amusing family memory

[cellio]

I was talking with a friend about an impending drive across the country, and this somehow made me think of my own family's cross-country move. I was three at the time, so I don't actually remember it, and anyway, I didn't have the interesting part.

My mother took the kids and perhaps the dog (I'm not sure who got the dog for this) and got onto a plane. They wanted to keep the car, though, so my father and a friend of his drove. The family folklore is that they made the excellent time that they did by simply driving straight through. According to what I was told about this while growing up, the car was pretty much always in motion and the passenger slept as needed.

Except that I just today put a few facts together. My father's vision is worse than mine; he has never been licensed to drive at night, and he's pretty scrupulous about that. They made this trip in November, when nights are longer than days. I strongly suspect that the other guy did not drive 14-hour stretches (I mean, how many people do, especially as part of a longer trip?). They were a couple of (roughly) 25-year-old guys.

Do I really believe that they drove through at the speed limit, rather than taking stops to sleep and gunning it? I may have to call my father on it, out of earshot of my mother. :-)

Comments

[cellio]

2500mi. takes five days, no matter what.

I'm with you on that. Longer if I can make interesting stops along the way, but not much shorter even if not.

[dr-zrfq.livejournal.com]

2500mi. takes five days, no matter what.

Based on known experience, I can go 900 miles in a 15-hour day with two people driving, for several days. I won't do this unless it's necessary, but I could do 2500 miles in two-and-a-half to three days.

However, I'd much rather have the luxury of extra time off, for making many interesting stops en route.

It is possible

[rectangularcat]

Done Vancouver BC to Pennsic in 3 days (2700 miles). Vancouver to Denver in 26 hours - 1500 miles...

Yeah we are crazy but we never go over 10 mph over the speed limit!

Re: It is possible

[rectangularcat]

Most driving I have done myself is 1400 km in one day. Yeah the Prairies are boring...

Usually, my husband drives most of the time and I take over to give him 2-3 hour breaks. It's not that I dislike long distance driving - he's just a bad passenger.

Re: It is possible

[cellio]

I don't like driving, so when we take trips my husband almost always does all the driving. (And besides, he's a bad passenger too.) We don't tend to take long trips, though; I'm sure we could do 600-700 miles in a day, but we probably couldn't do it again the next day. :-) When he was driving across the country alone, he took between 4 and 5 days. (He arrived on the fifth day but I've long since forgotten what time.)

My father and his friend, on the other hand, did it in under two days.

Re: It is possible

[rectangularcat]

I think it is possible. My husband by himself did Timmins, ON to Vancouver in 3 days - 2300 miles. But then he also had 3 times zones in his favour. And he still slept for a minimum of 8 hours each night.

In your case though, they'd have to drive 17 hours per day... umph. Do-able..? How many hours of sun in November? 9-10? It's stretching my imagination...

Re: It is possible

[cellio]

Done Vancouver BC to Pennsic in 3 days (2700 miles). Vancouver to Denver in 26 hours - 1500 miles...

Wow. That's stamina!