Driving to Arkansas :( need advice

[laborcat]

So Mr. Cat told me a while back that we were driving to Bentonville to see his ex-work buddy Ronnie. If it were for any other reason, I would have stood my ground and dug my heels in, but I understand the circumstances and am willing to make the drive. We're leaving on the 10th.

At first he wanted to do the whole thing in one trip but I will have to work the night before and don't really want to work all night, then make an thirteen hour drive on top of that. We're taking my old Blazer because his truck is a stick and I can't drive it without killing it. Needless to say, my Blazer is a piece of crap so I'm trying to take it easy on her and break the trip into sections.

So we're thinking about leaving here around noonish, driving the alpha child to my mom's for the week (for lots of reasons I don't want to get into right now) and then I guess go from Cincinnati. I was hoping to avoid the major interstates so I won't have to go 70mph all the way there. Every Google directions I do takes me through St. Louis, MO. This is good because there will be no shortage of places to stop for the night, but since I don't know what time we'll be getting there, and we don't have a credit card to hold a room, would it be easier to just wait until we get there to look for a place to sleep, or would it be better (safer, cheaper, easier) to just borrow Mom's credit card and reserve one? I hate to have to be that tired and having to hunt for somewhere vs just taking a chance that there will be somewhere easy to get to off the main road. I've not had much issues using her card in the past but last Christmas, we stayed at the hotel in her hometown (of about 1.000 people, at a hotel where she KNEW THE OWNERS) and the clerk would not let us check in with the card and she had to drive over at 11pm and take care of it.

I've never taken a road trip of this distance and I just don't want to get stuck sleeping in the Blazer with my husband and my younger son. It's not a very comfy thing to sleep in. I've tried.

I really don't know what I am asking at this point, maybe just the smartest course of action. We're going to be on a somewhat limited budget, most of which is going to gas since I haven't been getting the best mileage lately and if I run the AC it's going to be even worse. We're going to pack a cooler for snacks/lunches and eat dinner when we stop for the night so we can have some hot food before bed.

I think I'm just nervous about the whole thing. That's a really long way to drive, even in a couple of days. Does anyone have any suggestions to make this any less scary on my end?

[Imprl59]

The only problem I have had with not having a hotel reservation is that the clerks will usually give you a higher rate when you walk in off the street. Generally if you are nice and ask them if they can do better they will. I would not count on them taking a credit card not in your name though! Some hotels will have an advertised rate on the sign. If you have a phone with internet access you can try to make the reservation online when you find the hotel you want to stay at or call the chains reservation system. Go to dinner and by the time you are done your reservation will be there.

A thirteen hour drive is harder on the kid than it will be on you two, depending on age make sure you have a ton of thing to entertain the little one. Perhaps you or a friend have a portable DVD player you can take with favorite DVDs.

Your car doesn’t care about taking breaks. Assuming the car is in good mechanical shape you are less likely to have issues with it going down the road than you are around town. Once it gets up to speed the mechanicals are just kind of loafing along. If your Blazer isn't in good shape and you are tight on funds I wouldn’t take it.... A breakdown on the side of the hiway can get really expensive fast. The mechanics know you are on the road and charge you dearly for repairs and if you need parts that aren’t right there you are looking at hotel stays and meals. You might want to look in to a rental car. I’m not sure where you are but if you are in Dayton you should be able to get a rental from Thrifty for for $125 a week. If you were able to drive straight through with the rental the hotel and gas savings would likely pay for the car and save you the stress of taking an old car.

[laborcat]

I'm not really afraid of it breaking down, it's in pretty good shape mechanically. I need new bushings on the driver side door so it sounds like it's not closed all the way, even though it is, so I just don't like driving that fast for a long period of time. We can't rent anything without a credit card. When someone slammed into me three years ago, it took my insurance lady getting pretty bitchy with Enterprise to get a rental through State Farm, and they had a contract with them!

Good idea about checking rates on the phone... it will give us a ballpark about what they are charging online vs the rack rate... I'll have to try that. I "can" be quite polite and even nice at times.

As far as keeping the kid happy... that's not a problem. He's 9 and can chatter away about nothing for hours on end. I also plan on taking a lot of rest breaks to stop and move around, stretch our legs, and he can find interest in damn near anything he sees. This is why I don't mind taking him with us. My older son has some medical issues and I don't think he can mentally handle all of those changes all at once.

