<p>All in all, went off quite smoothly. Made it to all the places. Useful advice from everyone.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Loved the EZ pass that came with the rental car once we figured out it was there and how to use it.</p></li>
<li><p>37 deg and rain/drizzle for the first 3 days. Hopkins and CMU did not provide umbrellas, U of Rochester did. Snowed all the way thru the Berkshires. Decided to skip driving thru Williamstown/Amherst once we saw the weather.</p></li>
<li><p>Made a point of arriving at destination the night before (2 am into Baltimore) which did make the next day much easier logistically.</p></li>
<li><p>Made it from Northern Boston into LGA in 4 hours flat (11 am - 3 pm). Came via Mass Pike, Hartford, Hunchinson River Parkway, Whitestone bridge and never ran into any traffic. Completely avoided I-95. Waited in LGA for 3 hours as we were early :)</p></li>
<li><p>Rented a Prius which was more expensive but not much more once you factored in gas savings. 35 gallons/1,500 miles. That’s one tank in my old Suburban.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Good tour, exhausting but now we have a good idea of DS’s list and where to put all the schools. Also gave him a good idea of different schools out there and how to evaluate them. Now onto the app in the next 10 days. Thanks for all the great advice and giving me the gumption to attempt it.</p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback. Glad it worked out. I love ambitious road trips, especially when they work out. The northeast is not such a bad place to drive around…if you know what roads to avoid at what times.</p>
<p>Longhaul: The trip was to mainly convince DS that there is life beyond the ‘dreamy reaches.’ I think it was successful in that he realized he would likely be just fine at some of his lesser reaches/matches (he took a physics class at Hopkins which he liked, and at CMU was impressed that they had a 7 story building devoted to physical sciences), and that even the ones he wasn’t crazy about (U of Rochester, RPI) would still be preferable to the State school here. So a good trip just on that account.</p>
<p>ihs76,
bless you for making this investment in your son’s future. I’ve done some of these road trips. It takes a huge amount of planning and perseverance. Glad to hear the logistics worked out, swords, weapons, and all. And there’s a special kind of parent-child bonding that can come out of it as you jointly contemplate the next stage of your child’s life; good for the kid and good for you to put some thought and emotional energy into what that might look like.</p>
<p>Congratulations. Sounds like a wonderful trip with great results. Guess you didn’t agree with James Taylor, “Oh the first of December was covered with snow/So were the Berkshires from Stockbridge to Boston/The Berkshires looked dreamy on account of that frosting/ten miles behind and ten thousand more to go…”</p>
<p>I think I am going to have to relearn Sweet Baby James for DS who is a junior in Williamstown. That was his lullaby and I never thought of this, but wonder if that’s why he ended up at Williams? Subliminal suggestion. Haha.</p>
<p>Congrats on your successful trip. I have one coming up this spring even more ambitious - 11 colleges over 2 weeks and about 2500 miles. Fun, fun, fun</p>
<p>Had to tell you, missed Amherst twice due to weather, finally got there on the third try-didn’t like it. LOVED Williams. Really liked CMU and I agree Pitt is a good back up. I live near Roch, and it is NOT a nice city. Pittsburgh has LOTS more going for it if you want a city experience.Good luck!</p>