Kerry,
I really like the drive up 15 no matter what the time of year. My daugher is a freshman at IC, so we have started to make trips fairly often. The colors were waning, but still enjoyable. We stayed at the Treman state park outside Ithaca, which was really nice and is open for a couple more weeks with hot, clean showers. $22 per night sure beats over $100 for a super8 on parents weekend!
Jeff L.