Holly_uncasdewar

Ira, you're gonna love it! Have dinner at the Algonquin, right on the lake there in Bolton.

bgans

Le Jardin has been around forever and was a great "get your parents to take you there for a good meal" place when I was a student at Williams (many, many years ago). Other recommendations for Williamstown would be the Dining Room at The Orchards, the Thai place on Spring Street (name escapes me, but there is only one) and for sandwiches to take on the road, Poppa Charlies, also on Spring St.

Michael

Ira, in this instance I would trust the map that indicates scenic routes. Mine says that 22 is scenic, but not US4 which goes along the Hudson. I believe that the "classic" Hudson Valley is actually between Poughkeepsie and Albany.

ira

Thanks, Michael

Very good.

Mama

Ira, if you arrive in BTV around 3 pm drive to Stowe (about half hour) and stay two nights there, then drive on route 302 to Jackson, NH and do all touring from there. I agree, it is an ideal place for seeing foliage of NH. It is a short drive from Stowe to Bethlehem. May I ask why Bethlehem? Jackson, is more convenient for touring. If you drive on route 302 do stop in Littleton, NH ice cream place. It is just before Bethlehem.
From Jackson, continue south.
Finaly, instead of Sagamore I suggest taking a drive to the Airondacks and staying in Lake Placid area, then taking a ferry across Champlain Lake to Burlington. The views from both ferries between Port Kent, NY and Burlington, VT and Charlotte,VT and Essex, NY are exceptional in October.

alfisol

Ira,

Rt 22 and the Taconic Parkway are the two most scenic routes in NY east of the Hudson River. The hilly topography is gorgeous in any season.

The roads and views nearer to the Hudson River just do not compare. But if you do venture to the small city of Hudson, go to Olana, the home of Frederic Church. The view of the river is beautiful from there.

ira

Hi alfi,

Thanks. We shall be taking take Rt 22.

Hi Mama,

>May I ask why Bethlehem?

There is room at the inn?

>...Jackson, is more convenient

Is that the Jackson just S of Jackson Falls, NH on Rt 16?

Any recommendations on places to stay?


Hi TRM,

>...take the Kancamagus Highway that runs from North Woodstock to Conway.<

Is that Rt 112?

I do appreciate all the help.

ira

Hi folks:

With your help, we have our accomodations reserved.

It wasn't easy. Even though it is 10 months away, we had to rearrange our dates twice.

New itinerary:

Day 1 Oct 2
Fly ATL/BTV arr 15:00. Pick up car and drive to Middlebury, VT.
Days 2 & 3 at Middlebury Inn
Day 4 Drive to Jackson,NH
Days 5-7 Staying at Jackson House B&B
Day 8 Drive to Williamstown, MA
Days 9&10 Staying at 1896 House
Day 11 To Bolton Landing via Rt 22
Stay at The Sagamore
Day 12 Friday, 10/13
Drive to BTV Fly home

I'll be back with questions re: driving routes.

Thanks for the help.

Mama

great itinerary. Middlebury is a good place to stay. I don't know about the inn but if you are interested I can suggest a scenic back route from there to Jackson. I know you already made reservations and this is my oipinion but I wouldn't go all the way to Balton landing to stay at the Sagamore for one night. I think I would rather stop near Burlington for that one last night. What time is your flight back home from BTV?

ira

Hi Mama
>...great itinerary.

Thanks, good to know.

>...if you are interested I can suggest a scenic back route from [Middlebury]to Jackson.<

Please do. The only one I have, at the moment, is from Michelin.

>...I wouldn't go all the way to Balton landing to stay at the Sagamore for one night. I think I would rather stop near Burlington for that one last night.

I think that it is only about 2:30 hr to the Sagamore. It is then only 2 hr to BTV.

I just thought that I would give my LW a treat, but we are open to suggestions.

>What time is your flight back home from BTV?<

About 1600.

