Top 10 road trips from Philly

By Carrie Caine
Collegian Staff
October 18, 2006

With fall break looming ahead and plenty of people on campus without much to do except go back to their tired hometowns and check on their favorite social studies teacher, we thought we’d give you some great ideas for fall break road trips, to be shared with friends and loved ones. Gas prices are more affordable and there are plenty of destinations within reach from Philadelphia. So, fill up your gas tank, pop in a mix tape and enjoy.

10. Miami— It’s a 19-hour drive from here to Florida, so if you leave after classes Thursday evening and return to La Salle before classes Wednesday morning, and stop at four different destinations on the way down and back (which could be tricky since it will be the middle of the night), you can hang out on the beach for two whole days. The friends you don’t take with you will be jealous of your tan, but the friends you do take with you might kill each other after such a long time in a confined space.

9. Baltimore—It’s easy enough to get to from here, with just a two-hour shot down I-95, and it’s still early enough in the year that you could enjoy the Inner Harbor in Baltimore without freezing to death. This is a seafood-lover’s town, with some of the best crab soup in the world and plenty of delicious fishy restaurants. Enjoy the aquarium and paddle some boats in the harbor while you reminisce about your Jersey Shore days this summer, and don’t forget to check out a Raven’s game.

8. Atlantic City—Even if you haven’t made it to gambling age yet, AC offers all kinds of fun adventures, including the Wild Safari Animal Park and the Fall Foliage Driving Tour. Animal lovers should also check out the Columbia Lakota Wildlife Preserve. For the over-21s who aren’t down with the casinos, enjoy the New Jersey winery tour. The popular Atlantic City outlets and the beach (freezing but fun) are always good fallbacks for people who travel with gamblers, but don’t want to risk too much cash. Be sure to visit the White House Sub Shop on Arctic Avenue for one of the best sandwiches you will ever eat.

7. Maryland (Ocean City to Baltimore)—You might have to adjust the driving plan, but Rand McNally bills this route as one of the 26 best road trips in the country. Exploring Maryland will give you a whole new appreciation for our neighbor to the south as you enjoy Assateague Island, Chick and Ruth’s Delly (you can hang out with ship people here), the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and the Ocean City Life Saving Station Museum.

6. Pennsylvania Great Lakes—Spinning your wheels in the Erie-area will give you a whole new appreciation for the state of Pennsylvania. At Presque Isle State Park you can enjoy the only surf beach in the entire state or just go for a hike. Erie also boasts Millionaire’s Row, with lovely homes and a Philharmonic ensemble. Philadelphia’s got nothing on the Erie Art Museum, nor do we have anything even slightly as cool as Erie’s local wineries. While in the area, enjoy the Tara Country Inn, lodging based on Gone With the Wind and Southern hospitality (which is clearly not a longstanding Pennsylvania tradition), and stop at the Prime Outlets at Grove City.

5. Washington, D.C.—Spend some time in our nation’s capital to brush up for the upcoming elections. Some obvious sites to see include the White House (arrive early for tickets), the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Capital and many more. Don’t forget to see the National Museum of the American Indian and to take a ride on the USS Sequoia (the presidential yacht). Also, no trip to Washington would be complete without an old-school protest, so don’t forget to think of an issue you’re passionate about before you get in the car.

4. Boston—Talk about a good time! With some of the best historic and cultural attractions in the world, this city has something for everyone. Major attractions include the Boston Symphony, the Boston Pops, the Institute of Contemporary Art, the Freedom Trail (features 16 historic sites in the city), the Boston Commons, the Italian neighborhood, the Boston Duck Tours (in case you want to compare it to Philadelphia) and two Ivy League colleges. If you go this weekend, you can enjoy scarecrow-making classes, a mega-maze and apple and wine-tasting festivals. Stop by Salem for some pre-Halloween scariness.

3. Pittsburgh—According to the VisitPA website, “Pittsburgh once conjured images of hell with the lid off.” Clearly, this city is top three material. When you drive through Pittsburgh, you might wonder why someone threw a pile of spaghetti on a piece of paper and called it a road map, but as a college student, you can also enjoy free public transportation. Use this mobility to enjoy the Andy Warhol Museum, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Chinese dragon boating and the first T-rex fossil ever discovered. The woodmen among us will love hiking in this hilly spot and will enjoy the magnificent fall flora on the drive out there.

2. New York City—This is the perfect road trip for the car-less La Salle students among us, since Amtrak runs trains up to the Big Apple every day. In fact, if you leave early and get home late, you could do the visit in one day and save yourself the hotel room that you probably can’t afford. NYC offers the same landmarks you saw on your eighth grade class field trip, like the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, but now that you’re a little more grown up, you can appreciate taking a walk in Central Park or shopping on Fifth Avenue. Make sure you put a little effort into planning this trip so you know how to use public transportation or have practiced hailing a taxi.

1. Philadelphia area—Wait a minute. You’re thinking, “I’m already in Philadelphia.” But chances are good that you have yet to discover the treasures of Center City and the surrounding area. Hit up King of Prussia (the largest mall on the East Coast) and enjoy a cellular phone walking tour of Valley Forge National Park on the same day, since they’re only a few minutes apart by car. Discover the magic that is New Hope, Pa., located north of La Salle with plenty of historic and cultural sites to see. Hershey Park, Dorney Park, Six Flags and Sesame Place (that’s right, I said Sesame Place) are all located within striking distance from La Salle, as are Amish Country, the fall foliage of Lancaster and outlet malls in Reading and Lancaster. Why would you not take a Philadelphia road trip over fall break?

cainec1@lasalle.edu