We left 30 minutes late at 8:30am, not really for lack of preparation since we were already packed, but just closing up final checklist items in the house. Next time we'll know to get up two hours ahead of time! We stopped to get gas for the car and Rob remembered he wanted his extra set of eyeglasses. A quick trip back home and then we were on our way.
Rob always pre-plans our trip routes for each day in Garmin's BaseCamp navigation software on the computer, then transfers it to the portable Garmin device. He has the Mazda's navigation and Google Maps on his phone as backup just in case. Our route started on 15 North through Frederick, MD then we exited onto I-83. Traffic was busy the entire way into PA, and up to Allentown, PA.
Even with our later departure, traffic and a few road construction spots, we made good time and arrived at our lunch stop at 12:15pm. We pre-planned lunch at Cedars Mediterranean Grill in Stroudsburg, PA. It was highly rated and we got a chicken gyro takeout for a picnic at nearby Bryant Park (not the famous one in NYC) on a nice street. A grandfather and two kids enjoyed the park slides while we had lunch. Temperatures were mild with low humidity.
After lunch we drove through part of the Poconos Mountains. We took Highway 209 through the Delaware Gap Recreation Area that was very scenic. This area is adjacent to the Poconos region. We also followed the Hudson River along Route 9 and entered New York state. At one point Rob spotted a farm and asked if that was the Beekman 1802 farm, where Michele's previous customers lived when she worked for Time Warner Cable. It was not, as Sharon Springs is further west, but it sparked fun memories for Michele on that TV shoot and working with brilliant owners Josh and Brent years ago.
Unrelated, Michele liked this random golden statue that greeted us at a roundabout.
The best part of our journey today was our route along the Taconic State Parkway for 60 miles. It was quiet, scenic, and recently paved. At times we had the road to ourselves. Rob finds these great roads in our scenic road books.
The parkway ended at a toll road, so we exited and crossed into Massachusetts. Our hotel destination was Maple Terrace Motel in Williamstown, near Williams College. Our hotel has a beautiful garden with many seating areas and a resident groundhog that Rob spotted snacking on grass. They also have a heated outdoor pool. We'll try to catch a few pictures of the property in the morning. The town is charming and set in the Berkshires.
We had dinner at The Barn Kitchen & Bar at The Williams Inn just a half mile away. We shared a smokehouse burger with fries. Rob enjoyed a Hefeweizen Bier Grapefruit. We had the apple tart for dessert and Michele got a salad to go for later so she’d have something healthy. After dinner we watched two Women's World Cup matches on TV in our room.
The usual animals made an appearance along our route today: many horses, a turkey vulture, groundhogs and one deer. Michele loves funny billboards and signs and today's was the sheepskin coats store somewhere in PA. Signs for sheepskin coats, seat covers, rugs, and gloves were just some of the items available in sheepskin. Later she googled the store and it's a respected, 30-year family owned business. Some of the cozy coats are $1,400!
Today's distance was 437 miles and Rob got 39.6 avg mpg. We didn’t have to stop for gas! He said the hills of the Taconic Highway reduced the mpgs, even though our speeds were fairly low all day. The Mazda definitely gets better fuel efficiency than the Wing pulling both the trailer and us. We appreciated the shock absorption of the Mazda as compared to the motorcycle especially on a few stretches of road that had frost heaves or were under construction.
As we usually do on our vacations, our travel chit chat involves recalling past trips and thinking about where to go next. Along the way today we reminisced on all the motorcycle and car trips we took in 2022: Austin, TX/Houston/Huntsville; Kentucky bourbon trip; Colorado trip; Hershey, Pa for the RV show; and Dayton, Ohio with Gary to the National Museum of the US Air Force.
Tomorrow we continue north to Maine.
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