<p>We will be dropping D at Tufts the 3rd/4th week of August and were thinking of taking a family vacation before doing so. If we fly into Logan and rent a car, where would you suggest we (family of 4 from So Cal) vacation for 4-5 days? We were thinking Cape Cod, Maine, Vermont??? We do not want to do the big city scene, so no Boston, Philly, NYC…Been there, done that.</p>
<p>Would love suggestions for specifics in the region.</p>
<p>If you like the beach, then Cape Cod (though traffic is awful) or Maine Coast.
If you like the mountains, then the Berkshires or the White Mountains in New Hampshire. We like to drive to some place around Lake Winnepesauke or Squam Lake then hike in the region. There are some wonderful trails that leads to breath-taking views of Squam Lake, or you can drive one hour into the White Mountains. It will be too early for fall foliage, otherwise Kangacamus Way (Rte 112?) is spectacular in the fall.
If you go to Maine, avoid Kennebunkport and Bar Harbor. They’re both too touristy. Ditto Freeport, unless you want to shop in the outlets (it’s the home of LL Bean).
For VT, I defer to BethieVT and SoozieVT</p>
<p>Can you narrow it down to beach or mountains? Our town is on the ocean, we have family on the Cape so we usually vacation in the mountains, just for a change of pace. And we love touristy areas - it was a sad day when we didn’t plan an annual trip to Storyland in NH. I’d love to have a tacky little beachhouse in Dennisport someday! Do you want to plunk down in one spot or move around - few days in one place and a few in another? Do you want to hit the tourist spots or relax and read a book? With a few details we NErs can guide you!</p>
<p>Vermont is usually pretty nice in August and if it’s not cooler than Boston you can do a tour of the swimming holes. <a href=“http://www.running-water.com/holes/vermont/bingham.htm[/url]”>http://www.running-water.com/holes/vermont/bingham.htm</a> (This link also connects you to other States.)If you like hiking, The Long Trail is great for both easy day hikes and overnight ones.</p>
<p>The Cape may be underwhelming if you are used to SoCal beaches (although it has a very different vibe), but its pretty accessible from Boston, even with traffic. Truro and Wellfleet are my faves. If you have the time (5 hr drive), Bar Harbor is touristy but Acadia has lots of nice short hikes and rocky shores, and crowds are thinning by late August. If you drive the coast road you hit alot of neat little very New-Englandy towns (think Eureka with lobsters). The White Mts. are amazing in the fall, but are not remote/wild like the Sierras.</p>
<p>Baseball at Fenway Park.
The Freedom Trail.
Hancock Shaker Village outside of Pittsfield (the other end of the state, but only about 2-1/2 hours from Boston – those states in New England are tiny, something very difficult for us native Californians to understand)
Old Sturbridge Village
The mills at Lowell
The town square in Lexington</p>
<p>I’ve only been to Massachusetts on business and have had to squeeze touristy stuff in around meetings. The above places are the ones where I’ve had the most fun. I tend to be biased towards historical sites, since I love history and New England is dripping with it the way Washington is stuffed full of scenery.</p>
<p>Don’t know where Seal Beach is, but if it’s in Southern California, the beaches north of the Cape may be a shock for you - the water is COLD!!! The Cape forces the Gulf Stream further east, away from the coast, so even in August, the water may be colder than you’re comfortable with. For warmer waters, try the coast of Rhode Island, including Newport - the beaches are wonderful, and you can tour the mansions!</p>
<p>If you’re looking at the mountains, you can’t beat the Berkshires for theater, dance (Jacob’s Pillow), music (Tanglewood), art, etc in the summer. Beautiful nature, great culture - it’s one of my favorite places.</p>
<p>But - as in every vacation spot in August, make some refundable reservations now, or you won’t get anything.</p>
<p>I’d hesitated to recommend Tanglewood and Jacob’s Pillow, thinking that most programs would be over by the 3rd week of August, but it turns out not to be so.<br>
We’ve spent some magical times at both, and I highly recommend them. For lodgings, check out b&bs in the Berkshires. </p>
<p>Oh, and every Boston-area student should go to Walden Pond at least once, preferrably with a dog-eared copy of Thoreau ;). You can swim in the pond there. Also go along Battle Road from Lexington to Old North Bridge in Concord. Minute Man Park on Battle Road has a nice audio-visual show to which I’ve taken many foreign visitors.</p>
<p>We enjoyed visiting the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem. Had to see it after watching a PBS show on the Yin Yu Tang house and after reading an article in the Smithsonian about the museum itself.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.pem.org/museum/[/url]”>http://www.pem.org/museum/</a></p>
<p>The mid-coast of Maine is delightful. Towns like Rockland, Damariscotta, Camden have it all; the coast, lakes, mountains, and culture. The Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland houses an extensive collection Wyeth artwork, as well as, many other American artists. Go to Port Clyde and take the ferry over to Monhegan Island with some of the most breathtaking views.</p>
<p>FWIW, the Hancock Shaker Village is a very short drive from the Berkshire music scene at Tanglewood.</p>
<p>I grew up in Huntington Beach. You live in Seal Beach (and, since we’ve emailed offline, on land that probably used to belong to the ranch where my father grew up.) I wouldn’t travel to New England just to see different beaches, although I’ve always wanted to visit the “rock-bound coast” of Maine.</p>
