Traveling to Florida Via I-95
We just returned from our third Spring Break in the Keys, and as before, travelling I-95 was challenging at times. For those travelers who have yet to experience the joy/pain of driving this road during Spring Break, I wanted to share our observations.
First, we live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. This means that in order to get off the “DelMarVa” peninsula and get onto I-95, we have three choices; to travel north (wrong direction), travel West to Washington DC, or travel south to Norfolk. Since we are self-described country bumpkins who freak out over the gazillions of people in the DC Metro area, we try to avoid the city like the plague. We prefer to drive south on Route 13, which crosses the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, on the Chesapeak Bay-Bridge Tunnel, or CBBT.
The CBBT is a 20-mile long combination of bridges and two tunnels which cuts almost 100 miles off travel between Wilmington and Norfolk. For those traveling from points North of Delaware, it probably won’t save you a whole lot of time, as the speed limits on Route 13, combined with the stop-and-start of Highway traffic through the small towns, devour any time savings from the shorter route. But the drive is much prettier and scenic, albeit more expensive (we paid $28 for our RV and toad for a one-way toll). There are rest areas located on the North end of the CBBT, as well as one at MM3, on top of one of the tunnels. This is a great place to have a look at the huge cargo ships and Navy ships crossing into Hampton Roads from the Atlantic. There is also a fishing pier and snack shop, but the biggest challenge for the RV’er is getting into the parking lot and turning around. Big rigs will probably want to pass this unless you can back up.
The biggest problem in our travel plans hit a snag when the winds kicked up Thursday morning before we left. A cold front charged in, with winds gusting upwards of 25 mph. By lunchtime, the winds were 40-50 mph (this is totally normal for the Eastern Shore), and we called the CBBT to find that the road was closed to Trucks and RVs.
So, the only option left to us was to follow Mapquest’s itinerary and travel west to DC, then hop onto I-95 there. Fortunately, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Annapolis was only experiencing 25 mph winds, and was still open to large vehicles. According to Mapquest, the trip should take us 20 hours total, covering over 1200 miles to Fiesta Key Koa on Long Key in Florida.
The biggest problem with DC is the traffic. The worst time of day to travel south starts around 2pm and runs through the end of the evening rush, about 7pm. The Woodrow Wilson Bridge is a total nightmare during rush hour, even now that the majority of construction is complete. We passed through DC right at 2:30, causing us to sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic for over one hour and a half.
Continuing to drive south, be sure to bypass Richmond proper with I-295. There are numerous places to stop off the bypass and take a break after the stress of DC. We did have some issues getting into a gas station; sometimes we think they make them difficult to get into on purpose, to exclude larger vehicles from taking up space at the pumps.
Pushing South through the Carolinas, campgrounds are spaced about every 50 mile, making this region a great spot for an overnight stay. We spent a night on our return trip at the Fayetteville,NC KOA, which offered large pull-throughs, easy interstate access, and friendly staff. The roads in this area weren’t the best; our tires became out of balance from the rough roads, and when we had the fiver, the “porpoising” was pretty bad.
There are signs throughout North Carolina for a tourist trap called “South of the Border,” located across the state line, a couple of miles into South Carolina. We were amused and confounded by some of the billboards, but bypassed the mass of buildings which looked wholly deserted, certainly a tourist trap if there ever was one.
The signs on the side of the road also indicate this is a great place for an intimate massage or dinner with a nude show. Although the promise of large truck parking was enticing, we bypassed these spots in favor of the very nice, well lit rest areas in South Carolina. The rest areas filled up fairly quickly at night with tractor/trailers and other RV’s, but we were still able to find spots at each stop.
I-95 through Georgia is in a perpetual state of construction, as a lot hasn’t changed since we passed through three years ago. This area was clear on the trip down, probably because we drove through at 5 am! The sporadic palm trees and marsh made us giddy with the promise of the wamer temperatures in the more tropical climate. Once you get to this area, you are about ten hours from Key West, give or take a couple of hours for stops and traffic.
The last time we drove through Jacksonville, Florida, we hit afternoon rush hour. Construction south of the city had traffic very heavy. Since we passed through about 7am this trip, we were slightly ahead of the traffic, with only some minor congestion. South of Jacksonville is Daytona and Cocoa Beaches, as well as the junction with I-4 to Orlando, so traffic can be hit or miss. We were able to sail past this area, and found I-95 almost vacant after the I-4 turn off.
Miami is a different story altogether. You can tell you are getting close to Fort Lauderdale by the increase in traffic, as well as the increase in toll booths. Be sure to have lots of cash on hand for all the tolls. We didn’t keep all our receipts, but we must have spent about $30. Why do you pay more for 2 vehicles together than if they were separate? We were charged $3 per toll for the RV with a toad, when 2 cars would have been $2, or $1 per vehicle.
We always manage to get lost near Miami. Not once do you see a sign for The Keys until you are leaving the interstate and entering The Keys! So when the nice lady at one of the seemingly hundreds of toll booths suggested we take the Florida Turnpike to the Homestead Parkway in lieu of I-95 through Miami, alarm bells should have started going off. We followed her suggestion only to completely miss the turn, and ending up somewhere in Eastern Florida. If anyone reading this has a suggestion on how to avoid getting lost, please leave a comment! After driving on side streets for about half an hour, we managed to at least get onto a southbound parkway, which led back to the Turnpike.
The Turnpike ends at US Route 1, a two lane road which identified as the “Gateway to the Keys.” There is a Wally World, restaurants, and gas stations. You may want to stop here for supplies and groceries, as grocery stores and department stores are few and far between at this point.
Our trip from our home took 25 hours total, including the back up in DC, the two hour sleep stop in South Carolina, getting lost in Miami, and loading up on groceries in Key Largo.
