Seeking input on possible midwest chip collecting trip(s)
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Here’s my tentative plan:
Sept 2-4: Drive a loop from Minneapolis to Winnipeg to Thunder Bay to Minneapolis. Collect chips from MN, MB, and ON (and maybe ND)
Sept 5: Meetings in Minneapolis
Sept 6-8: Drive a loop from Minneapolis to KC to Rapid City to Minneapolis. Collect chips from IA, SD, MO, and KS.
Sept 8: Fly to Chicago.
Sept 9: Meetings in Chicagoland.
Sept 10-12: Drive a loop from Chicago to Columbus to Cincy to Tunica to Saint Louis to Chicago. Collect chips from MI, OH, IN, AR, IL, and MO.
Sept 13: Fly to Houston
Sept 13-14: Drive a loop from Houston to Biloxi to Houston. Collect chips from LA and MS.
Sept 15-17: Meetings in Houston
Sept 18: Fly home.
part of the country to be stuck in.
Quote: EvenBobYou couldn't have a hand picked a more boring
part of the country to be stuck in.
That's a big part of the reason that I opted for mobility instead of just sitting somewhere for a few days.
Quote: rdw4potusSept 10-12: Drive a loop from Chicago to Columbus to Cincy to Tunica to Saint Louis to Chicago. Collect chips from MI, OH, IN, AR, IL, and MO.
This sounds like you're pushing it. Might have to skip St. Louis.
Nowadays there's Sat Nav to help you find the casinos, but in those days one had to rely on internet maps - which back then took me along a dirt track into Cripple Creek!
I had trouble figuring out the reason for the Tunica stop during the Chicago-Chicago loop, unless that's where you get a free room for one night. And the Houston-Biloxi-Houston loop doesn't get you the chip from the Margaritaville Bossier City, does it?
Quote: DocOf course, "You're an idiot" applies to anyone who would take long driving trips with a bunch of short casino stops just to collect chips, but I don't feel that I should dwell on that topic. My wife might want to chime in. I think I really should vote for all of the alternatives except "I don't care."
I had trouble figuring out the reason for the Tunica stop during the Chicago-Chicago loop, unless that's where you get a free room for one night. And the Houston-Biloxi-Houston loop doesn't get you the chip from the Margaritaville Bossier City, does it?
As stupid as this will sound, Bossier is too far out of the way! Maybe I'll swing up there, but the Houston part of the trip is the most time constrained part. It's more likely that I'll be in the Bossier area again (counting Dallas as "in the...area") but probably not to Baton Rouge or Biloxi.
Tunica is convenient to the AR casinos, and probably offers a free room. It also sets up an easy drive straight north to Cape Girardeau and Saint Louis. I don't know. Maybe I'll stay in Metropolis and go near-but-not-to Tunica. Or maybe I'll just cut off the Tunica/Arkansas part of the loop completely. That's a lot of extra time, but I don't know when I'll be this close again.
Quote: IbeatyouracesIt'd be one hell of a boring trip report.
Quote: BeardgoatDo you have an iPod full of songs or books on tape? How do you pass all tha time in the car?
I play "I spy" with myself? :-)
I have a number of tools at my disposal: a CD of MP3s of the collected works of the Beatles, many other CDs, Pandora, Audible, MLB Gameday audio. I also have a not riveting set of Question Based Selling CDs that I've been ordered to listen to before the meetings in Houston.
Quote: IbeatyouracesQuote: EvenBobQuote: IbeatyouracesIt'd be one hell of a boring trip report.
Then don't f-ing reading it :)
Read what.
Quote: EvenBobQuote: IbeatyouracesQuote: EvenBobQuote: IbeatyouracesIt'd be one hell of a boring trip report.
Then don't f-ing reading it :)
Read what.
Presumably, read the boring blog that I'm going to write about the trip. Probably no worry there. I hear you don't read the blogs.
Quote: rdw4potus
Presumably, read the boring blog that I'm going to write about the trip. Probably no worry there. I hear you don't read the blogs.
Only if it has lots of pics, then I read them.
Quote: rdw4potusA combination of work, Labor Day, and family obligations are bringing me to the Midwest and Texas for parts of the first two weeks of September. At first, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do because I need to be in Minneapolis, Houston, and Chicago for only 5 of 14 days and I didn’t want to take 3 separate trips from Philly in 2 weeks. Then I realized that I could stay in the Midwest, collect some chips, save money on airfare, and drive around a lot.
Here’s my tentative plan:
Sept 2-4: Drive a loop from Minneapolis to Winnipeg to Thunder Bay to Minneapolis. Collect chips from MN, MB, and ON (and maybe ND)
Sept 5: Meetings in Minneapolis
Sept 6-8: Drive a loop from Minneapolis to KC to Rapid City to Minneapolis. Collect chips from IA, SD, MO, and KS.
Sept 8: Fly to Chicago.
Sept 9: Meetings in Chicagoland.
Sept 10-12: Drive a loop from Chicago to Columbus to Cincy to Tunica to Saint Louis to Chicago. Collect chips from MI, OH, IN, AR, IL, and MO.
Sept 13: Fly to Houston
Sept 13-14: Drive a loop from Houston to Biloxi to Houston. Collect chips from LA and MS.
Sept 15-17: Meetings in Houston
Sept 18: Fly home.
Rather than flying into Minneapolis, Chicago, and Houston and doing a loop, could you flying to the most remote location on the loop and drive back to the destination city in time for your meeting? That way you would only have to drive one way. I would definitely cancel the Minneapolis to Chicago flight and save the money. Instead, you could either buy a ticket from MO to Chicago or just drive from MO to Chicago instead of Minneapolis. As far as I know, they don't have casinos in TX so driving out of TX to LA and MS is a lot of road time for nothing. Better to fly to MS or LA and drive from there to Houston.
Quote: skrbornevryminRather than flying into Minneapolis, Chicago, and Houston and doing a loop, could you flying to the most remote location on the loop and drive back to the destination city in time for your meeting? That way you would only have to drive one way. I would definitely cancel the Minneapolis to Chicago flight and save the money. Instead, you could either buy a ticket from MO to Chicago or just drive from MO to Chicago instead of Minneapolis. As far as I know, they don't have casinos in TX so driving out of TX to LA and MS is a lot of road time for nothing. Better to fly to MS or LA and drive from there to Houston.
I like the idea of not driving the sections as loops. I'll look at that before booking. The issue(s) will be that flying to other airports may add expense, and the one-way car rentals will almost certainly add expense. Of course both of those costs will be mitigated by the fuel and housing savings from shortening the trips.
I love to road trip, but you are looking at some damned big gaps of nuthin' but prairie, especially MSP to Winnipeg and MSP to Rapid City. Drive the Canadian loop if you must to hit the NAC's to the north, but...once back in MSP, consider flying into Rapid City and making your way back to MN via Sioux Falls/NAC's to the west (I90/I94), then down I-35/I-29 thru the Missouri Valley to hit SiouxCity/CouncilBluffs/St. Joe/KansasCity, then I-70 to St. Louis, then down thru Arkansas to Memphis and pick up the Mississippi thru Tunica, Natchez, and Biloxi/Gulfport, then over to Houston via the Gulf Coast. I think it'd be a lot more efficient use of your time than driving out to Rapid, and you still get the Black Hills coming back towards MN.
Quote: beachbumbabsOh, and by the way, there's some damned scary AR backroads driving from Tunica to Springfield, MO. They look MUCH better on a map than they are IRL; you want to cross MO to St.L then go south rather than cut through. Twisty badly maintained route through unfriendly Ozark rural areas, best avoided.
+1
