Marc wrote:

.. a ride down the Hudson Valley Corridor past Manhattan.

If you've never done it, and there isn't a TFR in the way, and the weather is
good enough to give you a good view, definitely shoot the corridor. Pick up
the NY TAC and listen in on the self-announce frequencies.

.. fly down the NJ coast, perhaps stop at Cape May

There's nothing at the airport, but it's a short cab ride to town. Lots of nice
Victorian buildings there. Skip it if the weather's bad.

.. stay along the coast, east of Washington DC

Easton, MD has a decent lunch counter if you're over that way. Ridgely, MD has
picnic facilities and camping. If you've nothing better to do, the old planes
they have in storage are worth a few minutes. Last time I was there, they had
an old Curtiss "flying banana" hanging from the rafters.

.. stop at Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay?

Good for a few hours, though it's best in the summer season. Check to see what
restaurants/hotels are open this time of year.

.. west past Charlottesville, stop at Luray Caverns.... (yes I know it is
tacky, been there twice by car)

That's the way I go, but I don't usually stop at Luray. The winds over the
ridge can be nasty and they were short of gas the last time I put in there. I
usually stop at SHD for fuel. A bit high priced, but fewer hassles. They also
have a lunch counter.

.. aerial tour of Shenandoah Valley

Not bad at all. I flew over a golden eagle the last time I went down.

ROA is high, of course, but the FBO can get you a discount on hotels that makes
it worth the stop. We stayed at one hotel that came to pick us up, drove us to
and from dinner, and drove us back to the airport the next day for about $45
for two adults and a child. The cafeteria we ate in had the best biscuits I
have ever eaten; good enough for us to stop back at the FBO a year later to find
the place.

When I run down that way, I'm usually headed for Knoxville. I've learned to stay
to the east of the mountains and follow I-85 through the pass to Bristol. You
may wish to take a shorter route to Nashville, but I still would advise keeping
time over the mountains to a minimum. The turbulence is usually pretty bad if
you stay below about 9,000', and the headwinds will be much higher than those
in the areas outside the hills. You may wish to cut straight across pretty far
north and run down to music city from the north.

George Patterson
The actions taken by the New Hampshire Episcopalians (ie. inducting a gay
bishop) are an affront to Christians everywhere. I am just thankful that
the church's founder, Henry VIII, and his wife Catherine of Aragon, and his
wife Anne Boleyn, and his wife Jane Seymour, and his wife Anne of Cleves,
and his wife Katherine Howard, and his wife Catherine Parr are no longer
here to suffer through this assault on traditional Christian marriages.