husband and I can plan our trip to Disney around the Big Annual Scrub in St. Augustine and then just continue down to Disney afterwards.

2000crvlx
I will be in Pensacola: arriving Wed May 12th in the afternoon, and departing on Sat May 15th in the morning. The only day I know Kevin and Blaine wouldn't be able to make it is Friday since they have graduation that day (or at least I know Kevin does).

---

Wow that was alot of replies -- hehe

I will be keeping an active log with photos up on my website (note to self: damn, I guess I really do have to break down and redesign it).

I'll be rolling over 50,000 miles on the odometer this trip. And my V will most likely be ready for a service when I get back home.

I'm going to have brakes and transmission checked before we go, along with fluid levels. I will have new tires on, so I don't think that will be a problem. I also have a program for my iQue that I have been logging my gas fill ups, so I will report back on my mpg and such.

I'm starting to get very excited about this trip. The month of May is so crazy this year. I'm going to the Paragon meet the first weekend, this is the second week, and then the third week is the SEMA auto show. Busy, busy, busy :-)

[CRIANA]

I keep forgetting to post the dates:

• Friday, May 7 – Depart to Arkansas
• Saturday, May 8 – Travel to Arkansas
• Sunday, May 9 – Arrival in Arkansas
• Monday, May 10 – Spend day in Arkansas, Depart and Arrive in New Orleans
• Tuesday, May 11 – Spend day in New Orleans
• Wednesday, May 12 – Depart New Orleans in late morning, Arrive in Florida
• Thursday, May 13 - Florida
• Friday, May 14 - Florida
• Saturday, May 15 – Depart Florida to Connecticut
• Sunday, May 16 – Arrive Connecticut

[02CR-V]

Doesn't seem like you're stopping to smell the roses. Not sure what the purpose of the trip is (maybe it was mentioned-lots of posts) but enjoy the scenery if you can.

I did a portion of that trip when my 'V was new. IL (obviously), MO, AK, MS, TN. Lincoln sites, Gateway Arch, Caving, Fishing, Graceland and much more.

From my trip last year my only caution would be don't be suprised if you need to visit a Honda dealer at some point and many of those states listed don't have that many to choose from.

[CRIANA]

Hey 02CR-V,
I only get 2 weeks vacation and I can't take them together.

Our stop in Arkansas is to drop in and say hello to my husbands cousin, who moved out there from CT a few years ago.

New Orleans is somewhere we've always wanted to go.

Pensacola - well it's closed to New Orleans and a friend from HondaSUV lives there, and the beaches sounded very nice and relaxing.

Going to try to do some geocaching at the different stops. We've left 2 days for traveling in both directions, so we won't be too rushed and can stop if something peaks our interest.

Why would I need to stop and visit a Honda dealer?

[02CR-V]

Hopefully you won't have to. When I was on a trip and I had problems luckily I was in an area where there were Honda dealers nearby. Doesn't always happen that way.

Have fun.

[CRIANA]

I believe dealerships are listed in the directory on my iQue. So I shouldn't have to worry too much about trying to figure out where the nearest Honda dealership is.

I really hope not to have any problems. Do you mind if I ask, what sort of problems did you run into with your V on your trip?

[quickie2hp]

Wife and I live just south of Memphis in Horn Lake MS. We have a 98 CRV and are planning a west coast trip for July. Be interesting to meet and compare notes if you have time

[02CR-V]

You must have missed my rant last Fall about how Honda ruined my vacation.

My SRS light came on just a few days into what was supposed to be a 10 day road trip. I probably overreacted a bit but I wasn't sure what part of the system wasn't working so I didn't feel comfortable. The Honda dealer I stopped at in MD could not fix the vehicle. I cut my trip short and returned home.

[CRIANA]

Wife and I live just south of Memphis in Horn Lake MS. We have a 98 CRV and are planning a west coast trip for July. Be interesting to meet and compare notes if you have time

Wow that is going to be a good trip.

How far is Horn Lake from i-55? I'm not exactly sure what time of day we'll be coming through that area.

I'm a plan every last move of the trip person, and my husband is a we'll get there sooner or later, take it as it comes person. So needless to say getting specifics is hard. I'll try to nail down a time and get back to you :-)

[CRIANA]

02-CRV,
Now that you mention it, I do remember that post. I really do hope not to have any problems. I'm going to be bringing the V in before we head out and have them check it over.

You will all be the first to know if I have any problems on the road :lol:

[02CR-V]

I'm sure all will be fine. I'm off tomorrow for a mini trip. Even with the few problems I've had I like long distance cruising in the 'V. I think that is it's forte.

