Winter Park, FL to Boston

[glc]

If you have a SunPass Pro you can use it on the EZ Pass network in the northeast.

[elisapequini]

Good to know!! I do have Sunpass Pro!

Thanks!

[Midwest Michael]

If your trip begins on Oct 7, then you should be around Boston near peak fall color. It sounds like you've got a fair amount of flexibility in your plans so you might also consider squeezing in a detour into New Hampshire or Vermont before making your way south.

Edit:

Here are some links for tracking the fall foliage "bloom."

(Krikey, as much as we try and keep these numbers current, I see there are already some dead links. But many of them still work!)

[landmariner]

Yes, the I-95 corridor from 40 miles north of Baltimore all the way through Richmond is a headache. For the eastern segment of the trip I would mitigate part of the trip by taking the Amtrak AutoTrain from Orlando (Sanford) to D. C. (Lorton). Get a hotel nearby and ride the Metro into DC for touristing. Leave for Philadelphia from DC after 9.30am.

[glc]

Public transportation may not be a good option, I get the impression they will be traveling with dogs.

Day 11 - Catskills to Philadelphia - the idea here is drive to NY first, have breakfast or brunch there, play with the dogs in central park and then head to Philadelphia, any advice?

[elisapequini]

Public transportation may not be a good option, I get the impression they will be traveling with dogs.

Yes, I will be traveling with 2 dogs! Public transportation is not an option, we are staying mostly at airbnb and kimpton hotels during the trip (Kimpton hotels accept all kinds of dogs with no fees).

[elisapequini]

If your trip begins on Oct 7, then you should be around Boston near peak fall color. It sounds like you've got a fair amount of flexibility in your plans so you might also consider squeezing in a detour into New Hampshire or Vermont before making your way south.

Edit:

(Krikey, as much as we try and keep these numbers current, I see there are already some dead links. But many of them still work!)

Thanks for the link! I don't think I'll have time to go to Vermont, I wish! But I'm excited about the fall colors!

[AZBuck]

.. is that they're everywhere in New England (and even in some other parts of the country!). When I used to live in that area, the 'natives' would look at the 'best leaf-peeping sites' lists and know to avoid those particular roads and notches because that's where all the tourists would be going and "blocking out the scenery, breaking my mind", especially on the weekends.

It's just as easy to find a small back road somewhere and just slow down and enjoy that scenery. You don't have to go find it. It will be all around you. What's perhaps far more important then 'where' is 'when'. Peak Foliage occurs at different times in different areas, working generally from north to south and from higher elevations into the valleys and lowlands. With Global Climate Change, the times at which Peak Foliage is reached in a particular area is moving a bit later in the season as the years pass. Knowing, in near-real-time, where color is at its best is the info you need.

In your case, you should use the links Michael directed you to, especially those that map out reports from people on the ground, to determine generally where Peak Foliage exists. Then when you get into an area where that's the case, just get off the main roads (Interstate and US Highways) and get onto some backroads (State or even un-numbered roads) and just enjoy driving through new England in the Fall. When you're ready to continue, just turn your GPS back on and let it direct you back to the main road.

I would actually expect that by the first week of October 'Peak' would have already passed in the Green Mountains of Vermont and the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Instead, The Berkshires of western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut, and the Taconics of New York should be just reaching 'Peak'. And the Catskills, where you plan to spend a day or two anyway, won't be far behind. Those areas are already on your road itinerary. You will see color, and you won't have to add travel days to do it, unless you want to!

AZbuck