Baltimore, Maryland was our last stop.
And on to Lampeter, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. This will take us to Amish Country. (And remember Amish does not have a long A at the beginning.) This will be an interesting juxtaposition. The Amish don’t use any of the modern technology that we are so familiar with. They use horse and buggy for transportation and we are travelling around the world via email.
From Baltimore, we’re heading north on Interstate 83 to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Yup, the same Valley Forge that George Washington liked to spend his winters enjoying. But we won’t be staying here long, it’s just a quick 22 miles east on Route 30 to Lancaster.
Now, it’s back on the road. This time to a small, ‘blink-and-you’ll-miss-it-town’ Mount Carbon, Pennsylvania. It’s actually an easy drive, but we won’t be heading for the Superslab, instead it’s time to enjoy some of the back roads, some of the two lane country roads. And so, we head north out of Lancaster on State Route 501 about 23 miles to US Route 422. Heading east on Rte 422, in 19 miles, we’ll be pulling into Reading, PA. Home of the Reading Railroad of Monopoly fame.
After a quick ride on the Reading, let’s head north on State Route 61 for 33 miles until we reach Mount Carbon.
Leaving Mount Carbon, it’s off to Bayonne, New Jersey. Another easy drive, just 122 miles. Let’s head south on State Route 61 for 17 miles to Interstate 78. We’ll take that 45 miles to the New Jersey border, then another 60 miles to Bayonne, New Jersey.
From here it’s a leisurely 4 mile drive to the Holland Tunnel and voila! We’re in Manhattan, New York City, New York.
Since we’re so close to Long Island, and Plainview, New York is on Long Island, let’s head there next. It’s another quick drive. Just about 30 miles east on Interstate 495.
Mt Vernon, New York is our next destination. To get there, we head back west on Interstate 495 for about 20 miles, until we get to I-678, this will take you to the Whitestone Bridge to the Hutchinson River Parkway. Get off at the Cross County Parkway exit to head west. Then head for Route 22/Columbus Ave. exit (8), go south 1/2 block then turn right (west). That gets you into the top part of town, Fleetwood.
Thanks to the TSC family in Mt Vernon, New York for these directions.
Peekskill, New York is located in the Hudson River Valley, just north of New York City. To get there, let’s get back on the Cross County Parkway and head west to Interstate 87. Eight miles north on I-87, start looking for Saw Mill River Parkway. We’ll take that for 4 miles to Route 9 and Route 9 for 19 miles into Peekskill.
Norwich, Connecticut is our next stop, located 130 east of Peekskill, we’ve got our directions, so let’s get going. Let’s head south on State Route 9, then take the Saw Mill River Parkway to Taconic Parkway to the Cross Westchester Parkway to the Connecticut border, where we pickup the New England Thruway. (Have you noticed that there are quite a few different ways to designate streets?) We’ll take the Thruway to I-95 to I-395 then to State Route 82 and before you know it, we’re in Norwich! And we’re only 25 miles from our next stop, Pawcatuck, Connecticut. So let’s just keep driving, south on State Route 12 to I-95, then north for 5 miles to State Route 27, but only for a mile to get to US Route 1 to finish the last 6 miles to Pawcatuck.
Pawcatuck, Connecticut is located right on the border between Connecticut and the state with the longest name. The smallest state has the longest name: Rhode Island and the Providence Plantations.
TSC World Tour will pass through Rhode Island on its way from Pawcatuck to Canton.
To leave Pawcatuck, we return to Interstate 95 on Route 2. It’s a quick 3 mile drive, then head east towards Rhode Island. Forty miles later, we’ve already driven through the state capital of Providence and completely across the state.
Side trip: One of our first stops was in Auckland, New Zealand. Auckland is the present home of the America's Cup, the Grand Prize of Yachting. Rhode Island is the true home, the correct home for the America's Cup.
Twenty six miles later, we head south on Dedham Street into Canton, Massachusetts.
Charlton, Massachusetts With apologies to the TSC family in Charlton, I just can’t find your town on any reference I’ve got. Mapquest doesn’t show it. MS-Streets program doesn’t show it. I know you’re around here some where. Can you help us all out?
Montreal, Quebec is our next stop, and we head north to Canada. Anybody know the words to O Canada? And since Montreal is in the French-speaking province of Quebec, it’s time to practice our French.
To get there, lets head back to I-95 and head around Boston. Anybody want some tea?
Following I-95 for 28 miles to Interstate 93. Heading north on I-93, 18 miles later we head into New Hampshire. We’ll be driving by Manchester to the state capital of Concord where we switch to Interstate 89. Interstate 89 takes us through the state of Vermont, past the capital city of Montpellier, and to the shores of Lake Champlain.
