First may I say my heart & prayers go out to anyone effected by "Irene". I have been glued to the news reports and some of the videos they show just break my heart.
Hubby and I have planned for about five years to tour the New England states to see the fall foliage. Was planning to leave Texas toward the end of Sept. Now we are wondering if that is such a good idea. There are so many places we want to visit that are near or along the coastline and now the flooding , the power outages and recovery efforts...should we rethink this and maybe try another year? I just don't know. We certainly don't want to go and then be in the way because they are still recovering. (we will travel with our 5th wheel camper)
Certainly has been an eventful year for us. My husband retired Nov. 2010 and we had a winter with record low temps for a record number of days in a row..very unusual. Then in February the winds started and didn't stop until late early Aug. The winds combined with the horrible drought has caused an extrordinarily high number of wild fires. These fires fueled by the winds have been devestating to almost every county in TExas (our small community suffered the loss of 13 homes) Now we are experiencing a record number of triple digit heat days. I think we are at 78 days now. We froze, blew away, fried and dried up. (many lakes are literally drying up)
I think my husband should go back to work...LOL!!!

I will admit, this has been one disastrous year.

Well, if your husband retiring is why we are in this terrible drought, I vote he goes back to work too! haha, just kidding. Research the areas you are planning to visit, maybe the recovery efforts will be concluded prior to your travel dates.

They're predicting 50-60% chance of rain starting this Thursday, thru the weekend (Houston area), so tell your husband to hold off on going back to work. Things may be changing (at least I really hope they are!)

I live in an area of Vermont not effected too much. If you come, stay to the northern areas, Burlington and up as the south is going to be difficult to navigate for some time. Some towns have so many roads washed out, its hard for the local people to even get around. If you could wait until next year, that may be a good plan. On YouTube if you search from 'Vermont flooding' you'll see a lot of tragic stuff. I know of two covered bridges that were washed away or severely damaged. Houses swept right off their foundations and washed down the river. Towns with the main streets turned into rivers and road beds destroyed. Cellars full of water, trees down, electricity out...truly devastating in central and southern counties mostly. I'd check with this department before I came. It's a bit early to really know the extend and the duration of the issues. http://www.vermontvacation.com/

We are in the west Texas area along IS20 about 80 west of Abilene. Only a 10% chance of light scattered showers around here. And I don't think I could get hubby to go back to work if I tried...hahaha. Kinda enjoy being able to just hit the road whenever we want now. Hope you have a good rain in your area.

Sounds like a beautiful trip. I would choose to wait another year because of Irene. I live in a hilly area and we have some breath taking views. Some years the colors are more vivid then others.

Oh Linda, so glad you were not effected. I have watched the news reports almost nonstop and it just makes my heart ache when I see some of that devastation. The covered bridge going down that has been there since the 1800's and the homes destroyed....just so sad. Thnx so much for information and I will keep all those effected in my prayers.

I would go now... hurricanes happen every year... I would bet there are still plenty of trees to see... and if your health is good take advantage of this time together and make some memories... you never know what great life stories you will come home with... if you wait until everything is "just right" you may never go.

It was so sad to see the old covered bridges that were washed away up north.........I hope you decide to go.

I think everything will be pretty well fixed by the time you get here, which should be late Sept - early Oct. Make sure you have someplace to stay, the hotels fill up early, not sure about campgrounds.

If you decide to forego New England but still want to do fall foliange this year... give Michigan a try. Fall foliage to die for, 3 great lakes, hills, lots of smaller lakes, sand dunes, Macinac Island, lighthouses along it's thousands of miles of coastline ...

One of my favorite all time ever bill-boards is in Michigan. Has a picture of Fall leaves and the caption reads "Green is sooo last season".

Come on up to New Hampshire. It will be worth it. We'll be all cleaned up and ready for visitors! Make your reservations early.

You should go. Who knows what will come up next year. There are many greAt sights in New England and you will get your fill. Right now folks are still reeling from what has happened. Lots of repairs will be made in a month and people's spirits will rebound where possible.