[quickie2hp]

We live about 10 minutes from I-55, but there are numerous restaurants in the area right off I-55

[CRIANA]

After reviewing with my husband, it looks like we probably could make a quick stop, and most likely for dinner in your area there. We'd like to stay close to the highway if possible.

Quick question, do you happen to know how long it takes to get to New Orleans from your location? I'm just trying to estimate arrival times :-)

[chinchillax]

CRIANA let me know when you pass through St. Louis....I can welcome you into town.:)

[CRIANA]

Chinchillax,
That would be awesome. Not totally sure when I'll be coming through, I'm thinking the first Sunday morning of the trip. I've never been through any of these areas.

For anyone who I said I'd try to meet up with, I'll definitely PM to get phone numbers and such. In case it turns out I won't be able to stop or we end up hitting traffic, or dare I say this, we make better time than expected.

We'll be sleeping in the V for 2 nights of the trip. We're going to try to switch off with driving. So when one gets tired the other can take over :-)

[perro_loco]

I'd just like to point out that You rule!!! for pulling this road trip

[bluemonster]

Happy trails, be careful in New York, there are some wierdos there....

[CRIANA]

Perro_loco -- THANKS!!! I hope I can make as good of time as you did on your trip back from Florida. "umm officer I didn't realize I was speeding, it must be the new tires" :mrgreen:

Bluemonster - Luckily enough won't be in NY for too long ;-) heheheheh

[quickie2hp]

It would be about 7 to 8 hours straight down I-55 from here to New Orleans, we went a few years ago and have suggestions on place to eat and things to do, if you need them. Will be glad to get down to restaurant suggestions here, if the stop is workable.

[CRIANA]

Beginning of May, I'll have many more definites on stop locations and such. Oooooh it's 5 weeks away and so much still to get ready :-D

[chiph]

Criana -
Getting your V serviced prior to your trip is a good idea. You don't want to stop somewhere for an oil change and be worried about whether the unknown mechanic would break something in the process.

I've driven across the US 3 times now (I-10 once, I-40 twice), and it is indeed a haul. Strangely, I don't remember the state of Arkansas, despite having gone thru it twice... Probably just mesmerized by the road. :?

Take some bottled water, lots of music to listen to (most people don't realize that with corporate radio, the same songs are playing simultaneously across the US, and they get old real quick). In May you won't have any snow concerns, but wouldn't hurt to throw a blanket or two in the car. Some trail mix would be good, but it's easy to overdose on it. I like Reese's Pieces over M&Ms for in-car sugar bursts.

You'll also want to let your credit-card (or gas-card) company know you're doing this. Their fraud-detection systems will sometimes shut you down if they think the card has been stolen (awkward when trying to fill-up in a bad neighborhood).

Sights to see:
-- Anything in Memphis. If you want to get up close with the river, go north past the pyramid, then turn left to get onto Mud Island (lots of apartments out there). You can drive along the river, and when the road dead-ends, you'll be where Tom Cruise & Wilford Brimley had their meeting in "The Firm". Or go south from downtown a bit and see Sun Studios, where Elvis recorded.

-- "South of the Border" on I-95. Yes, it's cheesy touristy, but it's fun. Just watch out for the other drivers going past it -- they get distracted and tend to weave while going past it.

-- And of course, almost anything recommended at Roadside America (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/)

Chip H.

[CRIANA]

chiph - wow, thanks for that info. i never thought about the gas card /credit card thing.

There will be plenty of music in the car for this trip. If the money was there I'd defintiely get an iPod before the trip, since I've got hours and hours of music on my computer.

Thanks for the info on Memphis that sounds really cool too.

[Paul_arbouw]

Hi Diana.. let me know when you're in the neighborhood.. I've sent you a PM with my contact number. Like Racoon said.. I would be great to hook up while you're passing through!

On a tech note; check out the StarBucks along the way. Microsoft has a deal with them so that many now offer wireless internet in the stores. Coffee AND free internet. Might be a interesting alternative/addition to your bluetooth connection which requires a service plan that supports data communication on your cellphone.

Paul

[CRIANA]

Hey Paul,
I was going to send you a PM to see if you wanted to meet up.

I use Starbucks wifi every week. You'd think paying 3 bucks for a flavored coffee I could get free internet but nope, they offer three plans.

0.10 a minute OR 9.99 a day OR 29.99 a month

I currently have Cingular and am still in contract with them. I found some other people who have Cingular, Apple PowerBooks and Sony Erricson T616 phones that have gotten it all to talk to each other. I'll be testing that all out in a few weeks.

I'll send back the contact info via PM :-)

[Paul_arbouw]

I found out today that Borders (atleast the on here in Carmel) offers free WIFI; The girls at Starbucks told me! :D

Sent you a PM back...

