[mohaks19]

As a car enthusiast, it has been a lifelong dream to travel through beautiful Vermont and other northeastern states, listening to some 70s hard rock while ripping through the immaculately curved back roads. Little did I know I'd stumble across this opportunity in the midst of a busy semester.

My friend, Ben, a fellow Columbia alumni and an educational consultant by profession, called me up on a busy Monday morning, asking me to accompany him on a trip through all the eighth Ivy League schools (for marketing purposes) - starting from Cornell, then on-to Dartmouth, and further on traveling south, ending the trip at the southernmost Ivy - University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. And that was it - plans were unravelled, bags were packed, and off we went.

The Plan



- 5am depart Ithaca
- 10:30am arrive Hanover (visit Dartmouth)
- 11:00am depart Hanover
- 1:30pm arrive Cambridge (visit Harvard and MIT)
- 2pm depart Cambridge
- 3:30 pm arrive Providence (visit Brown)
- 4pm depart Providence
- 6pm arrive New Haven (visit Yale)
- 7pm depart New Haven (allotting an hour in New Haven for pizza!)
- 8:30pm arrive New York (visit Columbia)
- 9pm depart New York
- 10:30pm arrive Princeton (visit Princeton University)
- 11pm depart Princeton
- 12am arrive Philadelphia (visit University of Pennsylvania)

I live in Manhattan and Ben lives in New Jersey and for obvious reason, both of us would like to minimize our travel time. Following the shortest route, i.e. ending at Dartmouth or starting at Penn would require significant additional driving back to central New Jersey, whereas Penn is about an hour away. We wanted to avoid driving in rural areas at nighttime. Starting at Cornell and ending at Dartmouth or vice versa would mean doing significant rural driving both early in the morning and late in the evening. Sunrise on Wednesday is just before 7AM EDT, so most of the trip from Cornell to Dartmouth will be after dawn. Also, both of us enjoy driving in beautiful Upstate New York! New York driving would be limited on the shortest route.

The Car

Ben drives a 2011 Audi S5 Cabriolet with Stage 1 remap and an Akrapovic exhaust. Both of us wanted to enjoy the thrills of driving on beautiful back roads with the top down, hence, the Audi was chosen to perform the trip's duties. Here're some pictures of the car provided by Ben for visual representation:-







Day 0

Ben setting up the car at his home in New Jersey, all set to pick me up from Manhattan and begin our journey towards Ithaca.


Ben picked me up from Upper West side in Manhattan at around 6pm and we started driving towards Ithaca (read: Cornell). Despite this being a week day, we were not stuck in Manhattan's crazy traffic while trying to exit the island. With Ben on the wheel, rest of the journey till Ithaca was quite uneventful. We arrived past midnight at a motel right outside Ithaca and proceeded to rest.



Leg 1: Ithaca to Hanover

We started next day quite early, departing Ithaca at 5am. Since it was dark, we didn't really get to explore Cornell's beautiful campus. With Ben on the wheel for the first two hours, we started driving north towards New Hampshire.



After about two hours, we decided to switch. It was finally time to get my hands being the wheels of this beast. Audi has done a great job in designing a car which car be used as a comfortable top down cruiser but can transform into quite a beast on the touch of a button (read: Dynamic mode). With the Stage 1 remap, the engine is producing well over 420hp at the crank. That, combined with instantaneous torque (thanks to supercharging) provides quite a thrilling experience on back roads. We had a radar detector installed throughout the trip and hence, we didn't encounter any problems with the cops (a great investment, especially if you're down to push a bit for pleasure's sake). Moreover, other than all the performance on tap, the car (with its neck warmers) did a great job in insulating us from the cold, even with the top down, in temperatures hovering well near freezing point. One point I must mention - the Audi doesn't have bluetooth music streaming, in a 2011 car! Since Ben lost a Audi specific iPhone cable, we had to stick to satellite radio through the entire trip, though the sound quality and reception were phenomenal throughout.

We decided to refuel somewhere in Vermont and enjoy some bagels along the mountain roads. This leg was by far the best part of the trip, with most of the driving done on beautiful, curvy, back roads where I could actually get to push the car (though I must say, after being used to driving Porsches and AMGs, the handling was quite disappointing).

Somewhere in Vermont, on our pit stop to eat bagels.




I used manual mode for most of the drive through back roads and response time wasn't exactly the best, though the occasional downshifts accompanied by those typical crackles and pops were quite pleasing.



We arrived at Hanover (read: Dartmouth) well before 11am, less than half an hour behind schedule!




Ben decided to meet two of his past clients on the Dartmouth Green outside Baker Memorial Library. We had to wait until after their class got out, so we didn’t leave until after 11:30am (still a half hour behind schedule).



Leg 2: Hanover to Cambridge

We departed from Dartmouth around 11:30 and I continued driving for this part of the trip. The drive to Cambridge (right outside Boston) turned out to be pretty uneventful, though the sun was out by this time so I occasionally enjoyed pushing the car and wading through expressway traffic. We reached Cambridge (read: Harvard) around 1:50pm (20 mins behind schedule) and decided to park the car at "Hahvahd Yahd" (read: Harvard Yard) to cut the time deficit, even though parking there is illegal.

Harvard Yard is the oldest part of the campus, quite an amalgamation of its historic center, and its modern crossroads.




