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New England A to Z
An alphabet of quick-trip options


A

Leave the car in the driveway and forget the hassle of the airport; if you’re heading down to New York City, there’s no better way to get there than Amtrak’s Acela Express. This train is, quite simply, the most relaxing and comfortable method of transport to the Big A — er, Apple. Wide seats that recline. Electrical outlets and adjustable lighting. Huge windows. Friendly service. Conference tables. Giant overhead luggage bins. Café car. Smooth, nearly silent ride, clocking in at just over three and a half hours from South Station to Penn Station. The only downside is the cost; at $100-plus for a one-way ticket, the Acela Express ain’t cheap. But we’ll order one less pricey Manhattan meal and trade a taxi fare for a subway token if it means we’ll be able to afford it.

Acela Express, (800) USA-RAIL; www.amtrak.com.

B

When it comes to Berkshires culture, Tanglewood is the area’s anchor, offering a summer season of music from Tchaikovsky to James Taylor — and the opportunity for audiences to gaze at the stars while listening to them. Here at the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer home, music aficionados have the chance to compete for best picnic as they listen from atop the venue’s rolling hills. For those who prefer culture in a more kinesthetic form, Jacob’s Pillow is a favorite summer venue for some of the world’s most prestigious dance companies. Every year, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Mark Morris, and many others descend on these barns-turned-stages to perform at what was once the site of an Underground Railroad station. Satiate thespian cravings at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Williamstown, or at Shakespeare & Company, both of which bring in high-class casts each year. These venues complement the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MoCA), a museum that was once a factory and is now home to some of the most interesting contemporary artists working today.

Tanglewood, 297 West Street, Lenox, (413) 637-1600, www.bso.org; Jacob’s Pillow, 358 George Carter Road, Becket, (413) 637-1322, www.jacobspillow.org; Williamstown Theatre Festival, Route 2, Williamstown, (413) 597-3400, www.wtfestival.org; Shakespeare & Company, 70 Kemble Street, Lenox, (413) 637-1199, www.Shakespeare.org; Mass MoCA, 87 Marshall Street, North Adams, (413) 664-4481, www.massmoca.org.

C

Camden, Maine, is one of the state’s most picturesque towns, and, as such, it really merits at least two days of your time. A great place to stay is the Blackberry Inn, a partially renovated (with a new addition in the back) 1849 Victorian bed and breakfast just blocks from the heart of town. Owners Jim and Cyndi Ostrowski are quick with a joke or a recommendation of where to poke, and their breakfasts are truly sublime. And no trip to Camden is complete without stepping on a boat (preferably a schooner or windjammer) and taking in Penobscot Bay from the water. One local outfitter is the Schooner Surprise, which offers two-hour trips (launching three or four times daily) for $28 per person. Bald eagles, porpoises, harbor seals, and homemade cookies are just some of the delights you’re apt to encounter, not to mention the incredible views of the Camden Hills. Back on land, you may want to lace up your hiking boots and scurry to the summit of Mount Battie for unparalleled views of the harbor and the surrounding sights. And, once you’ve worked up an appetite, you’re in luck: dining options abound in Camden. Try Atlantica for creative American cuisine with a secret: the meat dishes are just as good as the seafood everyone else orders. And to round out an evening, stop at the Sea Dog Brewing Company for beautifully crafted ales in an old mill building.

Blackberry Inn, 82 Elm Street, Camden, Maine, (800) 388-6000; Schooner Surprise, Public Landing, Camden, Maine, (207) 236-4687, www.camdenmainesailing.com; Atlantica, 1 Bayview Landing, Camden, Maine, (207) 236-6011; Sea Dog Brewing Company, 43 Mechanic Street, Camden, Maine, (207) 236-6863.

D

Can’t get enough of Godzilla? Have a thing for reptiles? Are you a dinosaur junkie? ’Fess up. You don’t have to travel to New York’s Museum of Natural History to get your fix. Instead, a trip to Yale University’s Peabody Museum of Natural History is in order. There you’ll find two popular giants: a stegosaurus and a brontosaurus, as well as the world-renowned mural The Age of Reptiles, a 110-foot painting depicting 300 million years of the earth’s history. If you don’t do Connecticut, check out "Hatching the Past: Dinosaur Eggs, Nests & Young," now on display at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. You’ll find dino eggs and nests from — among other places — China and Argentina, including those of giant long-necked sauropods, carnivorous oviraptors, and the always-popular duck-billed dinosaurs. Also in its permanent collection is the world’s only mounted kronosaurus, a 42-foot-long prehistoric marine reptile. All that just a T ride away.

