Except in a few places out west where the Interstates were literally built on top of and totally replaced the preexisting US highway system, there are always alternatives to the super slabs. Now, to be fair, the I-83/I-81 route from Silver Spring (Baltimore actually) to Syracuse is among the more scenic sections of the Interstate system in the east, I got tired of it after a while when I was running back and forth between my own home in central NY and family in the DC area. Fortunately there is a great alternative. US-15, which you would pick up around Frederick, heads north through Gettysburg to Harrisburg where it joins US-11 and runs up the west side of the Susquehanna River. At Corning, you can use NY-414 to Watkins Glen (great state park with hikes back up through a gorge to a waterfall) and pick up NY-14 north along the west shore of Seneca Lake and finish off on US-20 through Seneca Falls (where the Women's Movement started) into the Syracuse area. That full route can still be driven in a single relaxed day and still leave a couple of hours for hiking and sight-seeing along the way. "Outs" to the Interstates exist at Harrisburg, Williamsburg, and Corning.

AZBuck