Hi Everyone
Last Year My wife (Lyn) and I took what was to date our holiday of a life time to America. Our fabulous journey took in Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Bryce and Zion National Parks, Death Valley, Mammoth Lakes, Yosemite, San Francisco, Monterey, Cambria and Los Angeles – we loved our trip so much that this year we have already booked our flights to visit New England the first 3 weeks in October.
When planning last year’s trip to the US I spent a lot of time speaking to TAs who provided us with invaluable information that made a real difference to the quality of our holiday experience.
So I am back again to ask again for your time and help.
We have done a little research so far but the only thing that is set in concrete is the flights – we fly into Boston on the 30th September 2009 and fly out of Washington on 22nd October.
Our main objective is to see the beautiful countryside in the fall – so scenic drives are our number 1 priority – we really enjoyed the coastal drive between San Francisco and Los Angeles last year and Lyn would like to include another coastal drive on this trip. We also want to see the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia.
So as usual we have a very packed schedule to fit in – as with last year we appreciate that we will not be able to do justice to all the lovely places that will be available but as with our trip last year it was better to get a glimpse of some of the most stunning scenery that America has to offer than to miss it all together.
This is a very, very rough first draft of a proposed itinerary:-
Wed 30th September – Boston
Thursday 1st October – Boston
Friday 2nd October – Boston to either Camden or Warren Island or Islesboro Island Maine – 220 miles 4.5 hours
Saturday 3rd October – Camden or Warren Island or Islesboro Island
Sunday 4th October Camden or Warren Island or Islesboro Island to Moosehead Lake – 100 miles 3.5 hours. Taking in the scenic Lakes and Leaves drive on Route 15
Monday 5th October Moosehead Lake
Tuesday 6th October - Moosehead Lake to Lincoln (New Hampshire) –
Moosehead to Bingham 40 miles – 30 mins (or is this the Lakes and Leaves drive)
Bingham to Albany – 163 miles – 3 hours (via Jackson)
Albany to Lincoln - 37 miles – 1 hour - (Kancamagus Scenic Highway – New
Hamp taking in the Sabaday Falls)
Wednesday 7th October – Lincoln to Williamstown
Lincoln to Woodstock – 92 miles – 2.25 hours
Woodstock to Killington - 20 miles – 25 mins (Vermont – Scenic Drive)
Killington to Williamstown - 82.miles – 1.75 hours
Thursday 8th October – Williamstown
Friday 9th October Williamstown to Narragansett
Williamstown to Shirley – 100 miles – 2.25 (Massachusetts – Mohawk Trail)
Shirley to Woodstock – 55 miles (1.25 hours)
Woodstock to Lisbon – 35 miles – 1 hour (Connecticut – Route 160)
Lisbon to Narragansett – 37 miles – 1 hour 10 minutes
Saturday 10th October – Narragansett
Sunday 11th October Narragansett – New York
Narragansett to Westlery – 25 miles – 40 minutes (Rhode Island Coast Scenic Drive)
Westerly to New York – 145 miles – 2.75 hours
Monday 12th October – New York to Baltimore
New York to Philadelphia - 102 miles – 2 hours
Philadelphia to Baltimore – 102 miles – 2 hours
Tuesday 13th October Baltimore to The Rockfish Gap
Baltimore to Front Royal Virginia– 107 miles – 2 hours (start of Skyline Drive)
Front Royal to Rockfish Gap (Skyline Drive)102 miles – 2 hours
Wednesday 14th October - Rockfish Gap
Thursday 15th October – Rockfish Gap to The Rocky Knob Cabins
Rockfish Gap to The Rocky Knob Cabin (Blue Ridge Parkway) - 160 miles 3 hours
Friday 16th October – The Rocky Knob Cabins
Saturday 17th October – The Rocky Knob Cabins to Lauda – 260 miles 4.5 hours
Sunday 18th October – Lauda
Monday 19th October - Lauada to Atlanta – 149 miles 3 hours
Tuesday 20th October - Atlanta – Washington (Flight $160 each 1.5 hrs flight)
Wednesday 21st October - Washington
Thursday 22nd October – Fly home Washington to Heathrow
As I say this is all very provisional at the moment and anything and everything is up for change – but as you know you have to start somewhere.