Peabody Museum of Natural History, 170 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, Connecticut, (203) 432-5050, www.peabody.yale.edu; Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, (617) 495-3045, www.hmnh.harvard.edu.

E

No trip to Essex, Massachusetts, is complete without the requisite stop at Woodman’s of Essex for a heapin’ helpin’ of crispy (if you eat them quickly enough) fried clams — with plenty of tartar sauce, natch. There is some beautiful irony in the knowledge that the fried clam was invented there in 1914 by a man called "Chubby." It’s true. Burn off some of the grease by taking the Introductory Gilligan Tour of the Essex River Basin from Essex River Basin Adventures. This three-hour tour takes you through the unspoiled estuaries of one of New England’s most lovely and bucolic waterways. Or you could walk off that deep-fried lovin’ by taking a stroll through the Essex Shipbuilding Museum. Essex has a long history as a shipbuilding center, and the museum offers a wealth of information on this interesting (really!) trade.

Woodman’s of Essex, 121 Main Street, Essex, (978) 768-6057, www.woodmans.com; Essex River Basin Adventures, (978) 768-ERBA, www.erba.com; Essex Shipbuilding Museum, 28 Main Street, Essex, (978) 768-6441, www.essexshipbuildingmuseum.org.

F

Ah yes, that beautifully morbid wonder of nature: foliage. People from around the world plan months in advance to visit New England just in time to watch the leaves make their final leap. Starting in mid-September in northerly regions and stretching through Halloween in southerly spots, foliage season is a wonder to behold. To find maximum color, it helps to get away from cities (where the heat and fumes can screw up the brilliance), but doing so won’t offer an escape from traffic on weekends, as hordes of leaf-peepers drift treeward. Plenty of easy drives offer one or two hours of good viewing each: in Massachusetts, Route 2 from Concord to Deerfield rambles through hilly scenes and colonial-era towns; from Lincoln to Conway, in New Hampshire, the Kangamangus Highway is a glorious route topped by a mountain range; and Vermont views are zipped up north to south along Route 100.

G

It used to be that if you were the gambling type, you had to head to Las Vegas or Atlantic City for real gaming. Not so these days, with Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino both calling Connecticut home. Open since 1996, Mohegan Sun boasts more than 300,000 square feet of gaming space (including crucial smoke-free areas), thousands of slot machines, hundreds of gaming tables, a luxury hotel, a spa, shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues. Foxwoods, which began as a bingo hall back in 1986, now features six casinos that offer more than 6400 slot machines and 350 gaming tables; the resort includes several hotels, more than 20 restaurants, entertainment venues, a spa and a salon, and shops. But if Atlantic City is still your idea of the penultimate gaming town, you’ll soon have another reason to pay a visit: this summer, Borgata will become the first new casino to open in Atlantic City in 13 years. Offering 11 restaurants, 2002 guest rooms and suites, more than 3000 slot machines, 140 gaming tables, a European spa, specialty boutiques, and a 1000-seat theater, Borgata looks to be another great way to get your game on.

Mohegan Sun, 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard, Uncasville, Connecticut, (888) 226-7711, www.mohegansun.com; Foxwoods Resort Casino, 39 Norwich Westerly Road, Mashantucket, Connecticut, (800) FOXWOODS, www.foxwoods.com; Borgata, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, New Jersey, (609) 677-1000; www.theborgata.com.

H

You may be able to get your kicks on Route 66, but on historic US Route 1, you can pick up a slice of Mystic Pizza, a discounted Coach bag at the Kittery Outlets, and a bit of foreign soil if you straddle the Canadian border in Maine. Start your journey on Connecticut’s scenic Fairfield coast, where you can discover the man behind the myth at the Barnum Museum in Bridgeport. Continuing on to Mystic, make a visit to the world-class aquarium and buy a slice at Mystic Pizza. In Rhode Island, Route 1 winds along the shoreline, making a stop at many of the state’s sandy beaches easy. Route 1 passes through Providence, where flames light up the city’s three rivers on selected nights as part of the amazing WaterFire festival. In and around Boston, Route 1 is less about scenic views and more about traffic, but head through New Hampshire to the south coast of Maine and you’ll find the Kittery Outlets, more than 120 stores directly off Route 1. The water views from the highway are spectacular along Maine’s coast, and as you reach Route 1’s northern end in Aroostook County, you’ll find yourself in the company of fishermen, hunters, and wildlife. If you really need an excuse to head this far north, just tell your friends you must see the Ashland Logging Museum. It’s only open Friday afternoons, but special arrangements can be made if you call Ed, the curator.

