Planning where to stop / store a car between Chicago and Durham, NC
July 28, 2020 7:26 AM Subscribe
Kentucky or West Virginia? Indianapolis, Cincinnati, or Louisville? We're probably going to be driving a moving truck from Chicago to North Carolina. I think we'll do it in three legs so we're relatively fresh when we arrive, and we'll store my car somewhere so we don't both have to drive for 12 hours, and we don't have to drive through the mountains towing a car. Where should we stop? Where should we store the car?
I'm interested in safety, lower chance of getting the virus, and the chance to possibly explore (by driving around without talking to anyone) a city I might find surprisingly attractive when I come back to get my car.
Of course a beautiful drive would be nice, too, but we're going through the Appalachian mountains one way or the other so it will probably be somewhat interesting.
Small towns along the route could also be interesting if there's decent lodging to be had that could safely accommodate the moving van.
It looks like, without adding an hour or two to the trip, it makes sense to go through Indianapolis regardless, then we could go through a city in southern Ohio or possibly Kentucky (if Kentucky is much better than Ohio).
It looks like, after that, the quickest route is definitely through West Virginia, but we could go through Nashville if it would be worth adding 3 hours to the trip.
On the end closest to NC, it looks like we can stop in the Appalachians in VA, or in the southern part of Virginia or around Mt. Airy, NC, around Interstate 77 or 74.
I've never driven through this part of the US, so any advice would be very welcome! We plan to travel with a lot of food and will be looking for lodging with a full-sized refrigerator/freezer and ample parking -- and safety, and appreciation of social distancing.
Any advice? (I'll be asking how to hire people to help unload our truck in NC later! This is complicated and scary!)
I'm interested in safety, lower chance of getting the virus, and the chance to possibly explore (by driving around without talking to anyone) a city I might find surprisingly attractive when I come back to get my car.
Of course a beautiful drive would be nice, too, but we're going through the Appalachian mountains one way or the other so it will probably be somewhat interesting.
Small towns along the route could also be interesting if there's decent lodging to be had that could safely accommodate the moving van.
It looks like, without adding an hour or two to the trip, it makes sense to go through Indianapolis regardless, then we could go through a city in southern Ohio or possibly Kentucky (if Kentucky is much better than Ohio).
It looks like, after that, the quickest route is definitely through West Virginia, but we could go through Nashville if it would be worth adding 3 hours to the trip.
On the end closest to NC, it looks like we can stop in the Appalachians in VA, or in the southern part of Virginia or around Mt. Airy, NC, around Interstate 77 or 74.
I've never driven through this part of the US, so any advice would be very welcome! We plan to travel with a lot of food and will be looking for lodging with a full-sized refrigerator/freezer and ample parking -- and safety, and appreciation of social distancing.
Any advice? (I'll be asking how to hire people to help unload our truck in NC later! This is complicated and scary!)
Berea, KY
Berea is such a neat place. I have no idea what's happening in Berea in COVID times, but imo anyone going anywhere near Berea should stop in Berea.
posted by phunniemee at 7:50 AM on July 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
Berea is such a neat place. I have no idea what's happening in Berea in COVID times, but imo anyone going anywhere near Berea should stop in Berea.
posted by phunniemee at 7:50 AM on July 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
The segment of I-70 from Indianapolis to Columbus is pretty flat & level. I appreciate this type of scenery myself. But if you're interested in a more varied view out your window, I would recommend heading towards Cincinnati or Louisville from Indianapolis, rather than continuing west as you would with some of the routes recommended by Google Maps.
posted by Johnny Assay at 7:57 AM on July 28, 2020
posted by Johnny Assay at 7:57 AM on July 28, 2020
IMO, all three of those cities (Indy, Cincinnati, and Louisville) are WAY nicer than you'd expect. (I like all of them better than Nashville for casual tourism purposes, but I recognize that may be a fringe opinion.) The drive to those cities won't be especially scenic, but it'll be really nice the rest of the way to Durham.
