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David C
12-14-2017, 03:24 PM
I'd like to drive down the east coast and visit some of the inland cities this holiday, asking for suggestions for routes and points of interest from members.

Ideally I'd like to make it to the end of the Florida's Keys, and also get to experience some of the swamps and other biomes. I'd leave between Christmas and New Years from Montreal, stop by nyc for a day or two depending on the weather and maybe check out Long Island and Coney Island, then next stop is Ocean City, MD where I have a condo to stay and wait out for better weather if needed. Obviously I'd be leaving home on winter tires, which aren't great to cruise down Florida, so I plan on hauling my set of 4 season wheels on the cargo carrier and do the swap in Ocean City before heading further south.

Leaving OC is where the real adventure starts, as I've been to OC and back plenty of times, but never traveled down further. Last year I did drove to Virginia beach back and forth on a rainy day, but that's it.

Ideally I'd like to travel the ocean front roads and the inland scenic roads, but not sure which to do southbound and which to do northbound. Again, weather will be playing a decisive role, but I hope to be able to avoid traffic jams and other annoying drives when going between destinations. I don't have any dead line for returning back home, although I'd like to keep it under 20 days and to avoid doing more than 2 consecutive a days of driving at the time. A good pace for me is usually one day drive and one day walking around, or one day half drive half sight seeing. I can do 10h straight, or 5 hours streaks. I can camp in my car, although I'd reach out for a room every other day or so. I don't mind stopping for more than a day in a place to get to experience everything and the nightlife, and I'd be happy to meet up with locals for lunch or activities.

List of things I'd love to do or see :

Gun ranges (I love to shoot)
Fishing
Mountain biking
Climbing/cave exploration/hiking/national parks
Drag race or car show/derby
Beach party
Ferries
Aviation/science museums
Aquariums/zoos/Navy/army stuff
Trains
Crazy downtown and malls
Sporting events
Party bikes
Notorious bars and restaurants/delis
Tropical resorts
Places you see in the movies
Halls of fame
Museums of most kinds
Etc.

I don't know much of anything south of Maryland, but I'd like to stop by Washington, Norfolk, Charlotte, etc towns where there's something important or huge/cool installations that are well known or even kept secret !

Max driving range is 1 000km highway a day or 7 hours of country/urban roads. I usually prefer to travel non scenic roads at night or during lunch time when traffic is low. I don't mind old scenic twisty roads or long stretch of flat lands.

Thanks !

dogsridewith
12-15-2017, 01:11 AM
Curious race car folk will see a set of tires on carrier and take a closer look...then get a chuckle finding Canada plate hauling snow tires around Florida.

David C
12-15-2017, 01:29 AM
Curious race car folk will see a set of tires on carrier and take a closer look...then get a chuckle finding Canada plate hauling snow tires around Florida.



Which makes it all worth the trip.

I did mention that I was gonna do the swap in Maryland, however I should have added that the tires and carrier would stay there till I come back, obviously.

David C
12-25-2017, 08:50 PM
Arrived in Ocean City, MD yesterday around 10pm, I did the swap between snow and 4-season tires this afternoon and tomorrow I'm heading towards the Outer Banks of Carolina. Should arrive at Hatteras ferry station by sunset, and on Wednesday I'll either take the ferries and keep traveling down the coast till night or drive back to Roanoke Island and travel inland if weather is too poor.

The 1 000km drive from Montreal to OC went very well with only a bit of light to moderate rain in Delaware. The car was very stable with the added weight on the rear axle (compared to a 61/49 weight distribution without cargo) 140km/h on the 7-lanes NJ Turnpike felt like a 100km/h layback drive. I started getting turbulence when I reached 162km/h, otherwise I couldn't tell that I was going over 150km/h without looking at the gauge. Unfortunately there wasn't any weight station open along the way to stop and check the weight distribution of the car in that configuration. I had a total of 200lbs including the hitch (right on the rated limit) and cargo inside the car was about 150lbs and evenly distributed

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justanotherdrunk
12-26-2017, 10:42 PM
WOW !

great


:thumbsup:

David C
12-28-2017, 10:48 PM
Wright's brothers memorial in NC
Car camping on Ocracoke Island
Ferries in the outer banks
Beach Club at Patriot's Point in Charlestown, SC
Lighthouse down Daytona Beach inlet





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https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171229/b8b61ac07bccc73dd89f850dc9be86f1.jpg5914659146

justanotherdrunk
12-29-2017, 12:34 AM
looks like a great trip thanks

David C
12-30-2017, 07:47 PM
It is.

Spend yesterday in Orlando, drove pretty much all over the area. End up spending the afternoon at Oak Ridge gun range, shot over 1 000 rounds of everything from 22 to 44. Very nice place and it was really inexpensive too, staff was great. Lots of families with their young too. Spent the evening driving around Universal and ended up at Denny's for dinner and camp in a quiet inn parking lot in the middle of Universal's district. In the morning I went downtown for brunch and today drove down the Florida Turnpike from Orlando to Key Largo. Now at Denny's in Key Largo for dinner and probably their parking lot overnight too. Also met fellow Quebecers down a resort I stopped by for information in Key Largo.

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kimona
12-30-2017, 10:45 PM
Sounds like you're enjoying yourself. And, you're escaping the bitter cold weather in Montreal. Drive carefully, have fun, and stay alert.

David C
12-31-2017, 12:20 AM
Thanks. I've been in Florida for 2 days already and drove around a bunch, but still haven't seen a single gator. I think they're hiding.

David C
01-10-2018, 11:05 AM
Drifffffffffts


Ocean City, MD
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ern-diz
01-10-2018, 05:20 PM
Ha, that had to be fun.

David C
04-08-2018, 11:44 PM
I had a blast this holiday with this 6 700km road trip.

Now I'm leaving for a 20 000km road trip on the west coast on April 24th !