Boston/ Salem/ concord. Take the public transportation- super easy to get around

They were stopping out of state cars before. Not anymore. But they could start again. A lot of the stuff is lifted now.

If you’ve not been to and through the Blue Ridge mountains (blue ridge parkway > Shenandoah in my opinion), I highly recommend it (although I’m biased as it’s my favorite part of VA). It’s rural, so you may have trouble having gluten free on the menu, but most folk are accommodating to whip up something off menu (I’ve eaten vegan at bbq joints 😂). I’ve camped (car camped and tent camped) without issue; Airbnb’s are not as readily available until you hit a “city” like Harrisonburg or Roanoke. For bits further away, some places I’ve enjoyed are Asheville North Carolina (lots of hiking around and a very “hippy” culture town so you’ll find gluten free food, plus they’ve got a few good second hand gear shops if you wanted speciality hiking stuff; i have rain pants from there I cherish) and Boone North Carolina (college town, surrounded by great hiking in Pisgah national forest). I’ve camped in Pisgah without issue, Airbnbed in Asheville. Throughout all of them I’ve seen budget motels and the like, but haven’t used many.

Honestly, grab a hotel in Brooklyn or Queens and Uber/Lyft it or take an express bus. Can’t say any subways are really that safe right now.

Maybe stop in DC and have a picnic on the Mall? You can also walk around the monuments on the Mall. There are probably tons of places, but it depends on how much time you have/how far off your route you are willing to go.

Not sure where you'd be coming from but... Rehoboth Beach, Delaware has some nice restaurants. Cape May, NJ is also really nice. Newport, Rhode Island is very pretty. Cliff Walk is beautiful.

Kripalu yoga and healing retreat in Massachusetts is fantastic but I’m not sure if they are open currently because of COVID.

Belfast and go up to giants causeway. I would rent a car Wicklow, Galway and Westport were my favs ... and going from New York is easy. My husband is Irish. We go often.

Belhurst has an amazing brunch - I'm surprised you didn't like your dinner. Probably had something to do with it being a bus tour. I LOVED Ports Cafe. It's near Belhurst Castle. I went in October and ate outside and thought it was amazing as I froze in 45° temperatures. 🥶 Ventosa winery has a restaurant but I've only had the cheese plate. The views are beautiful. It's on the other side of the lake. Grist Iron Brewery has amazing views too, but it's not fancy. It's getting a little further away. (South of Ventosa.) The Gould Hotel in Seneca Falls has a restaurant that was pretty good too. Enjoy!

Make sure you have some good walking shoes. Even with exercising I don’t think I’ve taken as many steps as I did in NYC. 😅