posted by goodbyewaffles at 8:10 AM on July 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by goodbyewaffles at 8:10 AM on July 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
I can tell you specifics about Cincinnati, including where the Covid numbers are higher and where mask use is really good (despite having a statewide mask order, some communities just aren't as compliant, sadly). You'll want to stay on the east side of the city, for sure. Covid numbers are higher in west side zip codes and mask compliance isn't great over there. I've been wearing a mask on the east side since lockdown started in March and have never, ever been given grief for it. The one time I went to the west side (after the statewide mask order was implemented), someone made a comment about my mask. BUT, don't go too far east. I'd stay within the I-275 loop. Going outside of that gets you into conservative Republican territory, and while Covid numbers aren't terrible out there (rural areas are tending to fare better), you're gonna get looks and comments and not much social distancing.
posted by cooker girl at 8:11 AM on July 28, 2020
posted by cooker girl at 8:11 AM on July 28, 2020
Seconding Trosha. They were amazing when we moved.
posted by melodykramer at 8:44 AM on July 28, 2020
posted by melodykramer at 8:44 AM on July 28, 2020
If I were taking this trip and i have just not all at once. I live in Lexington, KY, so I have driven to Chicago and NC on this route. I would go Chicago to Indy to Louisville to Lexington, KY to Knoxville, TN. Then around Knoxville to I-40 into NC all the way to Durham. I believe you will find fewer mountains with this route compared to driving thru W.V. The only real mountains you will find will be over the KY-TN boarder and then again east of Knoxville until east of Asheville, NC. Going through V.W. will be up and down and around mountains the whole way. Another option would be to go from Indy to Cincy to Lexington. to
posted by tman99 at 12:10 PM on July 28, 2020
posted by tman99 at 12:10 PM on July 28, 2020
I've done this drive several times! It's kind of awkward insofar as the cities aren't distributed right in the middle, so if you're trying for two days one is 8 hours and one is 5.
The first was Durham -> Dayton -> Chicago, the second was Chicago -> Indianapolis -> Durham, the third was Chicago -> Cincinnati -> Durham.
The part of Dayton where I stayed was apparently kind of sketchy and later on I was told by an Ohio-ian that he wouldn't have stayed there with his worldly belongings jammed into his car, but I was lucky and nothing got stolen. Indianapolis is kind of close to Chicago, but we had to leave after the movers finished up and it was late and the baby was screaming, so we overnight-ed there, then straight on through to NC. We stopped for lunch in Charleston, WV, and it wasn't my favorite, but we could have just picked a bad place. Cincinnati (technically I stayed in a Marriott airport hotel in Kentucky that told me that it was in Cincinnati) was super nice and I wished I had more time to explore. All these routes took me through WV, which was scenic and not terrible to drive through. Honestly, the worst part of all these drives are the endlessly boring corn fields of Indiana.
Nashville seems kind of out of the way, but then you'd get to see Asheville on the way in, which is a nice place. Anyway, feel free to message if you want any more details.
posted by Comrade_robot at 1:56 PM on July 28, 2020
The first was Durham -> Dayton -> Chicago, the second was Chicago -> Indianapolis -> Durham, the third was Chicago -> Cincinnati -> Durham.
The part of Dayton where I stayed was apparently kind of sketchy and later on I was told by an Ohio-ian that he wouldn't have stayed there with his worldly belongings jammed into his car, but I was lucky and nothing got stolen. Indianapolis is kind of close to Chicago, but we had to leave after the movers finished up and it was late and the baby was screaming, so we overnight-ed there, then straight on through to NC. We stopped for lunch in Charleston, WV, and it wasn't my favorite, but we could have just picked a bad place. Cincinnati (technically I stayed in a Marriott airport hotel in Kentucky that told me that it was in Cincinnati) was super nice and I wished I had more time to explore. All these routes took me through WV, which was scenic and not terrible to drive through. Honestly, the worst part of all these drives are the endlessly boring corn fields of Indiana.
Nashville seems kind of out of the way, but then you'd get to see Asheville on the way in, which is a nice place. Anyway, feel free to message if you want any more details.
posted by Comrade_robot at 1:56 PM on July 28, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by noloveforned at 7:33 AM on July 28, 2020 [1 favorite]