Sites to see along the road from Maine to North Carolina
Q. We would like to plan a trip to the East Coast next summer. We have a friend in Wiscasset, Maine, who owns a restaurant we'd like to visit and another friend in Chapel Hill, N.C., whom we might like to visit as well. Our 16-year-old daughter will be going along and possibly our 18-year-old son.
I was thinking of flying into Maine, renting a car and flying out of Raleigh-Durham. Can you give us some ideas of what we might see along the way between the two locations? Or do you have any other suggestions that might be more economical?
Thank you for your assistance.
A. How long do you plan to be gone? Things to see between Maine and North Carolina would fill more space than this column is allotted, but we'll give it a go.
Get on I-95 at Brunswick and head to Boston. That historic city offers the Boston National Historic Park that consists of seven sites along the Freedom Trail. These include the Bunker Hill Monument and the Charlestown Navy Yard, both owned by the federal government, plus Faneuil Hall, Old North Church, Old South Meeting House, Old State House and Paul Revere House. For information on Boston, call (888) 733-2678 or check www.bostonusa.com.
Just beyond Boston you can get off the main road for a side trip to Hyannis and the John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum, and a drive to Cape Cod. If you aren't careful, you'll drive smack into New York City where there is much to see and do, but no place to park.
On down the road is another historic city, Philadelphia. You can see where the United States was born, the Pennsylvania State House, better known today as Independence Hall. There, the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776, and the Constitution drafted a year later. Information is available at (800) 537-7676 or on the Web: www.gophila.com.
I-95 also takes you into Washington, D.C., where there might well be more to see than in any other U.S. city. Stroll along the National Mall where you'll see the Lincoln Memorial, the World War II Memorial, the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol, plus most of the buildings of the Smithsonian Institution. The Air and Space Museum is recommended. There are several sources of information, but you might want to try www.washington.org or call (800) 422-8644.
When you get to Richmond, Va., you can detour east on I-64 to Colonial Parkway, which links Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown, an area called the Historic Triangle. Spend the night in a Colonial house in restored Williamsburg. If you prefer, you could get off I-95 and take U.S. 13 through Delaware and over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel into Norfolk and Virginia Beach, then on into North Carolina. See www.virginia.org or call (800) 847-4882.
Your first destination, Wiscasset, is the gateway to mid-coast Maine and rich in maritime history, so check www.midcoastmaine.com. Your final destination, Chapel Hill, has information on its Orange County site, www.chocvb.org, or call (888) 968-2060.
Jet Blue flies out of Chicago to Portland, Maine, as well as to Raleigh-Durham, N.C., and offers some attractive one-way fares, which might serve your purpose for the trip.
Send your questions at leastsixweeks prior to travel toMadelynMerwin in care ofTravel,Daily Herald, P.O.Box280, Arlington Heights, IL60006, or e-maildpmerwin@sbcglobal.net.