@@@ driving routes in Boston?new England area @@@

Hi all,

My wife and I will be flying to Boston for a ten day break at the end of
March 2004.
We will be hiring a car and stopping at motels in whatever town we find
ourselves in that night.

Does anyone have any advice regarding this type of travel in the New England
area?

Also does anyone have any suggested driving routes and/or 'must see' place's
of interest that we should include on our trip?

Thanks in advance!

Regards

Blakey

On Wed, 11 Feb 2004 13:47:38 -0000, "Blakey"
wrote:

Hi all,

My wife and I will be flying to Boston for a ten day break at the end of
March 2004.
We will be hiring a car and stopping at motels in whatever town we find
ourselves in that night.

Does anyone have any advice regarding this type of travel in the New England
area?

Also does anyone have any suggested driving routes and/or 'must see' place's
of interest that we should include on our trip?


I haven't been there in a while but I find the Interstate highways in
the Boston area to be among the scariest I have ever driven. The
commercial traffic was overwhelming, much like an afternoon on the
Long Island Expressway. I suppose it was mostly due to my lack of
familiarity with the area.

March in NE doesn't sound particularly scenic to me as I don't think
Spring will have shown itself in the trees yet. But we have always
enjoyed driving up US 1 on the Maine coast, also straight up New
Hampshire and down Vermont. Stay away from cities and you will have
plenty of "sights" to stumble upon. If you would like to see an
outlet mall shopping frenzy go to Kittery, Maine.

Brian Wickham

"Brian Wickham" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 11 Feb 2004 13:47:38 -0000, "Blakey"
wrote:

Hi all,

My wife and I will be flying to Boston for a ten day break at the end of
March 2004.
We will be hiring a car and stopping at motels in whatever town we find
ourselves in that night.

Does anyone have any advice regarding this type of travel in the New
England
area?

Also does anyone have any suggested driving routes and/or 'must see'
place's
of interest that we should include on our trip?


I haven't been there in a while but I find the Interstate highways in
the Boston area to be among the scariest I have ever driven. The
commercial traffic was overwhelming, much like an afternoon on the
Long Island Expressway. I suppose it was mostly due to my lack of
familiarity with the area.


When I drove around Boston last September it was fine - but then I'm
familiar with the M1/M25/M4 combo around London so its quite hard for the US
to throw anything scary at me - theres so much space even when its busy.

My advice would be to try to male sure that you have a motel booked in the
Boston area - anywhere else just take your chance - we wasted an inordinate
amount of time trying to find somewhere on a Friday night... and unless
you're going to stay downtown its a good idea to find somewhere near a rail
station.

"Blakey" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

My wife and I will be flying to Boston for a ten day break at the end of
March 2004.
We will be hiring a car and stopping at motels in whatever town we find
ourselves in that night.

Does anyone have any advice regarding this type of travel in the New
England
area?


Be aware that New England winters are rather harsher than ours
so pack really good winter clothing including gloves and a hat.

Also does anyone have any suggested driving routes and/or 'must see'
place's
of interest that we should include on our trip?


In Connecticut Mystic Seaport is a good all year attraction and there's
an excellent aquarium nearby, Its absolutely the BEST time to visit
Cape Cod , its beautiful and you'll be the only ones there

The coast up towards Portland is marvellous and Vermont
and New Hampshire are gorgeous (and have some excellent
skiing) but watch those mountain roads

Keith

Blakey wrote:

Hi all,

My wife and I will be flying to Boston for a ten day break at the end of
March 2004.
We will be hiring a car and stopping at motels in whatever town we find
ourselves in that night.

Does anyone have any advice regarding this type of travel in the New England
area?

Also does anyone have any suggested driving routes and/or 'must see' place's
of interest that we should include on our trip?

You've asked for a lot. New England is larger than Olde England, and even more
varied. In 10 days you don't have enough time to see everything, so you will
have to narrow your direction somewhat. Also, note that March (and even April)
can have winter weather; heavy snow in mid-April is not unheard of. Going North,
you can go to Cape Ann, Massachusetts, then up the coast of Maine to see a lot
of small fishing towns, ending at Bar Harbor (you can go further, but it is more
or less a repeat of what you have seen).

Going South there's Plimouth Plantation, a reconstruction of the 1620 village
founded by the Mayflower settlers. Then to Newport, Rhode Island, which has the
oldest lending library in the US (the Redwood Athenaeum) and the oldest
synagogue, as well as yachts, shopping, and the mansions of the robber barons of
100 years ago. Then there's Mystic Seaport, a reconstructed whaling port. I've
skipped Cape Cod, because it would take a couple of days in itself, and there
isn't much doing that time of year. You could also visit New Haven, the home of
Yale University.

If you ski you could go to Vermont or New Hampshire.

Going West from Boston there's Old Sturbridge Village restoration, a town set at
the beginning of the industrial revolution.

That's barely scratching the surface, however.

Larry

--
Larry Finch

N 40° 53' 47"
W 74° 03' 56"

In article ,
"Blakey" wrote:

Hi all,

My wife and I will be flying to Boston for a ten day break at the end of
March 2004.
We will be hiring a car and stopping at motels in whatever town we find
ourselves in that night.

Does anyone have any advice regarding this type of travel in the New England
area?

Also does anyone have any suggested driving routes and/or 'must see' place's
of interest that we should include on our trip?

Depends on what you want to see and do. If you intend to spend more than
a day in Boston, I suggest you either plan your trip so that your visit
to Boston is either at the very beginning or end of your trip. Do not
rent a car while you're in Boston. Driving in and around Boston is
nothing short of a nighmare and if you stay IN Boston, you will likely
pay a small fortune to park the car at your hotel.

