The best way to Destin

Destin Commons - a NICE place

We had an amazing vacation. Julie will be posting about it soon. Until then, I thought I'd say a few words about one of my hobbies - trying to find the best way from Atlanta to Destin. There's no direct way to get there, and we've tried quite a few highway combinations over the years. Maybe the elusive perfect route is still out there, waiting to be discovered.

Conventional wisdom says to take Option 1:
I-85 to Columbus, 431 south to Dothan, 231 south to I-10, I-10 west to 331 to Destin
The pros? It's probably the lowest-mileage option. It's almost all 4-lane, and they've almost finished the 4-lane part between Phenix City and Eufaula.
The cons? You have to crawl through the sprawl of Phenix City, Eufaula, and Dothan. Seriously, it's like a light every 10 feet in those towns. On that note, what is up with Dothan's city planning? I'm sure it's a nice enough place, but the roads are a whirlpool of concentric circles, badly timed lights and crazy congestion. This is the sign that greets you as you enter the city. Madness!


Photo: JP Nasiatka

And then there's Option 2:
I-85 to Montgomery, I-65 to the Montgomery loop road, 331 south all the way to Destin
Pros? I-85 moves fast and is in great shape now that they've finished the construction south of Atlanta (Yee-HA!). Plus, there are two "yuppie exits" on I-85 - meaning they have clusters of our fave places to eat (Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, Panera). Those exits are Tigertown near Auburn, and Eastchase near Montgomery.
Cons? It's a big pain to get to the start of 331 in Montgomery. You have to take the horrible loop road to get there. I actually prefer to overshoot and take I-65, then duck in from the east to drive as little of it as possible. Also, 331 gets bogged down in the small towns.

Option 3 is probably the best one:
I-85 to Montgomery, I-65 to Georgiana, then various highways taking you through Andalusia, Baker and Crestview, then the Mid-Bay Bridge to Destin
Pros? Super-fast and easy interstate driving for most of the way. Plus the two yuppie exits (see above). Also, there's a secret shortcut to bypass downtown Crestview (Antioch Rd.).
Cons? Lots of miles.

Option 4 is what we did on the way home:
Option 1, except take south AL backroad shortcuts
Pros? You can save time on Option 1 and still take the most direct route. You can avoid Dothan this way as well. And don't forget the adventure of finding the perfect route.
Cons? It's usually more trouble than it's worth because of all the crazy turns you have to plan out in advance. Also, you're almost guaranteed to get lost in the small towns because of poor signage. Or at least you have to slow down to 25 mph for each one of them.

One quick word about the small towns. There are a LOT of them in southern AL. You can tell the town squares were really cozy and nice in their heyday.


Photo of Florala, AL by tewbyfourgn5

I do wonder what's going to happen to the downtowns as time goes on. Now most of the storefronts are vacant... maybe an antique store or a creepy shrine lodge, but that's about it. The bigger towns have the sprawling '80s developments, and some of them have a brand-new Walmart on the outskirts. But those downtowns are really forgotten. I certainly have no room to talk, since I spend my time trying to find the route that bypasses everything. Because, well, it's a full day's drive and I'm trying to go as fast as possible. But I get nostalgic about these things too. Just like in the movie Cars. You know, the James Taylor scene.

Let me know if you have any suggestions... is Option 3 the best one?