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I'm leaving Thursday a.m. as soon as the car rental place opens and driving to the airport Marriott in Chicago. It's 615 miles (all highway). A friend says it's a long, dull drive punctuated by 18-wheelers splashing you (rain is predicted).

Anyone?

--dimmzy, who welcomes suggestions for a fun day in Chicago

I once drove from the Dallas, TX area to Ocala, FL in one day (about 1100 miles). The weather was very nice, though.

dimmzy wrote:I'm leaving Thursday a.m. as soon as the car rental place opens and driving to the airport Marriott in Chicago. It's 615 miles (all highway). A friend says it's a long, dull drive punctuated by 18-wheelers splashing you (rain is predicted).

Anyone?

--dimmzy, who welcomes suggestions for a fun day in Chicago

Never done that particular drive but the distance is not a particular challenge if you can do marathon drives. Pretty much interstate the whole way except for the nuisance toll roads.

Used to drive San Antonio to Atlanta (or back) in a single day. 1000 miles in about 15-16 hours. Two stops for the trip for gas, food to go and to "pump the bilges". Not sure I can do it anymore though as the bladder ain't what it used to be.

But just drove DC to Atlanta which is about the same distance in 9-10 hours.

dimmzy wrote:I'm leaving Thursday a.m. as soon as the car rental place opens and driving to the airport Marriott in Chicago. It's 615 miles (all highway). A friend says it's a long, dull drive punctuated by 18-wheelers splashing you (rain is predicted).

So that's about ten hours on the road, plus whatever time you take for meals and rest stops. It's certainly doable, if exhausting.

I've driven through Rochester on my way to Chicago. One day? No problem.

Wait, 615 miles? You must not mean Rochester, IN. Is there another one?

Ha, ha. OK, that was a joke. Although I have driven through Rochester, IN on my way to Chicago.

I've driven from Kalamazoo, MI to Rochester, NY before and it was a long drive but doable. I had a friend who went to college near Rochester and we drove over there a couple of times.

Chicago is a couple more hours if you go via Kalamazoo. We always went through Canada but Chicago-Rochester direct that might not make as much sense.

By myself I wouldn't really want to do it any more but it is doable.

"pump the bilges"

I'm afraid to ask what that means ...

dimmzy wrote:I'm leaving Thursday a.m. as soon as the car rental place opens and driving to the airport Marriott in Chicago. It's 615 miles (all highway). A friend says it's a long, dull drive punctuated by 18-wheelers splashing you (rain is predicted).

Anyone?

--dimmzy, who welcomes suggestions for a fun day in Chicago

10 hours or so, dull drive but at least you should have no problems hitting a big city's rush hour traffic. I have done parts of that drive - flat, industrial, boring. Bring good music or a riveting audio book!

Depends on whether you think the Earth is flat or not.

dimmzy wrote:Can I Drive Rochester to Chicago in One Day?

I dunno...where are you picking up Rochester?

10 hours or so, dull drive but at least you should have no problems hitting a big city's rush hour traffic. I have done parts of that drive - flat, industrial, boring. Bring good music or a riveting audio book!

Yeah, I plan to do both! And I'm checking online for radio stations worth listening to on the way ...

Luckily, I'm picking up my sister in Chicago and on Saturday, we'll be heading back home via Notre Dame. Wouldn't you know it? The first year I get tix to a ND football game, they're having the worst season in their history. Of course, I'm sure once they know I'm coming, that will be the push they need for victory.

--dimmzy, who spurred the Bills on to victory over Baltimore when she went to that game just a few weeks ago

I would also like to point out that getting from Northwest Indiana to wherever you are going in Chicago can add hours to that trip.

I used to live in Michigan 100 miles from downtown Chicago. That trip could take anywhere from 1.5 hours to 4 or 5 hours depending on what I ran into.

dimmzy wrote: Luckily, I'm picking up my sister in Chicago and on Saturday, we'll be heading back home via Notre Dame. Wouldn't you know it? The first year I get tix to a ND football game, they're having the worst season in their history.

