Roadtrip #5: Washington, D.C. and the New England states

Happy Fall to all out there.

We are once again prepped for the annual roadtrip. Enough of the western half of the U.S. has been covered so it's time to go East Side for once! Our non-stop flight to the first and foremost destination (Washington, D.C.) departs at 12:50pm on Wednesday, October 14th. From there we will rent a minivan and drive a 2,500-mile counter-clockwise loop around 13 different states. Primary goals are to tour the big cities, including the nation's capital. Secondaries will revolve around fitting in more National Parks and Monuments, as well as helping to fulfill my 50 state capitol buildings goal, all while taking in the fall foliage colors.

The route has been finalized and laid out at Google Maps, highlighting the planned stops and destinations. You can also take a peek at the planning thread for this trip if need be.

As usual, daily blogs will be posted here, dependent on internet availability of course. Photos will be posted to the RTA Photo Albums upon our arrival home.

Final itinerary (Always tentative)

Day 0 - (Flight Day) Fly from LAX to DCA, arrive in Arlington, VA (3 nights)
Day 1 - Tour Arlington National Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
Day 2 - Tour Washington, D.C.
Day 3 - Visit Annapolis, MD; Dover, DE; Philadelphia, PA; Trenton, NJ; arrive in Red Bank, NJ (3 nights)
Day 4 - Tour Liberty and Ellis Island National Monuments
Day 5 - Tour Lower Manhattan, New York
Day 6 - Tour Upper Manhattan, New York; arrive in West Haven, CT
Day 7 - Visit Hartford, CT; Kingston, RI; Newport, RI; Providence, RI; arrive in Quincy, MA
Day 8 - Visit Boston, MA; arrive in Bar Harbor, ME
Day 9 - Visit Acadia NP, ME; Augusta, ME; Concord, NH; Bennington, VT; arrive in Albany, NY (tentative)
Day 10 - Visit Niagara Falls, NY; Niagara on the Lake, ON, Canada; arrive in Pittsburgh, PA (tentative)
Day 11 - Visit Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area, WV; arrive in Cabins, WV
Day 12 - Visit Shenandoah National Park, VA; arrive in Arlington, VA
Day 13 - (Flight Day) Fly from DCA to LAX, arrive in San Juan Capistrano, CA

End destinations for days 9 and 10 are not set in stone, since I already know I'm attempting to fit in a multitude of stops over hundreds of miles, so we may not make it as far as I'm planning, but I'm pretty confident we can make up for lost time in case that does happen. Our schedule is pretty full, but I don't mind last minute pointers and additions if you think we can fit it in.

Visit reports of my previous roadtrips if you have some free time:

Roadtrip #1 - 48 States in 30 Days (offsite)
Roadtrip #2 - The Great West
Roadtrip #3 - Utah and the National Parks
Roadtrip #3A - San Francisco, CA and back
Roadtrip #4 - New Mexico and the Albuquerque Balloon Festival
Roadtrip #4A - Sedona, AZ and back

You can also view pictures from all these trips in the RTA albums section of my profile.

Keep it tuned here. I'll see you on the road...

Another day I'd look at carefully is day 8 - you aren't leaving yourself much time to see Boston. It's at LEAST 5 hours from Boston to Bar Harbor, and that's without stopping to see anything. Add even more time if you want to head up the coast from Brunswick instead of taking I-95 to Bangor.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by glc

Another day I'd look at carefully is day 8 - you aren't leaving yourself much time to see Boston. It's at LEAST 5 hours from Boston to Bar Harbor, and that's without stopping to see anything. Add even more time if you want to head up the coast from Brunswick instead of taking I-95 to Bangor.

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Well aware of it, Captain. :) I pored over this day many times, and the best course of action is to start early in the morning (we're just doing the Freedom Trail and a quick lunch) in order to finish up Boston by about 2pm local time and then cruise up I-95 the entire leg. There are no planned stops on this day.

When leaving Maine, we may hug the coast for a wee bit using Hwy 3, from Acadia NP to Augusta, ME. That should be enough for us.

That's a shame in a way - the Maine coast has so much to offer that you won't even be scratching the surface. It really is unique in the United States.

