New England roadtrip

[mizzou777]

Hi ! we are going on a family roadtrip this August , N Y city - Boston via Connecticut , Rhode Island , Cape Cod , & up the coast through Plymouth MA
anyone got any suggestions for interesting sights along the NY - CT leg of our trip ? (we are stopping over near Mystic CT) also on last years trip we made a point of only using old family run diners , Crown Candy Kitchen in St Louis MO, being one of the highlights, malts & shakes to die for !!, had no real problem finding them last year but not so easy for this trip any help would be great !

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

From New York to Boston through southern New England offers the opportunity for more than a few relatively unknown but very interesting sites. A few of my favorites would require coming up through central Connecticut before retuning to the coast to the east of where it's heavily built up. In the Hartford area, West Hartford is known for its main drag of shops and small cafés and restaurants. I just can't remember the name of the street. Also, the Mark Twain House is worth the time to see. South of town is the rather unique Dinosaur State park. If your family includes children, get some plaster of paris at a hardware store before going and they can make casts of real dino foot prints. Then there's one of the nation's oldest ferries for a relatively cheap and quick experience. In the Mystic area, besides the Seaport I really enjoyed the nearby Mashantucket Pequot Museum and there are three 'dining' options you might like: Mystic Pizza was a real restaurant long before the movie; there is a home-made ice cream shop on the river just to the west of the US-1 bridge; and Abbott's in nearby Noank is a local tradition. In Rhode Island be sure to take the Jamestown and Newport Bridges (RI-138) into town, take a tour of one or two of the 'cottages' (the Elms was the location for the opening scenes of the movie "True Lies") and if you're tennis fans, there's a restaurant that shares the building with the Lawn Tennis Hall of Fame in downtown where the outdoor seating is courtside.

AZBuck

[mizzou777]

Thanks for the input, at this point in planning our trip any help is greatly appreciated , in your travels in this region did you find any cool diners, Im sure you know the type of place I mean, in previous road trips we have eaten in some fantastic places, in the UK we have McDonalds-Burger King e.t.c , but those family run diners / restaurants that are still out there are one of the things that make a great road trip in a great country, thanks again regards -mizzou777

[RhodyMike]

There are plenty of great places in RI, and most are not far from 95 so they won't be hard to get to. Some of my favorites

NY system weiners in Cranston or Providence
Flo's clam shack in Middletown or Portsmouth
Via Via pizza in Newport
Also get some Del's frozen lemonade at many locations throughout the state, particularly at the beaches.




Also, I strongly agree on the Jamestown and Newport bridges. I drive over them every week so I'm used to them but they offer some beautiful views of Narragansett Bay