October New England Honeymoon??

Old Jul 24th, 2017, 02:01 PM
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October New England Honeymoon??

Hey you guys!

This October I will be getting married to my best friend and I think we have finally decided on where we wanted to go on our honeymoon and that's in the New England area. Being from the deep south I have no idea what to do or where to go in that area, but we are both history and nature enthusiast.

We will be in the New England area for five days, so my question is what are some things that I have to do while we are there? We definietly want to spend at least one day in boston, but we also want to spend a lot of time either looking at awesome foilage or cool museums. Biggest question is where should we start and where should we finish? Also should we use a rental car or get around by traiin?

Thanks!!!!!
cpyles318 is offline  
Old Jul 24th, 2017, 09:53 PM
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Early October I presume? With only 5 days I would definitely rent a car. And if you're history buffs you'll want at least 2 nights and 2 full days in Boston. At least.

Maybe fly into Boston, stay 2 nights, rent a car in the city for 48 hours to head out to the mountains/lakes, and then return to Boston for the last night before your flight out.

Early October you do need reservations in the foliage areas, but you won't know until a few days before your visit just where the colors are peaking. Maybe book an inn in Wolfeboro New Hampshire. From there you could take day drives northwest into Vermont or North into the White Mountains or Northeast into Maine....wherever the foliage reports tell you is most colorful those days.
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Old Jul 25th, 2017, 01:57 AM
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From Boston, it's possible to take a bus to some cities where it might be less expensive to rent a car but cost of bus tickets and Uber/taxis might defeat the purpose. For example, bus to Portsmouth NH. Lots of history and I always recommend a narrated boat tour. Check schedule for inland rivers foliage cruise. Visit Strawbery Banke (yes, I spelled it correctly). I have not been on one of the gundalow boat trips but you might look into that.

You would need a car to drive Rt 1B from Strawbery Banke thru New Castle. Great drive. You can also see the fabulously restored Wentworth Hotel. Odiorne Point where you can see some old military installations.

From Portsmouth it is about an hour drive to Concord NH. Check to see when Canterbury Shaker Village is open in October. The tours are fascinating. Then an hour north on I93 will get you to the mountains. The bad thing is everyone else is going to the mountains and Lake Winnipesaukee area to see foliage. Visit mid-week. Wolfeboro is a good suggestion. Meredith has more traffic but is also a beautiful town on the lake just before the mountains.

Visit Squam Lakes Science Center in Holderness, near Meredith, to see native animals in natural habitat. Check to see if they are still doing pontoon boat trips to see loons. This is a great boat trip that we haven't done in years.

Too bad kayak rentals end end of September. Squam Lake is where On Golden Pond was filmed. There are some small museums in the Lake W area. There are also some small wineries including Hermit Winery in Meredith.

While the Kancamagus Highway is a very popular drive for tourists, it's not my favorite. I prefer the more southerly east/west drive from the Squam Lake area thru Center Sandwich and Tamworth to Rt 16. If you want to explore obscure history, sled dogs for Admiral Byrd's Antarctic expedition were trained in this area. Google Wonalancet Kennels and Chinook Trail.
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Old Jul 25th, 2017, 03:39 AM
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As above, dates would be helpful.

The mountains (White and Green) are clogged around Columbus Day, which is a three day weekend hereabouts, so New Englanders join tourists to go leaf-peeping.

The third weekend packs Boston for the Head of the Charles Regatta, a series of rowing events with crews from around the world. It also packs the hotels with large muscular people of both genders and tiny people called "coxswains" who tell the large people what to do and are rewarded by being tossed in the river if their crew wins.

Although Northerners don't really know how to tailgate, October is college football season around here just as it is in the South. The scale is a lot smaller, but the hotels can be just as filled.

Good museums, south of the leaf-peeper line:
Yale Museum of Art and Center for British Art in New Haven, CT
Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT
Clark Museum and Williams College Museum in Williamstown, MA.
Worcester Museum of Art, Worcester, MA
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston
Fogg Museums, Cambridge
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA*
Cape Ann Historical Society, Gloucester, MA

There are lots of others both north and south of the leaf peeper line and enough historic houses to occupy you for months, to say nothing of Shaker villages (Hancock and Canterbury) restored towns (Old Sturbridge Village, Strawberry Banke) reconstructions (Plimoth Plantation) etc.

*During October, Salem is unpleasantly packed, especially on weekends, by people who suffer under the delusion that they are wiccans or witches. They are harmless enough, but the make it impossible to park since they drive cars rather than flying in on broomsticks.
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