Question First trip to Florida

[RyanT]

There is only one section of I-95 that's tolerable and that's a modest little stretch in South Carolina.

All other sections of I-95, regardless of state, are plagued with people who have simply lost their minds.

Interesting...I drive Ft. Lauderdale to Maryland quite often. My favorite stretch of I-95 is about Port St. Lucie to the S. Carolina border. 3 lanes means fewer left-lane drivers that back up traffic. I also like the FL/GA scenery. S. Carolina is pretty close to driving a rough logging road. NC will probably be good in the future, but the construction right now is terrible.

On the other hand, you're not wrong about those who've lost their minds. On countless occasions I've been cruising along at 75mph and had people blow by me like I was standing still.

 

[RyanT]

@riceowls, yeah, traffic on I-95 goes both ways at the typical "rush hour" times. If you avoid I-95 at the 7-10am and 4-6pm times, it's (usually) not too bad. From Pompano to Blue Heron bridge, it's a little less than an hour drive outside of the heavy traffic times.

 

[NothingClever]

S. Carolina is pretty close to driving a rough logging road.

You’re right! The condition of the road is rough but it’s the thinner traffic that makes it tolerable (for me).

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

As for shore times, it's very weather dependent. A very general rule of thumb, if from the east less than 10mph, if from the west less than 15mph. There are some exceptions, but generally this holds true for most shore diving in SE Florida. Boat diving can handle much higher winds. When the winds blow, we go to the bridge. Bridge diving is dependent on high tide times. Sure you can dive at other times, but the vis is going to be much worse.

 

[MrChen]

No more directions written on a sticky note or printed out MapQuest instructions.

You're showing your age

In the late 80's to mid 90's, we used to stop at a 7/11 to buy a map.

 

[FreqFlier]

Now, I am deciding between staying in the Pompano Beach area (with wreck dives nearby and shore diving options nearby but dive Jupiter/WPB for a day with shark/grouper dive and probably for a Heron bridge afternoon dive) or staying around WPB and sticking to that area.

In my experience morning traffic is worse inbound (going south).

We usually stay in Pompano Beach area and never had any issues driving north to Boynton, WPB or Jupiter.