Barnum Museum, 820 Main Street, Bridgeport, Connecticut, (203) 331-1104, www.barnum-museum.org; Mystic Aquarium and Institute for Exploration, 55 Coogan Boulevard, Mystic, Connecticut, (860) 572-5955, www.mysticaquarium.org; Mystic Pizza, 56 West Main Street, Mystic, Connecticut, (860) 536-3700; WaterFire, WaterPlace Park, Providence, Rhode Island, www.waterfire.com; Kittery Outlets, Kittery, Maine, (888) KIT-TERY, www.thekitteryoutlets.com; Ashland Logging Museum, Garfield Road, Ashland, Maine, (207) 435-6679.

I

The perfect salve for winter boredom and summer meltdowns, a road trip to an ice-cream factory is no less than a pilgrimage for those who worship the cardboard pint and soggy half-gallon. Ben and Jerry’s $2 tours in Waterbury, Vermont, are by far New England’s best known, but smaller dairies have their own brand of local charm. Richardson’s Ice Cream in Middleton, Massachusetts, is open 363 days a year, and welcomes visitors to its dairy bar, 300-plus cow farm, and an entertainment complex with a batting cage, driving range, and two mini-golf-courses. In Sanford, Maine, the Shain’s of Maine plant is open to the general public only during summer production hours, but it’s worth the wait to "watch guys sling ice cream," says owner Jeff Shain. Shain’s 90 flavors rival B&J’s in quality and creativity; among the 10 new flavors this summer are Mud Munchies and Maine Survivor.

Ben & Jerry’s, Route 100, Waterbury, Vermont, (866) BJ-TOURS, www.benandjerrys.com; Richardson’s Ice Cream, 166 South Main Street, Middleton, (978) 774-5450, www.richardsonsicecream.com; Shain’s of Maine, Route 109, South Sanford, Maine, (800) 324-0650.

J

A tranquil town of undulating hills, twisting roads, and wayside waterwheels tucked away in the Green Mountains, Jeffersonville, Vermont, sits about 45 minutes away from Stowe (home of the Trapp Family Lodge) and 50 minutes from Waterbury (the location of the Ben & Jerry’s Factory). But what this craggy village lacks in ready-made tourist attractions, it makes up for in history: Jeffersonville’s centerpiece is Smugglers’ Notch, a cavernous mountain trail along which Prohibition-era bootleggers habitually hid their boozy booty after smuggling it across the Canadian border. These days, a family resort shares the name: Smugglers’ Notch, a self-contained destination spot that occupies its all-ages guests with tubing runs, tennis courts, bingo nights, burbling brooks, a petting zoo, a poolside waterslide, a triple-black-diamond slope, and sundry other distractions. Around the corner from Smuggs (its nickname) is the Brewski at the Notch, a drunken-barroom cabin of Colorado transplants, permanently vacationing snowboarders, and bearded ski instructors. A bit further is the Lamoille River, a peaceful stretch of covered bridges, beaver dams, and warm-weather canoes. One of the few places in the Northeast where you could lie low and probably not get discovered, Jeffersonville may be small, but it’s wonderfully serene.

Smugglers’ Notch, 4323 Vermont Route 108 South, Jeffersonville, Vermont, (800) 451-8752, www.smugglersnotch.com; Brewski at the Notch, 4087 Vermont Route 108, Jeffersonville, Vermont, (802) 644-6366.

K

Few New England towns are more charming than Maine’s Kennebunkport. A mere 90 miles north of Boston and boasting myriad shops, restaurants, inns, and outdoor activities, it’s a worthwhile destination in any season. Book a room at the lovely Captain Lord Mansion, a 16-room country inn overlooking the Kennebunk River. Browse the antique shops and clothing boutiques. Take in the period architecture of the Kennebunkport Historic District. Check out any number of local beaches, including Kennebunk, Goose Rocks, and Mothers. For exercise, rent a canoe and paddle the river. When hunger gets the better of you, head to Federal Jack’s Brew Pub for a burger and a pint; if a more upscale-dining experience suits you better, options include the White Barn Inn and Windows on the Water.

