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
I am very confused. I%26#39;m trying to read through your itinerary and I see some problems. I see you going from Maine to Lincoln, N.H. That%26#39;s fine. Then I see Lincoln to Bingham. I have no idea where Bingham is. Do you mean Binghamton, N.Y.? Then there%26#39;s back to Lincoln from Bingham. Why go back to Lincoln if you%26#39;ve already been there? Shirley to Woodstock? The only Woostock I am familiar with is Woodstock, Vermont. Woodstock to I assume Lisbon, Connecticut is much longer than 55 miles. Shirley, Mass to Lisbon is much further than 55 miles. The Mohawk Trail is a nice drive, but ending it around Greenfield, Mass is better than pushing on to Shirley. Basically everything after Greenfield becomes more industrialized, city like and not very scenic.
Second, the driving! I was tired just reading all these places you want to drive to. It seems more like a trip to do a mad dash and see as many places as possible, without allowing yourselves time to enjoy each stop. Remember, east coast driving is more congested and slower going than the great, wild west you visited last year. Also, remember that you are visiting all these places during the ';peak'; of the Fall season. You may have trouble finding a place to bed down for one night in the more popular places. Many of these destinations start with a two night minimum stay. So, just keep that in mind.
Your not going to find a coastal drive like that of The Pacific Coast Highway along the east coast. There%26#39;s good stretches of coastal driving to enjoy, but you need to hop off the main interstate and take the slower roads. Driving Route 1 in Maine is the best scenic, ocean drive I can think of.
Lastly, I notice some destinations that don%26#39;t warrant a visit. Albany, New York? What do you want to see in Albany? Same goes for Lisbon, CT. Westerly, Rhode Island is a great spot to visit during the summer season, but I wouldn%26#39;t stop there on my way to New York. Stop off at Mystic, CT instead. Narragansett is a nice town to visit and the coastal drive along the Rhode Island coast is nice. No prblems there. No Newport, R.I. in your itinerary? No Cape Cod, Mass.?
Skyline Drive is a nice drive. You%26#39;ll like that. It may be a little bit crowded on the roadways down there too, but it should be enjoyable.
I would spend a little more time tweaking your itinerary and cut back on the driving a little bit. Feel free to ask more specific questions and I%26#39;ll try and give you some advice.
Any Help With Itinerary Most Welcome
Thanks Will - great advice - this is just what I need - I have done a little research before I posted but to be honest some of it was filled in with a little guesswork just by looking at a map and seeing a town in convenient stopping point.
Your type of feedback is invaluable - this will help a lot develop a revised itinerary.
I realise that its a lot of driving and it may be too much - others have said the same - I must admit I was assuming that the driving conditions would be the same as the West Coast which they are clearly not.
Thanks again
Take care
Ray
I agree that you are not getting the best of what you want to see with this itinerary. The east coast is very different then the west coast. As the other posted said you will have to get off the main road to see great sites. You definitely have some sites not worth seeing, like Albany on your itinerary and others missing. Route 1 in Maine through Bar Harbor is great and since you will be there in fall I would not miss route 100 through the Stowe area. I will try to out line some highlights in another post. I will have to ponder this for a few moments. I agree that it is too much driving for the east. Also Moosehead Lake, although beautiful, I a far drive from the coast. If you want to go through New York I would suggest Lake Placid and taking the ferry over to Vermont and drive down for leaf peeping. As I said I will take a look and get back to you in a separate post.
Yes, forget Albany and Binghamton. If you want to go to Narragansett, then you really must go to Newport, its only a half hour away. If you had to make choices, I would choose RI over Maine, I think RI is more interesting and generally as beautiful as that part of Maine you were planning -plus we have lobster and steamers too. The part of Maine that is really magnificent is further north. Also if you are going to the NH mountains than the Virginia mountains will not be sooo different. I think most agree that NH mountains are nicer. Route 25 in NH is lovely driving. Once you go to NH, then the Berkshires in MA are no big thing, though pretty enough. Also you say two hours from NY to Philly, -if you are lucky. It would take you an hour just to get out of NYC. When you are in NYC, you%26#39;ll likely want to spend an extra day there too, as its tons of fun!
