Myrtle Beach Message Board

lol -- I know that feeling! Everytime we drive thru OH we keep saying if we could just remove that one state, we'd save about 5 hours of travel time....I'm sure the Ohioans wouldn't mind being annexed down to FL or something...lol! Sorry ya'll - its just it seems we'll never get thru Ohio most days!

micountrygal,

you made this statement that I was curious about.



I am leaning towards taking the Lugoff route, when you say shorter time wise, was that shorter time wise than any of the other routes you have taken?



I've often pondered that same statement. No offense to our Buckeye friends.

This would make a great episode for Mythbusters or Top Gear. They could run one route six times and then the other six times. Crunch the numbers and see what it comes down to.

This might sound crazy but I think a long drive like this can wear on you as much mentally as it does physically.

Throw the clock out the window. If you've heard it can be done in 8 hours and at 8 hours you're still not there. You're going to fret about it. Not worth it....You're on vacation.

The longer route you can run 75+ mph and not attract any attention. Shorter route you can push the speed limit. The constant looking ahead for light bars and in mirrors for the blue lights you missed can wear on you more than you realize.

I've tried both. Can't say which is best. All up to the individual's drive habits, mood, weather, bladder, time of day, day of week, race week in Charlotte, etc...........

You're not at work. You're going to the beach. Why worry.

Agree on all of the above. I've gone every which way as well. I have a 5 year old and sometimes have to stop at the side of the road...if ya know what I mean and can't do that on 77 through the Queen City! And after 77S all the way from NE Ohio through WVa, VA & into NC, I like to go for a change, plus I like the rambling roads in southern NC and northern SC...more scenic, lots of roadside stands. Gotta get my peaches!!

Races...brother! Stay clear of Darlington, too...made that mistake.

As far as Ohio...we make fun of our own roads! The only way you can blow through Ohio is if you are going 71S Cleveland to Cincy (and even then it can get dicey around Columbus, especially on a Saturday in the FALL or ANY WEEK DAY. That town grew way before the infrastructure. I hate it. I'd rather drive downtown Chicago!)

I think your best bet is to stick to the interstate as much as you can OH, WVa, VA and into NC that is when you can change it up a bit, if you feel like it. The best tips are going to be when you get closer to MB ---the approach to your hotel is where you want really good traffic flow info. Where are you staying?

We will be staying at the Sea Watch, I guess that is the northern part of Myrtle Beach proper, but I will be stopping at Condo-World first which I believe is in NMB.

It seems like it cut 20-30 minutes off our total travel time going this way. Its just the road is so boring it seems like longer.

Someone mentioned above about liking to get off the highway and go thru the smaller towns - thats what I like - seeing America, the little roadside stands and South of the Border and the cotton fields, etc.

Here are two scenarios for you once you get into NC! You'll have to decide how you want to get through OHIO! LOL Hopefully, I have this down, but am sure will have somebody speak up in case I don't!!

Well, just in case you should decide to get off 77S once you hit NC and take 52 to Winston Salem, 40E to Greensboro to 220S to Rockingham, once you are outside Rockingham and are on 74E stay on it and follow NC501, NC130, NC904 into Tabor City where you will pick up 701. Take 701 east to route 9. Traveling from Hwy 9 exit on Hwy 17 South. Travel on Hwy 17 South NMB until you reach 17th Avenue South and turn left. CondoWorld is located at 300 17th Avenue South, NMB.

If you decided to blow through 77S interstate most of the way and take Alan's (POP) route south of Charlotte, here's what you do: 77S through Charlotte to Rte34 at Ridgeway over to I-20. I-20 over to Florence. Just before Florence, hop on 95N and exit to SC 327(N. Williston Rd) take that until it intersects 76/301. Follow 301/76 into Marion where you will you will skirt around Marion and the road becomes 76/576 and you'll see signs to 501 to Aynor. Past Aynor is Route 22 (Veterans HWY) which you will take to Route 31N to Route 9 to 17. Seems a little convoluted, but it's not really. The new 22 and 31 are great roads.

If you go to Google maps, which I like better than Mapquest, you can see each of these routes by scanning and zooming along. Happy Trails!

Thanks for all of the help, I plan on taking the I-77 route down and the other one back. I am spending the night on the way down either in Rock Hill, Richburg or Lugoff depending on how the kids are doing, I am thinking about going straight thru on the way back.

First I'd like to thank everyone for your help. I just got back from Myrtle Beach. I tried the I-77 route down and the 52-40-220 route back. Here are my experiences.

I-77:
A little more relaxing, just point the car and put the cruise on and go.
Total travel time from 20 miles north of Detroit was 14.5 hours.

52-40-220:
Had to be on your toes a little more, but that seemed to make the time go by a little quicker. Total travel time was 13.75 hours.

For both routes, we tried to do about 5-10 mph over the posted speed. We packed a cooler full of food and only stopped for bio breaks and gas. We did make one wrong turn early on the 52-40-220 route which may have cost us about 10 minutes, so I am thinking I could get it down to about 13.5 hours. The thing I found interesting is that our avg speed ended up being 64 mph for both routes. I assumed I would have a higher avg using the I-77 route. So my conclusion is that both are good routes, it just depends on what your priority is. For me with 3 kids speed is of the essence. I will probably stick with the 220 route, if I can do that in 13.5 hours from here I will be thrilled.

I live near Ravenswood (30 miles away) and this would be the fastest way to get to Columbus. You will pass around Athens OH. They have a new road that takes you around Lancaster...so that is a time saver.

Just wanted to let the NW Ohioans, Michiganders that Route 30 is mostly divided 2 lane now, so 75 to Route 30E to 77S isn't so bad of a trek. Have a friend who made it from Wooster (25 minutes west of Canton or East of Mansfield) to just south of Detroit in 3 hours. Route 30 West is really nice, now and uncrowded. So maybe an alternative in trying to get through O-H-I-O!

I have got to hand it to you macombtony. You really are a conversation starter! LOL