We are taking the Fit from Illinois to Boston the first part of July, and then heading up to Maine for a few days. We'll probably take I-80 and I-90 across the mid-West, through Erie and Buffalo, and then on to Boston. We've never been to that part of the country and we'll have some time to sightsee. When we get the chance to travel, we usually head west. We're real excited about seeing a part of the USA that we've only read about.

I've heard that driving/parking in Boston is a pain. Any advice on mass transportation alternatives?

Any "must-sees?" Pitfalls?

Cheers.

 

As an outsider, driving in Boston is crazy. The drivers are almost as aggressive as New Yorkers, then you factor in wild road layouts in some parts of town. Oh and The Big Dig moved most of the freeways underground which can play havoc with your GPS...I always get pencil-and-paper directions for the last leg of my trip once I get into town! Parking can definitely be a pain. Even when I go with my friend who grew up just outside Boston and knows the area well, we all just park at the hotel and use public transit for intra-city travel and even try to use commuter rail into the suburbs since it takes just as long to wait for a train as it does to wait for the valet to get your car out of the hotel garage!

Getting around with public transit is easy though with the T subway/rail system and the buses. It's one of the nicer public trans systems you will see in the US.

 

My advice is more on the travel side of things. I would advise the route you are taking cutting through Buffalo, the drive across PA seems endless, and the scenary doesn't change much.

 

As a native, I have three words for Boston driving. DON'T BE TIMID. If you're going to make a lane change, make it. Use your signals, but they are not for asking permission around here. They are for TELLING the other drivers where you are headed. If you're taking your Fit, then you'll have fun slicing and dicing.

It's much lower key outside of Route 495. Maine is very low key as far as driving.

The ocean water is probably only going to be in the high 50's the rate things are going by the time you get out this way.

Lots to see in Boston, and if you're here for the 4th, try and see the fireworks on the Esplanade on the Charles River.

And check out the MBTA's website www.mbta.com to find out public transit schedules and info. MBTA runs the subways and buses in Boston, and the local commuter rail system, which if you are staying in Boston, might be a good option for you to get to some of the attractions instead of driving. It works well, and with the colleges out for the summer, will be easier to use.

PM me if you have any specific questions.

 

for boston driving, I would park and use the subway and walk. they have one of the cleanest subways i have seen. and the part of city i was in was super clean as well. (I havnt been all over, so, not going to speak for it)

Driving on the 90 is super boring. I would stop in cleveland for lunch and eat at lola's.

 

Thanks a bunch.

These replies are super helpful. We're leaving next Friday. We'll go through Cleveland, Buffalo, and Rochester (where's a good place to eat in Rochester?). Thanks for the advice on mass transit. I think that's a plan for me. I don't mind driving in bad city traffic but hate the hassle of finding parking.

We did the Hotwire.com: Discount airfare, hotel reservations, car rentals, vacation packages and cruises thing and have a decent hotel in Boston for $44 per night and a mom and pop motel up in Maine. Even have Red Sox tickets.

Got a transponder for the toll roads so it's just the two of us, plus naviwoman, and cruise control. We bought the Fit for these kinds of long hauls. This is our first long cross-country in it.

What am I forgetting?

Cheers.

 

IIRC, they use the right shoulder AS A TRAFFIC LANE at certain times of day. Crazy...

 

time to introduce you to the infamous garbage plate. mac salad next to home fries topped with two cheeseburger patties, rochester hot sauce (very thin, chili with no beans and lots of spices) drizzled with mustard, diced onion with a piece of bread. usually consumed after a night of socializing ;-) however, if you plan on driving after, I'd skip it.


Rochester is going to be a little north of 90, so you are going to have to take a little detour if you wanna eat somewhere. There is a Five Guys (zip 14623) and a decent pizza spot (next to five guys called joe's brooklyn pizza) close to 90, but if you wanna drive a little extra there is dog town (with local company hot dogs and local bakery bread) and Jines

My favorite is dog town, followed by five guys

 

Legal Seafood restraunt-Cambridge- Great!
some Boston Hints:
stay away from rotories (you'll know what I'm talking about- when you see a giant circle with three lanes of cars going around and around- you can never escape!)
Put a Boston Red Sox sticker on your car- you'll get elected Mayor, never have to pay the meters, and people will all honk at you.
Learn what the term "Wicked Pissa" means- you'll here that a lot.
Never look another driver in the eye-that's an act of submission- which means- "please cut me off"
Never Speed on the Mass. turnpike- Mass State Troopers are still fighting the civil war- and if you have license plates west of the Mississippi River you'll be imdediately arrested. No bail
Scratch some paint off your car so you can show some rust on your vehicle and blend in.
And last but not least- unless you have a gun- do not use public transprtation (the "T") as they call it.

