Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with I-78, and you pretty much have to use either it or I-80, and both of those routes will have you in the New York 'metropolitan area' for most of your drive. So I would try to maximize the beauty and interest of the western portions of your drive, and to me that means I-80 to the southern end of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and then using US-209 to Jim Thorpe. Besides the Gap, you might also want to check out Beltzville State Park.

AZBuck