Sounds like a great trip!

You are going to have SO much fun, Rita! Wish you could take me you! Well, that's MY wish, it might not be YOUR wish! lolol I haven't been to ME in over 24 years, wonder if LL Bean's has changed much?

Eat some ice cream for me! Be safe, when are you going?

You're lucky your husband likes to drive, what a difference that makes. Bar Harbor is wonderful, I hope you get a chance to visit Acadia National Park on Mt Desert Island. Maybe Martha Stewart will invite you to stop in for a cool beverage!

How many miles have you estimated the trip will be? Hey - you could post a map and we'll plot your migration just like on the hummingbird "sightings" web site. And all the KTers in the area will wave as you pass by.

Monica, the hardest thing to find online was a map with the covered bridges in western PA. There were lots of lists (with directions), but I wanted a map. (Guess it's the left-brain, right-brain thing...LOL!) Never did really find one, but that is going to be a very "loose" day, so we'll just fly by the seat of our pants. :-)

Uh, Flamey...I thought we'd exchange invitations. I'd go with you to Florida and you could go with us to Maine. I'm still waiting on my invite... LOL!

McMann, I loved Bar Harbor first time around! I agree that Acadaia is breathtaking!!! Sis lives there and will be our tour guide. I've just "ball parked" 2,200 miles one way but that's purely a guess. My first driving trip out there was over 4,000 miles, but my journal doesn't say "how much" over. ??

LMBO about the migration map! I might just do that!!!

ARe you coming up through Ohio at all, or only passing through the souther part down by Cincinnatti? If you are going to be up this way I'd love to meet you for lunch or somemthing.

Sounds like a great trip. I hope my dh and I can take a trip like that some day.

Have fun!
Tammy

Rita...there's a covered bridge right in Valley Forge Park, near me and just 5 min. off a PA turnpike exit.

That sounds like a terrific trip. Have fun!

I'm doing a similar trip with my eldest nephew in July/August.

We're flying into Newburgh, NY and our stops are:
Mohonk Mountain House
New Paltz, NY (my college town)
Then across the bridge to Hyde Park, NY
Staatsburg, NY (my father used to run all of the parks and historic sites on the east side of the Hudson River)
Rhinebeck, NY
Clermont, NY (Clermont State Historic Site)
Olana State Historic Site
Kinderhook, NY (my "hometown)
Then up to the Adirondacks to Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake and Lake Placid
The across to VT (Ben & Jerry's too!)
Mt. Washington in NH
In Maine we want to hit LL Bean
Then down to Boston
And back over to Newburgh, NY

If you're looking to do anything in NY, let me know - I have "connections!"

Have a great trip,
Barbara

When you are at Ben and Jerrys, go a little farther and go to Stowe. You should see the Trapp Family Lodge. Good food.

Tammy, we were going to come through OH from north to south after leaving Niagara, but I found out we had an "extra" day as I fine-tuned the schedule yesterday. That's why I added the drive through western PA to see some of the covered bridges. :-) Otherwise, I'd have loved to hook up!

Monica, we won't be in eastern PA other than passing through. In fact, my proposed route from DC to Newburgh NY takes me up I95 and 295 and much closer to Philly than I'd rather be (read: traffic)! I've been there and loved it (Phillies game and cheesesteak sandwiches on South Street!), but we just don't have time for it this trip.

Barbara, we know nothing about the Adirondacks, so we're both anxious to see that! I set the DVR to record a 2-hour program on the Adirondacks that was on PBS overnight, and I hope it is interesting!

It's beautiful country. I taught school in Tupper Lake. While you're in Lake Placid, you might want to see some of the summer events. I was searching a website recently and found out that they do events at the ski jumps even in the summer. We're hoping to see the aerial skiing (into a 750,000 pool) held on each Wednesday and on Saturdays, they jump from the 90 meter jump! (I've see that before - it's fantastic!)

Lake Placid will be more expensive for food and lodging than either Saranac Lake or Tupper Lake, but they are all nice villages.

There's also the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake (if your travels take you that direction). We vacationed a lot as a kid up there.

