AmandaFoxx wrote:
Wow. OK umm yeah just for the record, I enjoy my vodka libations in the evenings, AFTER my scheduled shoots.
Just sayin'.

Respect

AmandaFoxx wrote:
Yes please to cookies!

And Naughty Ties, you are within a few miles of me, what's up with that!

Woohoo!!!!!! 14 days!!!!!!!

Looks like I'm going to have to do the countdown this year, someone's slacking.

Well I usually start my personal countdown at ten days but we can start now. 

14 days.....

And we def have to talk at the Con and see what we can work out. 

Sablesword wrote:
Less than 11 days until I hit the road.

A request for advice: What's the best (fastest and most hassle-free) route from Chicagoland to Tampa?

I know from living in the area for 20+ years (and making frequent trips to Michigan) that there is no good way to get past Chicago to parts south and/or east, only a choice of various bad ways. But once past Chicago, the chief choices seem to be:

I-65 down to I-24, dealing with going through or (preferably) around Indianapolis, Louisville, and Nashville, then I-24 to I-75, then I-75 south, dealing with going around Atlanta but otherwise OK. This is the route I have been taking

I-57 south to I-24, still having to deal with Nashville, but avoiding Indianapolis and Louisville, then continue on I-24 to I-75 and then as above.

I-65 to Indy as above, but then I-74 to I-75 at Cincinnati and then south from there.

Anyone here care to offer their own experiences?

Fastest is without a doubt 57-24-75. You must time it however to avoid Nashville, Chattanooga and above all else Atlanta, at peak traffic times, the bypass at Macon ( 475 ) is a must also.

From the FL/GA border to downtown Tampa is 3 hours.

Sablesword wrote:
Less than 11 days until I hit the road.

A request for advice: What's the best (fastest and most hassle-free) route from Chicagoland to Tampa?

I know from living in the area for 20+ years (and making frequent trips to Michigan) that there is no good way to get past Chicago to parts south and/or east, only a choice of various bad ways. But once past Chicago, the chief choices seem to be:

I-65 down to I-24, dealing with going through or (preferably) around Indianapolis, Louisville, and Nashville, then I-24 to I-75, then I-75 south, dealing with going around Atlanta but otherwise OK. This is the route I have been taking

I-57 south to I-24, still having to deal with Nashville, but avoiding Indianapolis and Louisville, then continue on I-24 to I-75 and then as above.

I-65 to Indy as above, but then I-74 to I-75 at Cincinnati and then south from there.

Anyone here care to offer their own experiences?

Try plotting your trip on Mapquest http://www.mapquest.com and see what they say.

Dave Gibson wrote:
Try plotting your trip on Mapquest http://www.mapquest.com and see what they say.

Mapquest, Google Maps, and GPS are wonderful tools, but they do have their blind spots. The I-65 route is shorter and theoretically faster, but without manual override Mapquest et. al. will guide you straight through the centers of Indy, Louisville, Nashville, and Atlanta. Which is not the best way to go.

So I'm looking for some human input, in addition.

joeyk wrote:
Fastest is without a doubt 57-24-75. You must time it however to avoid Nashville, Chattanooga and above all else Atlanta, at peak traffic times, the bypass at Macon ( 475 ) is a must also.

From the FL/GA border to downtown Tampa is 3 hours.

It sounds like you're speaking from personal experience. For which I thank you. Learning from someone elses personal experience is always less expensive than having to learn from your own.

The bypass at Macon is enough of a no-brainer that even my dumb in-car GPS takes it automatically.

joeyk wrote:
Fastest is without a doubt 57-24-75. You must time it however to avoid Nashville, Chattanooga and above all else Atlanta, at peak traffic times, the bypass at Macon ( 475 ) is a must also.

From the FL/GA border to downtown Tampa is 3 hours.

I've driven this many times and I was about to post a is exact route, so for what it's worth I second that recommendation. 

The only thing I would add is that traveling to the con from Chicago area I would opt to fly instead no question about it.  Unless you are planning a whole road trip out of it and have reasons to be stopping in Atlanta or somewhere else on your way then flying can actually be almost the same price once you factor in fuel, car depreciation, parking fees at the Hilton (which you won't have to pay if you take a shuttle from the airport to the hotel), etc.  Even if you have a bulk of gear that would be expensive to fly with you can ship it ahead to the FedEx store across the street and ship it back from there (lower loss/damage chance vs airline luggage too).  Just my two cents.

Sablesword wrote:
Less than 11 days until I hit the road.

A request for advice: What's the best (fastest and most hassle-free) route from Chicagoland to Tampa?

I know from living in the area for 20+ years (and making frequent trips to Michigan) that there is no good way to get past Chicago to parts south and/or east, only a choice of various bad ways. But once past Chicago, the chief choices seem to be:

I-65 down to I-24, dealing with going through or (preferably) around Indianapolis, Louisville, and Nashville, then I-24 to I-75, then I-75 south, dealing with going around Atlanta but otherwise OK. This is the route I have been taking

I-57 south to I-24, still having to deal with Nashville, but avoiding Indianapolis and Louisville, then continue on I-24 to I-75 and then as above.

I-65 to Indy as above, but then I-74 to I-75 at Cincinnati and then south from there.

Anyone here care to offer their own experiences?

Some construction getting into Nashville ( not bad ).  Chattanooga can be a bottleneck so try and avoid peak times there.