Be very grateful for your comments – have I missed any ‘must sees’
Thanks in advance
Ray
Any Help With Itinerary Most Welcome
Ray, I would say your tentative plan here is fantastic, TONS of driving, but you%26#39;re right, you will see some breathtaking scenery along the way. You%26#39;re going to see more than the locals like me ever saw, I never went north of Freeport, Maine in my entire life, so good for you!
I did that same type of west coast California trip about 7 years ago, it was fantastic!
Boston right up to Camden, Maine is a good way to start your trip off, you will see some stunning scenery as you head north of Boston. Where are you staying in Boston, any ideas yet? You should see about either the Omni Parker House, Jury%26#39;s or the Copley Plaza Hotel may be?? Try to book a Duck Tour while you%26#39;re there, it%26#39;ll be a good way to quickly check out some Boston sites %26amp; attractions:
www.bostonducktours.com
Paul Revere%26#39;s House is in the North End, you could go there to see it, then head to one of the North End%26#39;s many fine Italian restaurants for a late lunch or early dinner, check this site, then click on dining to see all of your choices, remember this gem, it%26#39;s called La Summa%26#39;s and it%26#39;s located on Fleet Street. It%26#39;s one of our favorites on TA:
www.northendboston.com
You might want to put this same post in the Boston forum as well as the Maine forum, just for more input %26amp; ideas from the various local TA%26#39;s.
What a trip you%26#39;re planning, it%26#39;s going to be fantastic, I hope you get to do all of it, there%26#39;s quite a lot to see %26amp; tons of driving! Wait until you see Williamstown, it%26#39;s one place I loved and finally saw for the first time a few years ago. It%26#39;s definitely a place that you want to take pictures of, it%26#39;s quaint old fashioned New England at its finest.
One place that%26#39;s near Williamstown past that beautiful Mohawk Trail, is a town called Stockbridge. If you can try to get there, you won%26#39;t regret it one bit. You could try to get to the Norman Rockwell Museum and the Red Lion Inn for lunch or dinner may be, there%26#39;s also the Chamber of Commerce%26#39;s site to see all that it offers there:
www.nrm.org
www.redlioninn.com
www.stockbridgechamber.org
Enjoy your trip, keep asking here or in the Boston and Maine thread as well because there%26#39;s many more ideas and suggestions for you in all of them!
Any Help With Itinerary Most Welcome
Wow, that%26#39;s some itinerary. I hope that you have narrowed down the places that you want to spend the night. Being peak foliage season you may have a hard time finding a place to sleep if you don%26#39;t make reservations.
I have visited most of the places that you went the last time you were in America. The East coast is very different. Hwy 1 in California is the most spectacular road I have ever been on. You%26#39;ll see great scenery here but for beauty you can%26#39;t compare the East to the West. IMO the West wins hands down. No matter, with careful planning you%26#39;ll have a great time. If you hit the foliage at peak that in itself is spectacular. Enjoy your time in America!
Hi Nomo - that was a fabulous reply - thanks so much I am copying all of my replies and we will spend the weekend revising our itinerary.
Hi Msar - haven%26#39;t even started looking for accommodation yet - I will have to get a move on I agree - I think I want to get the main structure of the itinerary sorted first though - TAs are already making us think twice about the where we should and shouldn%26#39;t visit.
Great fun
Take care
Ray
Well I personally would shoot myself if I had to spend that much time in a car so I cannot comment on the itinerary itself. That is why we are all different. I just hope that you get to immerse yourself for a little bit in some local culture, etc. Certainly, the view passing by is beautiful but it is even better when you see it on a hike, spend some time at a fall festival, etc.
Some thoughts though. The Northeast has incredibly crowded highways and byways especially during peak seasons. Travel in and out of NY can be very slow. It is not unusual for it to take over an hour just to get to and cross the GW bridge.
Another place that I think everyone should visit is Gettysburg. Well worth a day wandering the fields and town.
