seeking advice from Southeastern road warriors

Hi, here's the background, then to my question. We just returned from Hilton Head Island late last night. Hubby took his family back to the Savannah Airport while I finished packing and feeding the kiddies, and by the time we got on the road back to Cincinnati it was 10:30am. We made the last minute decision to drive straight thru, 2 yr old and 8 yr old in tow, and by the time we made all the food/coffee/gas/peepee breaks, we got home just after midnight. Exhausted. During christmas break we have the same plans, drop off the inlaws at the airport and get on the road, only this time, we are leaving from Ft Lauderdale. The plan is to overnight in Atlanta, but even this is leaving me road weary already.

My question...we are thinking about finding another location to stop off for a few days or even a week depending on price, to break up the trip. We thought about stopping in Hilton Head again, though it is a bit out of the way. Any suggestions as to a place to stop for a few days in December midway between Ft Lauderdale and Cincinnati?

laurac260 wrote:

My question...we are thinking about finding another location to stop off for a few days or even a week depending on price, to break up the trip. We thought about stopping in Hilton Head again, though it is a bit out of the way. Any suggestions as to a place to stop for a few days in December midway between Ft Lauderdale and Cincinnati?

Atlanta is probably your best bet for a halfway stop. And I'm sure you can find some entertainment for the little ones. Maybe you want to consider two stops. One at HHI (only about 60 miles "out of your way") for a few days and other in the Knoxville, TN area for a one or two more days. Being December I do not know what type of activities will be available.

That would break it up into three trips 500, 425, and 250. Though for two little one, 500 miles is still a long trip.

mike1536 wrote:

Atlanta is probably your best bet for a halfway stop. And I'm sure you can find some entertainment for the little ones. Maybe you want to consider two stops. One at HHI (only about 60 miles "out of your way") for a few days and other in the Knoxville, TN area for a one or two more days. Being December I do not know what type of activities will be available.

Mike, although I agree with your advice 99% of the time, I will have to disagree with you about stopping in Atlanta ..... Atlanta is a hellhole of tangled massive traffic and traffic jams .... and there's really not much of anything to do there .... it's just another mega, overpopulated city and there's really no bypass as the bypass has been swallowed up by suburb cities.

I would suggest a much more laid back atmosphere such as your suggestion of Hilton Head or Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg which is close to Knoxville. There are several timeshares in both the PF and Gatlinburg area.

Starting the day after Thanksgiving ... Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Dollywood light their million Christmas lights and the Christmas celebration begins.

We went to Dollywood during the Christmas festivities last December and the lights and decorations were comparable to Disney World (I had been to Disney World the year before during the Christmas festivities). And there's so much to do in that area for the kids.

Of course, I love Hilton Head, but I don't know that there would be that much to do there during December, especially for the kids.

jayjay wrote:

Mike, although I agree with your advice 99% of the time, I will have to disagree with you about stopping in Atlanta ..... Atlanta is a hellhole of tangled massive traffic and traffic jams .... and there's really not much of anything to do there .... it's just another mega, overpopulated city and there's really no bypass as the bypass has been swallowed up by suburb cities.

I've never been to Atlanta, but my suggestions was based purely on mileage between Cincy and Ft. Lauderdale.

Most large cities I've visited usually have zoos, museums, etc to keep people occupied during the day. Living in the northeast, I would not hesitate to suggest people take a trip to Boston. However, since I've never been to Atlanta, I cannot compare the two cities.

We are actually heading to the beach in Ft Lauderdale to avoid the "christmas festivities". I'm sure we will be among many who do the same. I am wondering if Jacksonville or Daytona have many timeshare options? Did not see much on my first glance. We love Hilton Head, but are also wondering if it will be too chilly, though my 8 year old would swim in anything, anytime of year (I think she is part polar bear!)

oh, and you are both right about Atlanta. Perfect halfway stop between Cinci and mid to south florida, and also a tangled mess of traffic and very overcrowded. I am good for one night there, then I want to move on.

laurac260 wrote:

We are actually heading to the beach in Ft Lauderdale to avoid the "christmas festivities". I'm sure we will be among many who do the same. I am wondering if Jacksonville or Daytona have many timeshare options? Did not see much on my first glance. We love Hilton Head, but are also wondering if it will be too chilly, though my 8 year old would swim in anything, anytime of year (I think she is part polar bear!)

If all you were going to do is spend one night on the trip home, I'm sure you can find lodging on the outskirts of Atlanta, though you might have to stay in one of those 'yucky' hotels :)

mike1536 wrote:

I've never been to Atlanta, but my suggestions was based purely on mileage between Cincy and Ft. Lauderdale.

Most large cities I've visited usually have zoos, museums, etc to keep people occupied during the day. Living in the northeast, I would not hesitate to suggest people take a trip to Boston. However, since I've never been to Atlanta, I cannot compare the two cities.

Atlanta is somewhere near the top of the list for cities with the worst traffic problems. The thing about Atlanta is that the suburbs have dwarfed the socalled bypasses and there's no easy way to get around the city.

We've gone through Atlanta many times and it's seldom that we weren't held up in traffic for a long wait for a mere fender bender and a far worse wait for a wreck. For some reason they can't seem to get the autos out of the way without a long wait.

We've actually gone out of our way to bypass Atlanta via small towns on two lane winding roads, the traffic is that bad and most Atlanta drivers don't know what a speed limit is going 80+ miles an hour .... they pass us like we're sitting still.

Mike, our original plans were just to stop in Atlanta for one night and then move on back to Cinci. Considering I am still feeling a bit "hung over" from our 14 hour car trip I think we want to look at other options that break up the trip just a bit more. I have currently reserved a few nights in Hilton Head, but am still open to any other suggestions. It is probably our best bet, considering it is right up 95 from Ft Lauderdale. I am a terrible car rider and would prefer just to fly, but hubby would rather drive across country, at night, in a blinding snowstorm (you get the pic) than treck thru an airport, or sit on a plane, so he drives the entire trip, and I play offense with the kids in the back, fetching toys, drinks, snacks and playing musical car seats with our daughter and her intermittent car sickness. Ft Lauderdale to Cincinnati in two days is just not my idea of a good time! : )