Captain Lord Mansion, Green and Pleasant Streets, Kennebunkport, Maine, (207) 967-3141, www.captainlord.com; Federal Jack’s Brew Pub, 8 Western Avenue, Kennebunkport, Maine, (207) 967-4322, www.federaljacks.com; White Barn Inn, 37 Beach Avenue, Kennebunkport, Maine, (207) 967-2321, www.whitebarninn.com; Windows on the Water, Chase Hill Road, Kennebunkport, Maine, (207) 967-3313, www.windowsonthewater.com.

L

The first thing to know about lobster is that it shouldn’t always be eaten in a restaurant. It’s a kick for a native Mainer to watch a resort dining room full of tony Bostonians daintily cracking and wresting dripping flesh from the shell, discreetly sucking minimal juice from the swimmerets as a flickering candle and bottle of white stand idly by. It’s also a big pain in the ass if that native Mainer happens to be the busboy whose job it is to haul away tray after teetering tray of wet, fire-red shells, mounds of pinked napkins, and innumerable ramekins of congealing butter, then deliver countless bowls of water — upon which float fresh flower petals — so the summer folk can cleanse their fingers of briny meat. Lobster should be eaten in casual attire and, if at all possible, in the out-of-doors ambiance of God’s green earth. If one can partake as the Indians did — tucking in zestfully, wrenching carapaces apart with lusty panache, sucking and slurping and savoring, then heaving the carcasses onto a sun-bleached beachside pile — then that’s even better. So eschew the tourist-choked seaside bistro and head instead to the 56th annual Maine Lobster Festival, which happens July 30 through August 3 at Harbor Park in Rockland. There are few places more conducive to the devouring of buttered, succulent flesh than the state from which 90 percent of creepy crustaceans are culled. Bask in the sunshine and salt air and drink in the view of Penobscot Bay’s azure, island-dotted expanse (and a bottle or two of Geary’s Pale Ale). "Somebody pinch me," you may say. And something just might.

Maine Lobster Festival, Rockland, Maine, (207) 596-0376.

M

Less than a four-hour drive from Boston, Manchester, Vermont, offers a mix of bucolic countryside, high-end bargain shopping, and sophisticated luxuriating. Perched between the Green and Taconic Mountains, the town lies in close proximity to several ski resorts and venues for other rugged outdoor activities. For those who prefer staying in the lodge and sipping cocoa to skiing, the town holds many pleasures. There’s the stately Equinox Resort, for example, located downtown. While the rooms can get pricey — this is, after all, something of an aristocratic affair that offers everything from treatments in the Avanyu Spa to lessons in falconry — the hotel also has the historic Marsh Tavern, where weary patrons can grab a drink or a meal. Then there’s shopping. Such tony companies as Giorgio Armani, Movado, and Coach, among others, have retail outlets in town; tourists from around the world have been known to fly into New York or Boston and drive straight to Manchester in search of bargains. And, finally, there’s something for history lovers. The oldest son of Robert Todd Lincoln constructed a massive vacation house overlooking the Batenkill Valley here. The artifact-filled home, Hildene, is open for touring May through October.

Equinox Resort, 3567 Main Street, Manchester, Vermont, (800) 362-4747, equinox.rockresorts.com; Hildene, 1005 Hildene Road, Manchester, Vermont, (802) 362-1788, www.hildene.org.

N

Elements of Nantucket should be ignored — women dripping in gold, dressed highlighted head to manicured toe in Lilly Pulitzer prints, men in linen pants and loafers, dangling keys to Lexus SUVs and million-dollar cottages. Conspicuous consumption aside, Nantucket’s got grace and a feel you won’t find in mainland Massachusetts. Bring a bicycle — or rent one at Young’s Bicycle Shop. Bike paths thread around the island, and having two-wheeled transport means you won’t have to pay the $330 for an auto-ferry reservation, or compete with fleets of Range Rovers on narrow cobblestone streets. Bike out to Madaket on the west side of the island to a long and lovely stretch of beach. On your way out of town, grab a couple sandwiches at Something Natural, a bakery with sandwiches the size of footballs. Have dinner and a few beers at the Brotherhood of Thieves. Get an ice-cream cone at Nantucket Pharmacy, find a bench, and try to distinguish tourists from locals. And the Faraway Island isn’t so far away anymore. A high-speed ferry slams across the seas in about an hour ($52 for a roundtrip, from the Steamship Authority). Or take the regular ferry instead ($26 for a roundtrip); the two-hour-and-15-minute trip is time enough to realize you’re going somewhere far away, and to relish it.

