Q's on driving from Charlotte NC to Greeneville TN

[SaphirimalMei]

(Crossposted from southeast group section)

We're flying to meet family for Thanksgiving and the only non-stop flight I could find into that area (cuz I didnt want a hellacious layover) was into Charlotte which is about 200 miles away from our ultimate destination of Greeneville, TN. I figured a non-stop flight would be best with a 9 month old since we can always stop the car if she gets cranky, but the plane waits for no one!

Anyways, I was just trying to get an idea of what kind of terrain we'll be covering on our drive. DH said the terrain was mountains & hills that would be tough to climb in a 4-cyl rental car. I wanted to double check with you ladies :) Is a 3-3.5 hour care ride an unreasonable expectation?

Also, what kind of weather can we expect during that time of year? Rain? How cold?

Thanks for any tips!

-Marisa

[ktdelsur]

Hi there. Just now saw your response. I grew up about 25 mins from Greeneville, TN and I live in upstate SC now. I haven't traveled from Charlotte to Greeneville in a number of years, but it really is iffy in terms of Thanksgiving weather. I've dealt with snow flurries then but it really depends. If you are going to be on Hwy 321, which I think you can't avoid unless you go out of the way, definitely check the road conditions first. It is mountainous, and if the sign says 15 mph around a curve, you better go 15 mph. 321 IS much less curvy than 421, so that is a plus, and it looks like you'd be on I 40 for the majority of the drive - its that last mountainous leg I'd be concerned about, depending on how the weather is.

I'd almost rather have a layover than drive that drive with a 9 month old after flying from Colorado. Maybe its just me but I'd be GRUMPY. hehehe.

Were there no flights to maybe Knoxville, TN instead of Charlotte? Shorter drive and no mountains to worry about. Its hard to get a flight into Tri Cities Airport without it costing an arm and a leg for some reason.

PM me or email me if you like - I know the area pretty well.
ktdelsur at yahoo dot com.

[SaphirimalMei]

Nope, no non-stop flights into Knoxville (or Tri-County for that matter) :(. They were all atleast 1 stop + changing planes. The travel time averaged about 7 hours + a 70 mile drive to Greeneville. So, I made the decision for us to fly non-stop into Charlotte (3 hour flight) then drive into Greeneville (3-3.5 hour drive). Seemed to make the most sense to me at the time since we can stop the car if DD is super cranky, and I have no idea how she's going to take to flying since she's never done it before. The possibility of snow worries me a bit, though. Guess I'm geographically ignorant because I didnt really think it snowed in that area of the country :p Thank for the advice!!!