Ideas for going up the East Coast, starting in Delaware.

Spend some time in Franconia Notch, NH some neat geologic things to see and also some great hikes, just south of Mt Washington, also Mystic Seaport in Conn may interest you and also a neat castle on the Connecticut River in Conn. Can't remember the name right now.(maybe Winchester)? Also seacoast of Me. is interesting.

There is the Submarine Museum and USS Nautilus in Groton, CT. There is the USS Constitution Museum and the Boston National Historic Park in Boston. Also in Massachusetts are the Minute Man Historic Park, Longfellow House, Springfield Armory, and the New Bedford Whaling Historic Park.

I am from NJ. Is there really a reason you are going through NJ???? Miss all the crappy traffic of NJ and metropolitan area and enjoy your trip. I now live in NY state and will at all costs not travel through that state but around via PA when we head south.

Route 95 on coastal CT can be congested as well but there are things to see there...like Mystic seaport (go on weekday less crowded).

Do yourself a favor and avoid NJ...I don't think you will regret it.

If you want to NYC sites you can still ask for route to get you close to there.

Thanks for the idea's! Lots we were not aware of.

Dcason, that is funny..had to go NJ a few times when my Aunt lived there..said I would not do that again. We were thinking of driving along the coast. You don't think that is a good idea either?

Plan is to avoid New York City. ...

Avoid nj coast...not worth it. You will not regret it, I guarantee it:B

To make any searches more accurate, spell it ACADIA. No "R". If I were doing your tour I'd head straight for Portland ME to spend a day in the Old Port and then go north along the coast to Freeport and LL Bean, then tour all along the Coast north of there. We spend over a week every year at Acadia and area; it never gets old for us. That said, though - we go at the end of September to avoid the crowds. The village of Bar Harbor is especially busy with tourists and the sometimes thousands of Cruise Boat passengers who disembark for the day. Summer campers will most likely need reservations to stay on the Island.

dcason wrote:
Avoid nj coast...not worth it. You will not regret it, I guarantee it:B

I have to agree. The Garden State Parkway goes along the coast for a couple dozen miles up from Cape May, but after that it's a bunch of miles inland, and there's really nothing to see. Unless you're bound and determined to see Toms River or gaze raptly at the skyline of Atlantic City as you go by, there's really little to recommend along the coast.

Trouble is, there's even less farther inland. There are few really good north-south roads in NJ outside of I-95/NJ Turnpike in the west, and the GSP in the east of the state.

You can take the GSP north to 287 or one of the other loops around and past NYC, but don't plan on making it a 'scenic' route. The first mile of flat, wetland grass is exactly like the other 193.

There's plenty to see in Boston; besides the historical sites, the Science Museum is good, the Aquarium is good, and there are a few quite nice art museums, among other things.

Do be aware that propane is not allowed in the Boston area tunnels, even if turned off at the tank. Driving anything around Boston streets is no fun at all; the subway, etc. is far less harrowing.

Philly has many many cool things to see if you've been convinced to avoid the NJ coast. The Art Institute is fantastic, one of the very greatest art museums in North America; and the historical sites are worth visiting, and lots more. Driving through Philly is no treat, either, but IMHO not quite so horrid as Boston.

Ok thanks! We have canceled NJ off out list, we have done Delaware before. As far as Philadelphia and Boston, not sure...we have spent time in both before, and I am sure there is lots more to see. This trip is primarily New Hampshire and North, after visiting Grandkids in Maryland.