Sounds like a blast. We just got back. When the job in Mo. finished Brians boss gave him another bonus and told him to take 2 weeks off. We went without any plans....but just that he wanted to go to Yellowstone....that was the only thing we planned we had a blast. We ended up going to 10 different states not counting Ok. We went 4070 miles and spent almost 900.00 in gas for my Tahoe I did not think that was bad at all. It was sure a vacation to remember and my husband is all relaxed and stress free for a little bit! Have a great trip can't wait for pics...Stacy

Stacy,

That is on our "to do" list but I couldn't get DH interested this year. ?? I think when I dangled "Cooperstown" and "Cincinnati Reds" (his all-time favorite team) in front of him, he just turned to mush. LOL!

When will we see YOUR pics?!

Have some ice cream for me at Ben and Jerry's in VT!

Rita-

4,000 miles is quite a haul. But if you've done it before you're already a pro. The last time we took a trip like that the kids were younger and we went from Philly to Toronto then- Quebec - across Maine to Bar Harbor, took the ferry to Nova Scotia for a week - then back to Mystic, Groton and home. The kids had a DVD player and watched movies to keep amused.

What will you do to help pass the time when you're on the less scenic roads or stuck in traffic? Do you and your hubby like the same kid of music? books on tape?

I'm just outside Philly and close to 195 and 295 if you get lost.

I'm stowing away in your trunk....your vacation is tooo good to pass up!! (just ignore the strange knocking sound back there!)

don't forget your proper id to get in out of canada...on the canada side following the river, you'll find a pretty park including a clock made from flowers...

I've always wanted to drive up that way. Never been to VT or ME.

Many say that both Niagara Falls are best viewed on the Canadian side.

I don't know for sure - maybe some who live near there (mush, susan on, on this side - I don't know about in nearby New York) can give advice - but I think that I'd cross on the bridge at Lewiston, further downriver than the Rainbow Bridge right below both Falls, as it might be less busy. Possibly cross back at the "Peace Bridge" between Fort Erie and Buffalo.

It sounds like a fabulous trip ... I hope that you have a wonderful, memorable time.

By the way ... vacation lasts for a couple of weeks.

Retirement lasts for, possibly, 30 years (or maybe more).

Some folks spend more time planning their vacation than they do their retirement.

Many who spent little time planning that retirement, rather a complicated procedure for most, and working to implement those plans ...

... later regret that omission quite substantially.

Sorry to send a spot of rain on your parade.

Actually, not raining on this parade ... just sugesting that you not forget/neglect to plan a different kind of parade ... later, if it's not been (at least partially) done yet.

Sending good thoughts that you may have a beautiful, memorable, happy, eventful trip (problem-free, as well).

ole joyful

Last time I took this trip was 10 years ago with my mom and (then) 13-year old niece. DH and I have never gone this far before...or for this long! Our first few days will be a lot of driving, but we'll have a lot of variety after that. Sightsee a few hours, drive awhile. Sightsee a few hours, stop and sleep. Despite the sound of the full schedule, it is somewhat flexible. We only have two places we HAVE to be on certain days, so we can always veer from the plan if we need to.

On the road, we talk, listen to the radio, and just gawk at stuff. I sometimes journal on vacation and come home with a bunch of scribbled pages and brochures. Sadly, all of that stuff from past trips is in WalMart bags in hopes that I someday make albums. LOL!

Liz, we'll be in a pickup...so no trunk! :-) It's gonna be windy back there, but load up and let's go!

Looks like you have at least a couple of choices, Liz ...

1. Pray for no rain, or

2. Look for a topper for the back of the pickup.

While you're at it - bring three sleeping bags so everyone can sleep.

Actually, I remember a family who had four kids and they had a cover on the back that they arranged so that everyone could sleep in that rig. Mom was small ... and they didn't sleep in shifts! Now the parents have been retired for some time (Mom was a SAHM), and all four "kids" (real movers) are into a variety of activities and doing very well.

Enjoy your trip.

ole joyful

Uhm, could you swing down here to Texas and pick me up, because that sounds like my kind of trip!!!!

Back in '95, DH and I went on a 10 day, 5,000 mile road trip with my parents. Left Dallas and went to the Grand Canyon, then up through California, then over to Yellow Stone, down through Colorado and home. And that was before I was into photography, which kills me to think I was all those awesome places and have such crappy pictures!!!

I LOVE road trips and yours sounds magnificent. Take lots of pictures for us. Not sure if we'll get a trip this year so I'll take a virtual one through yours.