===== Day 0 =====

I wasn't going to do a Flight Day update, but we did a few things before retiring for the night. I found it amusing that it was raining when we departed LAX (1:05pm PDT), and still raining when we touched down at DCA (8:30pm EDT). We shuttled over to the car rental and got to pick our choice of which minivan we wanted, so we take the dark blue Texas-plated Dodge Grand Caravan.

After checking into the hotel at 10:00pm, I saw the lights of DC beckoning so I hauled off my folks in the direction of the tallest Monument. Unfortunately, the bad 2005 memories of navigating the streets returned as I had a heck of a time trying to find the right combination of off-ramps in order to cross I-66 over the Potomac, even with the GPS. I finally just touched the approximate point of the Washington Monument so it would at least get us over there.

After successfully meandering into DC, our stomachs told us to set a course for food, so I chose the coords for a Wendy's. Aaaand it took us to a McDonalds instead.... *sigh* freakin GPSes, ugh! Fine, McDonalds it is. We barely made the 11pm closing time, and according to the signs you could only eat for 20 minutes, after which they considered you "loitering." Sheesh, alrighty then.

On the way back, I invented a few turns and made our way to the front of the lit US Capitol. I ignored the permit-only parking spaces since it was almost midnight and there were maybe 1 or 2 cars parked there. I ran over and did some SLRing before deciding it was too cold. We also hit 10th street and passed by Ford's Theater just to scout its location. We'll come back here in the next 2 days.

We've lost 3 hours, but we're not tired. Oh, and it's supposed to be "raining horizontally" tomorrow. Oh yay, this will be quite an adjustment. Wish us luck.

===== Day 1 =====

No driving today. The primary memorials of DC and the Arlington Cemetery were to be discovered completely on foot today. Unfortunately the entire day was rain and wind, but we didn't let that deter us. Raincoats and umbrellas were the saving grace.

We left the hotel and walked straight for the Iwo Jima Memorial across the street. Passing the Netherlands Carillon, we crossed the boundary fence into the Arlington National Cemetery. The first stop was the visitor center for a quick bathroom break and souvenirs, then we headed up to the Tomb of the Unknowns for the Changing of the Guard. We were lucky and also caught a wreath changing ceremony as well. Whether you're the patriotic type or otherwise, it's a must see on your list.

Back down to the visitor center we walked. Instead of taking the Metro all the way around, we decided to test our insanity and walk over the Potomac across the Arlington Memorial Bridge, still in the rain. This way we could hit all of today's goals without having to double-back.

First stop after crossing the border was the famed Lincoln Memorial, taking pictures galore. Next was the Korean War Memorial on the southern path, then walking the corridor to the World War II memorial (my personal favorite), then continuing to the Washington Monument (only walked up to it, didn't go inside unfortunately). By this time our feet were very angry with us, but we had no choice but to keep our eastward trek to the first available Metro entrance by the Smithsonian. We took the blue line back to Rosslyn, but we still had another half a mile walk back to our hotel.

Yah, way more walking than I anticipated, but we got a lot of things checked off our list. Hopefully we regain enough energy for another mile or two. Tomorrow will be tripping via Metro to the US Capitol, Smithsonian Castle, and Ford's Theatre. We may walk'n'gawk the White House if there's time.

===== Day 2 =====

We used the van today. For a total of 0.8 miles. Because we didn't feel like walking to the Metro station in the rain. :)

We're not quite used to east coast time yet, as we overslept a bit, making for a late start railing back into the heart of DC once more. The first hit of the day was the Smithsonian castle. We didn't have too much time to spare so we decided on the Museum of Natural History, with the accompanying IMAX dinosaur presentation to go with it. We also stopped briefly at the Air & Space Museum but time was not on our side so we only stayed 25 minutes for that.

Eastward we walked towards the Capitol Building taking some great shots, and around we walked to where the entrance of the Visitor Center was located. Unfortunately it probably wasn't the best idea. We had to go through a strict security process (a little too strict in my opinion) and when you got in you had to stand in a long line to get tickets for the main gallery, which you couldn't even bring in your camera. Completely lame so we just left and took the Metro to our last point of the day.