"John W" wrote in message
...



When I drove around Boston last September it was fine - but then I'm
familiar with the M1/M25/M4 combo around London so its quite hard for the
US
to throw anything scary at me - theres so much space even when its busy.

My advice would be to try to male sure that you have a motel booked in the
Boston area - anywhere else just take your chance - we wasted an
inordinate
amount of time trying to find somewhere on a Friday night... and unless
you're going to stay downtown its a good idea to find somewhere near a
rail
station.



If the OP is planning on staying in downtown Boston I'd advise
that he NOT rent a car until he's ready to move on. Traffic in the
city is dreadful and it has a decent public transport system.

Keith

"Blakey" wrote in message ...
Hi all,

My wife and I will be flying to Boston for a ten day break at the end of
March 2004.
We will be hiring a car and stopping at motels in whatever town we find
ourselves in that night.

Does anyone have any advice regarding this type of travel in the New England
area?
I can't overemphasize the fickleness of the weather at that time of
year, or the possibility that there will be a "nor'easter" (a heavy
snowstorm that brings everything to a halt for a day or so--pretty but
inconvenient). Bring layered clothing suitable for wet, heavy snow and
a good pair of boots. If you plan to get out of the urbanized and
suburbanized parts, listen or watch the weather forecast daily, and
take it seriously. Put some blankets, high-calorie food, and bottled
water in the car if you plan to head out to rural areas--at the least
it's good for morale, and it can stave off hypothermia.

Of course, you could encounter "mud season" instead--the survival
issues disappear, but frankly it's a bit bleak and depressing.

Also does anyone have any suggested driving routes and/or 'must see' place's
of interest that we should include on our trip?
At that time of the year, most of the best options are
indoors--museums, historical sites, big-city attractions. OTOH,
Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and parts of Massachusetts will all
have special events focusing on maple sugaring, and these can be fun.
Check http://www.vermontvacation.com/Trave...h.aspx?catID=4,
http://www.visitnh.gov/events.html,
http://www.visitmaine.com/event/search.php, or
http://www.mass-vacation.com/jsp/search.jsp?cat=222&g=s for details.

Nancy

"ncurtis" wrote in message
om...
"Blakey" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

My wife and I will be flying to Boston for a ten day break at the end of
March 2004.
We will be hiring a car and stopping at motels in whatever town we find
ourselves in that night.

Does anyone have any advice regarding this type of travel in the New
England
area?
I can't overemphasize the fickleness of the weather at that time of
year, or the possibility that there will be a "nor'easter" (a heavy
snowstorm that brings everything to a halt for a day or so--pretty but
inconvenient). Bring layered clothing suitable for wet, heavy snow and
a good pair of boots. If you plan to get out of the urbanized and
suburbanized parts, listen or watch the weather forecast daily, and
take it seriously. Put some blankets, high-calorie food, and bottled
water in the car if you plan to head out to rural areas--at the least
it's good for morale, and it can stave off hypothermia.

Of course, you could encounter "mud season" instead--the survival
issues disappear, but frankly it's a bit bleak and depressing.

Also does anyone have any suggested driving routes and/or 'must see'
place's
of interest that we should include on our trip?
At that time of the year, most of the best options are
indoors--museums, historical sites, big-city attractions. OTOH,
Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and parts of Massachusetts will all
have special events focusing on maple sugaring, and these can be fun.
Check http://www.vermontvacation.com/Trave...h.aspx?catID=4,
http://www.visitnh.gov/events.html,
http://www.visitmaine.com/event/search.php, or
http://www.mass-vacation.com/jsp/search.jsp?cat=222&g=s for details.

Nancy

Thank you Nancy and also thanks to all who have replied to my origonal post!
Lots of useful advice, a cracking good NG!!

Thanks again.

Regards

Blakey

Never been but one of my heroes is Norm Abram of New Yankee Workshop fame.
If I ever get there, I'd have to see Norm )

Mogweed

"Blakey" wrote in message
...

"ncurtis" wrote in message
om...
"Blakey" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

My wife and I will be flying to Boston for a ten day break at the end
of
March 2004.
We will be hiring a car and stopping at motels in whatever town we
find
ourselves in that night.

Does anyone have any advice regarding this type of travel in the New
England
area?
I can't overemphasize the fickleness of the weather at that time of
year, or the possibility that there will be a "nor'easter" (a heavy
snowstorm that brings everything to a halt for a day or so--pretty but
inconvenient). Bring layered clothing suitable for wet, heavy snow and
a good pair of boots. If you plan to get out of the urbanized and
suburbanized parts, listen or watch the weather forecast daily, and
take it seriously. Put some blankets, high-calorie food, and bottled
water in the car if you plan to head out to rural areas--at the least
it's good for morale, and it can stave off hypothermia.

Of course, you could encounter "mud season" instead--the survival
issues disappear, but frankly it's a bit bleak and depressing.

Also does anyone have any suggested driving routes and/or 'must see'
place's
of interest that we should include on our trip?
At that time of the year, most of the best options are
indoors--museums, historical sites, big-city attractions. OTOH,
Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and parts of Massachusetts will all
have special events focusing on maple sugaring, and these can be fun.
Check http://www.vermontvacation.com/Trave...h.aspx?catID=4,
http://www.visitnh.gov/events.html,
http://www.visitmaine.com/event/search.php, or
http://www.mass-vacation.com/jsp/search.jsp?cat=222&g=s for details.

Nancy

Thank you Nancy and also thanks to all who have replied to my origonal
post!
Lots of useful advice, a cracking good NG!!

Thanks again.

Regards

Blakey