road trip!
 

ok, well it's time for my annual road trip to dallas.

this year i figure i'll go from home ( frederick, md ) to dallas, tx via louisville, ky; evansville, in; st. louis, mo and oklahoma city, ok.

usually go through virginia on the way down but i hate driving on 81 so figured i'd take a more scenic route and see something i've not seen before.

i'll be stopping overnight in louisville, st. louis and okc so if anyone has decent hotel recommendations in those areas i'd appreciate it.

i'll leave here on friday 8/14 and return through arkansas, tennessee and viriginia the following weekend.

:dance:

first long-distance trip in the boxster. time to grab some sunscreen. and i'll avoid the buffets :barf:

1,500 miles to dallas; 1,300 miles to home.

Sounds like a fun trip! I took my '01 from near STL to Rockville, MD last summer. I went 64-> 79-> 68. Nice drive, and the best tank the Boxster returned was 34 mpg. I opted to have the top up for most of the drive... 900 miles of sticky humidity isn't my idea of a fun drive.

http://ericfilcoff.com/pictures/MD_01.jpg

http://ericfilcoff.com/pictures/MD_03.jpg

The practical sports car... fit my bike, riding gear, camera gear, and clothes for a week in the thing with room to spare:

http://ericfilcoff.com/pictures/MD_02.jpg

As far as hotels in STL are concerned, depends on the part of town... just avoid East St. Louis! Maybe check out http://www.hotels-stl.com/ for some ideas.

Oh, if you wouldn't normally do this, avoid Arby's as well. Nothing like being stuck in the middle of Illinois in a traffic jam with a grumble down under from a bad batch of roast "beef".

There is a very nice Marriott in Lexington, KY called the Griffin Gate Resort. Very nice. Better than staying in the Louisville area and only about 1 hour away. Great parking for the Boxster too. I stayed here on the way to, and from, the Tail of the Dragon the past 2 years.


In St. Louis, I always stay at the Renaissance Grand Hotel at 800 W. Washington Ave. Very nice hotel. Good self-parking just behind the hotel in a multi level structure. I can always find a nice wide end spot on the upper floors (7-10th floors).

Have a great trip.