East coast trip info?

“I'll be on the east coast on business and get to take 4 days on my own to drive from Annapolis, MD to Manchester, NH, April 18th thru 21st.
Any suggestion on what to see? Which route to take?
Scenic byways?
Worthy Historic sites?
Good places to eat / sample beer?
Any help will be appreciated as I'm totally unfamiliar with this area and the driving times / conditions.”

“I assume you would go mostly I-95. The most efficient route would take you about 8 hours driving if you don't hit bad traffic. The New York City area and the highway in Connecticut can slow you down a good bit if you hit traffic.

When I've traveled to DC from New England, two areas I've stopped off at are Pennsylvania Dutch country and the Delaware Water Gap. I'll let the people who know that area better than I do give you suggestions.

There's definitely a lot you could do with a day in New York City or along the coast in Conn.

Normally you would take I-91 and I-84 from New Haven North to the Mass Pike. If you don't go into New York City, I definitely recommend stopping off at Rein's Deli - Exit 65 on I-84, just north of Hartford. Its my usual stop driving between Boston and the NYC area (some good beer, too):

http://vernon.reinsdeli.com/ordereze/Directions.aspx

If you like recreations of American History, Sturbridge Village in MA just before you get to the Mass Pike is a good stop.

If you decide to detour into the Boston area, let me know - I've got lots of ideas.

If you want a bunch of mountains, you need to go a couple hours north of Manchester to get into the White Mountains. The Kancamagus Highway is a great drive. You could also alter your route a bit and hit Mount Monadnock - not very tall but very popular and probably hikeable in mid April.

An alternate route would be to take I-87 from NYC. You could head west at I-84 or head North, skirt the Catskills - go through Albany and then cross through Southern Vermont - loads of great towns to see there.

Let me know how your plans develop, I'm sure I'll have more ideas when you start talking about specific areas.

If you hit the Boston area, I'd probably have a chance to show you around a bit.”

“Thanks Ped,
Did you know that the Delaware Water Gap is not in Delaware? It's very hard to find on the map when you don't know that. 8^)
(There's a clue to why they call me The Naviguesser)

I'm having fun locating your suggestions.

Obviously the weekend drive is still forming, but it would make it easier to build around a Guided Tour of the Boston Area on Sunday 4/20. If I read your offer correctly. Any other TTer's in the area?”