Get 86 in Pa, across the Southern Tier then up thru the Finger Lakes. Longer, yes, wildly more beautiful, absolutely. Far less boring, less traffic and fewer tolls on the thru-way.
The Thruway is pretty boring. I agree about 86.
I’d drive the STE more but we don’t go many places where it’s worth the extra time to go that way. The shortest route is usually the thruway.