What's the best way to get to Philly from the New England area?
What's the best way to get to Philly from the New England area?
From the south shore go down 95 until exit 38 in CT, or go up 495 to the mass pike to 84 to 91
From either of those then take the Merritt parkway into NY, then take 287 over the tappan zee (now Cuomo) bridge. A few miles over the bridge, take the garden state parkway until it meets up with the NJ turnpike. Take that south, down by Cherry Hill you will need to take a combo of 295 and then 76 to go over the Walt Whitman bridge, then onto 95 south for a short time to get to the Navy Yard for Radwood.
Download Waze on your phone to help. Don’t take the George Washington bridge and especially not 95 near N.Y. as the cross Bronx expressway is worse than that death road in Bolivia.
Depending on where in NE you're coming from, I strongly recommend staying on 84 across the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge rather than messing with the horror that is 287 to get to the Tappan Zee. You can then turn south on 87 and skirt the vast bulk of the NY metro traffic vortex.
Anything that winds up with you bypassing NYC to the greatest feasible extent. If you pick up I-95S / Jersey Turnpike south of New York, you have several options for getting across the Delaware River in the approximate area south of Trenton. You can take I-95S when it splits off and goes west over the river (northeast of Philly) and follow 95 down the west side of the river until you reach the Navy Yard, or you can stay on the Turnpike until 76W splits off to cross the river via the Walt Whitman Bridge, and pick up 95S at Penn's Landing, just north of the Navy Yard.
I liked taking the train from New Haven to DC a year ago. If you plan ahead a bit it's not that expensive. I didn't enjoy changing trains in Penn Station much but that's the only issue.
Klayfish said:pres589 said:The hipsters found Fishtown and are ruining it. My favorite place for a cheesesteak is Central Pizza on Girard Ave; double provolone and grilled onions is my favorite way to have one made.
I always like going up to Washington's Crossing and just kind of take it in, as it were. Some really cute little towns up along the Delaware River north of the city.
Now you're bringing back all kinds of memories. I was initially born and raised in Bucks County, am a Yardley native. Spent tons of time in Washingtons' Crossing as a youth.
When I first moved into the city itself, this is going back to around 1991, I lived at 5th and Girard. There used to be a Pizza Hut on E. Girard Ave, right near the entrance to I-95. I worked there, so I used to walk back and forth down Girard pretty much every day. It really wasn't a great neighborhood back then. I remember going to the Amaco gas station around the corner late at night to get snacks for all night study sessions and you had to tell the employee what to get because they were behind bullet proof glass.
Fast forward to after I got married and my wife and I lived in Montgomery County. At the time, we owned an FFR Cobra and started a local Philly area club. We would put on an annual car show in Washingtons' Crossing, which would draw about 45-50 cars every year.
I lived there for about seven months, so it's not like I'm someone with a ton of time there, but I still feel fond of the city. I worked for one of the local helicopter constructors for a while before quitting and moving on to Denver. I much preferred Philly. I lived a couple blocks off of Girard and would often walk to Johnny Brenda's in the evening for a beer. Then I lived up near New Hope with a friend for about six weeks before the move west. Would have dinner & drinks at The Continental Inn and enjoyed riding my motorcycle along the river near there. There's about 14 months of moving around with Philly in the middle of it in 2009-2010 and Philly was the only really good part of it.
I do remember walking around the area in the evenings and west of Girard Ave in Kensington was not nice in spots. Burned out cars, really dumpy housing, etc. It's changed quite a bit and I don't really like how it's becoming much more... average.
In reply to Klayfish :
yardley? I’m from new town originally
Fueled by Caffeine said:In reply to Klayfish :
yardley? I’m from new town originally
Yup. Had family that lived in Newtown, and as a teen my friends and I hung out at Goodnoe's many nights per week. Loved their milkshakes.
If you can stay at the Courtyard at the Navy Yard, it is a great hotel and the Navy Yard is so cool to drive around. Urban Outfitters (and all of its brands) setup their corporate headquarters there. You can see in the buildings and look at how they turned it all into cool design offices. It is a neat area.
The historical areas of Philly are probably about 15-20 minute drive from the navy yard. Once you find parking, everything is right there. Reading Terminal Market is really cool, but it might be tough with your wife in a wheel chair. Big indoor food market. Lots of choices for everything. It closes at 6:00 pm most days. Beiler's Doughnuts and Bakery are must sees. We have friends here in Worcester, who make it a point to stop there just to get doughnuts if they are passing through.
Mazdax605 said:What's the best way to get to Philly from the New England area?
