Route:
Ohio Tpk from Toledo to I-90
I-90 to Buffalo
NY Thruway to Albany/Troy
Hwy 7/9 to Keene, NH via Bennington and Brattleboro VT
Why not Canada???:
Living west of Detroit, people ask me why I don't cut through Canada. Looking at a map it would seem a sensible thing to do to drive to Detroit, cross into Windsor and then zip across Canada to Niagara Falls or Buffalo. It looks like it should save a lot of time/miles. The last time I tried it was a couple of years ago and it didn't seem like it saved us anything much in terms of time. There weren't huge lines at either customs inspection but they did add a bit of time to the trip. The other thing to note about customs was that while each was polite and professional, the Canadians were <b>*MUCH*</b> more friendly. I understand about 9/11 and all that but I still don't like the guy checking my documents to have one hand on his M-16.
The other thing about Canada is the prices. In the "old days" when the US dollar was worth $.30-.40 more than the Canadian one the prices reflected that. Now that the Canadian dollar is worth about the same, the prices never adjusted. Consequently, that .5 litre soda is about $2 instead of the $1.29 or $1.39 in the US. I forget what my fast food cost but it was a similar story. Gasoline is high too. I haven't calculated the cost in a while but when you convert the Canadian cents per litre to US dollars per gallon it wasn't cheap.
Tolls:
Ohio Tpk and NY Thruway. I-90 is toll free for a stretch through Buffalo. I know it has been that way for a while now but it seems odd to hand in my ticket, pay $3 and then a few miles down the road get another ticket for the long drive to Albany.
Prices:
I don't have any hard evidence but it seemed to me that prices for food/fuel/snacks were the most out of line in NY. I tend to stop at the same places on the road that I do at home and order the same things so I know what they cost. Ohio didn't seem so bad though they were a little higher. If I drove the Thruway more I'd probably be tempted to get off and pay the penalty.
Other Observations:
We usually make this drive in December and it can be brutal. Usually we are trying to cram the trip in to a very short break (like 4 days) so we try to limit the travel time to a day each way. Since we usually end up in Albany around 5-6 pm, that means its dark for the last 3 hours of the trip through NY, VT and NH. When we leave to come home, we leave early and it usually isn't light until we get to Albany.
This time though we were able to drive this section both ways in daylight and even stop at some of the places along the way that are usually closed when we pass through. This is an outstanding drive during the summer time. During the color season, it is even better. I highly recommend this ride.
