Road Trip: Richmond VA

[mtnh]

My daughter's 12u softball team won the new england regional tournament and earned a berth in the Babe Ruth Softball world series, being held in Varina, VA, near Richmond. I'll be piloting the MM from New Hampshire late in the week, around 10-aug-2006. I'm trying to think of the least construction to encounter, least rough roads, etc. I envision heading out of CT on I-84. Should I head for 81 to cruise to that general area then head east to the I-95 corridor, or take the scenic route near the coast (Garden state Parkway, NJ Turnpike, US 17) and head out above Chesapeake Bay and hook up to head into the Richmond area? My plan at this point is to travel all night, if that makes any difference. Should I invest in some deer whistles for the trip? :lol: Any CAM meets for the weekend of the 12th that wouldn't be too far from Richmond?

Thanks,

Mike

[Bluerauder]

My daughter's 12u softball team won the new england regional tournament and earned a berth in the Babe Ruth Softball world series, being held in Varina, VA, near Richmond. I'll be piloting the MM from New Hampshire late in the week, around 10-aug-2006. I'm trying to think of the least construction to encounter, least rough roads, etc. I envision heading out of CT on I-84. Should I head for 81 to cruise to that general area then head east to the I-95 corridor, or take the scenic route near the coast (Garden state Parkway, NJ Turnpike, US 17) and head out above Chesapeake Bay and hook up to head into the Richmond area? My plan at this point is to travel all night, if that makes any difference. Should I invest in some deer whistles for the trip? :lol: Any CAM meets for the weekend of the 12th that wouldn't be too far from Richmond?

Thanks,

Mike
Congrats to your daughter on winning the regionals in softball !! :up:

Varina is on the west side of Richmond, VA near the Richmond International Airport just off I-295. The best and most direct route would be I-95 South. Unfortunately, it is always a mess through the Baltimore-Washington metro area. It is particularly bad through Northern Virginia. I couldn't recommend a best time since it is bad most of the time and only a "coin flip" anyway on whether there would be major tie ups.

The alternate route down I-81 to near Staunton, VA then east on I-64 might be a little more scenic (but not at night :rolleyes: ); but I suspect that it would add at least 60-75 miles to your trip, if not more.

Unfortunately, no CAM meets for that weekend that I am aware of. Personally, I'll be at a wedding on Saturday, 12 August.

Good luck to your daughter and her team !! :bows:

[Breadfan]

Yeah 95 around here really depends on the time, Saturday mornings it's not too bad, mainly because HOV is open going south and open to all traffic. However it doesn't go on forever, so you've still got no-HOV lanes that could backup towards Fredericksburg, but that all dpeends on how early.

Maybe a good route would be US 301 from MD across the water to VA? That way you end up below Fredericksburg and miss most of the traffic...hopefully. :)

[GAMike]

I just came back from the Hartford area, 2 weeks ago...... 84 to Garden State Pkwy to NJTP/ or Palisades to Rte. 95(NJTP) No problems.......... Tunnels through Baltimore again no problems if you hit after rush hours. The PROBLEM is..........crossing the Potomic when you hit the Wash. DC Loop (Rte. 495).............. Go west on Rte 495 towards Bethesda, vs. east....... Its the long way milage wise but at least you will move.

On the trip north I hit the Potomic around 1:30am, and traffice was backed up southbound for 5-7 miles before the bridge......PPl. were out of there cars it was so bad...
Other than that, Rte 95 to Richmond was a breeze.

good luck to your daughter!

Regards,


If you can time hitting the Tappen Zee befor or after Rush Hour

[GAMike]

oh boy should have proofread that last post........ Sorry for the grammer, spelling setup, ect......

[Mebot]

I agree with Bluerauder, I-81 is a beautiful & stress-free drive (most-of-the time). It can get pretty heavy on a weekend when college kids have to head down to school (trust me I know).

