Drive for five days in Beirut and ANYTHING else afterwards will be a piece of cake! I don’t mind at all driving in Boston or Philadelphia now. 
My father used to make seven+ hour trips several times a year until he was well into his eighties. Mom never offered to drive so it was all on him. My brothers and I were not happy about this but we come from a long line of stubborn. There was really nothing we could do until Dad voluntarily gave up the long drives. If I remember correctly though, I think we were still ok with him driving at 78. He stayed pretty sharp until his early eighties and like this lady, he was very conscious of pacing, routes, and making regular stops. Also, all three of us siblings would make a point of riding with him periodically to see how he was doing.
NH to FL though…wow…I’m not sure I’d want to do that.
Good for you for realizing your limits and finding a solution. All too many people push themselves beyond their comfort level, and the results can be, at worst disastrous, at best a misery.
You’re not old. You’re just self aware
We went from being able to push 700 miles to stopping before 500 miles a day. The exception is when it means a couple of extra driving hours means being HOME at the end of a trip. I can see long distances if the time spent is months or more and want own car there. NH to FL sounds like a snowbird to me. Plus all in the same time zone and populated areas with many places one can stop.
I moved away from my family 25 years ago and have lived 11-12hr drive away for the last 10 years. It is too expensive to fly (7 kids), though I have done this a couple times alone, and it hardly seems worth it when adding the distance to/from the airport , hassle of car rental, luggage restrictions, etc. I typically visited only once or twice a year. Only in the summer --after getting stuck in blizzards twice. H usually drives, but I have made the trip many times by myself, with kids, as the only driver. Usually stopping only once or twice. The last couple years I have developed a mild motion sickness/dizziness. And I fear getting lost, don’t have a great sense of direction. I keep telling myself I can’t do this trip again. Every time I swear it’s the last. Then I do it again. Maybe I need to stop more frequently. Maybe we should break up the trip over two days…I just wish I lived closer to my family. Otherwise I’d be content to quit traveling completely. Over the years H and I have been real road warriors-- we’ve driven all over a lot of the US and some of Canada. But we are in our late 50s now and slowing down.
I just did an 8 hour drive to my grandmas. My mom aged 72, still drives there about a 7 hour drive for her. I wasn’t tired and probably could’ve driven another 2 hours.
In high school i knew two people who were killed when the driver fell asleep at the wheel. As a result, I’ve become extra alert and won’t fall asleep when someone else is driving. I’m always the one who drives or I’m up talking to the driver to make sure he is alert.
H and I regularly drive from northern CT to our beach house in SC. It’s an 850 mile trip that we usually do in one day… Takes anywhere from 15 hours on a good day to 17 on a bad day. Luckily we still enjoy driving. He does the driving, I do the navigating. It’ll be sad when it becomes a chore.
I’ll believe it when I no longer do those long drives. Also keep swearing this is the last time, next trip we’ll fly… then consider the hassles of flying. Want to magically get from point A to B, especially if have seen the same old roads numerous times. THAT’S part of becoming old- the been there, done that too many times.
Once my D chose a school 6 hours from here, I started driving there several times a year. Sometimes I would drive there early morning, pick her up, and drive back that afternoon/evening. (I’m currently Mid 50’s.)
The past two years I’ve become more sentitive to glare from headlights at night and try not to drive too long past dusk.
I have also started taking short breaks every three hours to stretch my legs.
So far, my only concern is that the car I’m driving is safe. I love to drive and sing to my favorite music and think and enjoy the countryside. I hope I still feel this way for a while longer.
Satellite radio has made long distance driving a lot easier in my opinion.
I never really liked driving and at not quite 60, I have pretty much given up driving. I feel that my visual acuity and reflexes are not what they were and the latter were never my strong suit. I lived in NYC until my late 30’s and never really had to drive until I had children and public transit became difficult with little ones. H is willing to drive, but won’t drive for more than an hour because a) he refuses to drive over bridges so our options are limited as we live on a “long island” and b) he had a DVT last year but he does all of the local driving. My oldest son loves to road trip so he does the 8 hour ride up to S17’s college. D and her bf also like to drive so D will take me in November to pick up S17 about 2 hours from home as he is getting a ride partway down from his roommate. Third son flew up with me to the school and drove the rental car. When D and S12 were in college about 6 hours away, I took Amtrak if I wanted to visit them. With S17, the Amtrak is about an hour away from the school, as is the airport. When he and I went to orientation, we took Amtrak and then a bus to and from campus.
H wants to visit NC next year to look at possible retirement places. He thinks it will have been enough time since his DVT so he can drive. He still refuses to visit our son at school; he is very childishly angry that I refused to let S17 go to the private school 15 minutes from home that we couldn’t afford unless S17 lived at home. H will drive down to NC and I will fly down a day or two later because I don’t want to use vacation time to drive. We are hoping that at least one of the kids will go with him.
Made it home from my parent’s house at 1 this morning. I wanted to be sure they had one more good meal before I left. Could’ve been home sooner but chose to walk along the lakeside to transition between their needs and returning home. And maybe get an ice cream cone at the lake stand… Lake walks and ice cream still more important than avoiding late night driving so I’m not old yet!
Thankfully it was a clear night and I have satellite radio.
^^^ @KKmama I love that you did that - the lake walk AND the ice cream. <3
If I’m driving by myself or with others I want a walk/potty break every 2-3 hours or so. Breaks up the visual patience needed while driving.
Also, I always drive with SNACKS. Something I can nibble slowly on throughout the trip. Popcorn. Jelly beans. Trail mix. And I always recommend something with caffeine .
@Nrdsb4 can you PM me a list of your audiobooks? I have to drive my son’s high school carpool a couple times a week. It’s about 90 mins round trip so I’ve started to use that time to listen to books. While I’ve really enjoyed some of the books, a few have been duds. I just finished A Walk in the Woods this morning (rain made it a 2 hr round trip!) so I’m looking for my next audio book. I read all different genres except romance and sci-fi.
I’m going to embark on a solo 1,200 mile round trip for high school and college reunions happening a week apart next month. I’m a little nervous about it, about getting bored even with books or tired. I’m also not fond of driving in pouring rain or the dark and especially not a combination of the two. But I’d like to go these events and visit relatives in between, so flying doesn’t make sense. Each leg of the trip shouldn’t be more than six hours of driving a day since I decided not to deal with the 540 miles drive home all in one day.
Approaching 60, love to drive solo or with kids. I grew up with the expectation that you drove, not flew, anywhere so long road trips so feel familiar and comfortable. I have reached the point in the last few years when I realize 10-12 hour drives are hard solo, and I will break it up with an overnight. But 4+ hour trips are fine, as it is my time to blare music no one else will listen to without complaining, and to just have some “me” time. I’ve always enjoyed checking into hotels, dining alone, so all of that works for me.
I’m getting a visual of hundreds of middle-aged women, driving solo, belting out favorite songs from the 80s, criss-crossing the United States, some possibly even staying at the same hotels, all at the same time! That really makes me smile!
All my Sirius XM presets are songs/performers from the 60s and 70s. Sometimes I feel like I’m channeling my parents, shaking my head and thinking, “they call that music?” LOL
Mid-50s. I have always hated driving long distances. Six hours is long! But I do like traveling alone as long as it’s not to a sketchy motel or “stabby” kind of neighborhood.
I’ll be driving a lot this week for work. No 80’s music for me! Today’s music.