I would go this year. Heed LindaBN's advice and head for northern Vermont. My DD2 lives north of Essex Junction and they are fine. That area is the prettiest anyway I think. There is Lake Champlain, Stowe, Mt. Mansfield and the Northeast Kingdom. Beautiful villages, mountains and lots of color. You can keep a watch on the progress of the fall foliage on the web (can't remember the site.) Some years the color comes early or late, but in the north usually around Oct. 1. That's when we have always gone. Be aware that you can also get snow in early October.

ETA: And I think Vermont needs all the tourist business they can get this year. This will really hurt their economy.

come to see Maine -- the coast has both beautiful red and yellow folliage trees in the mountains and the ocean is deep blue. No hurricaine damage here on the coast -- The winds were less than most no-name storms.

I think that almost everywhere you will not be able to see much damage. The covered bridges are a real loss as there are so few and the craftman to restore and replace them have mostly died off.

I think September and October are the best times of the year

Mim

Amen to this. Take the trip.

Oh my, I had just about decided to ask hubby about an alternate plan, when I came back to see if anyone else had posted a comment...WOW. I think "Flowerjoy" said it best..thank you for reminding me to take advantage of our time together while we can. I think we will just go and "Mim" I was really wanting to go on up in Maine anyway. Thank you all, you have renewed my excitement. Now I can't wait to continue planning. I think we will probably get to see just about everything we had hoped to.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!

Agree!! Try Lone Pine Campsite in Colchester, VT http://www.lonepinecampsites.com/ -

you could come to Canada its only a bit farther and we have some great fall colour and then you can travel to another country on your trip.

Oh that would be nice too...but we don't have our passports yet. REally need to do that because we have talked about a trip to Canada in our future. Thnx

Near the White Mountains in NH we had minimal hurricane damage as far as leaves goes. Some of hte roads, not so much. The Kancamagus highway and some roads further North were damaged but hopefully will be in operation by fall. This area usually books fast for Columbus Day weekend though. Foliage varies, central NH probably Oct 1 - ish. Each day is a gift, grab it by the coattails and go!!
https://www.facebook.com/VisitNH?v=wall&ref=ts

piney

It's been a tough year weather wise for the entire country. Here in Oklahoma it was so dry earlier in the summer, record number of days in triple digits for us also, that most of the trees dropped their leaves early. Luckily, we've had a lot of rain lately so the landscape has greened up considerably. However, you might call and ask about the foliage in the states you plan to visit, see if the trees have dropped most of their leaves already. Or just ask the ladies and gentlemen on this site what it looks like in their area. Hope you have a great time if you decide to go.

we, too, have a trip planned, first week of Oct. Flying into Bos. and driving around a few of the states for 5 days.
Any info would be appreciated.
Coming from Fl. and do miss fall season

Here in NH you will not only have the foliage but also the FAIRS. Depending on when you come(check online) you have Sandwich,NH,Fryeburg(ME) and others. Remember...you only have the promise of today, NH has no sales tax..only rooms and meals ) and of course some great lqs...if you have the time and the $'s I encourage you to take the time to build memories with each other. Best wishes

One thing about New Englanders, they assess what they have to do and then do it. If there was any damage it will be fixed before you get up here and I would not miss the color for anything. You will be so happy you did. My cousin lives in Corpus and she tried to explain to her friends the colors of New England but they did not believe her.

As for your fall foliage travels, I mentioned the same exact thing to my DH when I was watching the news on VT, ME, etc...many of those antique towns are wiped out...and the fall foliage brought tourists and was their only revenue for many of them...it is really sad..so much history lost that can never be rebuilt. I too would try to map out a route and then start contacting AAA, AARP travel, and the chamber of commerce for those towns you want to visit and see what info you can find. Of course you know from TX up through MO things are already turning due to the extreme heat we have had!

Also if you want to check online about the Mt. Washington Valley region there is a freebie newspaper....but must be check daily. www.mountwashingtonvalley.com and link onto The Conway Daily Sun. Today's issue cites damages and how long they may take to repair. Some northcounty roads and bridges are washed out.