[CRIANA]

Ooooh, that's interesting. I'll check that out this week.

Damn none of the guys at Starbucks let me in on that :lol: Maybe I need to be spending more money on coffee to get those tid bits of info :lol:

[Paul_arbouw]

Here's something you may want to shuck in the trunk...
www.cabelas.com (http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jhtml?id=0025012521409a&navAction=push&navCount=2&indexId=cat20181&podId=0025012&catalogCode=IE&parentId=cat20181&parentType=index&rid=&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fcatalog%2Fitem-link.jhtml.1_A&_DAV=MainCatcat21412&hasJS=true)
it's a 12 volt impact wrench. I've had it on 3 different vehicles that the garage tightened the lugnuts so darn tight, that you would NOT be able to change a tire if you had to, because you couldn't get the lugnuts off.

Paul

[CRIANA]

Luckily enough, I do all my tire rotations, so I"m ok right now. I've also got a torque wrench. Hopefully though I won't have to use it.

I've got this thing I got for Christmas.

http://www.brookstone.com/bs_assets/images/shop/large/342006_L.jpg

Comprehensive kit includes everything from jumper cables to lug wrenches, so you can hit the road with confidence. Features all the essential emergency tools to get you back on the road quickly and safely. Perfect for commuters, travelers and students. Kit includes a first aid kit, emergency light, jumper cables, reflector triangle, digital tire gauge, lug wrench with double-sided sockets, screwdrivers, insulated slip pliers, plug-in air compressor and durable case.

[CRIANA]

2 weeks to go, and a ton to do before we head out.

I finally got a new cell phone. I went with the Sony Ericsson T616. WOW, I love this phone.

And I tried it out already with my laptop, and it worked great as a modem.

Tires are being ordered tomorrow :-D and installed on Saturday hopefully. If the weather clears up for next weekend, that will be the big packing, and detailng of the car day.


Can anyone recommend a good power inverter? I'll be running the iQue, my cell phone and the laptop.

Also really thinking about getting one of those little cooler, heater things to bring food along, any recommendations on one those?

Thanks everyone!

[wildswing]

Diana,

Regardless of what inverter you buy, just remember that all you can get out of the front outlet is 180 watts (Fuse 18 - 15 amps) and 120 watts from the rear (Fuse 2 - 10 amps).

Sounds like you'll need one with multiple outlets unless you use a power bar. Look for one with built in fuses, breakers or overload protection and reset function.

Take a look at the labels on those appliances and add up the wattage. That's the minumum you'll need. Any of the small inverters on the market will probably do fine.

[2000crvlx]

I have a MAX 180W and it works great powering my laptop.

[CRIANA]

Just an update, in two days I leave. I did an oil change and got new tires.

I'm working on my pack list.

I got my new site up, so I'll be able to upload updates and photos as we go. (www.dianaleroi.com)

I just rolled 45,000 miles this morning while driving into work.

Hopefully the trip will go smoothly :-)

[wangofree]

Just an update, in two days I leave. I did an oil change and got new tires.
Hopefully the trip will go smoothly :-)

I'm sure it will Criana. You've put a lot of effort into your preparation. And if something happens, that usually makes for a great story later on.

Have a great trip! :)

[CRIANA]

Hey everyone!

Well the trip is going very well. I got the new tires on just before I left and at first I was like, hmmm, this might not have been the best decision but they've really handled the highway well along with being great offroad.

Gas mileage has been pretty good. We haven't exactly been driving conservative speeds, so gas mileage wasn't going to be awesome. And I'm not sure how much the tires are affecting my actual readings.

I got the Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revos in 225 70 R15.

So far I've gotten to meet Paul Arbouw, Racoon and Pilot Critter. Tomorrow I'll be meeting 2000crvlx, and at some point hopefully Blaine347 (Kevin).

I have been keeping a website going with a log of the journey:

www.dianaleroi.com

Here are some pics from the trip.

http://www.dianaleroi.com/gallery/albums/day2/P5080460.sized.jpg

http://www.dianaleroi.com/gallery/albums/day3/P5090550.sized.jpg

http://www.dianaleroi.com/gallery/albums/day3/P5090575.sized.jpg

http://www.dianaleroi.com/gallery/albums/day4/P5100619.sized.jpg

http://www.dianaleroi.com/gallery/albums/day5/P5110643.sized.jpg

[2000crvlx]

I noticed that you managed to get a Honda in every pic!!

[2000crvlx]

Well I just got back from having dinner with Diana and Craig. They are VERY nice people. We started off by taking some pics and then had a nice dinner. My wife came with me, she was the one taking the pictures. They are here in Pensacola for a few more days and we will be meeting up again.

