I've decided that I'm going to do an occasional Road Trip photo blog of places I've visited with my Fit EX, which now has a little more than 6K on it. Hope I don't bore you but I enjoy both my Fit and taking pictures. Plus I'm a former newspaper columnist with ink in my blood -- make that cyber-ink nowadays.



My wife and I like to visit beach towns in America and overseas. We often tell other beach-lovers that one of the best towns in New Jersey is Cape May, with its iconic 1859 lighthouse.



Where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Delaware Bay at Cape May Point can be found the S.S. Atlantus, the famous concrete ship dating from about 1918 during the First World War. After the war it was intended to serve as the basis for a ferry dock, but it ran aground and slowly broke up. You can Google the name to find out more, and yes, concrete ships can float.



South Jersey has some excellent beaches, as can be seen here at the south end of Beach Avenue in Cape May City. Just over the front of the car in the distance can be seen the lighthouse near Cape May Point. In the old days a trolley/tram line ran down along the beach but storms did it in.



While my wife shops on the Washington Street Mall, I'd much rather enjoy an ice cream cone or saltwater taffy there. Just don't try taking a picture like this during the high-season summer months.



Cape May is famous for its Victorian architecture, B&Bs, and classic hotels such as Congress Hall which dates about 1879. A lot of notables stayed here, including presidents.

If the administrators permit, I'll move a couple of my previously-posted pictures to this blog thread. Hope some who enjoy Fits and road trips take an interest in this endeavor.

Please feel free to post your own road trip pictures and comments.

 

you my friend have a rare NJ plate... i want a blue plate again =)

 

X, I've had those plates since the disco era and I try to take care of them. The dude at the inspection station advised me to never give them up.

Nice to hear from a Jersey Guy!

 

This will be a good follow

 

P-H, thanks for your encouragement.

I took this shot in North Wildwood, New Jersey, back in March and posted it elsewhere on the forum but now I'm putting it here. The Hereford Inlet lighthouse was opened in 1874 and is an example of Stick Style.

North Wildwood and its sister town of Wildwood have extensive boardwalks and are good places to visit if you like amusement rides, Doo-wop style motel architecture, and clubs into the wee hours. The beaches here are amazingly wide -- so wide that some people ride a tram to get to the water.

Perhaps you've heard the song Wildwood Days by Bobby Rydell.

 

As we say in South Jersey, my wife and I are headed "down the shore" tomorrow to spend the day on the beach at Ocean City NJ since warm weather is predicted. This is the first time I tried out my beach chairs and Wonder Wheeler in the hatch section and they fit without putting the rear seat down.

A lot of people in this area like to use Wonder Wheelers. Here's a link in case you've never heard of them:

Wonder Wheeler Deluxe | Wheeled Beach Tote by Rio Brands

 

As anticipated, today's weather was amazing so we headed down to Ocean City, New Jersey, about an hour's drive, not to be confused with Ocean City, Maryland, which is about three hours from me.

Since high season has not begun yet I got a great unmetered parking spot on 15th St. close by the boardwalk and beach. Parking can be a problem in OC with its tight spaces, but that is one of the reasons for owning a Fit.

By the way, if you plan to visit OCNJ, a very civilized place that calls itself America's Greatest Family Resort, you can check out this link:

Visit Ocean City, New Jersey | Official Site of OC New Jersey


After spending a few hours on the beach and boardwalk, before heading home my wife wanted to stop at a shop on Asbury Avenue, a few blocks inland. Parking is mostly metered there but once again it's great to own a Fit when you have to parallel park. I feel sorry for those who own a Cadillac Escalade in these situations.


After taking the shot of my Fit parked on Asbury Avenue, I got back in the car to wait for my wife, glanced in the side rear-view mirror, and noticed an older Fit parked behind down the street. I took a shot of it, posted above.

Personally I don't know how to distinguish a 1st from a 2nd generation Fit.

I should add that earlier in the day on the way down to the shore I saw a 2015 Fit that appeared to be identical to mine.

This was also the first really hot day in South Jersey, with the outside temp measuring 90F on the Fit's thermometer. I used the air conditioner with the lever set in the recycle position and it worked pretty well, even with very bright sunshine.

Also, my wife and I successfully set our Fit's FM radio to a local shore station and saved it on the program list. Still learning the idiosyncrasies of the radio!

