We will be having a road trip to Mass and back in a couple weeks, with our 6 year-old, to pick up our 17 year-old who has spent the summer out there.
First, we would like to have bail-out points at least on the radar every few hours where we can get out and stretch for 15-30 minutes. So we’d love to have some ideas for nice little right-off-the-interstate stuff to do to burn off some steam.
Second, if there are any locals along the route(s) I could use some advice. Google says that at Cleveland/Akron we have a choice: continue north/east on I-90, or cut straight east to I-80 et. al. through Pennsylvania. Every route seems to have a shitton of construction. But if anyone has better local insight in to which route would be preferable, we’re definitely open.
I can’t speak for stuff to see or do, but I would suggest taking Highway 36 across Missouri rather than I-70. It’s about 30 miles longer but it’s a four-lane road and far, far less traffic, even into Illinois and Indiana. It turns into I-72 in Illinois.
If possible, try to drive through Indianapolis on a weekend, preferably Sunday. Traffic is a nightmare during the week, and there is a lot of construction right now. (I drove through there about a month ago.) Unfortunately, it’s virtually impossible to avoid that city altogether.
I drive I-80 between Pittsburgh and NYC fairly frequently. As of 7-5-22 there’s nothing there that will slow you down. I’ve been making this drive for years and I-80 is pretty good generally. Accidents will slow you down, but construction usually doesn’t.
For any upcoming accidents, I recommend using Waze. Even if all you’re doing is heading east on I-80 and it’s so simple that you don’t need directions, Waze can alert you to changing road conditions.
So update, and thank you all for your advice/input in advance.
We found that airline tickets are less expensive than they were when we last checked, when we decided to drive instead. So flying it is. Except for me; I get a week to myself while everyone else is away
Sounds nice, but I’m probably just going to go to work So it’s really a week to myself, but only between the hours of 5:30 PM and 8:00 AM. Unless you count a dog and a cat. And the Uber Eats delivery person.
You’re absolutely right about US 36. I’ve driven it a few times, and it basically feels like an interstate with no traffic. Why did they put a 4-lane highway across northern Missouri? Beats me, but it sure comes in handy when you need it! I’ll bet the state troopers along there have some easy picking for writing speeding tickets, though.
Funny you should ask. U.S. 36 was intended to be a part of the proposed Chicago-Kansas City Expressway. The CKC was part of an overall plan to develop a NAFTA freight corridor between I-35 and Chicago that would avoid the busy metropolitan areas of St. Louis on I-70 and Des Moines and Quad Cities on I-80. The route was never given enough funding to be designated an Interstate Highway priority, but Missouri came up with the bucks to make a nifty expressway that connects I-35 and I-72.
Interesting, and thanks for enlightening us. When I drove 36 last fall across the entire state, I encountered a fair amount of truck traffic, but surprisingly little auto traffic. I set my cruise control 5 over the speed limit and zipped right across the state from Hannibal to St. Joe.
You don’t have the option of paying the toll at the time you drive on the highway. Instead they just photograph your car at various points along the route. Then they send you a bill at some indeterminate point in the future. It could be two weeks later. It could be three months later.
It won’t be a single bill. They split up the toll into a series of small charges that will be something like fifty cents apiece. So you have to keep track of a number of small bills and make sure you pay each individual one. Because if you miss any and don’t pay one of the bills, there’s a fifty dollar late charge.
We drove from DC to Chicago several times and did not have the toll-by-mail either time; I don’t recall how much of it was on I-90 (likely not much, though some alternate routes spend more time on it, per Google). We did use our EZ-Pass on the toll roads right around Chicago.
OBE, since the OP is not driving after all, but it looks like none of the recommended routes go too near New York City, which is good; we drive from DC to New England several times a year and have gotten to be old hands at routes that avoid that. There aren’t really any big cities along I-80 in Pennsylvania, I-90 will route you by Erie and Buffalo. Niagara Falls would indeed be a short side trip going that way. Cooperstown, NY isn’t far off the route either, if anyone is a baseball fan.
All in all, though, I’m glad you’re flying (though, plan for flight cancellations!!!), as it’s 1500 miles each way.
I was just there for the first time last fall. The falls are impressive, and there’s a very nice state park around the falls, but as soon as you’re out of park it’s very low rent. The classiest joint was a Hard Rock Cafe that was closed. There was a food court that looked like it served ptomaine to go.
The Canadian side looked much nicer, but the border wasn’t open to tourists when I was there.
Saw lots of other nice places while I was in Western New York.
Yes, Niagara Falls is most definitely worth a visit. Pictures just don’t do it justice, as they don’t for the Grand Canyon. Anyone who has the chance, at some point in his or her life, really really oughta see both!
We visited there, back in 2006, and it’s “nicer” in that it’s not a bad neighborhood - but it’s insanely touristy shops etc. I agree with you on the nice state park on the US side. We didn’t pay too much attention to the neighborhood getting there but it wasn’t especially pretty.
So it’s really a week to myself, but only between the hours of 5:30 PM and 8:00 AM. Unless you count a dog and a cat. And the Uber Eats delivery person.