Road Trip, Vermont to North Carolina!

[Vermontcat]

My husband, kids and I are planning a road trip to western North Carolina to visit my in-laws at their new house.
We will be driving through NY, PA(probably stopping overnight), MD, maybe DC, then VA and NC.
Who lives around those areas and can recommend things to see and do?
Also who is close enough for a possible Pet Talk meeting or two?
(Logan, if you are out there, I think you live the closest to my in-laws house.)
We will be driving down on July 15th and 16th.
Not sure which day we will drive back but have to be back by the 28th at the latest.

[Cookiebaker]

I hope you and your family have a safe trip down and back! Don't forget to take lots of pictures!!

Mark & I are headed down there in about 6 or 7 weeks, too, to visit my Grandma.

[jenluckenbach]

Allentown PA! Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom! And the Luckenbach cat house!~ ;)

[neko1]

Originally posted by jenluckenbach
Allentown PA! Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom! And the Luckenbach cat house!~ ;)


Great places to stop!:D

[Cataholic]

The Hutchins' Herd is JUST a slight detour...:D

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

What a great trip! Sure wish I lived over that way so you could meet P & CJ.

Drive careful and have a great trip...and be sure to take lots and lots of pictures so we can have a virtual trip once you get back. :D

[Logan]

How wonderful!!!!!! :) Yes, I would bet I do live the closest to where you will be! :)

I'm going to send you a PM with my phone numbers and email address. I am not going anywhere anytime soon and would love to drive up and meet you or have you drive down to my home and meet my "gang". :) :) I love meeting Pet Talk friends in person!!!

Logan

[Logan]

Originally posted by Cookiebaker
I hope you and your family have a safe trip down and back! Don't forget to take lots of pictures!!

Mark & I are headed down there in about 6 or 7 weeks, too, to visit my Grandma.

Where are you going to be???? Let me know, Anna! :)

[Vermontcat]

Jen, I just checked out Dorney Park's website.
We will be heading down RT 81 but may just head over your way.:)

Logan, I got your PM, I have to clean out my PM box tonight.
I will probably e-mail you more details tonight.
Can you recommend a good beach and how far is it to drive from your area?
We may do a day trip out to see the ocean one day.:)

There are so many Pet Talkers in so many states that I want to visit, I hope to meet at least a couple of you this trip.

[Samantha Puppy]

I am in Maryland. If you're interested in history, you should definitely stop in Gettysburg, PA and Antietam, MD - both sites of huge Civil War battles. If you have time enough to devote a whole day or two, go to DC - especially if you or anyone you're traveling with has never been. There are also countless Civil War/Revolutionary War sites in Virginia.

Have fun!

[jenluckenbach]

If you do decide to do Dorney, there is a Perkins Restaurant right next door. A perfect place to have a meal and meet. (assuming Luckenbach-land is not an option!) ;)

[Vermontcat]

Originally posted by Samantha Puppy
I am in Maryland. If you're interested in history, you should definitely stop in Gettysburg, PA and Antietam, MD - both sites of huge Civil War battles. If you have time enough to devote a whole day or two, go to DC - especially if you or anyone you're traveling with has never been. There are also countless Civil War/Revolutionary War sites in Virginia.

Have fun!

We are thinking of going to DC, my husband and sons want to see the Air and Space Museum. Isn't there also a zoo in DC with panda bears?
Where we go will also depend on the weather, a sunny day would mean an amusement park and a rainy day would mean something like a museum.
How far are you from DC? I can try to get in touch with you if we do stay in your area for a night.

Jen, I would love to go to Luckenbach-land!
I'm afraid my husband isn't up to a visit, he's afraid we may leave with a couple of extra cute furry passengers.;)

[finn's mom]

I'm in Columbia, South Carolina. I'd be willing to drive to a mini Pet Talk meeting....I wonder if Judy and Mary (shutterbug0303 and mruffruff) would be able to! That would be really cool. Be careful on the drive, though!

And, yeah, the smithsonian zoo is awesome! there were pandas there when i lived in Virginia. :)

[Vermontcat]

We will be in the western part of NC for about a week but we hope to do some day trips from there.
Logan is pretty close so I hope to visit with her, maybe you can join us.
We may drive down to a SC beach so I will let you know if we go through your area.
:)

[finn's mom]

Originally posted by Vermontcat
We will be in the western part of NC for about a week but we hope to do some day trips from there.
Logan is pretty close so I hope to visit with her, maybe you can join us.
We may drive down to a SC beach so I will let you know if we go through your area.
:)

I'm in Logan's area actually a lot, now. I haven't been able to take any pleasure trips to the area, but, I can certainly try to make it up there! :) I don't mind a drive, really. Sounds like a great trip for you guys!

[lbaker]

I work every day in DC and have lived here and nearby suburbs most of my life. All the Smithsonian Museums (including the National Zoo) are free. Yep, pandas are still there and so are some new baby cheetahs and other youngsters. I'll be in California from the 14th until the 22nd of July but any other time I'll be ready, willing and more than able to meet up! Just let me know if I can meet or otherwise be of help with ideas and places :cool:
Laurie

[Vermontcat]

Since the bombings in London we decided now isn't a good time to stop by DC so we will be stopping in the Harrisburg PA area for one or two nights before we drive the rest of the way to NC.
There is still a chance of a meeting with you Jen and Catnapper.
Also hoping to meet up with Logan and maybe a couple of other PTers who are nearby.:)

[lbaker]

:( :( Can't say I don't understand but what a sorry state of affairs that "they" can disrupt so many lives around the world. That means "they" accomplished at least one part of their mission from Satan. Maybe another time :( This makes me cry all over again.

[Samantha Puppy]

Originally posted by Vermontcat
We are thinking of going to DC, my husband and sons want to see the Air and Space Museum. Isn't there also a zoo in DC with panda bears?
Where we go will also depend on the weather, a sunny day would mean an amusement park and a rainy day would mean something like a museum.
How far are you from DC? I can try to get in touch with you if we do stay in your area for a night. I'm about 60-75 minutes from DC, depending on traffic. Could be as much as 2-3 hours if the traffic's nasty (no, I'm not exaggerating - the DC beltway is AWFUL).

I hope I don't step on anyone's toes here, but the National Zoo is a mess. I'm always hearing about different animals dying and poor living conditions and whatnot. On that note, I've never been to it (or if I have, I was very tiny and just don't remember it) but I do not know of one good thing I've heard about it.

DC is definitely worth going to, though, purely for the historical nature. The various Smithsonian museums are also well worth it. My husband loves the Air & Space. My favorite is Natural History.

[Vermontcat]

Traffic is another thing, since we will be travelling on the weekend we expect the traffic near DC and the coast to be bad.
We will be driving the most direct route which is along RT 81.
We will have to make a DC trip another time, maybe next summer.
Thanks lbaker and Samantha Puppy for the info.
Lbaker, have a great time at the California PT meeting.
Samantha Puppy, I hope you are feeling well with your pregnancy.
Maybe next year we will get to visit you and your little one.:)