Young’s Bicycle Shop, Steamboat Wharf, Nantucket, (508) 228-1151; Something Natural, 50 Cliff Road, Nantucket, (508) 228-0504; Brotherhood of Thieves, 23 Broad Street, Nantucket; Nantucket Pharmacy, 45 Main Street, Nantucket, (508) 228-0180; Steamship Authority, (508) 477-8600.

O

The flooding of the Southern Maine coast with out-of-state wealth continues apace. Monstrous mansions crop up, then get lived in for half the year. Soaring property values force long-time island residents from their homes. Lifelong lobstermen are compelled by foreclosures to spend summers sleeping in shorefront tents. It’s a small comfort, then, to visit a place that’s gone the other way, a once-classy playground that now revels in its giddy gaudiness. A place where BMWs are all but banned, and where seafood isn’t served with sauvignon blanc. A place like Old Orchard Beach, Maine. Amble down the hot pavement of the gum-sticky main drag toward the towering pier and teeming seven-mile beach. On both sides, the chance games and rickety rides of Palace Playland amusement park jockey for space with souvenir shops stocked with fluorescent-spattered cut-off tees and lobster-red coin purses, bars serving cheap Buds, and deafening, stroboscopic video arcades. The salt air thrums with the cadences of Québecois patois as wafts of greasy pizza, fried dough, and fried clams commingle as a single summery scent. Parents decked out in their Harley-Davidson best place their sunscreen-slathered babies upon the old-timey carousel. Shirtless kids flush with mom’s cash plod with wet feet up the pier. Grimacing guys in sunglasses win heavy metal mirrors for their girls by hammer-catapulting rubber frogs. Whiteheads crash with white noise, sea gulls dart and weave, and it all truly is the way life in Maine should be.

Palace Playland, Old Orchard Beach, Maine, (207) 934-2001.

P

The nation’s first pizza war was waged in New Haven, Connecticut, and still smolders to this day. The combatants: on one side, Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, founded by Frank Pepe in 1925, lays claim to being the nation’s first pizzeria. On the other, the upstart Sally’s, founded in 1938 by Pepe’s nephew Sal Consiglio just two blocks away. At a bit of a remove in another neighborhood is the Modern Apizza, which opened its doors in 1934. The Modern probably offers the pie most worth the trip, but Pepe’s and Sal’s still produce fine pizzas, too. That said, the king of fine or gourmet pizza in New England — and, it could be claimed, in the United States (with a possible tie going to LA’s Spago) — is in Providence, Rhode Island. It’s Al Forno, which has been lauded by the International Herald Tribune, the New York Times, and, most recently, GQ magazine. The Phoenix’s critic raved about Al Forno’s wood-grilled pizza with pumpkin and three cheeses. The menu changes nightly, so keep your expectations high and your mind open. And the best rustic pie is — hands down — at East Boston’s Santarpio’s. The joint could be a set for a Scorsese movie. If you’re from out of town, it’s worth the trip, and if you’re local, well, hop on the T. Then there’s Portland’s Fore Street, which the Atlantic Monthly’s fastidious critic Corby Kummer has deemed a restaurant worth building a trip around. Like Al Forno, it serves world-class cuisine, but its wood-oven pizza is an affordable delight. Start with an appetizer of mussels, and chase with champagne by the glass.

Pepe’s, 157 Wooster Street, New Haven, Connecticut, (203) 865-5762; Sally’s, 237 Wooster Street, New Haven, Connecticut, (203) 624-5271; Modern Apizza, 874 State Street, New Haven, Connecticut, (203) 776-5306; Al Forno, 577 South Main Street, Providence, Rhode Island, (401) 273-9767; Santarpio’s, 111 Chelsea Street, East Boston, (617) 567-9871; Fore Street, 288 Fore Street, Portland, Maine, (207) 775-2717.

