Part 17 – 7 States Road-Trip in 3.5 Days, Upstate NY and Burlington, VT
As I still had one outstanding RJ Y JFK – AMM – BKK – RGN remaining due to expire by Jun 21; this was to be used on June 16 as my way to get home, so what should I do in the meanwhile between Thursday the 13th until Sunday the 16th then, I coordinated with jfkeze, he took the Friday off and we drafted up a 3.5 day road trip spanning 7 States NY, VT, NH, ME, MA, RI, CT.
Luckily jfkeze was waiting at arrivals for me, time to pick up that rental car at LGA.
Back at Hertz, my pre-assigned car reeked of cigarette smell, so decided to give the hertz gold choice lot a try.
Apparently Hertz Gold Choice cars now come with Fool’s Gold aka. bird $hit on them, really
Photo courtesy of
jfkeze
With practically no choice and I mean no choice at all, we settled on a Dodge Avenger, by this time it was 6:15pm and the t-storm front was coming in soon, better start heading up to Albany.
I’m going to outright copy
eightblack here and let’s call this car Pepi, and man was Pepi brutal on this trip.
2 Minutes out from the Hertz lot and we already saw New York’s Boldest
Was a miracle of a thursday night since It took just about 50 Minutes to get out of New York City and considering I had to traverse down Queen’s Blvd, over the Williamsburg Bridge or whatever they named it now, FDR drive, Cross Bronx Expressway, and finally over the George Washington Bridge.
Well maybe I was also trying to pass New York Cabbies on New York City streets might have something to do with it as well.
Sadly things all changed once I got on the Garden State Parkway, there is offensive driving and defensive driving, thankfully Canadian winters teach a good valuable lesson on defensive side.
As you might have guess, the cold front was finally coming through while I was finally gaining some speed once we crossed the NY/NJ state border near Sloatsberg on Interstate 87, below were the weather warning for the area.
Originally Posted by National Weather Service
The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for much of upstate New York, saying the region was in for two days of rain starting Thursday. The watch is in effect for areas across the state at or below the east-west line of the Thruway.
The forecast calls for 1 to 4 inches of rain in the eastern part of the state, with the most in the southeast Catskills and mid-Hudson Valley
Ya that offensive driving I wrote earlier, currently disabled. Now, it’s driving like you are in a snow storm mode which meant going 45 mp/h in a 65 mp/h zone with high beams and flashing hazards on, that took place for the next hour or so.
By 8:30pm, SHF finally takes a break at the Plattekill travel plaza, well I ain’t driving without food and caffeine, Happy Stomach means Happy SHF
Sadly the stores including the info desk were starting to close for the night, and it was a sad list to start with “Roy Rogers, Nathan's, Starbucks, Brioche Doree, a Travel Mart”
Nathan’s were done and Starbucks was close to it, ugh, guess a travel mart sandwich and eggs would suffice for dinner here and there
Sorry to New York info desk, we kinda reached over the fence to grab a NY State map off the desk lol
Back on the road by 9pm and we finally got to our hotel around 10:30pm, Courtyard Marriott Albany Thruway, not a moment too soon though, I was starting to fall asleep on the wheel with construction work on I-90 through Albany, think of 2 narrow lanes switched over to the opposite side of the road with Jersey barriers, ouch
Courtyard Marriott Albany Thruway
With no snacks or drinks, we decided to pick up supplies for the road trip ahead.
Jfkeze commented Welcome home SHF, Niagara vs. Upstate New York, close enough
*Wasn’t me, I wasn’t the handicapped who decided he wanted 3 parking spots at 11pm in Albany, welcome home indeed
A quick pick up of supplies then back to room for some needed sleep, well until we found a nice guest
*Apparently it’s an improper cleaned downs blanket and not bed bugs
With a long long day for me anyway, we decided on an 8:30am wake up time for tomorrow…
A wake up at 8:30am, and with no breakfast, we were gone from the Courtyard by 9:10am.
Stormy weather cleared out and it brought in a cool low 70s sunny weather.
SUNY Albany as it was directly across from the hotel
New York State Capitol
Part 17 Continues Below