KDPhoto wrote:
I am going this year. I'm sure this year will be a huge success.
Kent

Every year is a huge success when it comes to FetCon! Glad you're able to make it this year. 

T-Dog Studio wrote:
Some construction getting into Nashville ( not bad ).  Chattanooga can be a bottleneck so try and avoid peak times there.

Where is the construction?

The first time, I drove through downtown Nashville (bad mistake...) After that I took the 155 (Briley Parkway) bypass.

I'm planning on the same general schedule as the last three years: Tuesday, stop somewhere about an hour short of Nashville; Wednesday, get to Chattanooga 11am-noon, and then to/around Atlanta 1-2pm. Continue on to Valdosta before stopping. Thursday, arrive at the con hotel around noon.

Sablesword wrote:
It sounds like you're speaking from personal experience. For which I thank you. Learning from someone elses personal experience is always less expensive than having to learn from your own.

Driven it many times. Chattanooga can be rough, changing lanes several times to stay on the same interstate. And traffic is terrible there, avoid 3-6 like the plague. When you head south on 75 from 24, it's like bumper cars fro about 10 miles, watch it.

Likewise Atlanta, 3-6 there is no good way, but at 8pm, you can roll right through the downtown at 80mph.

And from Valdosta south, Georgia highway patrol on many overpasses, watch the two locals where the speed limit drops...

Sablesword wrote:
Continue on to Valdosta before stopping.

Valdosta, exit 18, Comfort Suites, great hotel, great staff. 3 1/2 hours from there to downtown Tampa.

Try Priceline, Valodosta, exit 18, 2 star, $69.

joeyk wrote:

Sablesword wrote:
And from Valdosta south, Georgia highway patrol on many overpasses, watch the two locals where the speed limit drops...

Amen to that! We lived in Valdosta for 29 agonizing years and learned the hard way about Sheriff Ashley Paulk and his band of over zealous deputies patrolling Lowndes County from top to the Florida border. I highly encourage anyone driving I-75 through Lowndes to drive under the posted limit or tickets will be in your future.

Naughty Ties wrote:
Amen to that! We lived in Valdosta for 29 agonizing years and learned the hard way about Sheriff Ashley Paulk and his band of over zealous deputies patrolling Lowndes County from top to the Florida border. I highly encourage anyone driving I-75 through Lowndes to drive under the posted limit or tickets will be in your future.

By way of contrast, there's Gary Megge of the Michigan State Police. http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/0 … e-too-low/

Sablesword wrote:

Pie, cake, and bread don't travel that well. I've found that oatmeal choc chip cookies are the best for road-trip goodies.

I'll be happy to share if you ask nicely.

have you ever tried butterscotch oatmeal cookies?

joeyk wrote:
Likewise Atlanta, 3-6 there is no good way, but at 8pm, you can roll right through the downtown at 80mph.

And from Valdosta south, Georgia highway patrol on many overpasses, watch the two locals where the speed limit drops...

Here, here! Figure out how to do Atlanta on an off hour & go straight through; much easier than the beltway.

Juicylicious wrote:
looking for 2 more fetish models 18-28 y/o for last 2 spot on a hard spanking video shoot.

stop hating on us 30 year olds man ;P

Sablesword wrote:
I think you just fumbled the quoting, putting your own stuff inside the quote box instead of below it.

That's what I get when I drink and type at the same time.  lol

Cat Camp wrote:
Here, here! Figure out how to do Atlanta on an off hour & go straight through; much easier than the beltway.

The problem is not just avoiding rush hour in Atlanta, but avoiding as many different rush hours as possible.

Chicago: Start mid-to-late morning, to avoid the worst of the morning rush. This still means dealing with Chicago, of course. And it's not practical for me to leave early enough to get through Chicago before the morning rush.

Indy and Louisville: The advantage of taking I-57 instead of I-65 is that it lets me avoid both these cities entirely.

Nashville: I'm going to catch the tail end of the morning rush. Avoiding this means either a delay that will put me in Atlanta rush hour traffic, or else managing to get past Nashville the evening before - which I've never been able to do. So I'll take the 155 bypass around the north side and hope for the best.

Chattanooga: Try to get past in the late morning, before noon.

Atlanta: Try to get past in the early afternoon, before 2pm.

Tampa: Arrive at noon.

And a question for those who know: Given that I'm going to be tackling Atlanta around 12noon-2pm, which is the less-bad route: Around the perimeter to the west, or straight through?

Sablesword wrote:
straight through?

There ya go!

T-Dog Studio wrote:
I don't think I can wait another week.

Well you're just gonna have to! So there!

Naughty Ties wrote:

Well you're just gonna have to! So there!

I may have to wait but that don't mean I got to like it, Badman

orias wrote:
hrm two shooting slots left....  someone pair me with beautiful women and let me molest them please lol

Sexist remark! Why can't you molest me?

T-Dog Studio wrote:

I may have to wait but that don't mean I got to like it, Badman

Haha....right? Not long now though! 

Mizz Amanda Marie wrote:
I've still got plenty of open time to book or FC. I usually book most of my stuff at the con, but I'm bringin' my man candy for the first time this year to shoot with me and it'd be nice if I had a little more from the get-go.

So, who else still has openings and wants to get together and work?

Also, as I usually get lots of offers for g/g work, anybody interested in being on my list of models to shoot with? I am known to hook a b*tch up. <3

I would be happy to shoot with you.