We arrived at Ford's Theater around 3:15pm EDT, in time for the final tour of the day. Thought the museum depicting the life of Lincoln and the theatre were great, as well as getting to view the house across the street where Lincoln passed. From there we Metro'ed home.

Our feet/ankles/legs/knees by now are screaming bloody murder. That's what happens when you're either a senior (aka my folks) or severely out of shape (yours truly).

Tomorrow is our first real set of driving - through 4 states - to get to our next destination. Plenty of capitals to see, including another Historical Site. Good times ahead!

Yeah, nothing like walking miles your first two days and spending 10 hours in the car. You think your knees and hips hurt now?

Enjoying the report!

Mark

===== Day 3 =====

Yesterday we overslept, but this morning we could hardly sleep, up and getting ready before 5:00am EDT. Are we ever gonna get used to this time change??

And let's not forget that I still haven't seen the sun since this trip began. It hasn't fully stopped raining yet.

We attempted to dive through downtown DC and shoot off to the east, but the President must have been out jogging, because all the police cars were out flashing their lights and blocking off just about all the roads from Constitution to Pennsylvania, as well as all the numbered streets. *sigh* Really, DC? Really?

We detoured north to New York Avenue, which was really the Hwy 50 we eventually needed, and used it to trek into the next state of Maryland. Here we arrived at our first stop of Annapolis. While it was an extremely quaint town, we were there a little early and everything was closed. All we could do was snap pictures of the capitol building and move on.

We continued east over the massive US Naval Bridge (which the mom loved) and kept going until we reached the border of Delaware. Soon after, we entered the next capital, Dover. The rain kept us doing from much else besides glancing at the museum and taking yet another pic of the State House. Time to head north.

There was a scenic route we could have taken, but with the rain and being so dreary, it probably wasn't going to be worth the extra time taken, so the vote was for the Expressway which launched us quickly over the border into Pennsylvania and targeted the destination for the famous Philadelphia, arriving by 1:00pm.

Here we viewed the Liberty Bell and took the 30 minute tour of Independence Hall. I was reminded of how badly I did with Social Science in grade school. At least I could now appreciate the history at this age. Our ranger was well versed and knew his stuff throughout the entire presentation.

One more target for the day was capital #3, hitting Trenton immediately after hopping into New Jersey. It was late, so once again I was limited to just snapping pics of the State House. Good enough to count towards the 50 capitols goal.

That's it... we used I-195, transitioning to the Garden State Expressway, to make our way to Red Bank, NJ by 5:30pm. We are staying with mom's friend from high school and we'll base-camp it here for 72 hours while we all make some day-trips to New York and put our legs and feet through more misery. Can't wait!

===== Day 4 =====

Another day, another waking up to the pitter-patter of the rain. OK seriously, it isn't funny anymore. I've done forgotten if the earth even has a sun.

We left Red Bank at 8:30am EDT and headed for our main attractions for the day: Ellis and Liberty Island National Monuments. We pretty much take toll roads for most of the 45 miles up (which is so much better than trying to avoid them like in 2005). We park, enter terminal, pick up tickets, then get on the ferry.

The first stop was Ellis Island. It has 3 stories of immigrant and ancestry history to pore over, and contained lots of tidbits that answered a lot of questions about the purpose of this place. All I can say is, it makes you realize what you take for granted the kind of lifestyle we live today. I wouldn't trade living back in the early 1900s for anything. We spent more time there than I thought I would, but that's all right.

Over we hopped to the highlight, the Statue of Liberty, which met our gaze as the ferry rounded the island to drop us off. After getting something to eat and picking up our tickets, Dad and I split off from Mom and her friend so we could start our long trek to the Crown. Just getting up to the Monument pedestal was a feat in itself, as our feet were still reeling from days past. I'm thinking if it's this hard to get to the pedestal, I'm dead meat for the Crown goal.

It wasn't even half that bad. The winding staircase to the top had rails everywhere, which made it extremely helpful to hoist yourself up the steps. There were over 200 stairs to conquer, but with a little perseverance, Dad and I made it to the top.

Best. Thing. Ever.