Perhaps it will be easier to find a game-day parking place.

Perhaps it will be easier to find a game-day parking place.

But not if I drove a big truck like in your photo

dimmzy wrote:

Perhaps it will be easier to find a game-day parking place.

But not if I drove a big truck like in your photo

I dunno -- if you kept the spud and painted it green, they'd probably give you a permanent parking space.

Sure, it's only 10 hours on the road.

Interstate 80/90 has got to be one of the most boring stretches of road in the country. I-70 through Kansas is the worst.

mrkelley23 wrote:
I dunno -- if you kept the spud and painted it green, they'd probably give you a permanent parking space.

The Irish would never have to fear another potato famine again!

Totally doable.

I drove NYC to Cincinnati Ohio by myself a few times. Left at 8 am and was in Cincinnati by dinner.

I kinda thought it was fun.

5LD wrote:Totally doable.

I drove NYC to Cincinnati Ohio by myself a few times. Left at 8 am and was in Cincinnati by dinner.

I kinda thought it was fun.

You must have been that blur I saw.

Totally doable.

I concur. Not as doable as 'some,' but doable.

I also second the audio books idea. I routinely drive from my home in MT to Ft. Collins, CO, about 8 hours, and sometimes I have to drive around the block an extra time or two in order to finish a story. Drive safely and don't pick up hitchhikers.


t.

Bob Juch wrote:Sure, it's only 10 hours on the road.

Interstate 80/90 has got to be one of the most boring stretches of road in the country. I-70 through Kansas is the worst.

I-80 through Nebraska bites big time. Of course my opinion is colored by the fact that I drove most of it on solid ice.

TheCalvinator24 wrote:

Bob Juch wrote:Sure, it's only 10 hours on the road.

Interstate 80/90 has got to be one of the most boring stretches of road in the country. I-70 through Kansas is the worst.

I-80 through Nebraska bites big time. Of course my opinion is colored by the fact that I drove most of it on solid ice.

Ugh, but was it boring?

I had a terrifying drive on I-80 through Wyoming about ten years ago.

I also was stuck overnight one time in Nebraska when they closed I-80. The only phone in the room was a wall phone, so using the Internet was a bit of a problem.

andrewjackson wrote:I used to live in Michigan 100 miles from downtown Chicago. That trip could take anywhere from 1.5 hours to 4 or 5 hours depending on what I ran into.

AJ is right. This is the variable that you can't factor. It might even be better if your sister takes the electric line east from Chicago and meets you in Indiana than you having to drive all the way in. Unless you're staying in Chicago overnight and then heading to ND.

What part of Chicago is she in?

Bob Juch wrote:

TheCalvinator24 wrote:

Bob Juch wrote:Sure, it's only 10 hours on the road.

Interstate 80/90 has got to be one of the most boring stretches of road in the country. I-70 through Kansas is the worst.

I-80 through Nebraska bites big time. Of course my opinion is colored by the fact that I drove most of it on solid ice.

Ugh, but was it boring?

I had a terrifying drive on I-80 through Wyoming about ten years ago.

I also was stuck overnight one time in Nebraska when they closed I-80. The only phone in the room was a wall phone, so using the Internet was a bit of a problem.

It would have been pretty boring but for the terror, but I have to admit that I-70 through Kansas is even worse.

Unless you're staying in Chicago overnight and then heading to ND.

What part of Chicago is she in?

Yes, I'm staying there. She's at the airport Marriott... She says it's not as nice as other Marriotts and it's in the middle of nowhere.

Once we realized that we had to drive to South Bend, I thought it would be just as easy to drive all the way to Chicago and then we can drive home from South Bend on Sunday.

Bob Juch wrote:Sure, it's only 10 hours on the road.

Interstate 80/90 has got to be one of the most boring stretches of road in the country. I-70 through Kansas is the worst.

I-80 through Nebraska is far, far worse.