We will be traveling by car in mid May on this route. I'd like to hear of must see sites along the way. We like nature, unique towns, and anything with local character. How about highway 20 in Massachusetts? Highway 73 to Lake Placid in upstate NY? Thanks. Tim

On you Burlington-Albany stretch, you'll go through Vergennes. Beautiful small town. A couple good stores and some wonderful restaurants (EAT Good Food, Christoph's, and the Black Sheep Grill). Visit Button Bay State Park and the Maritime Museum near Basin Harbor (6 or so miles from Vergennes). If you like birds, stop at the Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area, just west of the intersection of 22A and 17 in Addison. Hike up Snake Mtn in Addison (stop at the store, they'll give you directions to the trail head). Drive over to Bristol and up into Lincoln for some gorgeous scenery. Visit Middlebury, home to Middlebury College. Take Route 125 east up to the Robert Frost Nature Trail. Take the ferry from Shoreham to Ticonderoga, NY and visit Fort Ticonderoga and Mt. Defiance. From there you can follow 9N down to Lake George, then pick a route south to Albany (be sure to stop in Saratoga).
Also can help w/Boston to Burlington. In Vermont, get off the Bethel exit (it's either exit 2 or 3). Go into the town of Bethel and take Route 107 west to Route 100 north. Follow 100 North to Waterbury, where you can pick up I-89 again to Burlington. That stretch of Route 100 is gorgeous. In Waterbury, be sure to visit the Ben & Jerry's factory (just north of I-89 on 100).
Have fun!

Stop at "Garden in the Woods" in Framingham, Mass. between Albany and Boston off the Mass Pike. It is the home of The New England Wildflower Society, the oldest wildflower conservation organization in the country. They have a really amazing park that is a woods filled with native plants. Plenty of stuff should be in bloomw then. It is wonderful. There is also a nursery. Here is the web site:

http://www.newfs.org/garden.htm

Are you going to travel from Albany to Boston then to Burlington and back to Albany? If I know that I may add some ideas to those already introduced. Also how long are you staying in each place and between? Do you have any reservations and you need to arrive in some destinations in a certain time? Are you traveling with a large family or only two of you?

To add to bm's excellent suggestions: From Burlington, take the Port Kent ferry over to New York and make the short drive to Ausable Chasm {quite a sight!}. Take the tour and boat ride. Take the ferry back to Burlington and stroll the waterfront and Church Street Marketplace. Or, conversely, take a different route through New York and/or Vermont. Do check that the chasm is open in May, and the ferry schedule; we have only done this trip in the summer, so I'm not sure what's open and running in May.

Button's Bay that bm mentioned is lovely and fascinating.Benedict Arnold sank America's first naval fleet here. Take the short nature trail that sections off from the main trail to see easily-spotted fossilized snails and trilibites. You probably won't actually see any of the "buttons" {ancient glacial clay deposits}, because these were widely collected, and I don't believe that the nature center, which has a display of these and other items, will be open yet. If it was summer, you could swim out to an island. Bring binoculars for bird-watching.

Forgot to mention that Lake Placid is very nice. Adirondacks area can be VERY buggy in May - but maybe not Lake Placid (?). Was trying to figure out, though how it wouldn't be out of your way?

You guys suggestions are tremendous. We will try to pack in as many of the great ideas as we can; although this will be a quick jaunt and it will just be the two of us. Thanks all. Tim