Roadtrip NYC-Chicago in October

[matirc]

Hi, there! I'm planning to do a roadtrip from NYC to Chicago in 2 days. I'm from Argentina and I have never done a trip through USA, so my objetive is to get a better idea of the real USA.

So, What cities do you think that would be better to stop by between NYC and chicago in a 2 days roadtrip?

Thanks!

[AZBuck]

Bienvenido al bordo RoadTrip América foros! Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

If you want to "get a better idea of the real USA" then I would suggest that "cities" are not what you should be building your trip around. I've traveled some overseas and my impression is that New York is more like London or Moscow or Buenos Aires than America is like England or Russia or Argentina. So if you want to get a flavor of the country, you should plan on getting into the countryside. To that end, your route is more important than the cities, especially the larger ones, that happen to fall on the way. So what I'd suggest is that you build this RoadTrip around some scenic roads that will take you through some interesting smaller towns rather than the Interstates that will just keep you moving from one metropolis to the next.

Take a look at using I-80 just to get out of the New York City area, then in western New Jersey, take a little bit of time to explore the southern reaches of the Delaware Water Gap before continuing up I-380 to Scranton and picking up US-6 across northern Pennsylvania. In western Pennsylvania you can use PA-66 to drop back down to I-80 which you'd use to avoid Youngstown, Akron and Cleveland then continue west on I-76 west/I-71 south to US-30 west, the old Lincoln Highway, which will get you to the Chicago area. That would make for a relatively relaxing two day drive with time to visit, if not explore in depth, the 'real America' you seek. You can plan on an overnight around Youngstown OH which would be about half way.

AZBuck