| Route 66 | Cities | Beaches |
|
|
| The trip to and from Hatteras can really become a major part of the vacation. There are five outstanding routes between the Outer Banks and the Ohio Valley and each offers wonderful stops. But you should abandon the idea of making this a one day marathon. It was possible to do that for about two decades after the interstates were completed. But since 2000, traffic has been increasing on I-64, I-94, I-40, State 17 between Norfolk and Kitty Hawk and State 64 between Rocky Mount and Manteo. Today, you're likely to get caught in bumper to bumper traffic. So we suggest you pick one of the five major routes and figure on spending the night along the way. We also suggest you take a different route home than you did down. This doubles your experience. Plus, it winds up your vacation with a final punch, helping dispel that melancholy mood as you pack up to leave the beach. We know we're really stretching it to suggest you take two days down and another two back. But we're going to go a step further and suggest you stretch it even further and make the trip home three days. Especially if you have kids along, this allows you to explore all the wonderful sites along the way. |  |
| Williamsburg |
 |
The first option is The Fast Route, also called the I-40 Route. This brings you down through great mountain scenery, past three of the nation's finest universities, and through one of the world's greatest wetlands. It also gives you the option of two wonderful bed & breakfasts or one of North Carolina's greatest hotels. This route has good highways, either interstate or major state roads, all the way, and except for rush hour traffic on I-40 between Winston Salem and Chapel Hill, is usually free from backups. The photo at left shows the Shaffner House in Winston Salem, one of North Carolina's great bed & breakfasts and one we highly recommend. Click on the Fast Route in the menu bar above for details about both the trip and the lodging options. If you're driving a hybrid or electric car, this route has another huge advantage. At least temporarily, this route has more charging stations than any of the others. |
| The second option is to drive further South and take a ferry across Pamlico Sound. Whenever we take someone with us who has never been there before, this is the way we go in. The first day is the same as The Fast Route, overnighting in Winston Salem or Chapel Hill. But the second day gives you a choice of either the Swan Quarter or Cedar Island Ferry, either of which will take you to Ocracoke Island, from which you take a second ferry to Hatteras. You bypass all the traffic with these routes, and put fewer miles on your vehicle, but the ferry ride itself is almost three hours. Remember to reserve a space a few weeks in advance, as the ferries are extremely popular. Click on The Ferries in the menu bar above for details. |  |
 |
The third option is an overnight at Williamsburg. You could easily spend a week there, so staying over an extra night is not at all unreasonable. If you went to Hatteras every year, spending two nights and one day at Williamsburg would allow you to gradually, over several years, take in all the attractions. If you leave Lexington at 9 a.m., you will arrive in Williamsburg around 6-7 pm, just in time for dinner. You'll take I-64 the whole way, but expect heavy traffic coming through Richmond, Petersburg and the final stretch of I-64. Not only Hatteras, but also Virginia Beach and Eastern Shore traffic travels this same route and they have not widened the road to handle it. The next morning, expect a 4-5 hour drive to Hatteras and assume you'll be caught in at least two major backups, one around Moyock (NC) and the other approaching the Currituck Sound Bridge. We think this works better as a stop on the way down. Click on Williamsburg in the menu bar above for details. |
| The fourth option is Peaks of Otter. This gives you a vacation of extremes --- one national park featuring the finest natural beaches in North America and one national park featuring one of the nation's finest high mountain wildernesses. This is a good option either way, but we think it works better on the way home. Like the others, two nights and a day here would be ideal. There is a beautiful lodge and fine restaurant at Peaks of Otter, and the windows of both look out on this view. There's an hour hiking trail around the lake and a two hour trail to the top of the mountain. It only takes about an hour to come back down. The views are spectacular. The Appalachian Trail passes across the road, so you could hike a section of that. Or you could drive an hour or so along the Blue Ridge Parkway with its many scenic overlooks down into the Shenandoah Valley and back across the Piedmont. Click on Peaks of Otter in the menu bar above for details. |  |
 |
This is also a great opportunity to include an annual visit to Washington D.C. This is definitely a better option for the way home, and, like Williamsburg, it begs for you to stay two nights and one day and over several years explore different attractions each time. Coming up from Hatteras, do not try to go up the western route and follow I-95 to Washington. Traffic there backs up to a standstill every single day. Instead, take I-64 around to the Chespeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and go up the Eastern Shore. Coming home, leave Washington heading West on I-66, pick up I-81 take it down the Shenandoah Valley to I-64, and follow I-64 on home. Click on Washington DC in the menu bar above for details. |
|
|||
|