BuffaloGirl

If you go to Vergennes, make a trip to the Shelburne Museum (www.shelburnemuseum.org). You won't regret it. It's on Rt. 7 outside of Vergennes.

The town of Vergennes is a lovely, small town. Rt. 7 runs through it, and can be a busy route (I imagine it can be during leaf-peeping season).

Have fun!

ira

Thanks for the tip, BG

ira

ttt

ira

Hi all,

Looking for advice re which blue hiway route to take from Jackson, NH to Williamstown, MA.

www.viamichelin.com gives me two ways.

The first (6 hr) crosses NH and Vermont on route 11, going through Sunapee, NH and Chester, Vt before connecting with US 7 and going south to Williamston.

The other follows (6:45 hr) route 9, heading down to toward Concord and going through Keene, NH and Wilmington, VT before connecting to US 7.

Any suggestions on whether the longer route is more scenic, more interesting, worth the extra time?

Any other suggestions?

Thanks

Michael

From Chester I would somehow connect with VT 100 and take it all the way down to North Adams.

dfrostnh

Middlebury VT is a great place. We liked the Dog Team Tavern a little north of town. I think it's only open for dinner. The drive south from Burlington should be beautiful. Vermont has more open farmland than NH does. I'm not quite sure about how you are getting over to Rt 11 or 9 from Jackson. I would take the scenic route down thru Tamworth and Center Sandwich, then thru Meredith NH to get a good view of Lake Winnipesaukee. Probably the fastest route would be to connect with Rt 93 (expect a lot of traffic in downtown Meredith unless it's a weekday) and then connect with Rt 9 in Concord. This sort of depends on your timing. There's some nice places to eat in Concord and you could enjoy the quieter Rt 9 but there won't be many places to stop to eat until you get to Keene. Keene is a great college town. Rt 11 will take you thru New London, a very pretty small college town but I don't care for the drive between Belmont and New London. Although Rt 93 is a major interstate, it's a nice drive with very few billboards although my most favorite part is the northern section. South of Concord is more commercial. However, if you didn't get to the Queechee, Woodstock VT area when you traveled VT, I would head there from Jackson to have lunch at Simon Pearce in Quechee VT. It's right over the NH line and worth the detour.
If you want a winding route, I would take Rt 9 but head to Peterborough NH and then continue on Rt 101 to Keene, connecting with Rt 9. The southwest corner of NH is quiet and pretty.
Hope you have a great trip and better weather than October 2005!

djkbooks

My recommendation would be to head west on Route 302 (through the magnificent Crawford Notch, and through Littleton, a charming main street town...) to Route 5 in Vermont which runs into I-91 (though an interstate - fabulous scenery all along the way). In Brattleboro, VT, you could head west on Route 9 to Route 7 South. This takes you past Hogback Mountain with an absolutely magnificent overlook in Marlboro. Also along the way are fabulous stops/shops for Vermont Cheddar (incredible at the countrys store in Wilmington), apples, cider, crafts, etc. This route would take about 4-1/2 hours total with no stops. Or you could continue south in Brattleboro on I-91 to Route 2 and go west. Route 2 is the Mohawk Trail (there's a website with sights along the way) - a sensational drive in the fall. This route would take you about five hours total. Or, from Route 9 you could go south on Route 112 or Route 8 to the Mohawk Trail and still drive plenty of that, including the famous (and not to be missed) Hairpin Curve.

I recommend I-91 because about 120 miles of the route will be highway, scenic but most efficient given the short daylight hours.

ira

Thank you all very much.

djkbooks

Ira: If you do decide to take I-91, highly recommend a stop by the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site (http://www.sgnhs.org/plan.html) and a look at the nearby covered bridge, the longest in the country (http://www.nh.gov/nhdhr/bridges/p39.html). To get there, you'd get off I-91 at Exit 10 (I-89) then take Exit 20 (9A South), then take a left on Saint Gaudens Road. This is quicker than the nearest I-91 exit (there are only so many bridges over the river).

ira

Thank you, dj.

That's a great idea.