The speed limit on skyline drive is 35-45 so 2 hours to go over 100 miles just is not realistic. Again, that road during peak fall season is crowded and you will want to stop along the way.
Other thoughts, for instance Killington to Williamstown
You pass Weston (which many consider the quintessential NE village), Arlington, Bennington, etc to get to Williamstown which is very nice (one of the best college art museums I have ever been to - includes the letter from King Geo replying to our Declaration of Independence) But Williamstown is not the jewel of the Berkshires and there is Lenox and Stockbridge which get you a little further into the Berkshires.
Another question, how many trees do you want to see?
I have never been to Atlanta but it probably deserves more than a day.
Anyway, forgive me my prejudices. You have traveled this way before and enjoy it. Bottom line, be realistic about what you can do and please leave time to say you experienced the North East and just did not see it.
You need to realize that this trip will be entirely different from the one that you did last year. Your southwest trip covered huge distances and a lot of open territory with focused time of destnaitions and scenery.
In contrast, your plan for this year needs to be revised in that you will get far more out of the trip by deleting about half of the destnations and concentrating on interacting with the people along the way, as much if not more than the scenery. And the roads you%26#39;ll be driving will be more akin to what you%26#39;re leaving at home as opposed to the wide open stretches you encountered in the west.
New England alone is about the same size as the state of Utah, but you be wise to spend the entire 3 weeks just there, as opposed to trying to travel the whole east coast. the trip you have planned will take you to many places, but in the time you have planned, you won%26#39;t see anything.
You should (IMHO) devote at least a full weeek to the cape around Boston, then head up the maine Coast and spend another 5=7 days there, and finally move inland, into the mountains and give yourselves another week in New Hampshire and back down to Mass and NY.
Your timing is ideal to enjoy the wonder of fall in New England, but prebooking your lodging is an absolute must, or you will find yourself sleeping in your car on weekend nights.
Finally, I look forward to your full account of the journey when you%26#39;re finished. Your TR last year was one of the all time greats.
Good luck.
RedRox
You said that so much better than I did!!!!
RedRox always had good ideas...
I am tired just reading this itinerary!
I am now going to read last year%26#39;s TR.
This is why I love this site soooo much - neslaw1 and Redrox - fabulous advice as usual
This is why I love this site soooo much - neslaw1 and Redrox - fabulous advice as usual. You certainly make your point well and given us a lot of food for thought - Lyn and I have talked over both of your replies at some length.
I think you may be right - In my heart of heart I knew that we were trying to pack in too much. The truth is we origially only intended to see New England and it was only a afterthought that we added Virginia - we were so close and the thought of taking another feast of scenery was so tempting.
I am probably the one in our marriage who is more than happy just taking in the awesome scenery even if it is only a glimpse- Lyn is the one that (although also loving the scenery) would prefer the slower more detailed look at a new location.
Last year when we visited the south west I wouldn%26#39;t swop anything for just a glimpse of The Grand Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, Lake Powell, Zion and Bryce National Parks; Death Valley, Yosemite and the Highway but I realise that fleeting visits are not everyones cup of tea.
But you know how it is - we are now of an age when we can afford holidaysthat are further abroad - the kids have all grown up and moved on - we can at last start thinking about ourselves for the first time for a long time - we can go where we want to go and it doesn%26#39;t have to include a theme or water park but time is moving on and there is a lot of incredible sights out there to see before the final bell is rung.
We%26#39;ve been deprived of these fabulous locations for a longtime and there is a large element of see what you can, when you can you can never be sure if you will ever pass this way again.
But I still think you are right it will probably be a much better experience if we reduce our itinerary.
Thanks again for your very helpful comments
Take care
Ray
I think you may be right - In my heart of heart I knew that we were trying to pack in too much. The truth is we origially only intended to see New England and it was only a afterthought that we added Virginia - we were so close and the thought of taking another feast of scenery was so tempting.
But you are not close. Virginia is 10 to 12 hrs from Massachusetts and with traffic on 95 a lot longer. Stay in New England and enjoy everything it has to offer.
