New England

For a last of the summer fling Rick and I took a trip back to the east coast for 9 days.  I LOVED this trip.  I don't know there is just something about New England that is so compelling.  The word romantic comes to mind.  Not lovey dovey romance but just the way the coast is.......the hundreds of sailboats in the water, the beautiful homes in little towns, the history of the area, the sheer beauty of the place.  It surely has captured my heart and I want to go back.  Rick feels the same way.  We hadn't been there but a few days and we were trying to plan a time when we could come back. 

It's wonderful! 

We flew into Providence,  RI and drove over to Newport where we stayed a couple of days.   

While in Newport we:

*jogged/walked along the cliffwalk

*toured The Elms (the servants quarters) and Rosecliff mansions

*ate at The Barking Crab where Rick had his first lobster roll (and loved it)

*did some shopping at the harbor shops

 

 

Not to far from Newport is New Bedford where ferries leave every few hours to Martha's Vineyard.  I have always wanted to go there so we went.  It was a long but fantastic day! 

Some highlights of MV are:

*the beautiful ferry ride over

*eating lunch on the harbor in Oak Bluffs

*renting a scooter to see the island

*seeing where they filmed Jaws

*climbed a lighthouse to catch an amazing view

*got our feet wet at South Beach

*took a bi-plane ride

(seriously this was incredibly neat and even though it was only for a short 15 minutes it was a hightlight of our whole trip)

*did some shopping

& watched the sun set

This was a spectacular day!

 

 

 

Next we headed up to Boston to spend 3 days.  I truly love this city! 

Here are some things we did in Boston...

*rode the "T"  (he subwy) into  Boston Commons

*walked the freedom trail (amazing but exhausting)

*took a tour bus to see some of the sights

(our tour guide Vinnie was hilarious.....a true Italian Bostonian)

*saw the  place of the Boston Massacre

*did some streetside shopping  ( I found a fabulous pewter bell for my collection)

*toured "Old Ironsides"

*went into the Old North Church

*walked through little Italy (I love this place:)

*picked up some canollis and a plethora of goodies at Mike's Pastries

*ate at "Bella Vista" an authentic Italian place

*got some stracietella gelato (yum)

*then walked allllllllllll the way back to Boston Commons to catch the T train

Sore feet but a wonderful day!

 

 

 

The next day we:

*did a session at the Boston Temple

*visited Lexington and Concord

*visited the Old North Bridge and visitor's center

*toured Louisa May Alcott's childhood home

*went to the "authors cemetery"

*went to Walden Pond (it was different then I expected but still very beautful)

*then had a great dinner and drove back to the hotel

 

 

Next we drove up north to Kennebunkport, ME

I love this place.......seriously if I could take all my friends and family I think I just might move there  Here are some fun things we did in Maine:

*stayed in an amazing b&b

*went to a craft fair literally just steps from our room

*ate some lobster

*shopped ( I found the coolest candle holders in a variety shop...perfect for Halloween)

*stopped at the candy shop (chocolate covered strawberries..need I say more)

*had an awesome breakfast at the b&b (fresh blueberry pancakes,yum)

*went to church and met some amazing people

(one in particular was a 103 year old woman.  She was baptized when she was 98 years old....amazing story there)

*drove to Ocean Park and visited with a family we met at church

*drove to Bangor to see a friend of Ricks

*went shopping at the Outlet Mall in Portland

*went on a Lobster boat ride

*saw the Bush compound from afar

*ordered 40 lobsters to be sent home to have a lobsterfest with Rick's family

 

 

the last place we visited was Lake Winnepesaukee (this is where everyone slaps their forhead and says NEW HAMPSHIRE)  We took a cinner cruise around the lake and it was quite the site.  I had no idea that it was so large with many islands in it.  This was our last stop on our vacation and so we headed out to Manchester (NH) to catch our flight home.  I hope I can return some day.