The H-Bomb is considered a joke within Ivy alumni, which is basically a Harvard alum/student telling that they go to Harvard within 5 mins of meeting someone.


We decided to drive past MIT and click pictures for social media's sake, instead of actually stopping and visiting the campus. With Ben on the wheel, we started driving towards Providence (read: Brown) at around 2:20pm.


Leg 3: Cambridge to Providence

The weather had improved by the afternoon, lending to some pleasant cruising. With our hair all over the place and the sun out, it was time to cruise and jam on some metal. We drove on I-95, an interstate expressway which stretches out all the way to Philadelphia and beyond. It's one of the most heavily patrolled expressway in North-East and hence, none of us pushed the car (and consequently, our chances of getting pulled over).

We reached Brown at 3:49pm, just 19 minutes behind schedule. So far, so good! In the background is University Hall, the oldest building at Brown, constructed in 1770.


A panoramic view of six iconic Brown University buildings, viewed from the east. From left to right are Carrie Tower (1904), Hope College (1822), Manning Hall (1834), University Hall (1770), Slater Hall (1879), and Rhode Island Hall (1840).


At this point, we were within half an hour of our projected pace. It had already been a long day of driving, but there was still more ahead. We left Brown around 4:15pm and started driving towards New Haven (read: Yale).

Ben recalibrating the radar detector before started our journey towards New Haven.


Leg 4: Providence to New Haven

We arrived in New Haven before 6pm, ahead of schedule. We parked near Phelps Gate, constructed as part of Phelps Hall in 1896. This view is looking into Old Campus. Dwight Hall (1849) is visible across the Old Campus quad.


Buildings on and near Yale’s Old Campus viewed from the east from Phelps Gate (from left to right): Dwight Hall (1849), Harkness Tower and Saybrook College (across the street, 1922), and Lanman-Wright Hall (1912). Yale’s iconic neo-Gothic buildings, including Harkness Tower, are far from the oldest buildings on campus. That distinction belongs to Connecticut Hall, which we both forgot to snap a picture of.


Ben had already planned a stop at Sally’s Apizza in New Haven. (“Apizza” is a type of thin-crust pizza introduced by Italian-Americans in New Haven). Sally’s is one of two classic New Haven Pizzerias located on historic Wooster Square. The other is Frank Pepe Pizzeria (“Pepe’s”). Pepe’s is more popular, but Ben is a bigger fan of Sally’s. This picture shows the line for Pepe’s, which Ben went to check as I waited at Sally’s. The Pepe’s line was even longer than the Sally’s line, but it still took nearly an hour for us to be seated at Sally’s.


We finally got their pizza at 7:43pm, well after we were scheduled to leave New Haven. But come on, look at that crispy, cheesy, greasy goodness right there. Totally worth it.


Leg 5: New Haven to New York

The race against the clock was on, but thanks to some excellent navigating with me behind the wheel driving like a quintessential Indian driver, we made it from New Haven to Morningside Heights (on the Upper West Side of Manhattan) in less than 90 minutes. I currently attend Columbia and Ben visits frequently as an alum, so we didn’t really feel compelled to take many pictures. Even after the two-hour delay, we were now running just 30 minutes behind again. This picture shows Low Memorial Library, built 1895, which is no longer a library but houses administrative offices and a rotunda for formal receptions and functions. Also visible is Buell Hall, usually called the “Maison Française,” as it is home to the French Cultural House. Buell Hall is the oldest building on campus, constructed in 1885. It used to be part of an insane asylum whose land was purchased by Columbia University.


Leg 6: New York to Princeton

We departed from Columbia around 9:40pm and with about 65miles and Manhattan's crazy traffic ahead of us, we didn't waste any time. I decided to drive through this part of the trip as well since I've driven quite a lot in Manhattan and I'm comfortable with wading through traffic.

We made excellent time to Princeton and arrived at 10:43pm, just 13 minutes behind schedule. This picture shows Guyot Hall, which houses Princeton’s geosciences department and exhibits various writings and artifacts originally belonging to Benjamin Franklin and others.


Frist Campus Center, the hub of student life at Princeton University. The Frist Campus Center is a combination of the original Palmer Physics Laboratory (completed 1909) and a modern addition in 2001. This picture shows the modern addition.


Leg 7: Princeton to Philadelphia

With just an hour left until midnight (and our personal deadline for the record), we decided to drive towards Philly. Ben decided to take the wheel since we were on schedule, and the drive to Philly is a relatively short one.

I-95 was nearly traffic-free through Philadelphia, and we arrived in Philly with 15 minutes to spare. A helpful security officer, who seemed both concerned and amused, took this photo. The sign is located in Hill Square at the corner of S. 33rd St. and Chestnut St. in Philadelphia.


I used to live in Philadelphia last year and have quite some friends at Penn, hence, I decided to stay over the night at their place and take the Amtrak back to Manhattan next morning. The trip was quite unexpected to say the least, but despite over 20hrs of driving, Ben and I came out relatively fresh. I must say, I initially had my apprehensions about the car and it's sports seats, but with lumbar support on both the sides, the seats performed phenomenally while keeping us in place at all times.

Finally - a record was made; doubts were shattered. Definitely enjoyed every minute of the driving experience, especially through upstate NY and Vermont. If any of you folks ever decide to drive through the North-East, definitely consider renting a convertible and driving through those areas. It's quite an experience. Should I do this again? Heck-no! But again, will I?

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!