Help needed on NYC / NE road trip

[ohcbird]

I'm driving from Jacksonville, FL to Maine right after new years... I have to get my truck up to Maine some how, ya know?

Well- the wife & kids are coming (teens- the kids, that is). We want to stop by Washington DC, Philidelphia, NYC, Boston, etc briefly just to see the sites. They've never been there & I'm no expert, so any advice on what to see & HOW to get there, traffic reccomendations, stuff like that- is what I'm looking for.

So- let me hear 'em!

[BC69]

I am sure when you come from NYC to Boston you will come up 90 or 95 and it will bring you right into the heart of the city. There is obviously a lot of history up here, but it tends to be spread out haha. The typical tourist spots have to include going to Fanuel Hall, and you can walk the liberty trail from there if you wanted (not sure bout teens and weather like we have now though!) Otherwise from Fanuel Hall you can walk to the North End for great Italian food, or walk to the harbor for the Aquarium/Imax.

I am not going to try and give directions, but I am sure you will come in from 90 or 95/93 and the best place to get off would be Government Center, it throws you right where you want to be.

And to take a peak at the best college in Boston, just go up Commonwealth to Chestnut Hill and Boston College will greet you haha!


Good Luck! If you want more detail feel free to shoot me a PM


Tim

[ratman228]

In Philly, check out Independence Hall (where they signed the Declaration of Independence) and the Liberty Bell, both in Center City. The streets in those areas are cobblestone from the 17 and 18 hundreds, pretty cool.

Also head down to South Philly, 9th and Passyunk for a cheesesteak. Geno's and Pat's are world famous and right across from each other. You can't go wrong with either place, so try both.

Try to avoid Southwest Philadelphia and North Philadelphia, those areas are the higher crime areas.

[Hdesign]

95 is definitely the way to go as far as a direct route up the coast towards Maine.

As far as seeing things in Boston, your best bet is to park your car at one of the T stops (Boston's subway system) outside the city and ride the T all day to see everything in Boston you want. To travel in and around Boston with no experience with Mass-hole driving habits and the Big Dig your whole family will be miserable. Trust me! It's tough enough being from the area and trying to get around. Stay away from the Orange line as much as possible

As far as the T stops, Government Center (on the Blue line) will let you out at the top of Faneuil Hall with all the shops, food and street performers. Plus you can take a tour on the Freedom Trail or a Duck Tour of the area there. You can take the Red line T to Park St. to see the Boston Common with Frog Pond for skating and ice sculptures that are being made for First Night (New Year's) festivities (they'll probably still be there). You can take the Red line to Downtown Crossing for all the shopping (if you're into that sort of thing.) Fenway Park is off the Green line at the Kenmore stop, just walk up Brookline Ave when you get off. The North End is where you want to be for dinner if you're in Boston, be sure to stop at Mike's Pastries for dessert, the Cheesecake is insane!

North of Boston, you can travel through Gloucester and Rockport along the coast until NH. Portsmouth is a great town to see with tons of interesting places, then you'll go through Kittery in ME where all the outlet stores are. Or if you want to see more country sights and aren't in as rush, the White Mountains are incredible especially around the Laconia and Conway areas. I'm sure there's other stuff like that in ME but I don't know enough to recommend any.

Just be ready for nasty weather when you get up here, we've had 17 in of snow this month already and MA pretty much came to a screeching halt last Thursday because of it. It took my sis-in-law 8.5 hours to drive home from work 50 minutes away because non-essential employees were all let out at the peak of the storm and the plows couldn't get through. I hope you have a 4X4!

[comp-spec]

The Boston World of Wheels are there on Jan. 4-5-6 You will be driving wright by there if your up here by then.
My shop is about 10mins off 95 before Boston if you and your family have any trouble during your trip and need something give us a call we'll help you out
www.Competition-Specialties.com

[ohcbird]

Thanks for the heads up; I appreciate any info.

I'm already up here in Maine- I'll be here for a while. I'm bringing my 4 runner up, so I think I'll be ok. If my 'Runner doesn't make it around, then I probably shouldn't be out driving. I was able to enjoy that last snow fall in my rental HHR...

I'll give you a holler when we get up toward Boston.

[chopshop]

Originally Posted by ohcbird

I'm driving from Jacksonville, FL to Maine right after new years... I have to get my truck up to Maine some how, ya know?

Well- the wife & kids are coming (teens- the kids, that is). We want to stop by Washington DC, Philidelphia, NYC, Boston, etc briefly just to see the sites. They've never been there & I'm no expert, so any advice on what to see & HOW to get there, traffic reccomendations, stuff like that- is what I'm looking for.

So- let me hear 'em!

Hey if they let ya, Id love for you to stop by- you practically have to drive past my shop exit to get to/from Maine from MA. (On RT 128/95) - Im at the other end from Pete at Comp Speciaties!

Dont know how teen the kids are but our IMAX theatre in Reading ma is cool and also has a place you can trapeze (its in Jordans Furniture) might be a good place to stop for ice cream ,relax for a few and let them blow off steam....

And Pete's right - the World of Wheel is a HUGE show up here- 2nd largest ISCA show.

Make sure to stay away from any highway on rush hour. If you need anything- you can call me too -day or night (PM me and Ill give you my cell #) and we have pals in Portland Maine too (Extreme Rod and Custom-Jonathan White) if you need help while y'all are up there


Ben: I hear ya on the snow- took Dana 5 hrs to get from Waltham to Burlington AND she ran out of gas (had a 1/2 tank when she left) and had to be pushed to the gas station!