Great views all around. Two rangers were up there to help answer questions and take pictures of anyone adventurous enough to make it up. It was very windy, and as such you could feel the whole thing wobbling back and forth a bit, which of course it was designed to do. Loved it. Put this goal on your list of things to do before you die. Do it.

Down down down we went, back to the pedestal, scouting the perimeter for more picture opportunities before heading back to the ground level. We caught one of the last ferries off the island and made it back to the Liberty Park terminal shortly after 5:00pm, catching the spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline all the while.

As we headed home, we stopped briefly at the Harbor View 9/11 memorial, which is a little-known sculpture in Bayonne, NJ (called the Tear of Grief or Teardrop Memorial), donated by the Russians, and engraved with all the 9/11 victims. We would have stayed longer but the wind was ferocious so 15 minutes was all we could stand, then gassed up and headed home. The sun briefly poked its head out before it set, as the 5-day-long storm was finally moving out of the area.

The only annoying thing of the day is once again the security. Not only were no food or drinks allowed in the Statue, virtually all items except cameras were prohibited. Our wallets, bags (big or small), spare change, watches, cell phones (unless that was your only "camera"), etc. all had to be stored in lockers before entering the monument. Apparently they want nothing loose and metal entering the monument (for fear of etching graffiti onto the sides of anything). You also have to stand in this life-size receptacle and they shoot 6 blasts of air onto you to make sure you have no "dangerous chemicals" stowed on your person. It's really getting to be a pain. Understandable, but still a huge pain. I'm only mentioning this paragraph to serve as 411 to others who want to go visit.

OK... back to the Big Apple tomorrow (Lower Manhattan), and it's supposed to be sunny! That will help greatly.

===== Day 5 =====

It was nice to wake up to blue skies and temps above 50°F for once. Today wasn't as hectic as days past, which was nice because the foot blisters have been mounting.

We got a late start due to trying to catch up on some morning errands, but used the turnpikes to quickly get to our destination for the day. I decided to drive into Staten Island and then Brooklyn, in preparation for the crossing of the Brooklyn Bridge, but even at 11:30am the construction (and traffic) was so massive that I made a last minute veer into the Brooklyn Tunnel instead, which got me to a parking garage within 5 minutes.

We kept it simple. First stop was the construction of the World Trade Center. Not much to see, really. There has been progress since the last visit here in 2005, but the red tape has obviously hindered the advance. We headed east from this area.

The company I work for opened up an East Coast satellite office a few months ago in the old Trinity building on Broadway, so I made a brief stop on the 19th floor to check out the digs. Very impressive (the offices and the views)! They were located right next to the Trinity Church, which was of course our next stop. Amazing cathedral and ancient burial grounds. Wall Street was a quick glance here as well.

Farther south we walked to Battery Park, enjoying a $2.00 hot dog from one of the stands, and also checked off another National Monument on the list, Clinton Castle. This is where immigrants were processed prior to Ellis Island starting in the mid-1800s. It even used to be a fort to defend from any possible British invasion.

We figured that was enough for today, since it was already getting late. Unfortunately I didn't learn of our "oversize" vehicle until I had to pay the $48 parking fee. I think I came to the wrong garage. Vultures, they are...

We're back in Red Bank, NJ for the last night. We'll keep trekking north tomorrow after our visit to the upside of Manhattan. It only gets colder (and hopefully more colorful) from here.

===== Day 6 =====

No sleeping in this time. We were all packed, on the road and out of Red Bank, NJ by 8:00am EDT. The plan was to get to the immediate vicinity of the Empire State Building in Upper Manhattan. Unfortunately my GPS seems to think that because a route is 30 seconds shorter, then it's the better way. It led me off the freeway and onto side streets that backed up for miles and delayed us for almost 30 minutes. *sigh* Someone please remind me to ignore what the GPS says and follow my own instincts.

We found a parking garage on 6th Ave and 36th Street, our starting point for the Upper Manhattan walk-around. We headed to the ESB and shot up 1,050 feet for our observatory views, although it was somewhat hazy and they closed off part of the walkway to allow space for some movie star I didn't even recognize. OK yeah... time to go back down.