But I'd say that that extra 65-70 miles you spend on I-81/I-64 East makes up for the extra 1 -2 1/2 hours you spend in traffic. And trust us (bluerauder & breadfan) that the I-95 "mixing-bowl" around Washington DC, Northern Virginia is a beast. You have to know where you're going.

[Mebot]

by the way, congrats on your daughter's advancement, I know the area I live in gets crowded this year due to the PONY nationals and I think the Babe Ruth Little League World Series is held up in Ashburn, VA.

But please tell me you're not going to be painting the windows of your MM with GO TEAM slogans are you? Man I cringe everytime I see a minivan or SUV with stuff painted all over their windows for PONY nationals or softball tournaments.

[mtnh]

Hey thanks everyone, thanks for the well-wishes for the team, and thanks for the traffic info. It sounds like "avoid I-95 in Northern VA" is the consensus. I am leaning toward the US 301 path. I used to take the US 17 route up from somewhere on I-64 when I was in the NAV and was picking up my friend from home that chose the Army and was stationed in Ft Eustis, and if I am not mistaken, the 17 path led to 301, which tracked east into maybe US 13? I would give that path a shot if all those routes are indeed trouble-free. I will be trying an overnight pass to avoid most daylight driving, with the intention of landing in the Richmond area by "brefas" time. How in the world did I remember how to spell Eustis? My buddy told me that the restroom graffiti had it spelled out, as, "Even Uncle Sam Thinks It Sucks."

To address Mebot's concern, no, I won't be painting up the MM! My daughter and wife will already be there, so it would make no sense to drive around like that, and I don't do things like that to my cars, anyway. The only decorations we keep are a US flag that the dealer may have stuck on the rear windshield above the 3rd brake light, and a black vinyl ribbon decal memorializing my son's best friend, killed in training in camp pendleton by a rolling over humvee a few weeks before deployment to the sunni triangle back in 2004. Everything else is off-limits. RIP PJ!

One last thing: in case anyone is interested, these girls would be considered a dream team in any sense of the phrase. They are 35-4 for the all star season begun in May, have won 7 out of 8 tournaments they took part in, have around a .450 team batting average, and on and on. I think they have a real shot at some hardware in VA, but then again, we ran into some wild 12 year old boys teams in Cooperstown when my son played there 3 years ago, and those teams had some unbelievable hitting and pitching. 6 or 8 home runs in a game was not unusual for some of them teams, and the girls at 12 may also have similar talents. In New England, not a single team had hit a home run over a 200 foot away fence in any game I attended, it was more line drives and hard ground balls. If the rest of the country is like that, we should be okay. :-)

Thanks again for your help, I really appreciate it.

[Bluerauder]

My buddy told me that the restroom graffiti had it spelled out, as, "Even Uncle Sam Thinks It Sucks."
That acronym has been around for a very long time ... I heard it first in 1973 and I think it was old even then. BTW -- it was true in '73 and probably still true today. ;)

Sounds like the girl's team has a teriffic record so far this year. Here's hoping that they bring home some trophies for their memories !! :up: :toast:

You can avoid the DC Beltway and Northern Virginia by taking the Old Harbor Tunnel (I-895) through Baltimore and picking up the MD 3/I-97 exit just south of the toll plaza. Follow the signs to MD 3/US 301 (Crofton and south). Pay no attention to the I-97 sign that says "Richmond" 'cause it'll take you by way of Annapolis first (+ 25 miles). :rolleyes: MD Route 3 turns into US 301 and eventually meets I-95 again just north of Richmond (near King's Dominion Amusement Park). That's how I would do it. :D

[Breadfan]

Plus you'll pass by Brandywine Auto parts on 301 in you guessed it Brandywine, MD. One of the biggest junkyard around I believe...

[mtnh]

We got the pool play schedule, games to play before the actual bracket tournament begins, and I can say this: It's not looking good for us. Our second game is against the mid-atlantic regional champs, from New Jersey, the Mount Olive Marauders! I kid you not. With a name like that, I don't like our chances. :lol:

Mike