Here are some pics:

[CRIANA]

Great pics Jamie and Sheila :-D

We had a great dinner with them, and we will definitely be meeting up with them before the week is over.

I'll get my pics up once I'm at a high speed connection again :-)

[blackdog1]

Criana you have an amazing eye for photography. I visited your website and I was very impressed by the shots of your cats and the two little girls. Are you a professional photographer? If not, you should be! What kind of camera do you use?

[Alpine]

WOW, great pics so far! What a fun roadtrip, you're a first class photographer (and making many worthy desktop wallpapers in the process). Looking forward to more more more. :D

I couldn't help but post the below pic from your website with the movie caption "When this baby hits 88 miles per hour...you're gonna see some serious ****!".

[blackdog1]

Criana, you might try stopping at a public or university library for wirless internet. I know our local public and university libraries have free wireless internet for laptops.

[CRIANA]

Alpine -- great caption for that photo!!!!

When I was sleeping, my not so speedy husband got it up to 98.7 mph :shock:

I'm off to search out a free wifi spot, since the place I'm at is closing. I hope to get some of the photos up from today. I went offroading with Kevin (Blaine437). It was alot of fun! Only bummer was since their having a real dry spell here, there wasn't really any mudd to play in.

[CRIANA]

http://www.dianaleroi.com/C1284668004/E1170961088/Media/P5130738.jpg

http://www.dianaleroi.com/C1284668004/E1170961088/Media/P5130742.jpg

http://www.dianaleroi.com/C1284668004/E1170961088/Media/P5130749.jpg

[CRIANA]

http://www.dianaleroi.com/gallery/albums/day7/P5130735.sized.jpg

one more :-D

http://www.dianaleroi.com/gallery/albums/day7/P5130739.sized.jpg

Thank you Kevin for being photographer for me!! I wish I had brough the camcorder :-(

[2000crvlx]

Great pics! I brought my camcorder to work with me today incase we want to go back out there after I get off work today!

[Blaine1437]

Any time i had a lot of fun! even the miata got some action!

[2000crvlx]

Hey all!

Me and my wife met Diana and Craig one last time last night. We decided to have a picnic out at Fort Pickens here in Pensacola. After our little picnic we toured the Fort till it was dark. We said our sad goodbyes and parted ways. I felt like I could have talked to them for about 2 or 3 more weeks and never run out of stuff to talk about. Now we will have to make a journey up to their part of the woods. Anyway I thougt I would share some pics.

[CRIANA]

Hey Jamie,
Thanks for posting pics. We had a great time :-) I think we could have stayed talking for 2-3 weeks too :-)

Who knows it may have even rained in that time and mud would have been available.

I wish we had more time to have been able to coordinate all of us going off road. And been able to shoot some video.

Next time :-D

When I get to the next wifi spot, I'll upload my photos and Gallery images.

We're in the middle of South Carolina right now stuck in a traffic jam, exciting stuff!! hahaha

[Pilot Critter]

criana---nice job. it's been fun following your adventure in real time.
critter

[CRIANA]

Thanks Pilot Critter,
I had a lot of fun uploading the journey as we went.

---------------

We are back home now in CT. Came in this evening, it was good to be back home, although we wish we could have spent another week in Pensacola. Neither of us have ever been beach people but we could have gotten used to it :-)

http://www.dianaleroi.com/gallery/albums/day8/P5140825.sized.jpg

I uploaded more pics finally. It was really interesting to travel across the country. Gas prices did vary quite a bit in certain places. The ride home we got stuck in three different accident traffic jams. I also almost got nailed by a state trooper in Pennsylvania, but the guy ahead of me got pulled over instead. I feel for him since we were going about 90 mph.

I was trying to find out if the SEMA show was this weekend or something. On the way back in Maryland and in Pennsylvania we passed around 30 very modded import cars.

Sadly enough 3 times they were pulled off on the side of the highway in a group of like 5 with one of the hoods open and everybody underneath it.

Later on in Pennsylvania I was cruising along around 90 mph with a few of them, I was doing fairly well keeping up. I know they could have lost me in a sec if they wanted to.

http://www.dianaleroi.com/gallery/albums/day9_10/P5160897.sized.jpg

Saw this as we came in to NY state.

http://www.dianaleroi.com/gallery/albums/day9_10/P5160902.sized.jpg

Also saw these while in Leesburg, VA.

http://www.dianaleroi.com/gallery/albums/day9_10/P5160879.sized.jpg

-----

The CRV handled great. No problems, and the new tires performed excellent too.