how in bloody heck to get to MN

[David Harding]

[q] can someone who has made the drive to minny give some directions here?[/q]

Don't follow Mapquest.  I disagree with their suggestions at several points.  

From Ithaca head southwest on NY-13 (Elmira Road).  
IN teh neighborhood of Horseheads/Elmira, pick up  NY-17 west toward Corning and Jamestown.  Pretty soon that turns into I-86, which you follow across the Southern Tier into Pennsylvania.  

At Lake Erie I-86 tees into I-90.  Take I-90 west (toward Erie and Cleveland).  

Follow I-90 to Tomah, Wisconsin, where I-94 splits off to take you to Minneapolis.  (I-94 joined I-90 back in Madison.)  

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You have two major alternates to sticking with I-90 straight through, depending on whether or not you want to go through the middle of Cleveland and Chicago.  

For Cleveland we usually just stick with I-90 through the middle.  At rush hour you might want to circle the town, following the Mapquest directions.  For that route you go south on I-271 a bit east of Cleveland, then head west on US-422 to I-480, which joins up with I-90 west of town.  

The approach to Chicago also depends on the time of day.  In the middle of the night, I-90 straight through might be the best choice.  To go around the city itself (but through densely built suburbs), take the exit for I-80 west (toward Iowa) while you are still in Indiana.  It comes shortly after the in-line toll plaza.  Then take I-294 (toward Wisconsin) where it spilts from I-80.  (Stay left approaching the interchange where first I-94 splits off, then second where I-294 exits).  When you get to I-290, take it west (toward Rockford).  Eventually it rejoins I-90 (toward Rockford), and takes you to Minneapolis.  If you take the circle route, the worst part of the whole trip will be the stretch of I-80 south of Chicago.

You will need in the neighborhood of $5 in cash for tolls in each of three states.  Ohio and Indiana are easy - you get a ticket when you get on the tollway (west of Cleveland in Ohio, just across the border in Indiana) and hand it in when you get off, paying what is due.  In Illinois you stop every ten miles or so and pay varying sums, usually $0.80 for the out-of-staters without and I-Pass transponder.  You can toss the correct change into a basket or stop at a booth with a person; the former isn't always faster.

--

Services:

Watch your fuel level in western New York.  The gas stations are far apart and sometimes well away from the Interstate.

In Pennsylvania and the eastern bit of Ohio, most of the interchanges have gas and food.  On the Ohio and Indiana tollways there is a service plaza every half our or so with gas and food, with the variety depending on the time of day.  Around Chicago there are "oases" with gas periodically spaced; some have been recently rebuilt and have a variety of food, others are under reconstruction and have minimal edibles.  In Wisconsin you return to finding gas stations at many exits, some with a cluster of fast food outlets.

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A major alternate is take NY-96 up to the NY Tollway (I-90), cross into Ontario at Buffalo, follow route 401 across to Detriot, and take I-94 to where it intersects I-80/I-90 in western Indiana.  You avoid Cleveland, but add Buffalo, Detroit, and two border crossings.  Unless you have a burning desire to set foot on sacred Canadian soil or to see Niagara Falls, I wouldn't advise it.  In the summer, with some extra time and money, you can take a ferry across Lake Michigan and avoid Chicago all together, but that's not even an option at this time of year.

[Josh '99]

[Q]David Harding Wrote:
From Ithaca head southwest on NY-13 (Elmira Road).  
IN teh neighborhood of Horseheads/Elmira, pick up  NY-17 west toward Corning and Jamestown. [/q]When you're at that interchange, be sure to follow signs for Corning and Horseheads, not for Elmira (which will put you on 17 east).  No sense making a long turn less than an hour into the trip.  Enjoy the traffic lights when you're going through Horseheads, because they may be the last you have to stop at for hours.  And be sure to wave to my old job when you're driving past the Corning-Elmira Airport.  :-)  (Why couldn't the regional be in Elmira?  I'd have all kinds of good advice to give you all then!  ;-))

[Ack]

Or in the San Francisco Bay Area...I'd be able to you all sorts of good stuff on 580, 680, 880, 101, 280, the bridges...we practically drive on the left side of the road out there.

[that loud guy with the hair]

Those directions seem pretty logical to me.  It doesn't really seem to make sense to drive all the way up to Buffalo to wind up heading south again.  

[Scersk '97]

[Q]that loud guy with the hair Wrote:

 Those directions seem pretty logical to me.  It doesn't really seem to make sense to drive all the way up to Buffalo to wind up heading south again.  [/q]
Except if you're cheap like me and liked to avoid tolls.

Peace Bridge + (Ambassador or Blue Water) < Ohio Turnpike + Indiana Tollway

And, much like their views on everything from public transit to prostitution, Canadians' conceptions of the speed limit are, shall we say, "liberal."  On many exceedingly boring trips across peninsular Ontario, I commonly "did as the Romans," averaging about 85 mph.  One time I settled into a whole train of cars doing 100 mph between London and Brantford.  What can I say...  I needed to get to a hockey game in Ithaca.

You're very unlikely to get picked up for setting your cruise at < 140 kmph, as you can figure out by reading the fines for speeding on the signs entering Canada.  120 kmph (20 kmph over)?  Not too much.  130 kmph?  A bit more.  140 kmph?  More than twice as much as 130.  So, keep it under 140, don't get caught sleeping between Chatham and Windsor, and you should be fine.