It's been a while since I was up there but I Know that in WV you aren't going to see the beautiful foliage until later on in Oct or Nov; it depends on the weather as to when they turn. If that's one of the main reasons to go you should check and see how it's going first. I love going back home in the fall before any chance of snow and seeing all of the pretty trees. Mother nature at it's best. If you wait for a different year you could get the same results; storms of different types happens all of the time. If you have the time and money I'd always say just do it.

I would go for that trip, check your route ahead of time and enjoy the cool weather....everyone in Texas deserves this break. We lost 800 acres of our ranch to wildfires.. just south of Sweetwater Texas, not far from you. Everyone we have talk to has said, well with a good rain, it will all come back. Not...we lost oak trees that were over a hundred years old, and we found that the roots of the grass in a large section of the ranch were burned and will not come back. Our cattle were spared, thank God. But other ranchers lost all of their livestock. Guess where we will be Labor Day....still cleaning up from the fire. Wish we were planning a fall trip, if nothing, to see water and beautiful foliage...that would be refreshing.
D in TX

You don't need to go quite as far as the coast for beautiful fall scenery. Every year my husband and I go to the Smokey Mountains near Gatlinburg, Tenn. and I think it's almost as georgeous as Virginia. The only problem might be the lack of rain in some areas of these states earlier in the season. There wasn't much rain in the latter part of the summer, so the fall colors may not be as rich.

Come! All of New England is beautiful in the fall! In central MA we have lovely foliage that usually peaks around Columbus Day. There are several WONDERFUL quilt shops, too! Let me know if you are coming and I will send you the shop names.

Diana, so sorry you suffered so much from the wild fires. We haven't suffered personally, but for so long during that windy season, just about daily it wasn't if we would see or smell smoke...it was just where was it coming from.
I have seen the results of some of the worst just north of San Angelo and it is just horrible, as I am sure yours was too. Wish I could just take you with me, and give you a break from the mess. I know we will see lots of wonderful sights along the way.

I live in MA and in my area we didn't have the extensive damage, just high winds and heavy rain. Up in Vermont things are different. Major flooding and damage to some parts. Some of the covered bridges just tumbled into the flood waters. Keep checking with the Vermont chamber of commerce as to how things are going up there. Maybe by the time you arrive in New England the roads etc in VT will be repaired.

here are some pix taken at my summer place in Cushing last fall

I love the combination of blue water with the gold and red trees

Mim

Here are some Chambers of Commerce in Northern/Central NH:
http://www.mtwashingtonvalley.org/
http://www.ossipeevalley.org/
http://www.wolfeborochamber.com/

Pretty foliage. This is my back yard from a few years ago.

I think the newsman said last night that we The USA has had 11 disasters this yr with cleanup/recovery of millions of dollors eachor heaven forbid; did he say billions?

I hope the attachment works -- it is the Maine foliage website. They will begin posting in mid september what the schedule for best viewing is. The color moves south at about 20 miles a day after it starts in Canada. A lot of places in the world have beautiful foliage but the bright reds depend on certain trees. Mostly maples here in eastern US.

Boston and eastern Mass with all it's colonial history is a great place to spend a few days -- and the public transport (the subway/trolley and bus systems make it easy to get around -- even from the airport if you don't want to rent a car for the first couple days. Then wandering up the coast thru Cape Ann to NH or down to Cape cod is beautiful, too.

Probably not much foliage color except a few trees that are stressed and turn early.

the attachment worked!!!! great !!! Mim

Mim and pinecone - your pics are just gorgeous. I doubt you are going to North Carolina, Jaynie, but our Tourism Council says that not every area of the Carolina coast was that badly affected. They advocate travelling but check the area you are going to first; for instance the Chamber of Commerce. They will probably need all those tourism $$$ for recovery in most of the NE states.Enjoy tour trip and time together.

thank you all for the great info. Fall colors take my breath away and prove to me that there is a God.
This is the greatest place for info and among friends. Joanna