We headed over from 5th Ave to Broadway and started walking north, keeping my intended destination secret until the folks saw it for themselves. We reached Times Square and they quickly became overwhelmed with all the hullabaloo going on. We hit up the 3-story Toys'R'Us (with ferris wheel) and gazed at all the news tickers scrolling away. So much to see in so little time.

We continued north on 7th Ave, stair-stepping over a few blocks until we reached 5th Ave and 59th Street, which is home to the famous "Glass House" Apple Store. I had to check this out myself, since I missed it on the last trip in 2005. Loved going down the glass elevator to the underground floor.

It was now after 3pm so we didn't get to do any of Central Park, which was fine. Our feet were once again giving out on us. We stayed on 5th Avenue and headed back south but gawked at all the stores of the Fashion District as well as the old churches lining the street as we went.

Time to get out of here. We finished our loop around Upper Manhattan and decided to call it a day. We paid another $45 for the garage parole and headed north and out of Manhattan via FDR Drive. There were a few highways to navigate, but eventually found I-95 and crossed into Connecticut. We found a nice bit of amenities by our hotel in West Haven, CT and will overnight here before exploring the 2 small states.

We're tired. Time for bed!

I encountered my first experience with a Sat Nav on our recent trip and although a good back up tool I always worked out my route and used a paper map.

I am enjoying reading your report and it's nice to see the sun finally made an appearance !

===== Day 7 =====

This was Mom's day. Her mom and dad were from Connecticut and Rhode Island, respectively. So it was time to explore these two states as fully possible.

We left West Haven, CT and went past Yale University for a quick gawk, although a plethora of road construction, one way streets, and inaccurate GPS garbage made us waste more time than we needed. After we escaped that mess, we shot straight up to the capital, Hartford.

First stop here was one of the old cemeteries where my great grandparents are buried. The family plot is under a huge oak tree, which made a nice setting for some marker pics. After 30 minutes here, we plopped over to the state house, and actually went inside this time. Old relics, including actual flags dating back to the civil war, were on display.

We picked up souvenirs and then headed southeast via Hwy 1, nearing the border of Rhode Island. I wanted to stay off the major highway so we could actually stop and take pictures of border signs instead of attempting to get them while zipping along at 70MPH. But as is always with our luck, they were just town signs.

The first stops in RI were Kingston and Peace Dale where my grandfather was born and raised, but there wasn't really much to do here besides drive around. We really couldn't find anything enticing. East was the direction we traveled and went over to the old town of Newport. We didn't have time to tour any mansions, but we did pass by a few, as well as the Ocean Drive. Nice area. The last stop for the day was the capitol building in downtown Providence, capturing its gaze during the sunset. Over the border to Massachusetts we went.

It took forever to find the hotel in Quincy. The frontage roads here are major suckage if you don't know your way around. I kept getting forced back on the highway, or getting stuck in a one-way loop. I was cursing out whoever decided to build the roads this way. They should take lessons from the west side.

Boston and the Freedom Trail is on deck. Our last major city should be a good one.

===== Day 8 =====

Our final major city comes today. It only took a few minutes to launch ourselves into downtown Boston, MA. We parked under the Boston Common and began our 2.5-mile walk on the Freedom Trail, taking in historic sites, old graveyards, churches, and anything having to do with Paul Revere. We even went inside his renovated 350-year-old house to check out the 4 rooms still on display.

After we crossed the bridge to get to "Old Ironsides," our feet had once again reached their practical limits. We were going to do the final stop for the day and board the USS Constitution, but we were all put off by the new security line in place (which was not there in 2005). I'm sorry, but after all the crap on the airports, in DC, Philly, and New York, we weren't going to drop half our load and go through yet another security line. Seriously... for a ship? It was half dismantled for renovations anyway so we ended up skipping it, and the Bunker Hill monument.

We took the ferry back to the main area, and in turn switched on a few subways until we got back to the Boston Common. It was 1:30pm EDT so it was a chance to get a good head start for the rest of the trip.

We left Boston and used I-95 to make the final route north, crossing New Hampshire for a bit, and then crossed into Maine. We refilled gas in York and kept going until reaching the capital Augusta. Here I took yet another pic of a capitol building, and then did a quick pit stop at the Wal-mart nearby.