<p>Pretty far up the Maine coast but fun if you decide to go that far:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.boldcoast.com/puffins.htm[/url]”>http://www.boldcoast.com/puffins.htm</a></p>
<p>You can actually land on the island and see the hundreds of puffins close up.</p>
<p>Mid August is actually one of the nicest times in the Berkshires, and music, arts, theater are all running through the end of August. Even Tanglewood runs through Labor Day, with their famous Jazz Festival (we have seen some of the most amazing people there, and plan to return for year nine or so this year).</p>
<p>Cautionary note, most places near Tanglewood require a 3-night minimum on the weekend.</p>
<p>We like the Northampton /Shelbourne Falls area. If you think you might visit that area, PM me for the name of a great farmhouse B & B.</p>
<p>We also like Southern Vermont. It is quieter than Maine and the Cape. We spent a number of summer vacations near Ludlow. Also, for a change of pace, you can try falconry in Manchester, VT.</p>
<p>Last summer I spent a night MIDWEEK in Rockport, MA. The weather was gorgeous and I had a marvelous time, with the little beach there, shops to visit, views over the ocean, etc. Crane Beach is a great beach to visit nearby – it is a nature reserve so there are no homes or development on the beach, although there is a fancy B & B you can stay at which is part of the reserve.</p>
<p>
Oh do tell, Mathson’s younger brother would love this. (I feel like the author of Ragtime every time I write that!)</p>
<p>Here’s the link:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.equinoxresort.com/amenities_and_activities/falconry.cfm[/url]”>http://www.equinoxresort.com/amenities_and_activities/falconry.cfm</a></p>
<p>You must be at least 12 to participate.</p>
<p>Our family has done it twice, and it is very interesting and enjoyable.</p>
<p>He’s 14, he’ll be 15 this summer. Looks great. It’s 2.5 hours south of where we go in VT, so it’s not too convenient, but definitely worth considering.</p>
<p>My parents rented a house in Rockport a couple of years ago when they were moving and the new house wasn’t ready. Rockport is a beautiful town. Artist’s Colony so the shops are fun.</p>
<p>On Cape Cod, it’s interesting (although congested in the summer) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts (a hamlet in the town of Falmouth) because of the Marine Biology Labs and National Oceanographic institute.
The water along the south shore (where the National Seashore is) is somewhat warmer than along the northtowns; consequently the southtowns are more crowded. None of it is easily swimmable if you’re used to California, I’m guessing, but if you’re hearty then you can swim on the south side of the Cape.
Way out on the tip is Provincetown which is beautiful, artsy and very gay.
Every town on the Cape has its appeal, but I thought the prettiest on the north side was Welfleet. Exploring the marshlands as well as the actual ocean front was my cup of tea.
Try not to cross the essential Sagamore Bridge (from Plymouth to Sandwich MA) from mainland onto the Cape on a Friday afternoon (or back on Sunday night) due to tremendously bottlenecked weekend traffic. Adds hours. No problem crossing the bridge, other than those hours.
And if you go that way, the stop at Plimoth Plantation is really interesting; outdoor history with improvisational actors in character.</p>
<p>HOWEVER, even as a former year-round resident of the Cape, I preferred North of boston, around: Plum Island, Gloucester, etc. maybe b/c I was on vacation from work when I went to those places :)</p>
<p>I think you can enjoy southern Maine and not have to go quite as far north as some suggest, but everything they suggest is great. The ocean comes up to the mountains, whereas in the rest of New ENgland you have sandy beaches that are walkable, if not swimmable.
Bar Harbor, Mt. Dessert Island, Acadia… these places I remember fondly.</p>
<p>In New Hampshire, there’s also: Portsmouth and Strawberry Bank.
Along the NH coast (all 14 miles of it!), I hear that Rye, NH is pretty.</p>
<p>On those coastal drives, you have to get off of “Route 1” and onto the “Route 1-A” detours that swing into every fishing harbor to actually see the ocean from your car. As I recall, you might drive for hours on Route l and not know you’re on the ocean, if you don’t swing out the extra mile onto 1-A.</p>
<p>A statistic for fun: If you could straighten out the coast of Maine, it would be
around 3,000 miles which would get you all the way back to California.</p>
<p>It’s the difference between straight hair and curly.</p>
<p>All the ocean towns are a bit congested at that time in the summer, but not gridlocked or anything. If you need to have lots of airspace around you, then head west and north of Boston so you’re into the hilltowns which have a charm and some destination sites, mentioned above, suich as Sturbridge Museum (again outstanding for its interpretive outdoor history; you’ll finally understand the Industrial Revolution after a day there; it’s about the farmlife before and after the factories took people away from the farms. Lots of social history. I do recall my D watching the cooper making a barrel, asking incredulously, “What are you making?” He answered, “about $6.00 an hour” which wasn’t in the script.
In that same town is the Norman Rockwell Museum; speaks for itself.
The towns near there include Great Barrington and Lenox, which are really upscale and turned out to please the tourist community. It’s “New England Plus” in other words.</p>
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<p>And Washington’s coastline is about 3,500 miles, which gets you to Miami (and almost to Key West) from Seattle. Let’s just hope some Alaskan doesn’t start posting.</p>