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Cool Places for a small road trip

Sounds like an excellent idea. It captures all of the elements that most of us look forward to for the fall meets. A taste of New England history/culture, great scenery, great driving, good local food, etc.

The only issue I could see is it being so far north for most people. It's about 2.5 hours for Mike and I in NH, which we don't mind doing, so we could have some people stay overnight at our house before heading north that day.
Perhaps do the tour first to unwind from the drive up, then head out for the scenic cruise, then dinner, then home.

Definitely keep the ideas flowing!
 
yeah the whole having to drive a few hours then drive a few hours more got me when I planned last years fall meet, the roads would have been great to drive but after some drove 2 to 3 hours they didn't want to take another 2.5 hour drive, oh well maybe some other time. But I did understand why no one else wanted to do the drive.
 
im all for twisties! but forget the long drives if possible.

that road i mentioned called rt 17 im not sure where in vermont it is but i will find out, it rules! theres a big parking lot at the top where we could have a little bbq and then hit it all day, it is intensely steep hairpin after hairpin! oh man i wish i could drive it right now!
 
LauraSVT said:
Alternatively, you could cruise up I-93 to I-89 to I-91, and run along the Connecticut River to state road 5.
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If you opt for this suggestion (except turn south on I-91) there's also a great Barbecue place on Route 5 in Putney VT. It's right off exit 4 of I-91. It's called Curtis Barbecue.
The owner cooks outdoors on a wood fire.
 
VT sounds wonderful for the Fall Meet!

I just realized I am never in Vermont ... I might have gone up there once when I was in Cub Scouts ... disgusting since I drive hundreds of miles all over NE every weekend.

S2, if you're looking for some good old New England seaport charm, head up to northern Gloucester and Rockport, MA. I was stunned at the oddly placed oceanfront houses and little cowpaths for roads up there, it was awesome.
 
How about the possiblity of an overnight stay and then a cruise the next day?
If we could get enough people to do it we might be able to get a group rate at a hotel/motel somewhere. I would expect a mid week night would be cheaper but I don't know if many people could make that. Although it would be about 3 mos. away so requesting a day off from work would have plenty of notice.
 
That thought had crossed my mind, Roger.
It would have to be something booked in advance though. Hotels book up fast up because of the leaf peepers.

I had to do an audit once in Rutland at that time of year, and the secretary had a rough time booking a hotel for me. The closest one was near the border of NH off I-89!
I ended up having to spend the night at a coworker's relative's house. ugh
 
The two day event would work fine. We could meet up somewhere Sat for some lunch/early dinner and a quick run over the mountains. Then hit the lake Sun for some scenery/another meal/another cruise (short one) and then everyone could head home!

As for the suggestion of making multiple runs over rt. 17 and having a barbecue on top, that would be tough in the fall. There will be a ton of slow moving traffic (leaf peepers) hindering our fun:rolleyes: A run up and down is about all the fun I need for one day anyways.:laugh:
 
frenchblueC2 said:
That thought had crossed my mind, Roger.
It would have to be something booked in advance though. Hotels book up fast up because of the leaf peepers.

I had to do an audit once in Rutland at that time of year, and the secretary had a rough time booking a hotel for me. The closest one was near the border of NH off I-89!
I ended up having to spend the night at a coworker's relative's house. ugh
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That's another reason I was thinking a midweek thing a lot less (?) traffic and such. I've never really been up there during that season. Isn't peak foliage like the first to second week of Oct?
 
elraido said:
northern MN would be nice.
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Excellent suggestion for the New England regional forum...:help:

I can't do a midweek thing, I already used up most of my vacation days and want to squeeze a real vacation (vegas?) in the fall/winter with the two I have left. It's likely a lot of the 9-5 people are going to be in a similar situation.
 
ctmystique said:
That's another reason I was thinking a midweek thing a lot less (?) traffic and such. I've never really been up there during that season. Isn't peak foliage like the first to second week of Oct?
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W/ global warming, the timing of peak season keeps getting further and further into October. A cruise the 3rd week of Sept would have less traffic to deal w/, but the scenery won't be as amazing as an October meet. When your heading up/down Rt. 17, you really don't have much time to look at the scenery anyways:laugh:
 
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