The rest of the drive was quite murky. It was foggy and rainy all the way up, which I guess I should expect for this area during this season. The sun is also setting earlier due to our advancing latitude. We arrived in Bar Harbor in pitch dark after 7:30pm.

There's a few restaurants open in Bar Harbor for eating, although most of them (and our hotel) will close for the season October 31st. We made it inside the closing bell.

Next up is our first National Park for this trip, and it's supposed to be sunny and cold. Keep it tuned here.

===== Day 9 =====

OK, so I admit I may have underestimated the distances between Acadia National Park and Niagara Falls. I think my "speed run" tendencies are running a little rampant this time. I should have added a day to this road trip. Now why didn't I? Someone please ask me that.

We left the hotel in Bar Harbor, ME shortly after 8:00am EDT and entered into Acadia NP a few minutes later. I'll remind you that the temps are in the mid 30s. Brrrrr. The first stop was the visitor center with the usual souvenir and 15-minute presentation deal.

I decided the first official order of business in the park was to scale Cadillac Mountain, 1530 feet up. The sights up there were wondrous to behold. We stopped at almost all the lookout points, which was a good thing because when we reached the peak, the wind was howling. The wind chill was pushing the temps down into the low 20s and my poor unprotected hands were burning as I was trying to sweep panoramas with the camera. My folks didn't last long here at all and headed back to the heated car.

All right, so now we're doing the loop. There's many places to stop and look, even halting on the 2-lane one-way road to take pics of the foliage. (We could only do that due to the late season and bare roads.) The best was going to the Sand Beach and taking in the serenity there. We also caught Thunder Hole but the sea was calm, so no exciting shows here.

We finished the loop and headed to the Bass Harbor Head Light, although it was a little smaller than I had hoped for. Maybe I'm just used to seeing the ones on the West Coast. Oh well, we need to book it. We used Hwy 3 west to get back to Augusta and fill up the tank.

We raced back down I-95 and went as far as we could go. The sun keeps setting before 6pm up in this area and we didn't want to drive in the dark for too long, so we made it as far as Concord, NH. This will be nice because I can shoot a pic of the capitol building and then book it out of here, crossing Vermont and back into New York.

Nothing besides the New Hampshire and Albany capitols are on our plate, so it'll be a long driving day. The plan is to reach Niagara Falls by late afternoon. It's supposed to rain, so we may have another day ruined by the weather, but once again we'll attempt to make the most of it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kinless

I should have added a day to this road trip. Now why didn't I? Someone please ask me that.

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Um, I think every piece of advice we gave you -- was that you were pushing way too hard on this trip. You and your folks are experienced road trippers, but seriously this is a faster pace than a professional driver would ever attempt.

But I enjoying the tale!

Mark

===== Day 10 =====

So it hasn't gone too badly. We've been able to keep mostly on schedule without sacrificing anything.

We left Concord, NH in the pouring rain before 8:00am EDT, snapped the pic of the capitol a few blocks down, then traversed westward on Hwy 9. Since nothing was open early in Concord, we stopped in Keene in order to get the souvenir stuff.

It was still raining buckets when we crossed into Vermont, and continued on Hwy 9 all through the state. The peak fall colors were spectacular in these areas. We did stop in Bennington to get the postcard and magnet, and also take a picture of their battle monument. Would have loved to stick around and see what that was all about, but it was almost noon and there was no time to lose. We hit the New York border a few minutes after leaving the town.

The last brief stop was in Albany, NY, where I got a picture of the last capitol building of the trip, and filled up on fuel once more before taking the I-90 New York Expressway the entire leg. Over 4 hours passed before we transitioned north to the Niagara Falls area.

After checking into the hotel, we headed out after sunset and decided to be adventurous and cross over into the territory of our friends to the north. It took 55 minutes to go over Rainbow Bridge into Canada. There were only 3 lanes open and the bridge was under construction, causing a 1-lane bottleneck. Umm... why? Why would you do that??

