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Vacation time

SoundQ SVT

Hard-core CEG'er
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Apr 18, 2001
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Washington, IL
Hi everyone.

My wife and I will be heading to the area on vacation soon. Looking for ideas on things to see and do as well as things to avoid. Home base for vacation will be Lincoln, NH.

Current thoughts are we want to:
1. take a day trip over to Stowe, with stops at the Von Trapp family lodge as well as a visit to Ben & Jerry's.
2. take a day trip to Boston. Looking for suggestions where to park, what to see and do.

Otherwise we are open. Basically have 5 days to fill (flying in on a Saturday, out on Friday) and we have never been in this area. The closest previous trip was to the Berkshires in western Massachusetts several years ago.
 
Where are you flying to: Logan or Manchester?

I'd be hard pressed to pack northern New England into five days, but here are some thoughts.

locally:
  • Mount Washington - cog rail to the summit
  • Kancamangus Highway - great mountain switchbacks and views. Back in the day, NECEG held a few meets with drives along this road.
  • Conway Scenic Railroad
  • If you are outdoorsy, day hiking is a must. Ask around for the best trails depending on your personal expertise. I've done the Welsh-Dickey loop in Thorton, NH. www.hikenewengland.com for details about any trails that you get wind of.
  • "The Lakes Region" - Holderness, Meredith, Wolfeboro, Laconia, Gilford. Any of their downtowns are decent during the summer, desolate in winter. Some reasonable hikes near Squam or Winnipesaukee, spectacular views of the lakes. Example is Mount Major in Gilford; I also have heard of a few easier trails along Squam Lake.
  • Shameless plug: a friend of mine just opened a gourmet coffee shop in downtown Laconia.
further day trips:
  • Portsmouth, NH or Portland, ME. Preferably both, but in a pinch either will do. Great port cities with vibrant downtowns and colonial-era architecture. Public ocean beaches outside of both cities. Lighthouses. Lobster.
Boston:
Honestly, Boston is a 5 day affair in itself. :)
I recommend the Boston Express Bus if you don't want to deal with the traffic. There is a Boston<>Concord route (Concord Coach); also Boston<>Londonderry NH and Boston<>Nashua NH commuter routes which have more frequent rounds. Free parking. All routes go direct to South Station and Logan Airport.

Boston highlights include:
  • Freedom Trail (starts in Charlestown)
  • Faniuel Hall / Quincy Marketplace
  • Beacon Hill, Boston state house
  • Boston Common / Public Garden
  • Boylston St (Boston Marathon bombing site - memorials have been taken down), Copley Square, Prudential Center, Prudential mall
  • T Green Line ... an experience in itself
This is a father-son day trip I did last year, please note it is a lot of walking:
  • Drive to Arlington (Alewife parking garage, $7)
  • Take the T to Harvard Square
  • Grab a coffee and donut at Dunkin Donuts
  • Head to the Charles River Canoe&Kayak when they open at 9am (1071 Soldiers Field Rd, Boston MA)
  • Rent kayaks and paddle down the Charles River to the other port in Kendall Square (15 Broad Canal Way, Cambridge, MA)
  • Lunch in Kendall Square or the Cambridgeside Galleria
  • Walk to the Bunker Hill Monument - and walk up the monument - 294 steps!
  • Follow the Freedom Trail to the Charlestown Navy Yard. I'm not sure if the USS Consitution is docked right now. (We went through the navy ship tour; there is also a navy yard museum.)
  • Take the Charlestown Ferry to Long Wharf
  • Dinner at Faneuil Hall Marketplae, or any area North End restaurant
  • Walk to the North End and grab a cannoli at Mike's Fresh Pastry
  • Walk to City Hall and check out our finest example of Brutalist architecture
  • Take the T back to Alewife
 
Thanks for the information. We will be flying in to Manchester in a couple weeks. We are not the outdoorsy couple (i could do some things but my wife would have none of it). But we usually like to see what there is to see when we go someplace new. We may have to do the sightseeing bus tour in Boston, but the wife gets motion sickness pretty easily so we'll have to see how the day goes. She was fine when we did that in Los Angeles a couple years ago.

I'll look into the Portsmouth and Portland visits and see what those look like.
 
Great- Manch is lot easier to deal with than Logan.

It definitely will be a lot easier to stick to the tours! :) The Boston Duck Tours are the most well known, if you're interested in a half-land half-water ride, but there are several great trolley tours as well. If riding is not an option on that day, the city core is very compact and walkable. Avoid rush hours inside the I-495 belt if you can (6-9am and 4-7pm); otherwise add a full hour to the predicted travel time.

If you decide to check out Portsmouth or Portland, I can get recommendations from family and coworkers who live in both. If you want to stay local for the rest of the trip, there is plenty to experience in Lincoln, the lakes region and surrounding towns as well.
 
Thanks again for the information. I think 3 day trips would bet he most we would do over 5 days, and we may stick with just two and stay local the rest of the time.
 
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