Q

It’s true that Quebec isn’t exactly a New England destination, but plenty of New England flies past outside the car windows during the roughly seven-hour drive from Boston. Conquer Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the first two hours, then sit back and enjoy the bulk of the US leg in Vermont, whose aged farms and breathtaking mountainsides are awash with green in the summer and blanketed in white in the winter. Montreal’s skyline appears after about five and a half hours, but city sprawl soon gives way to blank wilderness concealing prime skiing areas like Mont-Tremblant, a pristine year-round playground nestled at the base of a mountain. Although touristy almost to a fault (a snack bar called the Chalet du Smoked Meat is hard to forgive), the ski area is still quaint, and the French-first hospitality gives the illusion of a vacation overseas. Cap off a long day of outdoor activities with a soak at one of the nearby spas, like the Scandinave, which offers a unique hot/cold-bath treatment that is relaxing only for those who think nothing of running around in a bathing suit in sub-zero temperatures.

Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, (866) 836-3030, www.tremblant.com; the Scandinave, 4280 Montée Ryan, Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, (819) 425-5524, www.scandinave.com.

R

Let’s get the requisite adjectives out of the way: "quaint," "old-fashioned," "scenic," "colonial," and "charming." Formerly known as the Old King’s Highway, Cape Cod’s Route 6A is a 34-mile-or-so stretch of whitewashed manses, antiquated gristmills, and artisan shops with sundry turnoffs to bicycle trails, beaches, and weird museums, like the New England Fire & History Museum and the Sandwich Glass Museum. It’s one of those semi-rustic roads that retired South Shore couples like to traverse on sunny afternoons — only getting out of their cars to stop for baked-stuffed lunches, ice-cream cones, or bargains at one of the thoroughfare’s three Christmas Tree Shops — and call it a "day trip." For the rest of us, the Bourne-to-Orleans path isn’t simply a detour from the summer-Sunday gridlock leading up to the Sagamore Bridge, but a soothing refuge from the fluorescent, Floridian garishness of the Cape’s other main drag, Route 28.

New England Fire & History Museum, 1439 Main Street, Brewster, (508) 896-5711; Sandwich Glass Museum, 129 Main Street, Sandwich, (508) 888-0251.

S

New England is rich in architectural heritage. Best known to scholars and students and just plain buffs are Boston’s Back Bay and Beacon Hill, Cambridge’s Brattle Street and Harvard Yard, and Providence’s East Side (which not only envelopes the campuses of Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design, but also rivals Georgetown as a quarter of elegant residential sprawl). But slowly winning its due in recent years is a contained ramble of a neighborhood in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, known as Strawbery Banke. After 1630, it was the site of a plantation that took its name from the profusion of berries found on the grounds between the local river and the sea. By the late 19th century it was a neighborhood of immigrants. And well into the mid 20th century, the city of Portsmouth, like Newport, Rhode Island, was best known as a rough-and-tumble Navy port. (Remember the movie The Last Detail? Jack Nicholson was on his way to Portsmouth to bring a prisoner to the Navy brig there.) Today, thanks to enthusiasm for historic preservation, Stawbery Banke is once again restored to the quotidian elegance it enjoyed in the 17th and 18th centuries. When the weather warms, walk the streets and visit the Strawbery Banke Museum, which gives one a sense of what life was like in this densely settled urban maritime community. Then stroll into downtown Portsmouth and enjoy the profusion of shops, coffeehouses, bars, and restaurants.

Strawbery Banke, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, www.strawberybanke.org.

T

Forget the common associations with Massachusetts — lobster boats and stuffy academia — and discover its heartland side at the Topsfield Fair. The oldest agricultural fair in the nation, it has occupied a former farm since 1818, and it is indeed the granddaddy of the kind of tractor-and-pumpkin extravaganza you’d expect to find in the Midwest. From Route 95, follow Route 97 to Route 1 — or just follow the steady stream of family cars that descend on Topsfield each October (this year’s Fair will be held October 4 to 13). Once inside the gates, it’s a cornucopia of Green Acres fun: beekeeping exhibits, blacksmith demonstrations, chainsaw wood-carving, 4H competitions, flower shows, and a petting farm are among dozens of attractions recalling a simpler, less tech-obsessed era. Two of the more unique highlights are pig racing — run, Petunia, run! — and the memorable giant-pumpkin weigh-off, the winner of which tipped the scales at 1300 pounds at last fall’s fair. It’s truly Massachusetts like you’ll see it nowhere else.

