NY - LA

Question

Guesstimate:How long would it take to drive from New York to Los Angeles at a reasonable pace, with time to stop & smell the roses from time to time?"Writing is an occupation in which you have tokeep proving your talent to those who have none."Jules Renard

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Guesstimate: How long would it take to drive from New York to Los Angeles at a reasonable pace, with time to stop & smell the roses from time to time?[/nq]
Took me 3 days to drive a uhaul solo from Washington D.C. to Denver. Drove about 10-12 hours a day. So I would guess 5-6 days of driving 10-12 hours a day to get from NY to LA. Maybe 7-9 days to stop and smell the roses. I mapped my route using Mapquest. I thought I would go craaazzy from driving that much, but it really wasn't that bad if you stop and stretch your legs every couple of hours.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Guesstimate: How long would it take to drive from New York to Los Angeles at a reasonable pace, with time to stop & smell the roses from time to time? From 360 Central Park West, NY to 300 Little Santa Monica Blvd, BeverlyHills, CA:[/nq]
2808 miles
5 days, 3 hours, 57 minutes, driving 9am 'til 5pm every day, with a stopfor lunch and stops for gas.
Total driving time: 43 hours, 57 minutes, unless there are backups in Des Moines.
I use Microsoft Streets & Trips so often that the data CD lives full time in one of my laptop drives.
With a Lotus Elise, a radar detector and enough coffee, a dedicated lawbreaker could cut the driving time to 35 hours. There aren't any roses left to smell on Interstate 80 anyway.
Alan Brooks
~~
A with an Underwood
Cloaking Device vs. Clocking Device

Usenet · Answer

I think travel time depends on how many flowers you want to sniff on the way, and where, and whether NY - LA means barrelling out of NYC or taking a leisurely pace from Montauk to point(s) West.

Then again, Greyhound says Leave the driving to us, so it could only take a day or so. Depends on the urgency.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]How long would it take to drive from New York to Los Angeles at a reasonable pace, with time to stop & smell the roses from time to time?[/nq]
Hey Matthew,
I've made that **** drive twice! (About 15 years apart) *** I hate the heartland of America when you are only passing through it. It's flat, flat, flat!
Both times NYC to LA it took me four days and I was driving totally solo. I drove about 14 to 18 hours a day, depending upon how tired I was, and honestly, no drugs involved not even caffeine.

I also drove once from Lake Tahoe to NYC in three and a half days, sleeping only a few hours each day. And Lake Tahoe is farther west than LA. (Really, it is.) But it's also farther north, almost at the same latitude as NYC, so not sure which is further away from NY. (And I hate Mapquest, so I'm not going to go look.)

Hope that helps.
Dean
P.S. Oh, maybe I should add...
I think it was only on one of those trips that I didn't get at least one speeding ticket somewhere. (I seem to have a heavy foot.) And on the Tahoe to NY trip I got THREE ticket: one each in Nevada, Utah and Colorado. (Hey, it's twenty miles between every car in some places and you can see for ten miles I have no clue where those state troopers come from. And they seem to frown upon driving at 95 mph.) So you might want to take my speed into consideration with my times. (But I don't drive that fast around cities...usually.)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I think travel time depends on how many flowers you want to sniff on the way, and where, and whether ... says Leave the driving to us, so it could only take a day or so. Depends on the urgency.[/nq]
I have always wanted to drive across the states, but I suspect the reality might be more exhausting than exhilarating. Then there's the question of zen and the art of car maintenance how many Mini dealers are there in Kansas if something drops off the engine?

I was also wondering about Amtrak. Seems in theory like a nice way to see the world I have visions of the 20th Century Limited or at the very least, Silver Streak and North by Northwest. But in practice? All those horror stories. On the other hand it might be the perfect opportunity to get some reading and writing done. I do draw the line at Greyhound, though... at least on a train you can get up and walk around.

Who am I kidding? Probably going to be Air ****** Canada or some discount airline no one has ever heard of.

"Writing is an occupation in which you have to
keep proving your talent to those who have none."
Jules Renard

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I have always wanted to drive across the states, but I suspect the reality might be more exhausting than exhilarating. ... the art of car maintenance how many Mini dealers are there in Kansas if something drops off the engine?[/nq]
I wantedf to drive back too when I moved back from L.A., but my VW van could only do 50 on the highway.
Three thousand miles you say? A Mini you say? Sucker for punishment, I say...
jaybee

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Three thousand miles you say? A Mini you say? Sucker for punishment, I say...[/nq]
It's a fine ride on the highway.

"Writing is an occupation in which you have to
keep proving your talent to those who have none."
Jules Renard

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I also drove once from Lake Tahoe to NYC in three and a half days, sleeping only a few hours ... so not sure which is further away from NY. (And I hate Mapquest, so I'm not going to go look.)[/nq]
I checked.
360 Central Park West to the Lake Tahoe Golf Course is 59 1/2 milesshorter than the same address in NYC to 300 Little Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills.
I'd say it's a wash.
Actually... in spite of the lack of roses to smell, I'd love to take the trip again. I went to graduate school in Boulder, and made the drive from there to various points on the East Coast many times in my '72 MGB top down, Koln Concert playing on continuous loop but I've never driven the whole route across at once, and I've never done it the way it oughta be done; on the backroads, with no schedule to worry about.
Alan Brooks
~~
A with an Underwood
BYO Rose Oil

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]the way it oughta be done; on the backroads, with no schedule to worry about.[/nq]
Oh, yeah... that is the way!

"Writing is an occupation in which you have to
keep proving your talent to those who have none."
Jules Renard

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]the way it oughta be done; on the backroads, with no schedule to worry about.[/nq]
[nq:1]Oh, yeah... that is the way![/nq]
Nah, sailing from NY to LA, now THAT's the way. The LONG way.
jaybee

NY -> LA

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