(Due to technical problems, I can’t route us from the US-Canadian border, Mapquest doesn’t cover Canada and MS-Streets doesn’t either. So it will have to suffice with the knowledge that Montreal is 42 miles northwest of the northern end of Interstate 89.
To get back on track, we’ll travel 36 miles back to the United States-Canada border and Interstate 87 to resume our World Tour. )
Let’s get back on the road.
From Northern New York State, Interstate 87 at the Canadian border, let’s head South. We’ll be taking I-87 to I-90 to I-79 to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Heading south on I-87, we’re driving along the western shore of Lake Champlain and after about 170 miles, we arrive in Albany, the state capital of New York. This is also where we pick up I-90 and head west, paralleling the old Erie Canal. We take I-90 west 270 miles to Buffalo. While we’re in the Buffalo area, we have to make a side trip to Niagara Falls. We can’t go to upstate New York and not see the Falls!
After making our obligatory ride on the Maid of the Mist, it’s back on the road, back on I-90 and further west, and drive along the shores of Lake Erie. Seventy miles west of Buffalo, we leave New York and enter Pennsylvania, one more time.
Just outside of Erie, Pennsylvania, twenty-five miles inside Pennsylvania, we switch over to Interstate 79, which will take us to Pittsburgh. It’s an easy 112 mile drive to Pittsburgh.
Dayton, Ohio is our next destination. And it’s an easy trip. Just straight west on I-70. But first, there’s a twenty-six mile drive south on I-79 to get to I-70. Then west. We cut through just a small portion of the upper panhandle of West Virginia, even cutting through the state capital of Wheeling on our way. After one hundred fifty-three miles on I-70 we pass through the Ohio capital of Columbus, and we head further west. Finally, after 220 miles we pull into Dayton. Thanks to the TSCTalk family in Dayton, we know that we need to stop in at Youngs Dairy A place to pet Goats and cows and get Ice Cream and hot dogs and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The museum on base was also recommended by the TSCTalk Family of Dayton.
Lexington, Kentucky is located in the heart of the Blue Grass State and to get there we’ve got a 132 mile drive straight south on I-75.
The drive to our next destination, we’ll be driving US Route 421 the entire way between Lexington and St. Paul, Indiana. It’s a 140 mile drive and will take us through Frankfort, the capitol of Kentucky.
Our next destination takes us back into Ohio, to the city of Toledo, on the banks of lake Erie. We’ve already driven along Lake Erie, on our way from Quebec to Pittsburgh. To get to Toledo from St. Paul, we need to head into the state capital of Indianapolis on I-74. It’s an easy drive just 30 miles. But we can take the I-465 bypass around Indianapolis, we don’t need to go to the heart of the city. Heading north on I-465, we pick up I-69 and head north. 156 miles later, we catch I-80 and east. After a dozen miles we enter Ohio, one more time. 70 miles later, we pull into Toledo.
Ann Arbor, Michigan, home of the University of Michigan is our next destination and it’s a quick 48 mile drive straight north on US Route 23.
Buckley, Michigan is located towards the top of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. Take a look at your left hand, palm facing towards you. Buckley is located about half way across your ring finger from where your pinkie ends. How’s that for a geography lesson?
To get to Buckley, we need to head north on US Route 23 about 47 miles to I-I-75. Interstate 75 will take us further north to US Route 10 which will lead across the state to State Route 115. Heading further north, we will come to Route 37 which will lead us into Buckley.
It’s time for another scenic drive, around Lake Michigan. Buckley is located in the lower peninsula of Michigan and it would be a pretty straight shot to the south east to get to our next destination, Milwaukee. If it weren’t for Lake Michigan in the way. So, to get to Milwaukee, it’s around the top of the lake, over the Straits of Mackinac. (pronounced Mackinaw.)
And so we set out, heading north on Route 37 for a dozen miles. Then take US Route 31 north for 104 miles. To get an idea of where you are now. Take a look at your LEFT hand. We’re at the top of your middle finger. So, if you ever wanted to really give it to someone, there’s not a more appropriate time!
We need to head about four miles north on Interstate 75 to get to Mackinaw City.
Now for the most interesting four miles of the entire trip. Across the Mackinac Bridge. Immediately after leaving the bridge, we start heading south and west on US route 2. This road will take us right along the shores of Lake Michigan almost all the way down to Green Bay. In Green Bay, we stop in at Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers, and then head south on Interstate 43. We’ll be taking I-43 from one end to the other, with a quick stop in Milwaukee.
