Railroadman

Considering a 3 or 4 day mini-vacation if we can make it work. Looking to add a few states to the 20 we have been to in the Vette so far. Leave western NY state, want to hit Jersey and Delaware. Anything great to see there without taking days to do it?

From Delaware we could swing west and come up through VA, WV and MD, or possibly go a bit farther south and see the Outer Banks. Since it's past Labor Day, does the tourist rush there decline, or is it still quite busy?

As for the other route, we might do Skyline Drive, been there before years ago and it's beautiful. Harper's Ferry was another place we went to before and may go back.

We tend to wing it rather than making advance reservations, unless there is something specific we'll be aiming for. Of course that can be an issue if an area is real busy.

Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks!

Humanoid 2.0

This is a nice time of year to visit the Jersey shore. Stop by Sandy hook, go to AC and stop by Kerbeck. You can then go south to cape may, spend the night and take the ferry to DE.

FOXMO

Rt 9 in DE is a nice ride.

jerseydrew

Not sure if you've done it already this is a great time of year to swing up through New England.

Railroadman

A couple good suggestions there - thanks! and Drew, we did hit the New England states a couple summers ago, we had to go to Maine anyway so we went out through MA, CT and RI and came back via NH and VT. A very scenic trip for sure.

JoesC5

I suggest driving down I-79 in WV to Sutton, WV(exit #62) and take Hwy 15 east over to US219, then south, and then Hwy 66 east to Cass, WV. Excellent Corvette road. In Cass, ride the Cass Scenic Railroad(geared steam locos to Bald ****). Leaving Cass, take Hwy 28/92 north to US250 east to Staunton, VA to get on I-64 east over to Charlottesville, and tour Monticello.

Then back onto I-64 west to Waynesboro and take Skyline Drive north to Front Royal. Then take I-68 east over to Hwy 28 north to US50. Visit the National Air & Space Museum, Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center. The entrance is on the northwest corner of the US50 and Hwy 28 intersection, off of US50. Then north to Harpers Ferry. Then north to Gettysburg, PA

Railroadman

Joe, altho a career in railroading left me disinterested in most rail rides, I will make an exception for Cass, as well as the Rio Grande narrow-gauge survivors in Colorado. You might have something there! I will give that some consideration!

Humanoid 2.0

What about the North Pole Express steam train ride, you get to meet Mr and Mrs Santa, I rented out the caboose for my kids and some of their friends and family http://www.blackriverrailroad.com/no...e-express.html

Ol'55

I agree with Joe, as West Virginia has always attracted the Wife and myself. Two places of interest I'll throw out. My Dad was a real railroad guy (as I see by your screen name you must be also) and the rail museum in Baltimore,Md was awesome when I was a kid (50 some years ago) http://www.borail.org/ That and a place we go to and support any time we can in Weston, WV. is http://trans-alleghenylunaticasylum.com/ with great civil war history and much more with a claim to fame as the 2nd largest cut stone building in the world (next to the Kremlin!) At any rate the road system and twisties and mountains of West Virginia were made for Corvettes.

Railroadman

55, I have been to that Baltimore B&O museum, in fact one of the locomotives they use came from me via a trade for one they had. The trade itself was a good one but after I retired I donated some stuff to them and never got any acknowledgement from them even after a follow-up inquiry.

WV DOES have some great roads, especially this time of year. I'm not sure we will pull this trip off. Wife is helping a relative who is going through some bad times medically, and every time you blink it's another doctor's appointment or test. We had hoped it would be back to normal by now, but at least it's not US with the problems.

As for the lunatic asylum, sounds like an interesting place.

This is the one I traded to them:

Ol'55

All I can say is Wow! (big toy!) Sorry to read of your "human experience" That's quite an endeavor. I don't claim to know anything about trains, but I have to ask as I don't remember ever seeing the external bottle cylinders on the top of the engine cover? (Nitrous?, LOL!)
While in the Navy I worked with/on Fairbanks-Morse 38D engines, that I've been told found use in tugboats and road engines like your GP-9.
Weston,WV and the area is a hoot, and full of rich history, great roads, and inexpensive 5 star lodging. We used to do Skyline Drive, but got tired of the rangers, deer, and over populated usage in the park itself, but once the local club moved the event out of the park it became one of our favorites. Sadly they have changed the format of the event to a park in a lot with your hood open which I can't stand. Sorry to read of your family stresses, and hope for a positive improvement in the near future.

Railroadman

Ol'55 those things on top are the reservoirs for air, used for the brakes and a few other functions. Usually they are mounted underneath the locomotive but that unit had a steam boiler (for heating passenger cars) and the area usually used for the reservoirs below was instead used for a water tank for the boiler.

The trouble with planning a trip like this is invariably the various local attractions all look good, and instead of a 4-day, 5-state cruise, we wind up wanting to spend a week or 10 days in one state!

Ol'55

Question answered! (the air cylinders). The Wife and I use our vettes in the same manner that you do in search of America (like an RV without any room), and target areas of interest with a base area, and day trip from the base area 'til it's time to go home. Best of a Corvette roadtrip to ya.

Railroadman

Well, we pared it down to a 3-day jaunt because she has to be here Wednesday. So I figured leave here tomorrow AM, get to Front Royal VA. Monday do Skyline Drive and then wander slowly northward as we feel like it, and finish the trip home Tuesday. Great!

Then a quick look at the weather down there. Sunday - rain. Monday - rain. Tuesday - rain.

Never mind!

Guitarking1

Due to most of career over the past 42 years and it's unrelenting overtime, I have had very spare, limited times to take road trips. Every now and then, a weekend trip of 100-200 miles occurred, but even that was rare. My kids never experienced it much due to the chains I wore at my desk.

Now, in 5 weeks, (mostly) retirement will occur. And I have these ambitions to take the Vette out for some long trips across the USA, both northern and southern routes with a few diversions through the Central states. But since this may be my last Vette, I must admit, I'm a little afraid to watch big miles clock up on the odometer.

But as they say, you only get one chance on the big dance floor.

JoisyDevil

Skyline drive to blue ridge pkwy and work your way to 129 (tail of the dragon).

Railroadman

Congrats on the retirement! You might want to start a brand new thread, this one is several years dead and who knows what changes have come along in routes and attractions since then.

But let me offer MHO on what you said above. Did you buy the car to look at, or drive? To me, every mile I put on it is another memory and smile to recall. Do you want to turn 85 years old, and see a low-mile Vette in the garage that you barely drove? Or do you want to see a worn-out Vette that reminds you of that BBQ place in Tennessee, Niagara Falls NY, the corn fields you saw in Iowa, and the Rockies on each side of you as you drove through some mountain pass? There's an old country music song "I'd rather be sorry for something I did, than for something that I didn't do".

It's your decision to make, if course. My advice is fire it up, put it in gear, and drive the wheels off it! (And of course, post a thread and pics of your travels on the forum, of course!)

Railroadman

Well crap!! On further review, it looks like I never followed up on this thread after we actually did the trip! So here, 3 1/2 years after the fact, are some memories of that vacation! We went in early October, did Skyline Drive partway down, then took Rt 33 through West Virginia - an excellent Corvette road, lots of twists and turns! I highly recommend it.