HONEYMOON ADVICE PLEASE HELP are we crazy mustang roadtrip

Knottie96657765

So we are getting married on october 3rd. however i plan on working the 5th 6th 7th and the morning of the 8th until 11 am. After work we plan on going home doing a once over loading up and leaving. We will be traveling from wny to colorado. with a possible night in chicago on the way. i allowed 2 1/2 days for travel to colorado just in case something goes wrong  we would like to stay two nights in denver then drive to pikes peak and spend two days there his dream is to drive his mustand down pikes peak lol and hes never been in a big city ie denver or chicago. we will then leave from pikes peak/colorado springs and drive home through kansas city and st louis. i have also allowed for a 2 1/2 day drive home with one day off before returning to work. am i being realistic. and does anyone have any advice for me

Jells2dot0

I've driven from western Maryland to Arizona, stopping in Denver along the way. with 8 hour drives each day, it took me 3 days to get there (Denver was my third night and we got in there during rush hour). We stopped in Indianapolis and Kansas City along the way.

Another thing to consider- how much have you been exposed to high altitudes? It takes a day or two for most to get adjusted. It took me longer. Denver is ~5,500ft and Pike's is ~12000 ft. Also, for some, ascending and descending within a short period can cause some people issues.

 

I personally think you need to allot more time. Driving will deplete you.

Knottie96657765

im ok with altitude ive spent tons of time in the cascades when I lived in wa state im not sure about him though....hes driving the whole way im not allowed not could I drive his mustang lol.. he wants to make it in two days tops I don't know lol

lyndausvi

We moved from Indianapolis to Aspen (via i-70).  It took us 2 solid days to get there.   I think we did 8 hours the first day and 10.5 the second day.  Even google maps had it about 19 hour drive.

  Granted Aspen is about 3 hours past Denver.  However, western NY is much farther east away from Indy then Aspen to Denver.

It's doable, but not with any real stops.  

 Looking at a map, a side trip to Chicago might actually had more time to your drive.

Knottie96657765

mapquest has us pegged at a 24 hour drive. our route to Denver takes us just below Chicago. which I know is an 8 hour drive from here. so that's why I picked Chicago for our first night

lyndausvi

If you leave at say noon, then you will not get to Chicago until after 8pm.Since Chicago is only 8 hours away I wouldn't waste my time there when I still have 2 more days of driving to get to my final destination.    Nope I would find a cheap place to stay the night and get up the next morning and continue forward.

 I've done a lot of road trips.  i'm all for taking time at different places.    Your time line is tight.   Use your driving time wisely.    If you had more time then I would slowly make your way to CO and back.

Not sure which route you are taking.  Driving through Kansas sucks.  It's flat and boring.  Very tiring.

I hear Nebraska is not much better.

Not offense to those who live in Kansas.   I stayed in Abilene and had the most amazing fried Chicken.  But the drive sucks.

Knottie96657765

im going from Jamestown ny to Denver which will bring us through Nebraska and on the way home we will be going from Colorado springs area back to Jamestown which will bring us through Kansas. going for rides is our thing however we normally pick country backroads and try to get lost lol the places we find in our area are amazing. that's how we found our ceremony site. its a small country park its the second highest spot in the county and the view is breath taking

Jells2dot0

My DH grew up in central Nebraska. Driving through there is just as boring as Kansas. 

If you want to take off the main path roads, you'll definitely need longer. Most state roads through Nebraska and Kansas are one lane each way with slow speed limits throught the small towns. 

jenna8984

I'm sorry, I really think this sounds terrible. Driving for 24 hours split over 3 days, and then only getting 4 days at your destination and having to make the ride home seems the opposite of fun. If you were going to stay 1-2 weeks ok, but all that driving just for 4 days- god no. Going for fun little country rides near your home is different than being on the road for 6 solid days.

Maggie0829

jenna8984 said:

I'm sorry, I really think this sounds terrible. Driving for 24 hours split over 3 days, and then only getting 4 days at your destination and having to make the ride home seems the opposite of fun. If you were going to stay 1-2 weeks ok, but all that driving just for 4 days- god no. Going for fun little country rides near your home is different than being on the road for 6 solid days.