We drove up into Niagara Falls, ON and found ourselves in the middle of a mini Las-Vegas style community, with a whole bunch of family/youth restaurants, clubs and hang-outs. It was pretty hoppin'. We ate at the Dave & Busters, but they decided to inflate their prices from what was on the menu. We thought the $30.00 extra was just the Canadian dollar rate, but since our dollars are almost parity right now, they used the 'ol "Menu prices are subject to change" routine to soak us good. Hmph... see if we ever do that again. At least the souvenir shop across the way didn't rip us off like that.

We took a stroll down to the walkway and I got in some decent night shots of the falls and the Skylon Tower overlooking the city. The wind was still prevalent, so we cut our walk short, and headed back over to our hotel.

If the line to get back into Canada is small, we may go over once more (first thing in the morning) to see some daytime views of the falls, otherwise, it's south we head for the last of our destinations.

The good times are almost over...

===== Day 11 =====

It was decided that we would cross over the border again to get some morning (daytime) shots of Niagara Falls, and it was worth it. There was no line at all to get into Canada, and no line at all to get back into the US. I figured that would be the case for early Sunday morning. Dad dropped us off and drove around while we spent 15 minutes taking pictures of the Canadian Falls, since the parking and traffic was affected by some special marathon taking place. Good enough...

We left Niagara Falls and took more of the I-90 west until we departed New York, then transitioned to I-76 and flew across Pennsylvania. Since we missed our souvenirs in Maryland, we detoured to I-68 east and had a heck of a time trying to find a stupid magnet that said Maryland (took 4 tries!). Once that goal was achieved, we headed south once again on Hwy 219.

We then turned off to State Route 50 into West Virginia. The colors in this area were at their peak, so it was quite the enjoyable ride in the countryside, practically the textbook roadtrip that everyone is always clamoring for. We turned off onto Route 42 and finally Route 28 to get us to Cabins, WV. Here we stayed at the Harman North Fork Cottages. Their cabins are right next to a rock cliff formation with a small park and a running stream right out front. And of course, all the trees around us were at peak color.

After unpacking, I went straight for the hot tub and put in a good 30 minutes. *happy sigh* We didn't think to bring things to cook (since we had a range) so we had to go back to nearby Petersburg, WV to get some food.

We wish we could stay here a week.

===== Day 12 =====

We maximized our cabin time and moseyed on out around 9:30am EDT. The first stop of the day was just 12 miles south... Seneca Rocks. Here we just took a few quick pics and got our souvenirs here. Time to go!

Our main road for the day was Hwy 33, which led us back into our originating state of Virginia. We've seen so many Dunkin' Donuts on this trip, that it would have been a crime had we not stopped to eat there just once. Harrisonburg, VA provided us with one and we had a late breakfast (at noon).

We continued on until we reached the border of Shenandoah National Park. Here we turned north onto Skyline Drive and covered 2/3rds of the park. It was mostly overlook points and the visitor center, but the colors in the lower elevations caught our attention. We even came across a legion of people and cars as they were trying to capture pics of a black bear that was up in the tree looking for food. It was apparently there for 6 hours and rangers were trying to control the traffic flow. I switched to my 300mm telephoto lens and got some close-ups for that one.

After 2.5 hours we descended out of the park and used I-66 to get back to Arlington, VA (and the original hotel we started in). We're now organizing to take all our belongings home (including the extra weight of our souvenirs). Think we can keep it contained to 50 lbs per suitcase?

I will probably combine Day 13 (Flight day) with the Conclusion, Stats and Pics. It's been a great trip, and we hope for a trouble-free flight home.

===== Day 13 (FINAL) =====

How amusing. It's pouring rain when we wake up at 5:30am EDT. I think the weather is just mocking us by this point. It's a quick fill-up, getting lost in the dark streets of Arlington (another failed GPS attempt) but we returned the van rental and managed to get all our extra stuff through security and to our gate 90 minutes before we leave. Inside the terminal, we bought the DC souvenirs that we forgot when we first got here, and at 9:15am EDT hitched a 5.5 hour flight to LAX, and another 90 minutes for Super Shuttle to take us to our residence in San Juan Capistrano, where we arrived at 2:45pm PDT.

The End.

===== Conclusion =====

This was quite a different experience than our past trips, on several levels.

