Interstate Road Trip Tournament, Round 1, Heat 15.

[Rain Man]

Just a little offseason exercise. There are 80 different Interstate highways in the USA (including Puerto Rico). Which one would be best for a road trip?

I've set the rules as follows (in spoiler for those of you who've read them already]:

Spoiler!

I'm also including highways in Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico that are essentially interstate highways, though they're not called that since they don't cross state boundaries.

It'll be a single-elimination tournament, though some will regain new life in wild-card spots to get the tournament bracket correct.

You get a minimum of 7 days on any highway, regardless of length. However, if the length requires more than 150 miles of travel per day, you'll get extra days until your daily mileage drops below 150 miles.

You may travel in either direction.

You may stop at attractions along the way, but at no point can you be more than 10 miles from the interstate.

You have the budget to stay at any hotel or dine at any restaurant within ten miles of the interstate.

You may spend multiple nights in any location but you cannot drive more than 250 miles in a single day. So you have to budget your driving time.

You may use any criteria you wish to make your vote. You can consider the driving lengths and conditions, scenery, attractions along the way, any outstanding warrants you have in that state, the likelihood of a Christie Brinkley clone waving at your from a Ferrari, or anything else you might wish to consider.

You can pick the time of year.

You will not be at risk of coronavirus en route.

You can pick the vehicle that you drive. Assume that you're renting any vehicle that you could purchase for $50,000 or less (new or used). It can be different vehicles on different road trips, so you can customize to fit.

I'll post the basics of each route, but I don't see any specific website that provides a good description of the attractions that one would see along the route. You're on your own for that. Of course, you can do a google map view to see what your scenery is.

If you're reading this, name an animal that you'd like to see in the wild, without explanation.

Your next two competitors are:

Option 1 - I-88 from East Moline, IL, to Hillside, IL
7 Day Trip
140 Miles, 20 miles per day on average
Passes through northern Illinois. (Downtown Chicago is NOT within 10 miles of the highway.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_88_(Illinois)

Option 2 - I-88 from Binghamton, NY, to Schenectady, NY
7 Day Trip
118 miles, 17 miles per day on average
Passes through central New York state

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_88_(New_York)

Option 3 - I-8 from San Diego, CA, to Casa Grande, AZ
7 Day Trip
348 Miles, 50 miles per day on average
Passes through Yuma, AZ. (Phoenix is not within 10 miles of the highway.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_8

Option 4 - H3 from Halawa, HI, to Marine Corps Base, HI
7 Day Trip
15 miles, 2 miles per day on average
Passes through Kaneohe, HI

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_H-3

[displacedinMN]

3 and 4 tough choice.

I could walk the two miles a day in HI. (believe it or not)

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by displacedinMN

3 and 4 tough choice.

I could walk the two miles a day in HI. (believe it or not)

Yeah, the two I-88s didn't have a lot of draw for me, and the other two seem pretty interesting.

The Hawaii highway is intriguing because basically I'd drive the 15 miles on the first day and then spend a week relaxing in Hawaii. But it doesn't look like you're actually in a place that is a Hawaiian tourist destination. There's some forest/jungle that would be interesting, though.

I-8 is interesting because I'd start in Arizona and go west. I visited Yuma a few times on business many years ago, so I'd stop there and have some good Mexican food to see how it's changed. It would be an interesting drive down near the border, but honestly, I'd probably do the drive in two days and then spend five days in San Diego. This highway goes straight into the most interesting part of San Diego, so I'd enjoy the weather and good food and all of the tourist stuff that San Diego has to offer.

I'm going I-8.

[Hydrae]

I am going I-88 (Illinois) simply because my ancestors settled in the Moline area when they came here from Sweden in the late 1800's.

I do disagree with the designation of an Interstate when the only two sections are in states that are not even connected and only those two states.

[frozenchief]

I did I-8 a number of years ago. I lived in San Diego. My parents lived in Phoenix. I had a Jeep Wrangler with a soft top but no air conditioning. There’s a mountain range between San Diego and El Centro, CA. We (Mrs. FrozenChief and I) drove over in about August. What can I say? I was young and stupid and I really didn’t know what I was doing.

At the top of that mountain range, we needed the heater. Outside was chilly. But as we descended into the valley, it kept getting hotter and hotter. Eventually, it was like driving through a convection oven. When we got to my parents’ house, our seats, which were cloth, were soaked with sweat. I couldn’t believe how hot it was.

It was so bad that: 1) when we drove back to San Diego, we left my parents house about 10:00 at night just so it would be cooler. Not exactly pleasant, but I’ll take 85 over 110 any day; and 2) I made that trip a couple of years later. And I rented a car so I could have air conditioning.

But it’s a gorgeous drive. I don’t know that I’d do it under these conditions because once I left El Centro, I’d drive to Yuma and find a place to stay with air conditioning. I enjoy the SouthWest, but I am glad we live in 2020 and not 1920.

[BigRichard]

I saw the title without looking at the poster and I immediately knew it was Rain Man.

[Old Dog]

Easy Choice. I'mma play Kaneohe Klipper at least a dozen times....probably the best military golf course I've ever seen

[TwistedChief]

Definitely I-8. Beautiful drive.