Topsfield Fair, 207 Boston Street, Route 1, Topsfield, (978) 887-5000, www.topsfieldfair.org.

U

Pamphlets on display at the Union Oyster House outline "over 200 years of American history as seen through the walls of this active and venerable structure." Assuming they mean windows rather than walls, they’re right: at 177 years and counting, America’s oldest operating restaurant gives you more for your buck than shellfish and beer — it gives you a glimpse into our nation’s past. Even before it housed a restaurant, the building was a hotbed of Revolutionary activity; now, though a modern sports-bar-like atmosphere pervades the ground level, the upstairs dining rooms maintain a dark and pubby feel. Hung with pictures of patriots and clipper ships, it’s a spot where you’ll want to raise a pint to toast the ghosts of patrons past, from Daniel Webster to JFK. And then you can chow down just as they did: on chowder or lobster, baked beans and corn bread, steamers, and, of course, oysters galore.

Union Oyster House, 41 Union Street, Boston, (617) 227-2750, www.unionoysterhouse.com.

V

Perched 12 miles out to sea in Penobscot Bay, Vinalhaven, Maine, is an unadorned but arresting reminder of what urbanites are missing. A working community with a year-round population of about 1200, this craggy island, dotted with fir and spruce and surrounded by the weather-beaten lobster boats that provide the majority of its income, welcomes tourists — but expects their respect. In the summer, ferries depart several times daily from Rockland, but don’t expect to bring your car. Bikes are okay, though, and are an ideal way to get around the island; you can wend down gravel roads and cul de sacs, stopping to gaze at the sweeping panorama of the blue Atlantic or for a swim in the deep, cold black of water-filled quarries. The clapboard "downtown" village doesn’t offer many tourist trappings, and that’s precisely the point. Look instead for a handful of decent seafood restaurants and, sometimes, the chance to buy lobsters fresh from the boats bobbing in the harbor. Those who’d like to stay awhile might try the stately Fox Island Inn. Those who just want a day trip would be advised not to miss the last boat home.

Vinalhaven ferries, (207) 596-2202; Fox Island Inn, Vinalhaven, Maine, (207) 863-2122.

W

Face it: Massachusetts does not have real mountains. At least, not the dramatic, jaw-dropping majesty that defines the California Sierra Nevadas or the Colorado Rockies. Still, the Bay State does offer some sizable, rolling hills worthy of attention. Take a scenic drive on Route 31, past the bucolic fields and wooden barns that typify postcard New England, and stop at the base of Wachusett Mountain, in the heart of Princeton. Mount Wachusett, as the locals like to call it, should satisfy even the most particular of hikers. There are 17 miles of winding trails that pass through a 3000-acre state reservation filled with brush, forest, scrub, streams, and ponds. Hikes to the top range in difficulty levels from moderate to tough. Trek for 30 minutes or four hours; it’s up to you. At 2006 feet, the peak does boast a spectacular view, from Mount Monadnock to the north, the Boston skyline to the east, and the Berkshire Hills to the west. And, of course, there’s the Wachusett Mountain Ski Area. So, really, who needs Mount Everest, anyway?

Wachusett Mountain State Reservation, Mountain Road, Princeton, Massachusetts, (978) 464-2300, www.state.ma.us/dem/parks/wach.htm; Wachusett Mountain Ski Area, Princeton, (978) 464-2300, www.wachusett.com.

X

Does your idea of a quick trip involve something X-rated? Wandering the aisles of the Amazing erotic boutiques can feel like being in the cereal section of a supermarket — so many choices! Except here, of course, you’re choosing between the Slimline Vibe and the Double End Dong instead of cornflakes and Count Chocula. The store — which has dozens of locations all over New England — is known for, ahem, thinking big, with thousands of DVDs and videos, naughty nighties, games, gadgets, mags, lubes, books, butt plugs, nipple clips, cock rings — you name it, this place has it. A more intimate erotic shopping experience can be had at Grand Opening!, a Brookline "sexuality boutique" geared largely toward women. Grand Opening! also stocks an impressive array of dildos, anal toys, and bondage gear, but augments its inventory with a series of well-regarded classes in how to get the best out of the equipment ("Anatomy of Pleasure," "The Ins and Outs of Fisting"). When you’re done with these places, you may want to head to your nearest supermarket for a box of Wheaties — you’re going to need the energy.

