C6_Racer_X

We need pics of GF. I can't believe there's this many replies in OT without that request.

Before I answer your specific questions (probably in the morning), I have two questions for you.

1) When are you going on this vacation? Recommended destinations would vary greatly depending on what time of the year. As just one example, Florida beaches are great in the winter (although they double the prices everywhere), super hot in the summer, and because school is out, family vacations, some areas are high priced during the summer as well, plus having to deal with "other peoples kids" running around everywhere. Best time for Florida is April-May and October-November.

2) More important as to whether the C7 is appropriate, how does the GF feel about riding long times in the C7. If she complains about the ride, the seats are not comfortable, or it's just a pain getting in and out, a long trip won't be pleasant. It's not the car, it's the passenger, but you have to please her, too.

General advice, if you go road trip (in either the C7 or a rental of any kind), plan your route loosely, and plan on driving 200 to 300 miles per day. Allow a "slack day" or two on the way to any major destination. You can drive twice that or more if you absolutely have to be somewhere, but you'll be worn out when you get there and it's no fun. The Internet is great for finding "touristy" things to do along the way and even interesting activities to share, whether it's golf, a beach, or sloshing through mud "mining" gemstones or panning for gold somewhere. The "slack day(s)" is/are specifically when something grabs your interest and you want to spend more time in some area along the way.

A "road trip" vacation is far more fun if you take your time along the way than if you make it a mad dash to get to a specific place where you sit for a week, then a mad dash home. For that kind of vacation, plane tickets and a rental (or even Ubers) are a much better choice.

hammong

I'll throw my two cents' in on this -- we just drove round trip from Maryland to Disney World and back, and the road conditions were the best we've seen in the last 5 trips down there. As for Maryland into Virginia, we actually went 301 instead of going around the Capital beltway and I-95. It's a little more scenic, a few red lights, and you have to drive through Marlboro -- but it still beats the NoVA and MD eastern part of I-495.

One really nice thing about Disney is all of the resort parking lots are secured with a guard/gate house, and most are monitored via CCTV.. No casual riff-raff driving around looking to break into cars, at least no casual riff-raff that isn't already paying $200+ a night to stay there and has a room key.

If you're looking for something "closer" - the roads out I-70, I-68 towards West Virginia are great, and the mountains are fun with the Vette.

Greg

Steve_R

juanvaldez

Stay away from MLK Blvd.

blueray16

here's a thought. Schedule your Corvette 2 day owners school at Spring Mountain.
Discount is over $ 1100 as I recall. Great accommodations at the track with two free meals/day
Drive on out US40 in your new Corvette.
Optional stops at 'The Corner" on Rt 66 in Winslow AZ and a 80 mile stretch of RT 66 from Ash Fork to Kingman AZ
You get two days to thrash on their cars, not yours and GF has opportunity to ride along with the instructor.
Just a couple hours from vegas if that appeals to you.
Then stops at Zion NP, Bryce canyon and Arches, all in Utah
then straight shot back on us 70.
Probably need two weeks to do it right. Figure 5000 miles.
I would recommend Xpel the front bumper and the rockers at a minimum.
This is what I did with my 2016 Z51.
A very memorable trip.

Big Lebowski

HogwildC7

Just take off and ride. I just drive mines from Dallas to Chicago and got 29 mpg.

joseanMD

Brothers a million thanks to all of you for your kind responses!! I have been away from my computer to digest everything but just checking phone your responses are well received and very welcomed!!
thanks again to all of you!

Rebel Yell

My suggestions, get you a Novistretch Bra and take off. Park the car in a well lighted area, and forget about it until you're ready to go the next day. Mind you it took me several days to actually do that, but when I finally did my trip got much better. If something happen, and that's unlikely, you have insurance. In our many road trips since 2010 the only problems I've had (knock wood ) is a little road rash on a couple trips, and that was expected on all the trips. Just apply a little common sense, and all should be well. There's nothing like a road trip in a C7, so get out there and enjoy the ride.

My trip suggestion is pick up the Shenandoah Skyline Drive out of Virginia, and take it into North Carolina where it turns into the Blue Ridge Parkway. Work your way over to the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, TN area. The tail of the Dragon is just out of Pigeon Forge if you are interested. Along the way you have many areas that are beautiful, and interesting, i.e. The Biltmore House in Asheville, NC, Blowing Rock and Boone, N.C. The ride on the Skyline, and the Parkway is one of the most beautiful rides on the east coast IMHO. They both twist, and turn with the landscape, and at each turn the scenery is breath taking. The thing I like about the eastern mountain areas in the summer is the temps are usually up to 10 degrees lower, and the Humidity is a bit less. It makes for some great top down/off driving.

