Having lived in New England, some years back, a revisit was on the cards. The New England region is one which perhaps we forget how close we are to it!
Aer Lingus have direct connections from bother Dublin and Shannon. In our case we flew from Shannon. Shannon to be fair is almost an unsung hero! No waiting for check-in. US pre clearance was a breeze. All good my friends.
Anyhow, our home in Boston was the Sheraton Back Bay. I’m glad to say a hotel I’ve stayed in a number of times. Whilst Back Bay isn’t “Downtown”. To be fair, the M (Metro) runs under the hotel as such from the Prudential Building. And the two buildings are connected!
Now, for the purpose of this blog…….I’m skipping Boston! I’ll tackle Boston……all on it’s own. So here’s out adventure in New England!
The New England A Thon Epic Adventure: Day 3
Our trip through New England has gone from the bustling of Boston into the majesty of the Autumnal foliage whose colours change with every eye blink. The colours are so incredible if someone offered to photoshop a picture you’d be tempted to break their computer or fingers! Each turn of the road from Kennebunkport (Maine) to Gilford New Hampshire has created a never ending array of photo opportunities. This is a journey which steals your brains 5th gear, drops it into 1st gear and says “you ain’t getting these back for a while…….so chill”. Kennebunkport left me with a feeling that the rest of the journey would be hard to beat. It’s so relaxed and charming, the small waves lapping the beach, breaking off the rocks, a calm Atlantic Ocean meeting and greeted by New England architectural cottages dotting the coastline. Well, as we left the town and arrived into the hills it really didn’t take long to consume the incredible jaw dropping optics of this unique scenery. The hills roll with waves of red, silver and sugar maple. With each wave there is an endless variation of colour. Our first stop was the Castle in the Clouds http://www.castleintheclouds.org/Castle in the Clouds is a 5,500 acre mountaintop estate with a 16 room Mansion as it’s cherry! The interior preserved to show the lifestyle of it’s wealthy owner from the turn of the last century. The building itself is stunning, but again, looking out over the valleys into the lakes, the islands which are jotted through the, and all framed by cloud which was just barely above us. It is difficult to describe this scene – it was almost like looking into a foggy valley but you could see through the fog. Fantastic.
Our next stop moved everything back up a notch -http://www.gunstock.com/. Gunstock is known mainly as a ski resort. BUT from April through to October – Zip – lining is the name of the game. If you need something more sedate – well take the Panoramic Chairlift to the top and consume the views from the mountain top. Of course you could choose to tackle Gunstock in winter…….and do alittle ski-ing. It’s not far from Boston so again the 6 hour flight is do-able. Accommodation is not an issue either – 5000 rooms within 5 miles. Thus far the variety of hotels is noteworthy. You can have your chain hotel, but, you can also have some really unique individual lodgings which are a holiday in themselves.
After Gunstock we were onto the Hobo Railway – http://www.hoborr.com/. On the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee each trundle of this Senior Statesman train brought us a new view framed by our window………which dated back to 1929. Again, the lakeside greeting the maples was just magic. ……….and the first turkey dinner of the season! Oh dear………2 months to go and turkeys are already afraid. Lake Winnipesaukee is a glacial lake of almost 69 square miles in size. The largest lake in New Hampshire. So if your adventure streak is alive and well, canoe, jet ski, even rent a power boat…….it’s all there. …….of course there is always the lakeside beaches to chill on. You’ll see temperatures of upto 95F here on occasion in summer, although the 80’s is more real. …..the digging deep question today is…….can this get better?
Just another manic Monday
So the “New England A Thon” continued with gusto on Monday! As last you left us in the engaging and joyous company of our Sunday night host Margaret Cating of the Bromley Sun Mountain Lodge. Monday morning theme song had to be Norah Jones “Sunrise”. Looks like morning in your eyes! Yet again we were committed to a palate of colours across the sky……a soft palace of light blues, pinks, with a wash of grey and behind our oncoming scene we found a pale sun rising just enough to darken the shadows and highlight the hills in our foreground. And so with hearts hanging we saddled up on Premier ably jockeyed by Arthur our man Friday! ………on a Monday. As Willie Nelson once famously said “On the road again, Just can’t wait to get on the road again.