There is no best way.. 84 is always a mess in the southern 1/2 of CT past Hartford. 95 can be tough past New Haven, but not always. I love the Merritt Parkway/Saw Mill Parkway, but avoid it at all costs if there is an accident. There are no breakdown lanes, so any problems will mean the highway is completely closed. If I recall correctly, you live on the south shore. So I would probably go down to Providence and take 95 until you can cut over to the Merritt Parkway (Exit 38 for the Milford Parkway in Milford CT or Exit 15 for US 7 in Bridgeport to get on further south). Take the Merritt to 287 to the Tappan Zee/Cuomo bridge. Don't follow Waze or your GPS to go into NYC. After crossing the Hudson, you have two ways to go.
Big Highways - Get off at the Garden State Parkway (exit 14A on the NY State Throughway/I-287). Take the Garden State Parkway to NJ Turnpike south. Then:
Not so Big Highways - Less tolls and a more scenic route. Continue on the NYS Throughway until exit 15 (I-287 South). Then get off at Exit 17 (US 202/US 206) in Bridgewater NJ. Take the exit for NJ 31S to Trenton in Ringoes NJ. Then get on I-295 N to Pennsylvania. I-295 will turn into I-95. Follow it to the Navy Yard. This as the benefit of skipping all of the northern part of NJ near New York. Plus you get to avoid Newark...
In reply to Klayfish :
Goodnoes is long gone. Through you can still go to a small walk up store to get the ice cream. It’s not as good as it was when they had the dairy farm.
The Merritt turns into a parking lot every afternoon around 4:30 to 5 in spots. Not so bad in the mornings but not great. Basically avoid rushhour on that road, not that 95 is much better.
I do not miss commuting in CT.
I’d rather deal with the mess in eastern CT than 95 through the Bronx and the GW Bridge. I’m coming from just north of 84 in NY and when I head south I usually take 84 to the NYS Thruway to 287 into Jersey.
Thanks for for all the suggestions, if things go well we’re planning to head down friday morning for the historical district to play tourist for a couple days.
Do you guys know if I could manipulate Google maps on my computer to follow the suggestions so far, and then somehow save it and pull it up on my phone for the trip down?
Reading Terminal Market.
In reply to Wally :
Can you rent an electric chair in Philly? Seems like the easy button?
In reply to TRoglodyte :
It looks like they don’t rent them at the attractions so I’d have to lug it around. As long as everything is fairly flat, paved and close pushing her isn’t that bad, I was also concerned about steps. Few things are more frustrating than just seeing the outsides of everything.
In reply to Wally :
Can you use mass transit? Make them move it.
In reply to TRoglodyte :
Depending on where our hotel is I’m going to look into it. I do love a good bus ride.
Independence hall had life size bronzes of the founding fathers, I was taller than some of them . I love history and Philly is full of it. Enjoy!
TRoglodyte said:I love history and Philly is full of it. Enjoy!
Yeah, but I've heard negative things about their basket-ball courts (especially the ones outside of schools). If you do find yourself shooting some B-Ball, watch out for the local ruffians who are up to no good. I here it only takes one little fight...
In reply to Hungary Bill :
I won't be going there dressed as a robot!
Hungary Bill said:TRoglodyte said:I love history and Philly is full of it. Enjoy!
Yeah, but I've heard negative things about their basket-ball courts (especially the ones outside of schools). If you do find yourself shooting some B-Ball, watch out for the local ruffians who are up to no good. I here it only takes one little fight...
Yes, but then you wind up in Beverly Hills....living in a mansion with a butler. How bad can it be? That little fight may be worth it. Though in West Philly, it may be a fight you won't survive.
Sonic said:From the south shore go down 95 until exit 38 in CT, or go up 495 to the mass pike to 84 to 91
From either of those then take the Merritt parkway into NY, then take 287 over the tappan zee (now Cuomo) bridge. A few miles over the bridge, take the garden state parkway until it meets up with the NJ turnpike. Take that south, down by Cherry Hill you will need to take a combo of 295 and then 76 to go over the Walt Whitman bridge, then onto 95 south for a short time to get to the Navy Yard for Radwood.
Download Waze on your phone to help. Don’t take the George Washington bridge and especially not 95 near N.Y. as the cross Bronx expressway is worse than that death road in Bolivia.
Okay, so I've finally had time to map this out using google maps. I have it set on my computer, and it has an option to send to phone which I tried, but it defaults to just the basic take rt 95 all the way map, and not the custom route I set. Is there a way to save the route on google, and send it exactly like that to my phone?
Did anyone touch on how bad their hockey team is and how their mascot is a cracked out muppet? Seriously their mascot is amazing
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