Vacation in New England area, ideas?

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TheMan

TheMan

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Hey guys, I'm headed to New Jersey for a wedding in July. My fiance and I are taking the week off after it to explore the area. We'll have from Sunday Evening to Thursday evening to see what we want, then I'd like to start driving back to Chicagoland on Friday.

My question, what are some fun places to see out there (doesn't have to be beer related)? We are definitely going to Boston to visit Sam Adams. Other than that we have kicked around the idea of seeing Niagara, she has never been. Maybe spending a day in New York. We can sightsee in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, etc. We are really open to anything.

She is really into ghost related crap, aren't there some haunted places you can visit around there? Maybe in Salem or something?

Also, after we visit Sam Adams, what's a fun place to see or do in Boston? Great local restaurants or anything?
 
If your into Haunted places, you have to go to Salem,MA. Salem witch trials and all.
While in Boston Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market is a great place also.
There is so many great places in New England. But that might just be my opinion, growing up here and all.
Good luck and have a good time.
 
Boston is a must (biased, it's my hometown), but Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market are major tourist traps. You have to do them, but limit the time there. Get out to the North End, it abuts the Quincy Market area, go to the Common, just walk around. Boston is a walking city with plenty to do. Just stay out of Southie. The North End is filthy with great Italian restaurants, but they are pricey.

Avoid CT. I live here and there ain't much to do, at least not anything worth using a day. Maine is a must, even if it's just southern Maine. York Beach, Oqunquit, Kennebunkport and Portland are all fairly close to each other.

White Mountains of New Hampshire are great. A bit of a hike, though.
 
Two votes for Quincy Market, I'll make sure we go there then. Sounds like we may need to invest two days in Boston.

Anything specific to do in Maine? We probably wouldn't go much further North than Portland.

Anything worth seeing in Rhode Island? Drive through it just to say I did? haha
 
TheMan said:
Two votes for Quincy Market, I'll make sure we go there then. Sounds like we may need to invest two days in Boston.

Anything specific to do in Maine? We probably wouldn't go much further North than Portland.

Anything worth seeing in Rhode Island? Drive through it just to say I did? haha
Click to expand...

Maine has plenty of beaches and gorgeous rocky shoreline. In Oqunquit is Perkins Cove. A bit touristy but there is a shore walk there called the Marginal Way that is great. Kennebunkport has cool shopping and restaurants right on the water, plus you can see the Bush vacation home. :D

Believe it or not, Providence is a cool place and the RI shore is beautiful. Block Island might be worth it but I'd focus more on Massachusetts, NH and Maine.
 
Since you're from IL, I guess you'd want to see the ocean! The Cape in July is pretty busy with lots of traffic, but I love it.

Fenway Park! Ya might want to just walk around in Boston, lest you drive in circles for hours.

Salem is the place for ghosty, witchy stuff for sure.

The Brimfield Flea Market is July 10-15 this year. It's a big to-do, with lots of antique junk peddlers http://www.brimfieldshow.com/. It's a few miles west of Old Sturbridge Village http://www.osv.org/, if that's of interest to you. (About 60 miles west of Boston)
 
To get into specifics we need to know what you are interested in doing.

So far all we have is the equivalent of "I am going to the midwest what should I do?"

Do you prefer outdoors activities? Are you into history? Do you prefer the ocean to the mountains, or vice versa?

I would say that you ought to do the Freedom Trail in Boston. It hits Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market, Boston Commons, and a whole lot more.
http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/

If you love the coast/ocean then I would say a stop either on Cape Cod, or into southern Maine is a must (or both!). They are both about 2 hours from Boston and there are some truly spectacular places to go. I am partial to the Cape because you get the bay and the ocean sides. Walk the bay at low tide and visit the National Sea Shore out there. You can do both in a day easily. Be prepared for traffic if you are going to be there during the summer. In fact don't go to the Cape on a Friday or Sunday.
http://www.npca.org/parks/cape-cod-...ategory=park&gclid=CMaSosWJzrACFYTsKgod3S5lWA

New Hampshire and Vermont are both beautiful but I would suggest heading up to Burlington Vermont. It is right on Lake Champlain and Burlington is a great town, there are tons of great mountain activities pretty close by as well.

I can try to be more helpful if you can provide me with a bit more of what you are looking to do/get out of the trip.

Have fun!
 
Wow, July 10-15 is our week of vacation! Maybe we will check out Brimfield Flea Market, is it that big of an event though? If the Flea Market is truly worth it we would need to stay in Boston for 2 days since it doesn't start till Tuesday.

Unfortunately we've already checked out Fenway, that is All star week so there are no games at home. Funny enough, fiance is a big White Sox fan...the White Sox vs. Red Sox series is in Boston the following week! Tough luck for us.
 
If the weather is really clear and you get to New Hampshire a visit to Mount Washington would be a great stop. It is the tallest mountain in the region and has an Auto Road so you can drive to the top. Have some warm clothes though as it can be 30° or more cooler at the top.
 
bosdave said:
To get into specifics we need to know what you are interested in doing.

So far all we have is the equivalent of "I am going to the midwest what should I do?"

Do you prefer outdoors activities? Are you into history? Do you prefer the ocean to the mountains, or vice versa?