BLACKCREEK

Epic roadtrip... Mid to late October drive the mountain chain south for all the colors. Hit deals gap then pop out around Greenville SC and head for the beaches. Hop down the coast until you hit Key Largo then pop the top and island hop to Key West for a couple nights. The wife and I love the trip to Key West and have done it numerous times out of Jacksonville. October to mid november is probably the sweet spot for visiting florida beaches and attractions with minimum crowds and great weather.

Judgment Day

davefreeman

We just finished a 9 day road trip from our home in upstate New York to Biloxi Ms., Pensacola Fla., and New Orleans. Our 2014 Stingray ran flawlessly, got an average of 32.6 mpg, and was a joy to travel in. Took usual precautions with parking and had no problems.. We did pick up a small stone chip in the windshield and will call Safelite in the morning. We bought the Corvette to enjoy it and we do!

geewez

We just got home from a two week road trip from CA to the Bloomington Gold event at Indy and back. Enjoyed the trip and had a lot of fun seeing the country on the drive. Think about it, you bought the Corvette because it's the perfect road trip car. It's meant to be driven and not garaged. I had clear bra protection for the front bumper and added a Novistretch bra for the trip. While on the trip I always tried to park close to the front door of the hotel or as close to our room as possible. Only incident we had while on the trip was while we were in Gallup NM. The clerks at the front desk called our room and told me that another guest had reported a suspicious character paying a little too much attention to my car. Both front desk clerks immediately went outside to look for the guy but he was gone. They called the police and then notified me. One of the clerks even moved her car so that I could park in her spot by the front door where they could keep a better eye on my car. Very thankful to them for that. These two clerks also mentioned that they loved my car when we first pulled up to check in so that helps. Sure, we got a few more pits on the windshield and fenders but Corvettes are meant to be enjoyed. I think it's silly to have to rent a car or take another car on a road trip instead of driving and enjoying your Vette. If anything were to happen, remember, that's why you have insurance.

AORoads

You've really gotten some great advice on here and I'm only on Pg. 1!!! And I see Mr. Carlos has commented, but here's his "travelogue" from his recent trip.* It is possibly the best one I've seen on CF, not that others were bad, but this one was really great and worth taking the time to read with photos, too. I'd say, 16C7Z, owc6, 4thC4, Steve R, and the suggestions about NoviStretch (it can't hurt, but may not work against larger pebbles sent at your car at "velocity"). And JoesC5 has a pretty good idea, plus it'll get you into "the country." I do think tho after reading 16C7Z other post (#28) he makes some good points esp. re wheel damage. Some roads are just terrible and some stock wheels seem to be very susceptible to damage. Would really kill the buzz of a road trip. jmo You've got some more great posts/suggestions from Rebel, geewz, etc.

Truly, this is a great forum!

* https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c7-general-discussion/4162523-4-174-miles-and-11-days-in-2019-grand-sport-vert-m7.html

VetteDrmr

You've gotten some great suggestions above (other than the "leave the Vette at home" responses, not much fun there). Here's a couple of road trip threads that we've taken since we bought our C7 last year:

Road Trip - East Coast

Road Trip - West Coast

As far as protection goes, I put Xpel coating on the bumper cover and the mirrors (they take a LOT of sanding from road rash). We take some gear to wash the car every few days as needed, it just makes it easier to enjoy the drive and the car.

Final piece of advice: there are literally thousands of "fantastic vacation places" in the US to go to. My wife and I pick a major destination (last year was Kittyhawk, this year was PCH), then fill in days with fun spots. We also limit ourselves to 6-7 hours of driving each day, just to keep the days enjoyable.

HTH, and have a good one,
Mike

Mcrider

Where to go?

Turn west and hit the first backroad that you find and stay on them the entire vacation. That is where you will find the REAL America.

Harley Davidson has an app that will show you some of the most scenic roads in America and NOBODY knows the back roads of America like motorcyclists do. Check it out, it's worth the look.

https://www.harley-davidson.com/cont...nner-help.html

chefcg1

My only recommendation would be to avoid cabin rentals as they tend to be all gravel roads with less than perfect grading coupled with steep angles of driveway egress.

walker3

take the corvette -
I purchased mine TO take trips with -

This week at the National Corvette get together in New Orleans they had people in C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7 - that drove them to the show - on C1 drove from NY - another C1 from Tenn. , others from across the country - most drove them there - asked them why - they said they bought them to drive -

don't drive it and then sell / trade to someone that will - my last mistake - my C6 10 years old traded it in with 28,800 miles - my C7 3 years old and 11,000 miles - but just retired so time to put miles on it

fumbling

First thing I did after picking up my C7 from the NCM was take a 2500 mile 7 day roadtrip back to CA, the best road trip I ever took. The biggest problem was all the bugs that hit the front, but when I got home, I did the rinseless car wash and the paint was perfect again. My only tip is park in as good a spot as possible (end spot with as much room as possible away from other cars) that is visible from your hotel room.

Maxie2U