I forgot how much I hated driving the east coast cities when I was last here in 2005, because their roads are so confusing, especially at night. There's all these stupid restrictions with left turns, U-turns, one-way streets, frontage roads, and parking (or heck even stopping). You really need to pay attention, otherwise that missed off-ramp could cost you an extra 15-20 minutes. It didn't help that my newly-bought GPS (Garmin Nüvi 765T) was not being 100% reliable. I admit I made some clearly illegal turns, but after a while of trying to properly navigate the streets and getting nowhere, you just don't care anymore. I understand everything is old back there, but come on now, take a lesson from the West Coast.

Although we probably squeezed in more than the average seasoned roadtripper would have done, what we did wasn't impossible. We managed to hit all our primary and secondary goals, and only miss some things that would have been nice but weren't even on our itinerary to begin with. That being said, it would have been beneficial to have an extra day or two on our plate. Most nights on our second week we were leaving early in the morning and getting to our hotel late. Not a big deal for me personally, but I'm sure the folks would have enjoyed more relax-time.

The reason I didn't go more than 2 weeks was because I didn't want to use all my vacation time in one gulp. Unfortunately I found out AFTER booking flight tickets that, due to my tenure at work, I now get 4 weeks of vacation per year (instead of 3), so I could have taken a few extra days after all. Oh well, bad timing, but not a huge deal.

I still need to remember to factor in multiple delays such as filling up for fuel, eating, just taking a break, or the main culprit, finding a restroom. My folks are beginning to stretch into their mid-70s, and have officially dubbed themselves "potty seekers" since I have to plan everything around frequent restroom breaks for them. I'm sure I'll understand that some day if/when I get to that age.

OK enough babbling. We're all glad we went. Overall we had a great time and I got to revisit some of the places that I touched in 2005 on the 48-state trip. The fall colors enhanced our trip, especially in the mountainous areas. Great stuff all around.

Favorite places: New York is great, especially Times Square. Would love to come back with a group and hit the night life, broadway shows, etc. The climb to the crown of Statue of Liberty is exhausting, yet exhilarating when you get to the top. Acadia National Park was really nice and would love to spend some time there when it's not so cold. Same with the Seneca Rocks Recreation Area and staying in a nice warm cabin.

Least desirables: Nothing was a bust, really. My biggest beef was with the confusing roads in the big cities, but I already ranted about that. I could complain about astronomical parking prices in New York, and the rip-off Dave & Busters in Niagara Falls, Ontario when they charged us $30.00 more than what was advertised in the menu. (Dad is writing them to complain about that BTW. We'll see what happens there.) But those aren't complaints about locations. I just have to accept that it's expensive on the East Coast.

What's next? Possibly looking at a smaller roadtrip in Spring 2010 using Hwy 395 to head up eastern California and into Oregon/Washington. Plenty more National Parks to cover up there. Also have to think about finally getting to Alaska sometime. And I still have Hawaii left to do.

===== Statistics =====

Total miles: 2,737
Total stops: 28
Total elapsed time: 12 days, 13 hours, 5 minutes (does not include flight time or rides to/from LAX airport)

Total states: 13 (Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, West Virginia)
Total national parks: 2 (Acadia, Shenandoah)
Total national monuments: 3 (Ellis Island, Liberty Island, Castle Clinton)
Total capitol buildings/state houses visited: 10 (including DC's US Capitol)

Type of rental vehicle: 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan
Gallons of fuel: 128.43 (21.31 MPG)
Total cost of trip: $1,450 (approximate; includes my share of airfare, rental, lodging, gas, food, parking fees, tolls, public transportation, and merchandise)

===== Pictures =====

You'll find the latest and greatest photos under Roadtrip #5 in the albums section of my profile. I chose the best 60 from over 1,000 photos that I snapped. It wasn't easy, but it's enough for you to get the gist of it.

===== That's all folks! =====

Until next time, kids... keep trippin' away. I'd like to hear about your future endeavors or past experiences on the places we hit this round. Plenty of advice/information to be traded.

See y'all soon.

Nice report Kinless, Thanks I really enjoyed it.
Great photo's, I especially liked the one of the 'American falls' lit up, looks spectacular.