if there's a place you got to go

A few bonus destinations presented themselves as my wife and I continue planning our upcoming trip to New England. Janet and Holly, two Drive Vacation Specialists at AAA, helped us choose hotels and routes. While Janet found the least expensive lodging, Holly made computerized TripTiks. In the past, we would get the old school TripTiks, assembled and highlighted by hand. When we got home, my wife broke out the highlighters and marked up the state maps for Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey and a wee bit of Delaware.

Up until yesterday, I had assumed our trip north would not include Pennsylvania. Instead of taking I-95, as I have countless other times, we will take Route 15 from Northern Virginia into Maryland and Pennsylvania. We can visit Gettysburg National Military Park and then stop at Hershey's Chocolate World for lunch.

Following a different path south will allow us to see Minute Man National Historical Park in Concord, Massachusetts. If time permits, we can also take the Ten Mile Drive in Newport, Rhode Island.

I like squeezing some sightseeing into our longer travel days. Maybe my wife can be persuaded to make a stop along I-81 in Virginia too. We can always return to Foamhenge or bite the bullet and pay to finally see the Natural Bridge.