Amazing, 1258 Boylston Street, Boston, and 57 Stuart Street, Boston, among other locations, (617) 859-8911, www.amazing.net; Grand Opening!, 318 Harvard Street, Suite 32, Brookline, (617) 731-2626, www.grandopening.com.

Y

Squint through windows as mechanical arms manhandle a corpulent glob of putty-colored confection. Then watch more Rube Goldberg contraptions slice and dice the muscular mass into bite-size morsels before another machine wraps them with a neat wax-paper twist. Sublime. But if the oddly thrilling spectacle of saltwater-taffy production doesn’t do it for you, try eating some. The Goldenrod is famous for its Kisses, and has been since 1896. And it’s been in the same stately wooden building, a short stroll from York Beach, Maine, since it was founded. The beach itself is a fine bunch of sand — clean and sizable, with some substantial waves. But its real draw is the fun stuff that surrounds it. After sticky sweets and soda fountains at the Goldenrod, amble barefoot down to Fun-O-Rama, a cavernous, sand-strewn arcade that sits right on the beach. Then, bereft of quarters and with a weary Skee-Ball arm, walk to York’s Wild Kingdom. Maine’s biggest zoo and amusement park is home to lions and tigers and bears and, if he’s still alive and kicking, a goat that once chewed off a chunk of this writer’s sweatshirt. When you’ve exhausted the souvenir shops, chock-a-block with seaside sundries, take a leisurely drive to nearby Cape Neddick, home to the modest but handsome Nubble Light, where you can watch the golden sun of a summer dusk make the squat white tower glow.

The Goldenrod, 2 Railroad Avenue, York Beach, Maine, (207) 363-2621; Fun-O-Rama, Beach Street, York Beach, Maine, (207) 363-4421; York’s Wild Kingdom, Route 1, York Beach, Maine, (207) 363-4911.

Z

Squirrels and pigeons and rats — oh my! If you like your fauna to be more exotic than the average city critter, try one of New England’s zoos. Over the last decade, Boston’s once-decrepit Franklin Park Zoo has enjoyed a renaissance. Today, the sprawling, 72-acre site has more than 200 species of animal (lions, giraffes, gorillas, pythons, pygmy hippos) and a dazzling "Butterfly Landing." Further north, the smaller Stone Zoo features a jaguar and flamingos among its menagerie, plus the "Snowy Owl Creek," with reindeer, arctic foxes, and a snow leopard. In Connecticut, the Beardsley Zoo specializes in animals from the Americas (though there’s a Siberian tiger alongside the otters and ocelots). Maine’s York’s Wild Kingdom takes a more recreational approach to zoo-keeping, with elephant rides and paddle boats. And Providence boasts one of the finest zoos in the region — the Roger Williams Park Zoo — with areas representing Africa (the cheetah, the African elephant, the Masai giraffe), Madagascar (lots of lemurs), and Australasia (the white-cheeked gibbon, the Wonga pigeon). If you want to see Rattus norvegicus in action, head for the nearest alleyway, but if you want to gaze upon a dwarf crocodile, you’ll have to stroll through Frederick Law Olmsted’s glorious Franklin Park to do so.

Franklin Park Zoo, 1 Franklin Park Road, Boston, (617) 541-LION, www.zoonewengland.org/fpz/home.html; Stone Zoo, 149 Pond Street, Stoneham, (781) 438-5100, www.zoonewengland.org/sz/home.html; Beardsley Zoo, 1875 Noble Avenue, Bridgeport, Connecticut, (203) 394-6565, www.beardsleyzoo.org; York’s Wild Kingdom, Route 1, York Beach, Maine, (207) 363-4911, www.yorkzoo.com; Roger Williams Park Zoo, 1000 Elmwood Avenue, Providence, Rhode Island, (410) 785-3510, www.rogerwilliamsparkzoo.org.

Written by Kate Cohen, Camille Dodero, Seth Gitell, David Valdes Greenwood, Peter Kadzis, Scott Kathan, Kristen Lombardi, Nina MacLaughlin, Mike Miliard, Christie Taylor, Ruth Tobias, Kim Weidman, Tamara Wieder, and Chris Wright.

Issue Date: February 20 - 27, 2003
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