First I would like to say hello to all my fellow members of DCMM, I just joined and hope to get out to some events soon!

There has been a thread here on NAM discussing an alternate route from DC to Jersey City. The details will be finalized soon, but I would like to invite anyone in DCMM to participate in the drive. It will go up to the Philadelphia area via 95 to Baltimore, then north of Baltimore we will get on US 1 and go through northern MD and the Brandywine Valley, then back on 95 through Philly and north of Philly we will head to Bucks County, PA where we will drive along the Delaware River and then cross over to NJ and take some back roads through Jersey eventually ending up on I78 toward Jersey City.

This will be a much more direct route than Gettysburg and a less-crowded, more scenic route than taking 95 all the way. If you aren't familiar with the areas we will be driving through, especially up near Bucks County, it is one of the most beautiful areas in the country IMO. As I mentioned before anyone is invited to come along, in fact we're hoping to get a good group of MINIs together. Send me a PM if you would like to come along or if you have any questions or suggestions!

PS If anyone has any connections to the Philly MINI club, let them know about this drive as well!

 

Does this route you are planning aviod the toll roads? If so, we would be interested! Print up TONS of route sheets, I wonder if more of the crew who are driving might be interested..

 

You will still have to pay the Baltimore Tunnel toll, I'm not sure if US 1 has the toll crossing the Susquehana River or not, you will miss the Delaware Toll and the NJ Turnpike. I'm not positive but I don't think I-78 has a toll going into Jersey City. So yes, the tolls will be reduced, add that to the fact that we're going to be driving some really fun, scenic roads and to me its a no-brainer. Why sit in traffic on the NJ Turnpike? And if you go to Gettysburg you'll be hit with the PA and NJ Turnpikes...

 

Yo!! Joisey here!! ...I'm interested

I live about 30 minutes north of New Hope, PA/Lambertville, NJ in western NJ and love that part of the world too. Great roads and good pubs (The Ship Inn in Milford is an excellent Brew-Pub). I cruise down there from time to time and I either drive Winston via rte 611 or rte 29 or I ride my Triumph.

I could meet-up with you guys in New Hope/Bucks County area and head north with you up Rte 29 or we could go up the PA side and cross over at Milford or Stockton. One thing to keep in mind though is that some of the smaller bridges that cross tributaries that flow into the delaware river on the PA side are still out from all the flooding we had earlier in the summer. What this means is that you can't go all the way up on the PA side of the river - which is too bad because that's a great drive.

Also when are you guys thinking of doing this drive and what's the destination in Jersey City?

- - m

 

mburchill36, for some of the details check out this thread:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...archid=1753694

I am actually putting together the DC to Bucks County portion of the trip so I don't know exactly which roads will be taken as I am not planning the portion through that area. But there are some amazingly cool roads just north of New Hope (ie. Cutaloosa Rd by the Cutaloosa INN, the woods through this area look like the black forrests in Germany). So if you have any suggestions post them on the other thread or PM me and I'll try to get them to the person planning that portion. I'm certainly open for recommendations!

 

I'd be interested....

 

Hey - FYI - the above URL is broken... and I also noticed your MINI is also named 'Winston'?

 

Mburchhill, just do a forum search for "DC to NJ Alternate route" I'll send you the details soon...

 

Ok, the plans are official! A group of MINI owners will be meeting at the designated MINI "headquarters" hotel in Washington DC at 7:30am for a departure time of 8. Our route will take us up 95 past Baltimore and then up US 1 to Philadelphia where we will connect back into 95 through Philly to Bucks County, PA. From there we will take a fun drive through some fun back roads and then take I-78 into Jersey City. This will be a fun alternate route and if you are interested in participating let me know so that I can keep you informed of our plans. We plan on arriving in Jersey City at about 3 pm.

 

We'll be in DC Saturday night.. So I'll be keeping an eye on this thread...

Are there any plans for lunch stop? (cheesesteak in philly? )

 

Ok, we gotta have a cheesesteak in Philly....... or somewhere close

 

clarkdr81, do you want to make a list of motorers that will be going?

 

Isn't the event up at the Jesery starts around 12:00pm?