The Canadian route also has the advantage of avoiding the perpetual winter storm that is Erie, PA.  They don't put de-icers on those bridges for nothing.  On the Michigan portion of the Canadian route, you might pick up some snow after Kalamazoo, but you'd be screwed in Indiana as well.

Fewer big trucks is a great advantage.  I don't think the Canadians allow double trailers, and that's important in winter.  I often argue with my parents as to whether its necessary to call and say that you've arrived at your destination after a long drive.  I contend that, should I not arrive at my destination, there is very little they can do for me if I'm dead along the side of the highway, flipped over in a ditch and that, instead, they should always assume that I'm OK and live with a bit of doubt in their lives.  No one has ever said that I'm not cruel to those I love.  The closest I've come to testing the utility of their side of the argument was on the Ohio Turnpike, sandwiched between two double trailers kicking up slush.  Of course, the one on my  left was breaking the law by being in the leftmost lane, but truckers, especially in the dead of night, really don't seem to care too much about the gnattish, tiny cars fishtailing in their midst.

Have I mentioned that trucks suck?

If you're an inveterate speeder, prefer to avoid snow, and share my disdain for road freight, the advantages of the Canadian route should well make up for the extra mileage and border crossings.  Add in vinegar fries at Wendy's:  what could be better?

[jeh25]

[Q]A-19 Wrote:
the best way to get to chicago is to go through PA and avoid buffalo at all costs, which can save you at least an hour. aside from that, i've got nothing. any road-tested warriors out there wanna post some more specific directions?
[/q]

Pre 9/11 the Canadian route might have made sense (I90-405-401-I94). You skip Erie and Cleveland, plus you can stop at Tim Horton's.  Dunno if you wanna risk getting stuck at the bridge coming back into the US.

If you take I90, watch out for the 25 mph 90 degree turn in Ohio.

[jeh25]

[Q]Ack Wrote:

 Or in the San Francisco Bay Area...I'd be able to you all sorts of good stuff on 580, 680, 880, 101, 280, the bridges...we practically drive on the left side of the road out there.[/q]

So what exactly does I238bypass? I38 doesn't exist.

{/roadgeek}

Ack. Go get a sandwich at AG Ferrari for me, eh?

john

piedmont ex-pat

[ben03]

if your crossing the border just bring your passport and leave the guns/drugs at home ... you shouldn't have much of a problem :-P ;-)

[Josh '99]

[Q]Scersk '97 Wrote:Add in vinegar fries at Wendy's:  what could be better?[/q]Clearly, the answer to that question is duty-free shopping.

[ben03]

remember, you only get one case of beer (24) --or-- one bottle of liquor per person per day duty free. and even if you stay within these limits they still might make you pay the duty :-)

[jy3]

the border crossing here in buffalo is not that bad now. just a note, when coming thru buffalo on I-90 be aware that the troopers are stepping up pulling people over going above the speed limit of 55. u can fly but be careful. also realize that 90 to 190 in buffalo means that you need to be on the right when coming from the east. this will save u some time waiting for people who want 90 west when the thruway becomes a toll road again. you will need a half dollar or easy pass when u first get on 190. feel free to stop at brennans or duffs for some wings. a tim hortons is close to the william street exit (william street east to union rd south, timmys on the left.) this is two blocks from my house
wish i could come!
oh and now i know why canadians speed in the US. they do it in canada

drive safely or fly safely or hotfoot it and most of all have fun and BE LOUD

[RichH]

[Q]jmh30 Wrote:

 [Q2]Scersk '97 Wrote:Add in vinegar fries at Wendy's:  what could be better?[/Q]
Clearly, the answer to that question is duty-free shopping.[/q]

heh-heh...you said "doody."

Also, now that Molson XXX is available at US merchants such as Wegman's, there's less of a reason to stop at the border.  Unless you want Labatt's Maximum Ice.

[Josh '99]

[Q]ben03 Wrote:
remember, you only get one case of beer (24) --or-- one bottle of liquor per person per day duty free. and even if you stay within these limits they still might make you pay the duty[/q]That may be true, but even on those occasions when they *do* actually bother to make you pay the duty, it's still cheaper than buying beer or liquor in the states.

(BUT, you should be aware, in case they do make you pay the duty, that they only take cash.)

[RichH]

[Q]jeh25 Wrote:

So what exactly does I238bypass? I38 doesn't exist.

{/roadgeek}[/q]

http://www.gbcnet.com/roads/I-238/

[David Harding]

[Q]Scersk '97 Wrote:

 [Q2]that loud guy with the hair Wrote:

 Those directions seem pretty logical to me.  It doesn't really seem to make sense to drive all the way up to Buffalo to wind up heading south again.  [/Q]
Except if you're cheap like me and liked to avoid tolls.

Peace Bridge + (Ambassador or Blue Water) < Ohio Turnpike + Indiana Tollway
...
If you're an inveterate speeder, prefer to avoid snow, and share my disdain for road freight, the advantages of the Canadian route should well make up for the extra mileage and border crossings.  Add in vinegar fries at Wendy's:  what could be better?[/q]

If you are cutting across Ontario, just keep going west at Detroit.  Follow I-94 to Chicago, skipping Ohio completely and most of Indiana. Or take 402 at London, enter Michigan at Port Huron, follow I-69 to I-94, and avoid Detroit.  My limited experience driving in Michigan is that speeds there tend to be on the high side as well.