<p>Won’t give you food suggestions for Boston because those are readily available. For Worcester–there’s not much at all. I worked at Clark for three years. Folks I know who live nearby (foodie types) go to Boston, but if you have to eat in Worcester, there are a few decent restaurants. They are: 111 Chop House (steakhouse), The Sole Proprietor (seafood), Dino’s (old school Italian) and Maxwell Silverman (steaks, seafood, etc. in a restored tool factory). If you like Indian (Surya is pretty good). The cafe in the Worcester Art Museum is really quite nice and the food is pretty good (lunch only).</p>
<p>Moved to metro Boston (and lived there for six years) and remember on Day One being mortified to see people doing 80 in the breakdown lane as traffic slowed. Turned to my wife, and said, “If I turn into one of these maniacs, please shoot me.”</p>
<p>Fast forward two years. The family is getting together in a central location (Ohio) for Thanksgiving. I’m driving with my sister (never lived anywhere but Wisconsin) to a studio for a family portrait. As the light turns green, I immediately turn left in front of two lanes of oncoming traffic. Until I see my sister’s eyes bugging out, I didn’t even realize what I’d done.</p>
<p>I’ve lived all over the country, and EVERYONE complains that the drivers in their area are terrible. My experience is that there’s no (US) comparison to Boston drivers - not to say they’re terrible in their own realm, but for “tourists”, it can be shocking how aggressive they are.</p>
<p>As for rotaries, I always got great pleasure pointing out to DW (from New England) the bodyshops located on the periphery of the circle ("See? I TOLD you these things are just another mob scam to drum up business!).</p>
<p>Enjoy the local dialect!;)</p>
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<p>Oh, if you’re not going until spring then I take back what I said about Saturday tours. They’re much rarer in the spring.</p>
<p>Another important convention when driving in Boston.</p>
<p>If you leave enough space in front of you to fit a car during moving traffic, it is an invitation for someone to cut in front of you. A corollary to that is that if I am butting right up against the car in front of me (essentially tail gating), don’t even think of trying to squeeze in between me and the next car.</p>
<p>Some distances/times–Wellesley to Amherst, about 1hr 40 min, Smith to Mt. Holyoke 35-40 min depending on Rt. 9 traffic–go through Amherst on the way (it’s not out of your way), Bradley airport is actually only about 15 minutes up the highway from Hartford, and Colby to Amherst is 4 hrs. 15 min.</p>
<p>goaliedad- I love the buzzword bingo! Will have to try that when we start Round 2 tours with my younger daughter this summer! If someone has a good starting list, I’d love to see a new thread start on this! :D</p>
<p>If the timing is right, I recommend eating on campus at Clark. D and I thought it was the best college food we tried. Wish I could say the same of the school she chose (Brandeis) :(</p>
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<p>No, this is wrong. The fastest way to get from Smith to Mt. Holyoke is to take I-91 south to Holyoke, cut across town to Rte 116 north and take that into South Hadley/MHC. It’s not pretty, but it’s about 20 min, roughly half the time you’d spend taking pokey Rte 9 northeast to Amherst, then reversing course and heading south to MHC. You won’t see Amherst College or Hampshire college on my route—but you’ll be much more efficient in getting between Smith & MHC. And in Holyoke you’ll get an eye-opening view of an unreconstructed old New England mill town that went into deep decline maybe a century ago—the side of New England that upscale visitors rarely glimpse.</p>
<p>But as I clearly indicated in my first post, it is of utmost importance that I see Amherst! (LOL.) Thanks for the advice, bclintonk.</p>
<p>Pizzagirl, I think your original post and trip plan sounds perfectly fine. I do think, however, that driving down Commonwealth Ave is NOT the way to see Boston University. I would agree that it’s worth the time to take the T (Green line) and walk the length of Comm Ave…and head to Bay State Road which is on the side of BU closer to the Charles River. I’m sorry, but I do not agree that BU has “no campus”. It’s an urban campus for sure…don’t expect to see the “college gates and a green”…but it has a nice defined central campus core that is great to see if your kid is interested in an urban college. My kid is a BU grad…PM me if you want more info. </p>
<p>Have a wonderful trip. I will say…bring a GPS with you…and watch out for the drivers. We drove to Boston at least once a month and EVERY time, I hated the driving…the merging is awful and the “signage” on Storrow Drive is a bit less than adequate (think signs at the very last minute when there is NO WAY to get to the exit).</p>
<p>Thanks - by “drive-by” for BU, I didn’t literally mean drive-by – I meant park and walk around, but not be beholden to a formal tour or scheduled appointment.</p>
<p>thumper1 said: “We drove to Boston at least once a month and EVERY time, I hated the driving.”</p>
<p>hahahahaha</p>
<p>As we say . . . driving in Boston contains its own punishment.</p>
<p>Kei</p>
<p>We did Boston last yr–used the T which is the best way–</p>
<p>ours was
arv sat pm late
sun- walked Boston–freedom trail/lunch
mon- BU full tour/lunch
tue pu rental car- drive to holy cross am, bc pm on way back into Boston
wed dartmouth (took coach–excellent)
thur mit
fri tufts am, harvard pm
sat flew out</p>
<p>One suggestion–have your student make some notes about each school either at/after each school or that evening–</p>
<p>another suggestion–woud be to check all your routes/maps and parking etc now via online and keep each days itinerary together–so you know the what where and how…so much easier with a teen in tow–</p>
<p>FYI - lots of road construction in and around Boston, so be prepared - especially if a heavy rain disables traffic lights. 
And if you’re coming in the spring, avoid Kenmore Square by car if the Sox are in town.</p>
<p>If you are even contemplating Colby/Bates add it now. It’s far more expensive to go back. One day on the front end. My S2 and I did a similar trip last year when he was a junior. We went from the midwest to Maine (we drove and cut across Canada). EZ pass is essential. Saw Colby and Bates in one day, then headed south and west. Two schools each day all the way back home through Ohio. Lots of driving but I’m a total road warrior. You can “duck” out of any that your kids just do a big thumbs down. There’s always at least one of those which gives you an afternoon or a morning of breathing time, too.</p>
<p>If you decide to visit Colby/Bates, remember to schedule an admissions interview at Colby. Interviews “count” at Colby. I don’t know if that is the case at Bates.</p>
<p>bclintonk–yep, you can do that route between Smith & MHC (though there’s no way that it’s faster), or cut through the farmlands of Hadley and through the Notch and miss most of Rt. 9, and Pizzagirl, I know you’re not interested in Amherst, but since a huge part of what you get with Smith or MHC is the 5-College consortium, it would be silly not to look at 3/5 of it. 20 min. vs 35, when you’ve already travelled a distance to the area–seems like a no-brainer to me.</p>