I agree with this.  H and I drive from MD to FL about once to twice a year to visit my parents.  We don't fly because we want to take our pup with us.  We typically drive straight through the night, so leave at 6pm and get in at some point in the late morning.  It can take us anywhere from 14-17 hours depending on the number of stops we make.  We also switch off on driving because that is a must.  We stay in FL a minimum of a week because that drive pretty much takes us out of pocket for a good day and a half.

So I couldn't imagine taking 3 days of mainly driving with a few hours of sleep at a random hotel just to spend 4 days some place and then making that drive all over again.  More then half your time will be spent in a car driving along boring ass highways.  That does not sound like fun.

Knottie96657765

ive been from ny to wa state on the road and it was great. im more worried about the mustang part being October the weather in ny can be very unpredictable in October

Jells2dot0

How about the weather in CO in october? I moved there a few Octobers ago and it snowed the first week I was there. Driving sucks, but forget about Pike's Peak! That's also another good reason to consider adding more time to your trip. If it does snow during your travels or while you're in CO, you have more time to schedule around the snow. 

Don't get me wrong, your idea for your honeymoon is a good one, as it seems like it's what you enjoy doing, but everyone thinks you are cutting things too close. i would consider the advice you have been given 

lyndausvi

Jells2dot0 said:

How about the weather in CO in october? I moved there a few Octobers ago and it snowed the first week I was there. Driving sucks, but forget about Pike's Peak! That's also another good reason to consider adding more time to your trip. If it does snow during your travels or while you're in CO, you have more time to schedule around the snow. 

Don't get me wrong, your idea for your honeymoon is a good one, as it seems like it's what you enjoy doing, but everyone thinks you are cutting things too close. i would consider the advice you have been given 

Yep.   Some of the passes around us close in Oct due to snow.   Last year our first snow drop was late Sept.

And like Jells, I'm not poo-pooing a driving HM.  I'm poo-pooing YOUR individual plan.   I think you are trying to goo too far in a short period of time.

kvruns

My fiancé has a high performance mustang and won't take it out in the rain or tries not to on wet roads bc it can be a bit dangerous. He would probably not drive that far in his with unknown road conditions especially mountains in the Oct

WinstonsGirl

One of my favourite parts of road trips is the random stops cos you saw a sign for something cool along the road.  I'm not sure you'll have time for that with this schedule, but you could be ok without these stops too.  

OliveOilsMom

I think another flaw in your plan is that you cannot drive or your FI won't allow you to drive.  He will be dead tired most of the time.  I also think your car will not do well on that drive.  

Also, most sports cars are not built to drive steep mountains or hills.  I would also worry about the weather in CO that time of year with a mustang.  

If you can, I would change your honeymoon plans.  Take this vacation at another time and in another time of year.  Make sure you can devout more time to the trip as well.

Knottie96657765

that's what im thinking he wanted to take his motorcycle and I was like hell no lol....I really think we should save Colorado for a family trip in the summer but who knows what I will talk him into. hes the one who has his heart set on co im more where ever kinda girl. id be happy with a cabin in the woods in our county so I can go where ever

ShesSoCold

My H and I road trip a lot and really enjoy it. We recently got back from our honeymoon where we spent two weeks driving from Chicago to Key West, stopping a lot along the way. By the time we got to the keys, we'd spent 8 days on vacation at 4 different hotels. We were exhausted of all the packing up and driving around. We had a blast, but we had packed a lot into that first week. We were SO ready to just lay around on the beach (and we're not typically lay around kind of people - I usually set alarms early in the morning on vacations so we can get an early morning hike on). 

Obviously what works for some may not work for others and the other way around, but I think you'll want a vacation after your vacation. If you could add a few more days in Colorado, I think it's a great plan. 

Another thing that we discovered this road trip, is that we don't like leaving all our stuff in the car. Several times on the trip, we stayed in a hotel only one night, so ALL of our stuff (basically everything we own) was packed in our car. I didn't think it would be a big deal, but we got nervous every time we stopped for lunch or something.