[AdminAssistant]

I can't give much advice about hotels or St. Louis, except make SURE that you stop on the Missouri side. And I believe that the southern part of the city is the nicer part? Or do I have that backwards? At any rate. One thing that you should plan for is that Missouri is a freaking wasteland of a state. Seriously. Big patches of....nothing. I'm not sure what route you're going to take between St. Louis and Bentonville, but make sure there are enough decent sized towns along the way. Also, a good part of that drive is going to be through the Ozarks, so expect some hills. Bentonville itself is pretty nice. There's lots of stuff to do in the Bentonville/Springdale/Fayetteville area. You could check out the campus of the University of Arkansas, check out the Boston Mountains, egg Walmart's corporate headquarters, the possibilities are limitless!!

[Shalom]

Is that a first or second generation Blazer? I've got one of each; the 1988 is still going strong after 221K miles, the 1999 was a piece of crap from day one. (And yes, I did have to replace the door bushings. On both of them.)

By the way, http://blazerforum.com/forum/ is a great resource on all things regarding that model of truck.

[fma_fanatic]

I can't give much advice about hotels or St. Louis, except make SURE that you stop on the Missouri side. And I believe that the southern part of the city is the nicer part? Or do I have that backwards? At any rate. One thing that you should plan for is that Missouri is a freaking wasteland of a state. Seriously. Big patches of....nothing. I'm not sure what route you're going to take between St. Louis and Bentonville, but make sure there are enough decent sized towns along the way. Also, a good part of that drive is going to be through the Ozarks, so expect some hills. Bentonville itself is pretty nice. There's lots of stuff to do in the Bentonville/Springdale/Fayetteville area. You could check out the campus of the University of Arkansas, check out the Boston Mountains, egg Walmart's corporate headquarters, the possibilities are limitless!!

I can't stress enough what AdminAssistant says. South City is nice, I think it just depends on where you want to stay for the night. Especially if you're leaving on a Sunday, staying the night and planning to take off on a Monday. You may want to delay your parting for a few hours to let rush hour go before you do take off.

Rush hour here is a madhouse, especially in the city.

[Kheldarson]

Honestly, having gone through similar trips as a child (Kansas to Virginia *sigh*), I recall 24 hour driving. Literally. My dad is a machine when it comes to trips. We'd leave early in the morning (like 6 am) and arrive early in the morning (1-3 am) the next day. Unless Dad got tired along the way and decided to crash (not literally) in a hotel somewhere.

Have also made the drive from Virginia to Florida (13 hours) in one day while in a caravan of cars (big family trip).

So Ohio to Arkansas is doable if you have two drivers going in shift and are willing to take a few stretch breaks along the way and sleep in the car.

Either way, make sure you bring stuff for your younger child, or your child can equip himself well for this.

[RetailWorkhorse]

See if you can get your hands on one of those GreenDot/CashCard cards and put some money on it. You can even get a Visa from a Damily Follar and put cash on that (increments of 50$-250$). That way you have the no-credit-card thing covered.

-or-

Even better, grab a card from the Sam's Club and put your gas money on it. They'll let you park overnight (and KEEP AN EYE ON YOU! ) and if you're a Business Member you can get free danishes/breakfast-something and coffee when you go in first thing in the morning.

But then, I drove 1700 miles in the middle of Summer, busted the radiator in the Bus, lived on weak-ass tea and toast, and turned into a crispy ponydog by the time I got to NM from NC. I took mostly interstates (and stopped at every single Cracker Barrel from there to here) and stopped before it got dark since both Mom and I are bad night blind. Lowes and HomeDepot had no problems letting us fill up the radiator in the Bus with water (and let us stand there in the spray, but we had also spent some bucks building a misting system to keep the damned thing cool, it finally gave up the ghost outside Longview TX).

In all seriousness, make your first stop not very far from home. Just in case you forget something and have to go back for it. Second day is for the long drive, then stagger the miles from there. It will be easier on you in the long run )it's how we completely skipped from the Alabama State Line, across Mississippi and into Louisiana without stopping. After hearing horror stories of the police, there was no way I was stopping in Ol' Miss for anything. I have since learned it was all a joke on the poor hillbilly ).

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Please, remember: if you feel sleepy in any way, have someone else take over. There's a statistic out there (which may be partially false...) that most drivers report not feeling tired, after they've been in a fall-asleep-at-the-wheel crash.
... this may have been for insurance purposes, but you get the idea. Stay alert, nervous maybe, and don't take risks, even if you think they're 'safe.' Do you have a debit card? Some places may accept that. The credit card thing is in lieu of a deposit, in case you trash the room or something. Call around for not only price ideas (good one ) but also, 'I don't have a credit card, can you work with me? Do I have to have deposit?"
My family and I have gone about 2k miles down the Rocky Mountains and into the desert of the Southwest a few times-- 21 hours roughly. Oy. Definitely plan for stretchies breaks. :3
Best wishes laborcat!

