Every year, when spring arrives, so does the New York auto show. A nice little pretext for a roadtrip, and a god excuse to head to the Big Apple by car, and enjoy every moment. Almost a pilgrimage, this excursion is now part of family tradition, and this year was no exception.
So we drove the 2019 Toyota RAV4 Trail edition, mounted on Continental Tires, we went on the road, Honey and me (Fiston is now older, university student and must therefore stay at home, which offers us at the same time a dog keeper), for this trip punctuated by a few stops, and several memorable duets.
Because, in addition to our route, the trip would not be complete without our memorable performances to the sound of the 80s music that invades the car as soon as we jump on the highway. You must hear our interpretation of “Don’t stop believin” to realize it!
1st stop – the coffee
Because departure is early (it was 6:30 in the morning), nothing like a good coffee bought on the road. The fastfood counters are legions, but Honey has a weakness for Starbucks and chai latte. Fortunately, we also took advantage of the many storage spaces of the RAV4 to hide some food that limited stop-snacks.
2nd stop – customs
Leaving on the South shore of Montreal and moving along Highway 30, we were able to bypass the eternal rush hour of the Montreal area, and show up at the Canada-US Customs in Champlain, suburb of Hemmingford, in less than 90 minutes. Those interested can always stop at the inevitable tax-free shop along the road and its no less essential fireworks (someone will, one day, have explain to me why they sell those as much) .
3rd stop – Ausable River
Just a few miles beyond the town of Plattsburgh is the Ausable River. It is known for its navigable canyon, but it also has abundant campsites, clean and welcoming. Ideal for a short stay less than two hours from Montreal.
Small detail: between the Ausable River and Albany, long segments of the beautiful mountain road, where the cascades of melting snow flows, are poorly served by the cellular network, and offer few services. So plan in advance for an hour or two.
4th stop – Saratoga Spring (suburb of Albany)
We traditionally stop at PJ’s Bar-B-QSA, a restaurant bar that probably serves the best pull pork in America, after mine of course. This time, our trip was too early, we had to skip the stop. But we took the time to go around the city. Beautiful, old-fashioned and stylish houses, race track for horses and cars, car museum, the small town, which we know little, is welcoming and full of activities. So impressive that we are planning to return on a short vacation.
The road from Albany to New York becomes mountains and cities, but always busy. A small detour to use the New Jersey Palisade freeway is well worth the extra few kilometers. The route is more interesting, less crowded, and leads to the George Washington Bridge or the Lincoln Tunnel that will take you directly to New York for a few dollars. Note that the Tunnel is more often blocked by traffic.
5th stop – Hotel Kimpton Eventi
For the next two or three days, our RAV4 has remained stationed in the heart of Chelsea, right at the Kimpton Eventi, our hotel headquarter for the stay, one of New York’s popular neighborhoods within walking distance of Time Square. Department stores (Honey has her favorites), typical restaurants and souvenir shops (not counting the two days at the auto show) have occupied our stay before returning.
A good word for David Burke’s restaurant, the Woodpecker and its “bacon on the clothesline”, or even better for the Stella 34, an Italian restaurant housed in the heart of the Macy’s store, whose pasta is spectacular.
On the return, mandatory stop this time to savor the pulled pork, and home directly, without additional stop, except in a rest area where the small animals are rather well treated, and have their own air-conditioned condos.
Toyota RAV4
More than 1600 kilometers in total was our hike. The Toyota RAV4 proved to be pleasant to drive, rather frugal (the consumption is lower than that announced by the manufacturer) and very comfortable.
It’s true that the tires that fitted the car were a little noisy, 19-inch Continental ContiWinter, but they were real winter tires even though the spring was pointing the nose (imagine, in New York it was 27 and the trees bloomed, while on the return the thermometer showed 7 degrees at the border).
Once back, however, it was clear that the new RAV4 Trail 2019 has nothing in common with the boring utility vehicle of the older generation. It took me a visit in the Big Apple to realize it.
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