One week with a car! What do we do?

April 20, 2008 7:32 PM

If you have been car-less for your entire adult life in New York City and just rented a car for a work-free week, where would you go?

I read the few other questions on AskMe regarding day trips out of the city but I'm also open to other fun suggestions to do that you wouldn't be able to do without a car. E.g. go shopping at the outlets, take a trip to Ikea. We can't stay overnight anywhere (pet duties) but would love to explore new places (Atlantic City? Long Beach?). Please help us not waste this vacation week!

posted by redhotchips to Travel & Transportation around New York, NY (7 answers total)

For driving pleasure, go up the Merritt Parkway through Connecticut. It is a very pretty drive.

Driving to AC is not particularly pleasant, and there are enough buses there that you don't need to use your precious driving time there.
posted by paperzach at 7:49 PM on April 20, 2008

wouldn't be able to do without a car ... take a trip to Ikea

Ikea runs a free shuttle to the Elizabeth, NJ store on weekends; it leaves from the Port Authority bus terminal.
posted by ChasFile at 7:55 PM on April 20, 2008

Been to Storm King?
posted by kickingtheground at 7:57 PM on April 20, 2008

Bear Mountain is an easy (generally traffic-free) drive from the city and a great day trip.
posted by cheerwine at 8:27 PM on April 20, 2008

Gotta love the drive out to Montauk, so long as you do it during the week. Stop in at Lunch near Amagansett for some deliciously overpriced sea fare, check out the Pollock-Krasner House in East Hampton, or grab a beautiful cream pie at Briermere Farms. (Or, if you prefer, a locally-grown Holey Moses Cheesecake. If you want a good outlet to shop at, I highly recommend the Tanger Outlet in Riverhead. Upstate, there are plenty of sights to see, like the Dia Beacon, any of a dozen mansions with immaculate grounds and breathtaking views, Opus 40. If you travel far enough north you can take in a real live drive-in movie theater in Hyde Park, across the street from the FDR Library. According to their website, it's open for the season as of this week, with a double feature is Horton Hears a Who and 27 Dresses. (OK, maybe you'd take in an art house flick at Rhinebeck's Upstate Films instead.) Hudson is known for its galleries and charm. One time in Saugerties I went to a gallery with a whole show about the Collyer brothers, those famous NYC hoarders. I never made it to Kingston's Trolley Museum but I think it's a destination for a lot of NYC railfans. My favorite meal (and vista) there was had at the Skytop Steakhouse, also known for some great in-house brews.
posted by thejoshu at 8:56 PM on April 20, 2008 [2 favorites]

Washington Depot, Connecticut is quite pretty. So are parts of western Massachusetts (especially around Williamstown).
posted by zippy at 10:18 PM on April 20, 2008

Storm King is a great day trip drive from NYC.

If you want to combine that with your shopping trip, you can stop by the Woodbury Common Outlet Mall (at Exit 16 on the NYS Thruway), as well as the Ikea on Rt. 17 in Paramus, NJ. (But, the disadvantage of the Paramus Ikea is that it doesn't share the special lower sales tax rate that the Ikea in Elizabeth enjoys.)
posted by andrewraff at 7:11 AM on April 21, 2008