 

Clarkdr81, is this now a separate DCMM event or are you still organizing this with Cooper Girl? Just wondering because I was working with her to organize the lunch stop in Jersey and now I see talk of stopping in Philly instead. Just want to know if I'm wasting my time...

 

I'm organizing the area between New Hope and Clinton Diner....well aware of the sadness surrounding many of the closed roads.... :( I'm switching back and forth between PA and Jersey up the river.

Exchange place is the destination in JC.....parking?? dunno. I've got ideas about the parking for JC but I'm wanting to see what MINI has going on first.

There is a toll on Rt 78 where it turns into the NJ turnpike. Something like $1.15. It's on the approach to JC.

 

For this alternate route, its possible to avoid the $1.15 toll on I-78 by taking Route 1-9 and the Pulaski Skyway into Jersey City. Street parking in Exchange Place proper is not very good, though there are a few pay garages around. A few blocks away in the surrounding neighborhoods, you should be able to find parking on street.

 

Are you going to take us that way? That would be cool!! As for parking....nightmare! Would anyone consider parking at the light rail station at Liberty State Park? It's patrolled and only 3 bucks plus light rail ticket. This is what I'm thinking of doing, that way, little headache getting out too.

We're also planning on taking the Path into the city after the festivities if anyone wants to join. Bubble tea? Hooka Bar? (Ben, are you listening?) Kid Robot? Chinese? Mexian (know a great cheap place in SoHo)......

 

I am still organizing this with Cooper Girl. This is not an official DCMM event, I just opened it up to the other DCMM members in case they are interested in participating. As for cheesesteaks, we can definitely stop for some if there is interest, I'll just need to decide which place would be most convenient to I-95. I'm thinking ****** (yes, its actually called that, really PC, huh?). They are the best I've had though...

 

I'm listening I think the Bubble Tea place at 6th ave and 10th closes at 10pm or maybe even earlier now. They used to be open til midnight... Don't know if I'll be in for that though, gotta get up early for Lime Rock Monday.

...and....well I just didn't see any talk about lunch on the thread, though I know it was being discussed. Gotta think about food I can't speak for anyone else but I will either be stopping for a cheesesteak on the way down or the way back.. I get mine at Tony Luke's, its convenient to I-95 near the stadium and there is plenty of parking either in the lot at back or in the surrounding street area..

 

Yes, I am still organizing this with Cooper Girl. This is not an official DCMM event, I was just opening it up to anyone from DC that wants to go with us on the drive. As for lunch, right now we are still just planning on stopping at Its Nutts in Titusville, NJ. But I am also open to stopping for cheesesteaks if there is enough interest. I noticed Tony Luke's was mentioned. It really depends on how soon we wanted to get to Jersey City and if necessary I could try to shorten the DC to Philly portion of our route to give us more time for lunch and motoring up in Bucks County...

 

Our plan is to stop at Nutt's for lunch....cheesesteak stop is possible as clarkdr81 mentioned. Nutt's is the drive in that us "mid atlanic'ers" meet bi-weekly for dinner. Good food, great service, great location and lots of parking!

 

So for the jersey folks - how close/far is Rutt's Hut from the destination point?
Also giving us a few out of towners ideas of parking would be GREAT! I can only imagine how much of a cluster it will be near the 'party' location.

Titusville, NJ - cool -- I am from Titusville, FL

 

Rutt's Hut is located up in Clifton, NJ so it's not exactly around the corner from the destination in JC. I've been to Rutt's many times growing up but I'm uncertain exactly how long it would take you to get there from JC if you wanted to make a side trip. I'd guess maybe a half hour depending on traffic conditions.

 

See above posts....parking in a garage (you pay, they drive and park your car...ick....that's my personal opinion...I've seen how they park cars in garages and does anyone remember Ferris Bueller's day off??) or street parking which will probably be crazy. Or my suggestion (not that it's the best either) of the NJ Transit light rail parking lot.

 

For those of you concerned about street parking in JC, you could park in the liberty state park light rail lot as cooper girl has suggested, then take the light rail to exchange place. I think most folks should be able to find street parking in the neighborhood a few blocks walk from exchange place. If you mapquest downtown JC, look for Montgomery St., Christopher Columbus Dr. and Grand St. These are the main East-West roads through downtown. Its usually possible to find spots on these streets.