 

My wife and I just returned from a four-day road trip to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in the vicinity of Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads. We traveled down the Delmarva Peninsula via Route 13, which gets its name from the states of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.

The total round-trip mileage was 716, and we averaged 41 mpg, which included high speed dual highways and heavy city traffic in the vicinity of Norfolk, Va. Our comfort level on this trip was good. We make a habit of stopping about every two hours.

The only problem we had was that our tire pressure light came on so we swung into a Honda dealer, found thanks to our Garmin GPS. It took ten minutes to determine that there were two pounds too much air in one of the rear tires. As a result, I also learned that the reset button is near my left knee thanks to a discussion with the young tech on duty.



On the way south we stopped in the rest area of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel that connects the twin capes of Virginia at the mouth of the bay. That's an ocean-going vessel headed northwest after clearing the CBBT.



Looking south from the rest area's fishing pier out in the bay you can see Virginia Beach, a famous resort area. That's our Fit to the right of the line of cars.



Looking north from the mid-bay rest area you can see how one of the two tunnels dips under the Chesapeake Bay. The Fit handled well in the tunnels and on the bridge segments, where weather can sometimes be quite challenging.

More to follow...

 

On the south side of the Chesapeake Bay's inlet can be found the old Cape Henry Lighthouse, dating from 1792.

This site is located on a military base so upon entering the gate I had to show my driver's license, insurance and registration cards, exit the vehicle, open all doors and the hatch, and also lift the hood for inspection. Everything was in order and the Fit was allowed entry.



The climb to the top of the the old Cape Henry Light is not an easy one since it involves a cast iron spiral stairway with a steep iron ladder at the top to reach the lantern room. But the view to the Atlantic Ocean is rewarding. That's our Fit in the center right of the parking lot.

I wanted to visit this site because during the Civil War (1861-1865) this is where my great, great grandfather, a member of the 51st Pennsylvania Regiment, as part of a flotilla sailed out of the Chesapeake Bay on his way to participate in his first battle. It also marked the first time in his life that he had seen the Atlantic Ocean.

More to follow...

 

My wife and I enjoy visiting art museums of all types and this road trip was no exception. The Walter Chrysler Jr. Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia makes for a terrific setting to take a shot of the Fit, with the result being worthy of a car calendar. This museum includes many genre of art, but we particularly enjoyed the pre-Columbian figures.

If you get a chance, google Walter Chrysler Jr. and discover what an interesting personality he was.



Meanwhile, over in nearby Virginia Beach perched on a spot between the beach and boardwalk can be found the impressive bronze statue of Neptune, installed just a few years ago. To his trident he rises 34 feet tall, and is surrounded by all sorts of interesting sea life.

I wanted to get my Fit in a shot with Neptune but the closest place I could get legally had the view blocked by trees!

More to follow...

 

The main purpose of our road trip in the Fit to the vicinity of the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay was to visit Fort Monroe, which played a pivotal role in the Civil War. It was also where my great great grandfather was stationed during the summer of 1862 as a member of the 51st Pennsylvania Regiment. This is a view of the fort I made from Google Earth. US 64 passes close by and provides access.



I have visited a few other early fortresses in my travels but this is the only one I recall where you can actually drive your car in and out of by means of the gates, in this case controlled by traffic lights. The Fit passed through with a little room to spare, but I don't know if a Hummer could make it.



Inside of Fort Monroe the walls contain rooms known as casemates. It was in one of these rooms that Jefferson Davis, the former president of the Confederacy, was held at the end of the Civil War. You can visit the Casemate Museum there to learn more about the lives of the Union soldiers who manned the fort, and also learn what happened to Jeff Davis after the war.

During the Civil War my great great grandfather traveled an estimated 10,439 miles with his unit including 5,390 by water, 3,311 by railway, and 1,738 by marching.

So here I was 150 years later, visiting one of the places associated with him thanks to a futuristic vehicle that includes many comforts -- the 2015 Honda Fit. If it only could travel through time, I would have gladly given him a lift.

 

I've been wanting to take a picture of my Fit with this Tow Mater of Cars fame and finally got around to it today. He resides at a body shop in Salem County, New Jersey.

