Northeast Roadtrip

Introduction

Part of my quest to visit all fifty states, this road trip took me to the northeast where I was missing Delaware, Maine, Rhode Island, and possibly Connecticut and New Hampshire. Along the way, I got to see sights in West Virgina, Maryland, Vermont and New York.

Toward the East Coast

Elkins, WV

My first stop was in Elkins West Virginia, just inside the NRQZ (National Radio Quiet Zone). It’s a cute little town with a nice city park and a small hopping downtown on the weekend. Seems like a lovely place to stop if you happen to be passing through or need a base for outdoor adventures.

I stayed at the 120-year-old Tygart boutique hotel, which was renovated as part of a downtown rehab that turned out very nicely. It’s bookable via Choice’s “Ascend” collection which features a lot of smaller independents. The room rate for a regular queen was $151 per night, but it was available for just 16,000 choice points aka 8,000 Citi points. Choice commonly prices suites the same as regular rooms when using points, and this hotel offered suites, but not the night of my stay so I just had a regular room.

Green Bank Observatory, WV

Driving into the heart of the NRQZ (National Radio Quiet Zone), I got to visit the town of Green Bank where microwaves live in faraday cages and your friendly local observatory staff are always on hand to fix all your noisy electronics, whether it be a shorting electric fence or the excessively powerful automatic door sensor at the neighborhood Dollar General.

They only allow diesel engines around the telescopes (no spark plugs) and no cell phones. I had to buy a brand-new camera just to take pictures along the telescope track. I’ll post those later… after I get them developed.

Bombay Hook Wildlife Refuge, DE

Most of these pictures come from Bombay Hook in Delaware with a few from the drive over through Maryland. The foxes came out onto the roads at sunset. They looked absolutely adorable, but I think in their heads, they saw themselves more like bandits laying ambushes for unsuspecting humans on sunset drives, then shaking them down for food (don’t feed the wildlife).

Into the Northeast

Gillette Castle, CT

In Connecticut, I stopped at the Gillette Castle State Park. Gillette was the son of a senator and became famous for playing Sherlock Holmes on stage. He designed the castle which was bought by the state after his death in the 30s. It’s a strange and impressive place on a bluff overlooking the Connecticut river. The whole estate is like a wooded garden with artificial ponds. Lots of old money.

Fort Adams State Park, RI

Here are pictures from Rhode Island, specifically Newport and Aquidneck Island. Mostly these come from the southern public beaches and Fort Adams.

I didn’t include any pictures, but I stayed at The Pell which is a Hyatt / JdV, using a free night certificate. It was fine, and my first JdV so now I only need three more checkboxes on my Hyatt / Subway card for another free night. Yay!

Portland, ME

For Maine, I just had one night in Portland. I stopped at some of the coastal sights, Two Lights state park and the Portland Head Light, plus I enjoyed a lobster roll.

Interestingly Two Lights state park has no lighthouses and is instead a defensive fortification built for WW2 in case things went bad. The name “two lights” probably comes from the way they planned to get firing solutions from two nearby lighthouses/towers.

The Portland Head Light is a nice big lighthouse, and fort, part of a much larger city park.

Homeward Bound

New Hampshire and Vermont

I drove through New Hampshire pretty quickly, stopping only briefly at Mount Washington and a few scenic overlooks before continuing on to Vermont and Burlington where I stayed for the evening in a Smart Suite on Choice points. Let’s just say you don’t get that same “smart” feeling at a Smart Suite as you do at a Holiday Inn Express.

St Lawrence and Tibetts Lighthouse

On the drive back, I went up and over Lake Champlain and then drove through New York along the St Lawrence Seaway to Lake Ontario. This was a beautiful drive ending in the picturesque Tibetts lighthouse around sunset. Some people refer to this part of the country, with the Great Lakes and Seaway, as the fourth coast (others being Atlantic, Gulf, Pacific).

Hyatt Regency Ontario Suite, NY

On the way home, I stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Rochester for 5,000 points (think $50-$100). They upgraded my room for free, unasked, to the 2,100 square foot top floor Ontario Suite which has seating for around 18, two balconies, two bathrooms, a conference table, kitchen and wall to ceiling windows. On a clear day, I think you can see Lake Ontario.

I’ve gotten some nice upgrades before, but this was off the charts, especially for the cheapest point stay Hyatt offers.

I tried to figure out what the price would have been and I didn’t see it in the regular booking UI but did find a “call for pricing” note on one page.

The video has a full walk through.

Lodging

Most hotel stays on the trip were purely utilitarian, places to stop after a long day driving and sightseeing. However, the Tygart, Plymouth Hyatt House, Pell and the Rochester Regency all stood out in good ways. Ignoring the once in a blue moon upgrade to the Regency’s Ontario Suite, the Tygart tops the list as the most interesting find in the mix at just 16,000 choice points (8,000 Citi).

The BWI Hyatt Place and Vermont Smart Suites were both moderately sketchy, and I would prefer to avoid them in the future unless they go through a major renovation.

Summary

Hotels

• $204 Hilton - 1 night
• 41k Choice - 2 nights
• 18k Hyatt - 3 nights
• Cat 1-4 cert Hyatt - 1 night