 

Thanks for all the tips. We're leaving Friday morning--not early. We drove to STL yesterday and returned last night so the Fit killed its share of bugs. I'll wash it tomorrow, check the tires, and we'll be ready to hit the road. I'm really looking forward to this trip.

Need to get out of the office and see the country.

Cheers.

 

This was a 40 mpg day for us. We filled up in STL the other day, drove home, and then drove another 150 or so miles before filling up. As you can see, the Fit takes gear for ten days for two people with plenty of room to spare.



Traffic was really heavy across Illinois. We're going to Syracuse, NY tomorrow. I'm sure it'll be less congested on the holiday.



Trucks and construction on I-80

By the way--the Fit sure handled crosswinds better with 100 pounds or so of stuff in the back. Pleasant surprise.

Maybe tomorrow we'll have something to see besides corn and soybeans.

Cheers.

 

We drove 1250 miles each way to Boston, and 300 miles or so each way up to Bar Harbor, Maine and Acadia National Park. A little over 3100 miles in ten days.

I really appreciated the tips from people who had gone that way ahead of us. Thanks.

We didn't see a single accident along the way anywhere. Here is one reason, I'm sure:



We took I-80/I-90 across the country. We must have been radared 50 times on the trip. I have never seen so much enforcement. No construction delays. Lots of traffic, though. Couldn't just set the cruise and forget about it like out here. I got a transponder for the toll roads and that really saved a lot of time and scratching around for cash. Ohio is the only state that you need cash for.

Navi: This was the first really long trip that we have taken. The navi handled all of it really well. Even the back roads in the national park were on it. It does a good job with Boston's rotaries, too. Who thought those up? Navi knows you are coming to a rotary and tells you ahead of time which exit to take. It says "take the second exit in the rotary", or whatever. Minimum button-pushing. Just say the phone number and you're done. You really come to appreciate the voice integration. It would have been a real pain to get around Boston without it.

On hilly terrain, with the manual transmission and a full load (four adults and luggage to Maine and back) you really have to manage engine power to drive smoothly. Downshifting sooner to keep revs/power up is better than trying to lug it over the top and hoping for the best. I'm not used to that here in the mid-West. When I test-drove an automatic, it was always downshifting to keep the revs up. With just two of us in the car, there is plenty of power and you can pretty much set the cruise control and forget about it.

Noise in the car was not an issue.

We averaged 37mpg for the entire trip. Fewer than 100 gallons burned. Less than two gallons per hour. Headwinds and A/C use seemed to account for any variation.



If you are traveling I recommend Hotwire.com: Discount airfare, hotel reservations, car rentals, vacation packages and cruises for your hotel reservations. Except for this charming place in Maine, we didn't spend $50 per night for hotels along the way, including the Boston area. Everything worked, and was as advertised.



Within Boston, public transportation is easy to use, even for tourists, and takes the anxiety out of the parking problem. We drove to train stations and parked there for five bucks. We did a lot of walking and hiking. Of course, in the big city, country people like us see strange sites, such as this weird mutant car we saw near Boston Public Garden.



We saw a lot of Fits in Maine. Not so many in Boston, but quite a few on the road. There are a ton of CRVs out there, that's for sure. With just two of us in the car, the Fit worked well for us. We were glad to have the navi, the iPod integration, and the interior flexibility.

Recommended: clams (with bellies) at Clam Shack in Ipswich, and raw oysters at Neptune Oysters in the North End. We sure enjoyed watching the Red Sox lose at Fenway, as well.

We were in Boston when the tall ships were in the harbor. We spent a spectacular Saturday afternoon on a water taxi:



We bought the Fit to go cross-country in. Ten thousand miles on it now since January. Time to get another oil change, clean off the bugs, and vacuum the crumbs. Round trip to STL coming up this Saturday.

Cheers.

 

Cool read. Glad you had a great time.

 

Thanks for your travel tips.

Great fuel economy coupled with an inexpensive car and really cheap hotel rates made for a trip we could enjoy without fretting about cash. The water taxi was free courtesy of a friend who knew the captain.

Where should we go next?

Cheers.

 

dc or nyc, or both

 

go to the White Mountains in New hampshire and take your fit for a run up the Mt Washington Auto road.

 

My little brother is a trooper in NH. It has lots of hilly terrain-you might be surprised what's at the bottom, nestled between the trees, trying to add to the states budget crisis.--Use your cruise- drive safe, and ditto on Legal Seafoods!

 

Thanks for the tip. We're already thinking about our next trip east. I drove about sixty miles today and got radared six times on country roads. The troopers are definitely trolling for dollars out there right now.

Oh for some fresh seafood here in the mid-West!

Cheers.