[Matt Herring]

I figured I'd open this up to the forum to see what driving routes you might take when making the trip I'm planning next week...I typically use google maps to chart my course but feel free to provide a route using any mapping service (preferably with graphic map and directions)...

25 Royal Crest Drive North Andover, MA 01845 TO 20 Main Street, Towanda, PA 18848

A little info. on my trip that might help you out. I'll be leaving around 9-10 pm on a Wednesday night so traffic for the trip should be light. I commonly use the 495 to 90 to 88 to 220 to 6 route which I have driven numerous times (in the interest of time). My normal route is 378 miles and I usually average around 58 mph for the entire route (about 6.5 hours of travel time).

In the interest of mpg I wouldn't mind taking an alternate route to conserve mpg (by staying off 65 mph highways and on 45-55 mph roads) but I'd like to stay under the 9 hour mark for the trip (I have a 9am tee time at my destination).

The last time I took this trip I had just bought my Prius and I was not up to par with my driving techniques so I averaged a miserable 51 mpg down and back. I'm tempted to do the same route just to see how much I've improved but I also want to max out my mpg on the trip so an alternate route would be nice to try.

I plotted what I thought was the most economical course staying off highways for 66% of the trip (my old route is only off highways for 19% of the trip). The trip mileage reduces by 12 miles but also adds 2+ hours to the route (which keeps it at about 8.5 hours). I also have another route I plotted that stays off highways for 56% of the trip, reduces the distance by 13 miles and only adds 45 minutes to the route.

What can you come up with in the 7-9 hour range that keeps the mileage near 378 miles (without sacrificing driving too many extra miles for the additional mpg gain).

Thanks for any routes that are offered!