You’ll be traveling through a section of the Appalacian mountain range, but I honestly don’t know how bad the weather is that far south. Prepare well for einter conditions and you’ll be fine.
I suggest you not take I-80 across head down to I-70. Better this time of year.
He has to take I70 for almost the entire trip through MD. OP said Columbia; I presume the one on the lake and close to Cleveland. But it could be the one close to Columbus. My assumption is base on drive distance. Columbus is 416 miles for DC. Cleveland is 317 miles away.
Just a few weeks ago my S.O. and I left at 06:00 and drove 850+/- miles from Mississippi to Baltimore and two days later returned. We drove straight through both ways with rain, sleet and snow from Tennessee to Maryland. We have 5 vehicles in the driveway but the 96 Isuzu Rodeo with 160,000 miles best suited the trip(Christmas gifts for grand kids) and it was trouble free for the 2,000+ milies it was driven. Nothing can be certain but you sound like a reasonable and responsible, and yes, somewhat paranoid person and the stars seem to be in proper allignment, the winds are in your favor so enjoy your trip.
Like irlandes, on a road trip I also tend to get drowsy in the afternoon. Let me suggest that you buy a CD of ‘Marvin Gaye’s Greatest Hits’ to take with you, and pop it in the CD player if you get drowsy – works better than caffeine for me! And try not to worry… people make these kinds of trips all the time. I recently completed one in my 97 Nissan Maxima with 144k w/o problems.
This trip could be time consuming. You have to go thru the Appalachian mountains. Not high, but can be icy, etc. The PA highways can be crowded. I assume you mean Columbus, Ohio. I see that mapquest puts you on 68 thru WV which is good. But expect a lot of traffic in the vicinity of Wheeling, WV and eastern Ohio. I would estimate 13h for this trip in good weather.
Why will it take you 17 hours to go 656 miles? How slowly will you be traveling?
Using a modest speed estimate of 50 miles per hour, it should only take you about 13 hours.
Did I mention that I am a total grandpa behind the wheel? 
This is a relatively easy trip which my wife, age 70, would not hesitate to do on her own. However, if you are that uncomfortable with the prospect, and this is a winter trip, I assume, I would take the bus or train or fly.
You are obviously uncomfortable at freeway speeds, like my late father in law, who, at age 65, did not want to drive to his son’s wedding, 50 miles away. We drove him there.
There’s nothing wrong with driving slowly, but still, I bet you average at least 50 MPH.
I agree with Docnick. Public transportation is there for exactly this type of trip, but many people don’t even consider it. See if you can find a Greyhound bus express route to your destination. The worst thing about Greyhound can be when the bus makes so many stops that it takes 17 hours to go 656 miles.
If this were April 1st I’d offer the following recommendations: Inspect the magneto, drum brakes, muffler bearings, and king pins. Wash the whitewall tires. Balance the wooden spoke wheels. Run some cleaner through the carburetor and synchronize the mechanical linkage.
Whitey; in the winter there is definitly something wrong with driving too slow. In a snow storm, 50 mph, even in the slow lane is too slow on a FREEWAY, and can cause massive pile-ups from being rear ended. We recently had such an event happen here.
The secret is to drive at the speed everyone else drives in that lane, so as to keep traffic flowing.
OP would probably drive too slow when it starts snowing and could become a traffic hazard.
Docnick, we are going to have to agree to disagree. I don’t care how everyone else is driving. I will drive within my comfort zone and according to conditions. Just because everyone else is willing to drive at recklessly dangerous speeds in adverse conditions doesn’t mean I am going to do the same.
I was born with a brain, and I choose to use it. I have been trained as a professional driver to make my own assessment of what constitutes safe speed.
You will have to forgive me, but my life and my safety are far more important to trust to a stranger who might not have the same sense of self preservation. My life is also more important than “keeping traffic flowing.”
If the OP follows your advice, he could find himself following the car in front of him off a cliff or into a ditch. If that happens, he will have you and your bad advice to thank.
@Whitey
Those words of yours should be carved in stone somewhere significant and taught to every driver’s ed student. I could not have put it any better myself. Thanks.
Whitey; no offence. I merely stated that on freeways the traffic here moves 55 or so in the slow lane when it snows, and faster in the other lanes. The implication is clearly that if OP has to go slow on a freeway (within his limits), he should either take the 2 lane highways or use public transportation.
My advice to OP is to take the bus since he is likely to encounter snow during this trip. My late fater-in-law drove so slowly (within his limit) that he was a real traffic hazard on busy highways. His wife usually drove for him.
A round trip of 650 miles by bus in the US probably cannot be made in one day. I am not an expert in that part of the country, but Greyhound et al schedules are not that convenient, unless by a pure miracle for that route.
Yes, we knew you drove like a grandpa. Heh, heh.
Well, sort of, I am a grandpa and in the last year or two have driven around 840 miles in one day.