Thanks to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, we can take a look at the roads we’ll be driving through Milwaukee. Click on any one of these camera locations:
I-43 on the north end of town or I-43 close to downtown Milwaukee
Leaving Milwaukee, Wisconsin now, we’re heading on to the Land of Lincoln. Illinois. To get there, get back on Interstate 43 and head west to Interstate 90. Interstate 90 will take us south to Rockford, Illinois.
Now, onto our next destination: Warrenville, Illinois. Another easy drive, just south out of Rockford on I-39 for 22 miles to I-88, then east 50 miles to Warrenville.
Our trip has taken us to two of the three largest cities in the USA. We’ll be coming close to Chicago, but not quite. Warrenville, Illinois is about 40 miles west of Chicago.
Our final US destination is Hannibal, Missouri, home of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. To get there from Warrenville, head east for 6 miles on Interstate 88 to Interstate 355. Take I-355 for 10 miles to I-55.
As we drive south on I-55, past Joliet, we’ll be driving down parts of the Mother Road (Route 66). Get your kicks on Route 66. Actually, this isn’t the first time that we’ve seen Route 66. We were on it for a stretch in Arizona. Interstate 10 near Tucson covers Route 66.
We’ll drive down 180 miles of the Old Mother Road, to the state capital of Springfield. While in Springfield, we'll be taking a tour of Abe Lincoln's home. Then take Interstate 72 west for about 90 miles. During this leg of the drive we’ll be driving past Lincoln’s New Salem, a state park re-enactment/recreation of where President Lincoln first lived when he moved to Illinois in 1800. Once we get to US Route 36, we’re just 5 miles from Hannibal.
I know, you’re thinking, Just how are we going to drive from Hannibal to Chatham? We’re not. Hannibal is located about 130 miles north of St. Louis Missouri. Just take US Route 36 south to St. Louis.
And it’s back into the air. This time to Lisbon, Portugal.
The Europeans are rightfully proud of their train system, so for this portion of the World Tour, we're talking to the rails! And we can do it with a miminum of transfers!
From Lisbon, we hop an eastbound train to Madrid, where we transfer to a train heading for the City of Lights, Paris. In Paris, we can catch a train for London and head through the Chunnel, the Tunnel under the English Channel. Once in London, it's change trains one more time to Chatham, Kent, UK
There’s just one more city on our World Tour, and that’s in Sweden. And it's back onthe train. Back through the Chunnel, and changing trains in Brussels, Amsterdam, Osnabrueck, Hamburg and then it's into Copenhagen. And in Copenhagen, we get a car because the train doesn't go to Hjaerup, yet.
You fly to Copenhagen, Denmark. So we add another country. But we don’t stay here long. From Copenhagen airport you drive south some kilometers on E20 (E is for European highway) to Dragör. From Dragör you take the ferry (40 minutes) to Limhamn, just south of Malmö. You have time to take a cup of coffee and a danish pastry and look out at the bridge/tunnel that is being built between Sweden and Denmark. You can check out how the work is progressing at this site (press camera 1, 2, 3 and 4). You will find more information on the bridge/tunnel. (The bridge will be ready in June 2000. Then you can take the train directly from Copenhagen airport to Hjärup).
Drive E20/E6 north through Malmö. If you brought your laptop and have an international Internet service provider, you can check the traffic as we drive. This web camera is at the top floor of the biggest newspaper in southern Sweden.
Some 10 kilometers north of Malmö at Lomma, you exit the highway and drive towards Lund. Turn right after a few hundred meters, and you are on the road to Hjärup, which you will reach within minutes.
Hjärup was a small village, consisting of around 10 farms for hundreds of years. In the 1950's it began to grow more rapidly, and today 3000 people live here. Lately it has been discovered that we live on historical ground. From time to time, farmers here have found old coins. Lately, with new archeological methods, very many and interesting things have been found. This has shown that just outside Hjärup was a big "town" from around the first century to the 11th century (during the Viking era). Obviously this was one of the most powerful centers in what now is Denmark and Sweden.
Swedish Letter Lesson:
I am not sure the strange Swedish and Danish characters will be correctly shown when this reaches you, so I will explain how some of the names should be written:
Hjärup = the third character is an a with two dots over, could be written Hjaerup
Dragör = the fourth character is an o with two dots over, could be written Dragoer
Malmö = the last character is an o with two dots over, could be written Malmoe
Med vänlig hälsning (Same to you!)
Thanks go to the TSC family in Hjärup for these directions and the information about Hjärup.
Before you go, please be sure to stop in at the Gift Shop!
