Driving from Pennsylvania to Florida

[marielg]

I am looking for any suggestions/advice on a route to travel from NE Pennsylvania to Port St Lucie Florida. My daughter moved there last year and I would so like to visit my granddaughters for Thanksgiving. I have never visited them and miss them so much. I would rather drive than fly so I have the option to bring along what I want to.  I would be driving alone. I know RT 95 is a straight drive down there but I do not want to drive through Washington. I thought AARP Roadside assistance still had the trip planning assistance where they help plan and supply paper maps, but seems they no longer offer it. Only online apps which I prefer not to use. Suggestions? Advice? Words of wisdom?

[SpringIsHereSoHappy]

(2/26/24) @marielg , how was your trip?  🤔

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[*** @marielg wrote:

I am looking for any suggestions/advice on a route to travel from NE Pennsylvania to Port St Lucie Florida. My daughter moved there last year and I would so like to visit my granddaughters for Thanksgiving. I have never visited them and miss them so much. I would rather drive than fly so I have the option to bring along what I want to.  I would be driving alone. I know RT 95 is a straight drive down there but I do not want to drive through Washington. I thought AARP Roadside assistance still had the trip planning assistance where they help plan and supply paper maps, but seems they no longer offer it. Only online apps which I prefer not to use. Suggestions? Advice? Words of wisdom? ***]

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[marielg]

Thank you for asking. However due to a medical emergency with my husband I did not go in November. However I am trying to figure out when a good time to go after April 15th. I volunteer as an AARP tax aide and want to wait until tax season is over. Although I have to admit I am getting a bit more nervous about that drive. Not so much driving through the states before Florida , but Florida itself. I live in the mountains of PA and have enjoyed a relaxed driving for my time here and from what I understand Florida is not relaxed driving. 

[SpringIsHereSoHappy]

(2/27/24) @marielg , I HOPE he is doing BETTER  💙💙💙  I am doing BOTH (Florida and Virginia) and will be 66 this year. I left Florida in 2015 and SHOCKED at the change LAST YEAR 2023. My only child, a daughter was born there and luvs it. I DON'T!!!

Yes, it is VERY STRESSFUL living and driving.

Luv my Virginia 😎

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[*** @marielg wrote:

Thank you for asking. However due to a medical emergency with my husband I did not go in November. However I am trying to figure out when a good time to go after April 15th. I volunteer as an AARP tax aide and want to wait until tax season is over. Although I have to admit I am getting a bit more nervous about that drive. Not so much driving through the states before Florida , but Florida itself. I live in the mountains of PA and have enjoyed a relaxed driving for my time here and from what I understand Florida is not relaxed driving. ***]

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[marielg]

Well in about 4 weeks I will be on my "adventure" to visit my daughter, her husband and my 3 granddaughters as well as my son. All off whom I haven't seen in about 1 1/2 years. I was disappointed that my AARP Roadside assistance does not offer any help with planning the trip or even maps. I have decided to take Rt 81 down to RT77 to Rt 26 to Rt 95. I am trying not to overthink my route. If anyone knows of any issues I may encounter please feel free to share . Thank you!

[EricC28201]

Happy and Safe travels and Family Time @marielg .

[marielg]

Thank you all for your suggestions. Oddly I have a pretty good sense directions.

I study the maps and write down my plan. Type it large enough on the computer that I can read if I glance over while driving. I suppose the GPS could be back up.  

[DavidS720244]

I think Eric had the way to drive, but I-77 is difficult through WVA and they have a toll on the road. Unfortunately, I-95 is what most people use (it's crowded and dangerous) and but it IS a straight route.

I have driven the I-77 to I-26 to I-95 several times.  Last fall I gave up driving to FL and took to the air.  You could ship with UPS the items you won't carry on the plane. I did.

[EricC28201]

Do you wish to avoid D.C. badly enough to start out by going west to Harrisburg?

Generally speaking you could run I-81 to I-77 to I-26 circling back to I-95 south of Columbia S.C..

If you're not averse to asking AAA for assistance they have a program called TripTik.

BTW...Also prefer hardcopy maps...saw a news report not to long ago that they're making a comeback.

[marielg]

I will consider this route as I am close to 81. I have AARP Allstate Roadside Assistance which does not have Trip Tik like AAA. I may consider switching to them as well.

[KellytheBelly]

GPS? 

(I, personally, prefer paper maps, too. I drove cross-country, though, with the dreaded GPS (and walkie-talkies), which I will never use again, unless I travel beyond 500+ miles. Go to your local book store, and buy a map. Write it down. And, hopefully someone can do what Claire Colburn did in, 'Elizabethtown.' lol Oh my gosh! If anyone did that for me, I'd be over the moon and back, and repeat! Mapping my journey with music, audio, and history. That'd be Awesome.)

[Anonymous]

(4 comments) @EricC28201 , @KellytheBelly - I prefer GPS, now that I have it as of 2018 on Android my daughter bought me.

BEFORE, it was a NIGHTMARE "reading/following" a PAPER map = stress!!!/lol. 😱😱

But GPS can "mess" you up as ROUTES change and Google is CLUELESS about the change. 🙄

Glad my daughter will be driving my u-haul back to Florida from Virginia. At age soon-to-be 65, I could NOT do it.

Please stay in touch if you can @marielg , WE would luv to hear how it all works out for you. Good Luck and be Safe....

Nicole 🙃

[marielg]

Thank you Nicole. I too am 65 and never drove that distance so I am kinda' nervous. Where are you in Virginia? My husband and I would like to move there, in a rural area

[Anonymous]

(1 comment) Hi @marielg , I am in Cave Spring but alot of people call it Roanoke.

It is cheaper than Florida but I need to be "closer" to my daughter as I age.

Hmmm, not really rural as like other places it is being built up unfortunately.

Nicole 🙃

[marielg]

I hear you. Seems like everywhere is getting built up . I don't think I could live near my daughter in Florida I turn into the wicked witch in high humidity

[KellytheBelly]

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@Anonymous wrote:

BEFORE, it was a NIGHTMARE "reading/following" a PAPER map = stress!!!/lol. 😱😱

😂