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Road Trip (Florida-Utah)

R

Rose Pink

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Please help me plan a round-trip (automobile) between Pensacola, Florida and Salt Lake City, Utah. Which routes afford the best scenery and interest points? Direct route is not of utmost importance (but side trips to the Alaskan wilderness are a bit too far :rolleyes: ) and the route going can be different than the route coming back. We like gardens but are not into shopping unless it is something unusual. Sports are not a big draw, either. DH is not into art museums but does like space and science-type museums. I would like to see some plantations.

How long would you plan? Two weeks? Three? Obviously timeshares will not be our lodging choice as we do not plan to spend more than one or two nights in any one place along the way. Hilton properties would be our first choice but interesting (and clean) B&Bs would be a second.

What time of the year would be the best for such a trip? I am thinking spring or very early summer.

Thanks.
 
I have driven round trip between Florida and Utah several times. It's a fun trip. You can easily do it in four or five days...but you will probably want to take longer. I tend to drive about 600 miles a day on a major driving day. If you like shorter days, you'll obviously need to add more stops. I agree with you that spring or early summer would probably be the best time of the year to go.

Here's a suggested route:

First stop: Santa Fe, NM. If you haven't been here before, you're in for a treat. Awesome food, hotels, galleries, museums, shopping, etc. Just a great place...even if art isn't your favorite thing. Although you may only want to stay 1 night if you have no interest in art at all, I'd suggest staying 2 nights so you have a full day to enjoy the town. Hotel La Fonda is very historic and right on the town square. There are several other very nice places to stay as well...but be sure to stay within walking distance of the square.

Second stop: Dallas, TX. Although not one of America's most distinctive cities, Dallas does have some great architecture, some restaurants, and a few museums. You could stay 2 nights and see the town, or just overnight.

Third stop: Vicksburg, MS. Stay overnight and tour the Civil War battlefield and historic sites. Take a leisurely (and short drive) to your next destination.

Fourth stop: Natchez, MS. Fantastic antebellum architecture. Tour the homes and gardens. Stay 1 or 2 nights depending on how many homes you want to visit.

Fifth stop: Mobile, AL. This is a short driving day. Visit Bellingrath Home and Gardens outside Mobile. This is one of the premier gardens that is open to the public in the whole South.

Sixth stop: Your destination, Pensacola, FL...it's only about an hour from Mobile.

Hopefully, this will give you a few ideas to get started. I love a good road trip!

Steve
 
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Thanks, Steve. We've been to Santa Fe but that reminds me that I want to go back to Taos. We were unable to visit the Pueblo because there was a major fire when we were last there! We spent most of 2006 in Dallas so I don't feel the need to go back there, either. I do appreciate the other suggestions, though, and will give them some serious consideration. Thanks so much for taking the time to respond.
 
Hi

Last Thanksgiving, we had sort of a family reunion in Orlando. My oldest son and his son drove. Josiah was able to take 2 weeks educational leave because the road trip was the same as the senior class road trip for Alta High School. I can get you the exact drive if you are interested. They went up through Wyoming and over to South Dakota, saw Mount Rushmore. Over to Niagra Falls, down to New York City, Washington DC and Williamsburg, VA. You could then go along the coast to Charleston and over to Florida.

I know you like flowers. Find out when the Dogwood Festival is in Atlanta or surrounding counties. South of Atlanta in Pine Mountain, GA is Callaway Gardens. When I went there a few years back they had beautiful gardens and a butterfly exhibit. I fell in love with the south because of thier beautiful Magnolia trees.

They of course went in November and had to deal with some bad weather but I think spring would be wonderful. They took 10 days, but I would want at least 2 weeks. They then spent a week in Orlando and drove back keeping south, but that part of the trip was fast.

What a nice trip, you will have a great time planning this one.
 
Senior Class roadtrip?!! That's a new one on me. (But, yes, I would like the itinerary. Thanks. I've never been to the Dakotas or to Williamsburg.)
 
Sorry, I havent been able to find out any more information;even called the school. I asked my son how he would do it and he said the same thing Ive told you. They got caught in a bad snowstorm so the first night was in Wyoming. He thought spring would be great.

If you have the extra time and dont mind driving, I would opt for northeast route. After all the best part of the southwest is Utah/Arizona/Colorado. But Im biased.
 
And we've seen it (the west) many times--not that I get tired of it, but it would be nice to see another part of the grand ol' US of A. I'm going to try to talk DH into the more northerly/easterly route at least going one way. We have a year to plan, so I hope I can get some suggestions for things to do and see. Thanks for trying to get that info.
 
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