I%26#39;ll throw my two cents in on a portion of the trip. Narragansett is nice ( I have a second home there) but not much to do at that time of year. I would go to Newport instead. Much more scenic with the wharfs and you could tour a mansion or two and take a sailboat tour. To avoid crowds in Newport plan to visit during the week instead of weekend. If you love the bustle of the crowds then the weekend is best.
Narragansett is mostly a summer destination for the beach, which in Oct. it would be chilly for swimming anyway.
Mystic Ct. is also a popular tourist town.
In Maine, I like the Ogunquit, Kennebunk areas or Bar Harbor.
Glad you%26#39;re enjoying all the beauty the states have to offer.
Some suggestions...
Day 1 Boston (2 nights) stop in Cape Ann
Day 3 Newport (Spend 2 nights), stay at Castlehill Inn
Day 5 Newport -- Cape Cod -- Take Ferry to either Martha%26#39;s Vineyard or Nantucket (spend a night or 2)
In MV stay in Charlotte Inn - In Nantucket - White Elephant
Day 6 MV or Nantucket - stop in Portsmouth, NH, make your way toward Freeport, ME, and then to Kennebunkport (spend the night)
Nice places to stay: White Barn Inn, Inn at Bufflehead Cove
Day 7 Kennebunkport - then to Ogunquit, Camden and up to Bar Harbor (spend 2 nights)
Day 9 Bar Harbor then make your way Back toward Portland Make way across New England Franconia%26#39;s Notch (spend the night)
Adair is a nice place to stay.
Day 11 Franconia%26#39;s Notch and drive toward Stowe, VT (spend 2 nights)
Places to stay - Trapp Family Lodge, Top Notch Inn, rentalsatstowe.com
Day 12 Stowe to Burlington to catch Ferry to New York, drive to Lake Placid (spend 2 nights)
Nice place to stay: Lake Placid Lodge
Day 14 Lake Placid Make your way down toward NY/DC
You can stop in Litchfield Connecticut (spend the night) or go directly to NYC.
The New England Itinerary makes a big loop through New England). If you want to make fewer stops I would drop Lake Placid although it is a nice place to see and the ferry ride from Vermont is lovely.
You can take your southern tour from here. I think it is VERY ambitious to try to fit in Atlanta. If you prefer countryside I would consider Savannah, GA and/or Charleston, NC - this will give you a since of history steeped in antebellum architecture. Stopping in Chesapeake Bay before or after is a possibility again, depending on how much you plan on fitting in. I would probably cut a couple of things out and enjoy the rest stops.
Day 16 through 21 - south
Enjoy!
Hillside68 and 2wise4u thank you for your very useful comments - putting the itinerary together was really a bit hit and miss - I of course have no idea what the locations are like - they are just places on a map at the moment - you have really described some terrific alternatives and much more the sort of thing that we are looking for.
2firenze - what a star you are - thank you so much for the time and effort that you have spent with your suggested revisions to the itinerary - it is very much appreciated.
We received so much useful information last year when we visited the SWUSA which made a tremendous difference to the quailty of our visit - the NE has been exactly the same and we do appreciate your time and feedback.
Take care
Ray
Oh yes, if you go far enough south and enjoy a bit of american history, Charlottesville Va has two american presidents homes. Monticello ( Thomas Jefferson) and Ashlawn. You could pick up skyline drive from that area.
Our son lived on the outskirts of Charleston, S.C for awhile and that area was very nice as well.
If you have three weeks, you might want to aim for ten days in the Northeast and then ten days further south.
Looks like you%26#39;re getting a nice itineary together.
It is true. It would be nice to visit Monticello ( Thomas Jefferson) and Ashlawn and pick up skyline drive from there. There are vinyards you can stop in for tastings as well. Again, enjoy and glad I could make suggestions. Hope you have a great trip. Let us know how it works out.
The itinerary is now coming together nicely - thanks again - I will post the revised itinerary although it may take a few days as I think it will need a major overhaul.
Big decision now is whether to stay the whole trip in New England or include the Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway - I think we have already decided to skip New York.
Oh it would be so nice to drive the Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway as well - but I know the advice I%26#39;m receiving is sensible.
Decisions, decisions!!
Thanks again
Ray
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