I would say that you ought to do the Freedom Trail in Boston. It hits Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market, Boston Commons, and a whole lot more.
http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/

If you love the coast/ocean then I would say a stop either on Cape Cod, or into southern Maine is a must (or both!). They are both about 2 hours from Boston and there are some truly spectacular places to go. I am partial to the Cape because you get the bay and the ocean sides. Walk the bay at low tide and visit the National Sea Shore out there. You can do both in a day easily. Be prepared for traffic if you are going to be there during the summer. In fact don't go to the Cape on a Friday or Sunday.
http://www.npca.org/parks/cape-cod-...ategory=park&gclid=CMaSosWJzrACFYTsKgod3S5lWA

New Hampshire and Vermont are both beautiful but I would suggest heading up to Burlington Vermont. It is right on Lake Champlain and Burlington is a great town, there are tons of great mountain activities pretty close by as well.

I can try to be more helpful if you can provide me with a bit more of what you are looking to do/get out of the trip.

Have fun!
Click to expand...

I realize my info wasn't very general. The thing is, we are really up for anything. I've done some research on what to see in the area and there is just so much that it's hard to sort through. Everyone here has different interests so I figured I'd get a pretty broad range of ideas, which is what I was hoping for. The only constraints we have are that we have to be driving back home by Friday.

We know the area is very historic, so seeing some of that would be fun. I've never heard of the Freedom Trail in my searches, but I'll be checking it out now.

But there is a ton of scenery as well. Mountains and Ocean are both attractive. We don't have either near us. Sounds like Cape Cod is a great place to visit based on your opinion and others. All of the information you gave is great.
 
The flea market is lots of vendors selling antiques and other olde junque. Lots of people love it, it's always covered by the news stations. "Largest Outdoor Antique Show in the Country". I rarely go because I'm not into that kinda thing.

Two days in Boston is better than one! Beautiful historic city.
 
Boston. Take the olde town trolly tour. It will get you an idea of the history. You can hop on and off different trolleys with a pass and explore the places that interest you. 300 Hanover st in the North End is Mike's Pastries. If I am within 30 miles of Boston, I stop there for cannolis. You can go to the Top of the Prudential center, kinda a cool view of the city. Check out Harpoon too.
The seacoast in Maine is beautiful, worth seeing depending on how much driving you want to do. Take a look at a map, we calcutate distance in hours instead of miles out here. Some places you can't get there from here.
The White and Green Mountains in NH and Vermont are great too. There are some incredible views. Mount Washington auto road is pretty cool. Not much to do at the top, but make sure if you go it is a clear day.

If you end up on cape cod, I'm sure some of the guys from the Masshole thread could show you around P-town.

Have fun out east.
 
Misplaced_Canuck said:
Well if you go to Maine, you really need to visit Portland, it's full of good beer places.

MC
Click to expand...
Portland:

Allagash and Shipyard breweries both have tours, Great Lost Bear and Novare Res are good beer spots. Get a bumper sticker from GLB.

General Tourist stuff in Southern Maine: Old Port in Portland, beaches abound, go on up to Freeport to see LL Bean.

Its a great time to come up for a visit. Boston is pretty cool too-lots to do down there.
 
I totally forgot about Shipyard and Allagash. Anyone have preferences on Sam Adams vs. Allagash for tours? Assuming we only do 1 tour while out there...I actually would really like to see Allagash, but Sam Adams has attractive qualities too. While I may just go to both, I'd like to hear if people would choose one over the other.
 
TheMan said:
I totally forgot about Shipyard and Allagash. Anyone have preferences on Sam Adams vs. Allagash for tours? Assuming we only do 1 tour while out there...I actually would really like to see Allagash, but Sam Adams has attractive qualities too. While I may just go to both, I'd like to hear if people would choose one over the other.
Click to expand...

To add: I believe Baxter Brewing in Lewiston is also doing tours....

RE: Sam Adams vs. Allagash-I'd probably be more inclined to see Allagash (disclaimer: I've only been to Sam Adams). The Sam Adams tour is kind of a canned experience...a quick walk through a few rooms then into the tasting room. Allagash makes some really cool beers and I've heard the tour is worthwhile.

My vote would be: Go to Sam Adams if you are in the area/at the right time, but don't beat yourself up too much is if you miss it. There is plenty more exciting things to do in Boston. Don't come to Portland just for Allagash, but try to make the stop if you are here. :drunk:
 
It sounds like Sam Adams is more like Miller or Bud tours, which I can go to pretty easily. We will likely be up in Southern Maine, we hear so many great things about the scenery and we will be so close it sounds worthwhile. And since Allagash is there, might as well visit. Plus, I like their beers as well.
 
TheMan said:
Sounds like we may need to invest two days in Boston.
Click to expand...

Definitely!!! Last fall I was in Southern Vermont for work and had very few days off to check the area out. My coworker and I spent one day driving to Boston and back from it. I am not into touristy things or sight seeing, but I can assure you that you are best served spending a minimum of two days in Boston. We did the trolley tour of the Freedom Trail and I just couldn't get enough of it. The option to get on and off of the trolley was fantastic. We spent about 4 hours on that alone and felt like we were rushing ourselves. We stopped by Harpoon, highly recommended. Very cool place.

On another day, I went to Burlington by myself and stopped by Magic Hat. I don't know if it's always like this, but at least in October, the whole place looked like Halloween (the day, not the movie) exploded all over the place. It was also very cool. Incidentally, I also stopped by Burton to pick up a snowboard for my son while I was in the area.
 

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