The life I love is making music with my friends
And I can’t wait to get on the road again.
On the road again
Goin’ places that I’ve never been.
Seein’ things that I may never see again
Driving through Vermont made 120 miles feel like a nano second. Each curve of the road entertained our eyes and souls. For those who are occasionally accused of being a back seat driver……today would have been your lucky day…….you would have been too busy looking out the window to notice any driving! It was 120 miles of Aladdins magic carpet……..punctuated by a pit stop for real coffee……..Cookies from Cookie Monster heaven. For 10 minutes your mind was scrambled by the smell of home baking, coffee beans, and all things good.
Finally we arrived at our first port of call……..the Mark Twain home in Hartford Conneticut. We did our best to live out one of Mark Twains many insightful quotes ““Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” Indeed peeking into the life of Mark Twain was insightful in itself. Despite being now perhaps once of the most famed writers who appeared to have a depth perception of life……he did indeed fail and do so spectacularly. Twain had a massive interest in technology and science. His interest in technology almost killed him financially……..the Paige Typesetting machine ……his view into how the future should look……..and indeed it did perhaps……later! Next door we had the home of the writer Harriet Beecher Stowe. Harriet is best known for her novel – Uncle Tom’s cabin. Again a lady who’s insight was way ahead of her time.
Our next stop was Groton, Conneticut. Groton is home to the Nautilus, the worlds first nuclear powered subamrine. And we followed on by a visit to Mystic Seaport. Mystic lends itself to fabulous gentle walks, spend a morning pottering around the seaport which you can visit real live boat building……..I don’t mean Harland and Wofle. Mystic preserves the art of shipbuilding carpentry along with many other trades which perhaps would die out without it’s existence. Mystic has the usual chain hotels – Hyatt PLace etc. However, again we were side swiped by an independent hotel the Mystic Inn which had a lovely atmosphere, and a very welcoming deck to enjoy a pint or indeed a tap of lunch!
Our bed for the night wasn’t what you might expect in Conneticut. A Casino……….RESORT! A town within a building…….from Irish Pub (sure there had to be one), to a majestic pool area and spa. 10,000 seater theatre which frequently digs up some interesting shows. Slipknot……Justin Timberlake……Kenny Rogers!!!!!! Anyways, this was unexpected and savage. Whilst it pops into my head……..if you get a chance – try a seafood platter…..deary deary me……..oysters sleeping on a bed of ice, prawns and just a mini cornucopia of seafood. ……..and the presentation………flamboyantly outstanding! Rooms……..the standard room was a palace……..double doors leading into the bathroom……..a palace within a kingdom! or should that be throne? If you find yourself looking for somewhere different or perhaps “glam” in New England……..divert for a night or two….nice one.
SO our final day – Newport, Rhode Island. Yes Rhode Island is the USA’s smallest state but it shouts loud. Newport, a town of 26,000 is home to some very notable past residents – Jackie Onassis, (indeed Newport was known as the “Summer White House” for both JFK and Eisenhower spent summers in Newport. Paul Gordon known from bands such as the Goo Goo Dolls, B52’s and New Radicals, and of course the Vanderbilts……if you don’t know of the Vanderbilts…….get googling……..incredible stuff! The Newport mansions the homes of some of these families are open to the public ……..the Vanderbilts in particular is jaw dropping and their incredible wealth rarely seen in public these days. ……….or if it is………it’s in a fleet of private jets.
Following a walk along the cliff top our time in Newport ended and it was time to head for Logan International!
As one of my shorter comments earlier told the tale……Logan and the Aer Lingus service back to Shannon were just a charm. Honestly, getting home was a breeze. The perfect end to a perfect journey…….a voyage of grand discovery……..and just a hint of perspective………Boston on the outbound is just 1.5 hours more than Lanzarote/Gran Canaria or Tenerife. And on the home flight……it is only 30 minutes longer or so. It’s an opening into the United States but I must admit after 25 years of travelling to the United States – a full on tour of New England really stole the show (Sorry Florida……..and California…………..and Ohio………..and and and)……..
(PS – Thanks to my travelling companions for the laughs, the tears, and just fantasticnessssss)
