Anyne going to Nationals please reply

Its about that time we get an idea of how many are making the trek. If your going, please reply and mention when you plan on heading out and your route if you know it yet, so that maybe we can coordinate a caravan. Mike Puckett, Glenn and myself did just that last year and had a lot of fun. It definitely beats driving a long way by yourself. For me it doesnt look like I will be able to leave until Friday, although I would prefer to go on Thursday. I only have one class on Friday which is from 8am to 8:50 CT so my plan for now is to leave straight from school as soon as I get out, with the car already gassed and packed. It looks like I am heading on I-59/20 to Birmingham and then taking I-65 through Nashville all the way to Indianapolis, but I'm going to have to consult a map further to see where to go from there. I have an Uncle from Indiana that offered a suggestion but I have yet to check it out.

Jason, Rick and I are planning on going up probably Thurs. evening and fri. morning. I'd like to be in Elkhart 1:00ish or so. We'll take I-69 from Indy to Ft. Wayne and probably US 33 to Elkhart.

A guy on the TBU board suggested to me that the better way between Indy and Elkhart is US 31 which on the map is a straight shot. He says its 4 lane and there are really only 2 towns between that will slow you down with redlights and such, go over there and check it out if you wish. The guy seems to be a newbie (at least under that particular name) but his profile says he lives in South Bend, Ind. So I trust that maybe he knows what he is talking about. I talked to Sarah earlier today. She is actually trailering her car up there leaving Wednesday along with her dad and grandmother. I with her a little saying that she should change her screenname from SUNKISSEDPRNCESS to SUNKISSEDTRAILERQUEEN, hehe. I told her, no trailer for me thanks! See you guys there. I need to call Darrin. Unless he drives up with me, it looks like I'll be making the drive solo.
Jason Parham
PS: If you can can you give me heads ups on any snags along the way (construction, speed traps, or other snafoos so i can anticipate them).

I looked at the map and found Hwy 31. It is a straight shot but it looks like there are more than 2 towns. They may not be a problem, though. Hwy 33 from Ft Wayne has lots of towns on it so this might very well be the best way.

US 31

Yeah Mike I checked a road atlas last night and it shows US 31 as a divided 4 lane hiway basically the entire way. I think I might swing around Indy on the bypass to the east and get off at Exit 33 (at least that what it shows in the atlas). I'll take a right there which is hiway 431 which merges into 31 a few miles to the north. Here's a snip from that message I mentioned before.

jason,
maybe its us31 your thinking about going straight north from indy. thats the best way to get there. 31 goes straight north to south bend, its 4 lanes and there are onyl two major towns with stop lights, kokomo and lakeville. kokomo is just north of indy, and has about 8 miles of stop lights. lakeville is just south of south bend and has a 35mph speed limit, though only 2 or 3 lights. once your through lakeville, take the us20 east bypass to elkhart, the onramp is about 1/4 mile from the south bend city limits. dont even waste your time going to ft wayne then to elkhart, if you look at an atlas, you can see its very out of the way.
michael

Click to expand...

I checked the guy's profile and apparently he is from South Bend Ind, which if we go up 31 we'll take a right onto US 20 (I believe) that will take us into Elkhart. Also of note, A friend of mine suggested not to take the bypasses around Louisville KY, just take I-65 straight through town.
If you and Rick are heading up Thursday evening, do you plan on driving through the night or do you plan on stopping at a hotel along the way? Another thing, I know all 4 of us--You, Rick, Sarah, and Myself--are heading up at different times but maybe we should coordinate a caravan on the way back. When were you and Rick thinking about leaving?

I talked to Rick and he seconded going via US 31. We'll stop around midnight probably south of Louisville. I guess it depends on the time of day and rush hour conditions when we go thru the cities. Check the mn12nationals.com website link to the Ramada Inn website for a zoom-in map of Elkhart and exactly where the Ramada is. We'll definitely will plan the trip back.