To quote Mater, "I tell you what, buddy, it just don't get better than this."

 

This is a great thread! Thanks for posting your travels and all the historical info.

If I'm ever lucky enough to make it out to the east coast I will have to make sure to visit some of these places.

 

Thoroughly enjoying this thread! Thanks for writing...and the pics really round out the storyline. Cheers.

 

During our travels my wife and I have been fortunate to see many world-famous sculptures, but closer to home we always get a kick out of visiting this place where you can buy all sorts of reproductions. It's located on Route 77 in the village of Deerfield Street, in Cumberland County, New Jersey. You might even find a knock-off Venus de Milo statue marked down since the arms are missing.



Meanwhile, the Beast seemingly admires Beauty!

1SickVeilsideZ and Suki3, thank you so much for your nice comments about this thread. Our Fits give us the opportunity to visit so many interesting places without experiencing the pain at the gas pumps. During this past week my wife and I went down the Shore twice for the beach, and once to Delaware for some tax-free shopping, and we probably spent less than $20 on gas. It's great to be a budget traveler!

 

My wife and I just returned from a 1,010-mile road trip in our 2015 Fit that started in South Jersey where we live that included stops at West Point, New York; Fort Ticonderoga, NY; Burlington and Shelburne on Lake Champlain in northwestern Vermont; and Stockbridge, in western Massachusettes, where the artist Norman Rockwell lived.

We were on the road for six days with the Fit averaging 41.6 mpg over the entire trip. The best we did on one of the fill-ups along the way was 44.6 mpg, which made me very happy.

I'll be posting some photos I took as I get a chance. The diner pictured above, just to get started, was about an hour above NYC and had a great view of the Hudson River from its windows, plus terrific food. The Ikaros Diner is located on Rt 300 in New Windsor, NY.

 

Right outside the gate of the United States Military Academy is the Visitor Center at left and the West Point Museum in the background. Plenty of parking is available here. You can sign up for a bus tour of the campus at this location, and it is well-worth seeing. Be sure to bring a photo ID to pass through security. The best idea is to make reservations on-line in advance of your visit.



The view from the West Point campus overlooking the Hudson River is amazing. It was at this place during the Revolutionary War that the Americans stretched a huge chain across the river to keep the British ships from sailing upstream.



Many famous people are buried in the military cemetery at West Point. General George Custer was killed at Little Big Horn in 1876, but his remains were brought to West Point the following year where this obelisk marks his final resting place.

More to follow...

 

I had always wanted to visit Fort Ticonderoga which is located about five and a half hours north of New York City on the western shore of Lake Champlain. The location straddles upstate New York and western Vermont. The Fit handled well as it passed through the Adirondack Mountains to get there.



The fort makes an imposing sight with its massive walls. Its purpose was to protect the portage point where upper Lake George and lower Lake Champlain meet, a strategic location during the Revolutionary War.



The living and working quarters have been nicely restored and lots of historic artifacts are on view inside.



Looking south, the fort provides a commanding view of Lake Champlain. The lake is 120 miles long and at its widest is 12 miles across. The deepest point is 400 feet. That's Vermont on the left, and New York on the right in the distance. The northernmost point of Lake Champlain is in Canada.

More to follow...

 

So after we left Fort Ticonderoga, New York, I set the GPS to take us to the vicinity of Burlington, in northwestern Vermont, about an hour and a half away. In just a couple of minutes it took us to what I first thought was a dead-end road, but turned out to be a ferry landing at a point where Lake Champlain is less than a half-mile wide.




We pulled on board on what is essentially a barge capable of carrying a dozen cars or so, depending on their size. The fare was $10 for one-way. That's upstate New York in the background.




The ferry-barge is propelled by a little tug that from what I understand has no steering wheel. The entire rig is attached to cables that guide it across Lake Champlain. Supposedly there are only three of this type in the USA. In less that ten minutes we were in Vermont.

More to follow...

 

When we arrived in northwestern Vermont just south of the small city of Burlington we were impressed by the beauty of Lake Champlain. Back in the old days the lake used to freeze solid in the winter months, but that doesn't happen always nowadays. Nevertheless, it has during recent years.

At this point we were nearly five-hundred miles from home and our purpose in the area was to visit the Shelburne Museum, famous for its collection of early Americana.

More to follow...