[taxguykarl]

At a lot of the roadside places (filling stations, restaurants) you can find a lodging coupon book. Roomsaver, Midwest TravelBuddy and Hotel Coupon Guide are the main ones you're likely to see. At least you won't get ripped off. Most list the phone numbers so you can ahead for the room while on the road. FWIW, you're less likely to get ripped off that way.

[AdminAssistant]

Okay, I did a little checking, and it looks like you can take I-44 from St. Louis to Joplin, and then 71 S to Bentonville. That wouldn't be too bad, actually. I know you may want to deviate from interstate at some point, but you don't want to do it in rural Missouri. Just....trust me. I-44 will take you through Rolla (which I know is big enough for a small college) and Springfield, which is actually fairly nice. There's not much on 71 between Joplin and the state line, but as soon as you cross into Arkansas you'll run into Bella Vista and then Bentonville.

Oh, last time I went through Springfield there was a LOT of construction going on, so you may want to check MoDOT's website on that.

[BlaqueKatt]

I know you may want to deviate from interstate at some point, but you don't want to do it in rural Missouri. Just....trust me. I-44 will take you through Rolla (which I know is big enough for a small college) and Springfield, which is actually fairly nice.

and past my old house in st. robert. I loved that place, 3 bedrooms living room and kitchen for a whopping $400 a month

If you're looking for cheap ok food, I suggest waffle house-I used to live off their food before I moved into base housing.

[laborcat]

Is that a first or second generation Blazer? I've got one of each; the 1988 is still going strong after 221K miles, the 1999 was a piece of crap from day one.

This is a '97 and it's been really dependable for the couple of years I've had it. However, knowing its past history, I know that sooner or later I'm going to have to put some serious money into it to keep it going. But I really, really love it so I think it's worth it in the end.

See if you can get your hands on one of those GreenDot/CashCard cards and put some money on it. You can even get a Visa from a Damily Follar and put cash on that (increments of 50$-250$). That way you have the no-credit-card thing covered.

I thought about that, originally for the thought of that way we won't have to carry a wad of cash around with us. Most of the car rental places won't take one of those, and some of them won't even take a debit card. I'm having him call around to see if there is a way we can get a smallish car to go down there, because I am beginning to think it would totally be worth it and save on the gas at least, be more comfortable with well-working air conditioning and a working radio.
The only thing I don't like about renting a car is they are so damned nit-picky about every little piece of dirt you have on the car when you return it. I'd hate to pay the $25/day extra for the insurance against that. I'm toying with the idea of swapping vehicles with my mom or my stepfather.

Okay, I did a little checking, and it looks like you can take I-44 from St. Louis to Joplin, and then 71 S to Bentonville. That wouldn't be too bad, actually. I know you may want to deviate from interstate at some point, but you don't want to do it in rural Missouri. Just....trust me. I-44 will take you through Rolla

My uncle lives in Rolla. I've never been there though. I've taken this trip before with the union about thirteen years ago. But that was two stores, two union halls and two children ago, so my exact memory is very fuzzy.

I'm getting excited... looking forward to time off of work. I love to drive normally, so hopefully if I have enough rest I will actually enjoy it a lot. I'm even looking forward to having parent time alone with beta child. I think it will do us good; I know he tends to struggle in the shadow of his brother.

[taxguykarl]

Okay, I did a little checking, and it looks like you can take I-44 from St. Louis to Joplin, and then 71 S to Bentonville. That wouldn't be too bad, actually. I know you may want to deviate from interstate at some point, but you don't want to do it in rural Missouri. Just....trust me. I-44 will take you through Rolla (which I know is big enough for a small college) and Springfield, which is actually fairly nice. There's not much on 71 between Joplin and the state line, but as soon as you cross into Arkansas you'll run into Bella Vista and then Bentonville.

Oh, last time I went through Springfield there was a LOT of construction going on, so you may want to check MoDOT's website on that.

That's the way we traveled to see the in-laws when they still lived in that neck of the woods.

[laborcat]

damn it

Well, thank everyone for the advice, but since my husband did not sign up to get his paycheck early (I love Kroger for allowing that) we are not going to go to Arkansas after all. Which makes me mad because I spent a lot of time researching and taking suggestions and went as far as calling car rental places and arranging for my son to stay with my mom and now I'm stuck here in stupid Dayton for a week with no plans and nothing to do. I intend to make his week off miserable with yard work and household chores.