This was a truly unique meet, with TomTom offering to open up their offices to a bunch of people just interested in checking out the technology and the mapping with no business intent.


Check out this SICK equipment, bro!

To get there, I used Doug Kerr's joint in Schenectady as my base. I went west on NY 5 to NY 147 for a clinch, west on NY 29 and its old alignments, then up NY 30 to NY 349 west and down to the beginning of NY 309 for two more clinches. So far, I was making some northward progress, but nothing remotely east. That would soon change as I came back east on Fulton CR 125 and Hamilton CR 6 to an old bridge on Hamilton CR 6A (now heading south), then east on NY 920H/Bridge St. into Northville. I used various Fulton (143, 149, 113), Saratoga (4, 1), and Warren (12, 3, 2) County routes up to Athol, and suddenly I was nearly at Lebanon's latitude. Time to change longitude. I headed east on NY 418 for another clinch, then down US 9 and I-87 to NY 149, a great way to get to US 4 east into Vermont. My route across the state was US 7 south to VT 103, then east on VT 131 to NH 103 (no relation). TomTom is just up NH 120 from there, so we all gathered over pizza and the tricked-out van:


From left: Michael Temme-Soifer, Keith Thomas, Leigh Koven, Alison Long, the hairline of C.P. Zilliacus, Bob Malme, Mike Tantillo, the glasses of John Krakoff, Jason Ilyes, Doug Kerr, Michael Pruett, Laura Bianca, Carl Tessier, Valerie Deane, Connor Lauzon, yours truly needing help, Adam Jackson, and Oscar Voss.

This meet was unique in that there wasn't really a tour. TomTom gave us a presentation, talked to us for awhile, and then led us back down NH 120 to I-89 and eventually into White River Junction to poke around downtown. I split at that point, heading back into New Hampshire to clinch NH 120 north to NH 10, then into Vermont to clinch VT 113. I headed up VT 110 to US 302, east to VT 232, north to VT 215, then poked around VT 15 through Walden and some old alignments of US 2 to VT 2B and St. Johnsbury. In the fading daylight, I clinched VT 18 and came across to NH 18 to spend the night in Littleton. The next day was an exercise in Vermont highway clinching, so I will spare you the vagaries thereof. After more than 12 hours on the road, I came full circle back to Hartford, VT (the town containing White River Junction), and so came home down I-89, I-91 through Massachusetts to Connecticut, and southwest on I-95. But no, I didn't just go home. I checked out old shields along CT 15 and US 9W, connected via I-287, before taking that road back to New Jersey and home. An unique trip report for a unique meet.

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