We, two senior adults, are planning a three week vacation in May. That is the only time we can get away. One week will be for driving from Florida to New England and back. Two weeks for touring New England. We have visited Boston and now want to go to the other areas north of Boston, all the way to Maine. We want to include Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. Any help with a route to drive with a breakdown on how long to spend where would be appreciated. We want to be "tourists" and hit all the places that would be on the list of "don't miss". Scenery, historical sites, quaint towns, mansions, special lighthouses, gardens, museums, and places that are indicative of only New England are our main interests. Thank you in advance for your time and thought pertaining to this request.
Carol

I can give you a route suggestion for the ME/NH/VT portion of your trip! From Boston, head north to the coast of Maine. Kennebunkport and Ogunquit on the Southern Maine coast are definately "quaint" and "touristy". Portland is a neat little city to explore-the Old Port is fun to walk around and the views from the "Prom" (Promenade) are gorgeous. Not familiar with the coast north (or "downeast") of Portland, so I won't go there!
From Portland, take Route 302 into North Conway NH. Yet another "touristy" town, nestled in the Mount Washington Valley. N. Conway is an outlet shopper's mecca. From N. Conway, you can either take Route 16 north through Pinkham Notch (take a gondola ride at Wildcat Mountain) to Route 2 East into St. Johnsbury, VT. OR, take Route 302 into Littleton NH and then hop on I-93 for a few miles into St. Johnsbury. From St. Johnsbury, follow Route 2 west to Route 15 west to Vermont Route 100 South. Head into Stowe, the quintencential ski town. Ride the gondola to the top of Mount Mansfield for some spectacular views. Stowe is definately worth a day! Follow 100 south along the spine of the Green Mountains until you hit Route 4 near Killington. Follow Route 4 east to Woodstock-definately "quaint"- a very popular town for tourists. From Woodstock you could head back over to Route 100 and follow it to the bottom of VT, or continue east to Hanover NH, home to Dartmouth College.
This is probably a little hard to follow, but take out your trusty road map! If you want more specifics, let me know.

Hi Carol,

May is such a nice time to visit New England. If you're going to visit Rhode Island, be sure to check out the web site www.waterfire.com. The 2002 schedule is not posted yet, but it is a very special event in downtown Providence. For more info on Rhode Island, you can also check out www.oso.com (Ocean State online). Happy motoring, there's nothing like a road trip!

Going further north in ME, you probably would want to stop in Freeport to go to LL Bean, Boothbay Harbor, Bath (to see the iron works where the navy ships are built), Wiscasset, Damariscotta, Pemaquid Point (wonderful lighthouse), Rockport (if you remember the movie "Andre the Seal"), Camden, up to Bar Harbor and Acadia.

May is when the apple orchards will be in bloom. Spring is a beautiful time to visit. I would recommend a visit to Shaker Village in Canterbury NH (just north of Concord off Rt 93). It's in a lovely area and the tours are very interesting. Special events are held some weekends, you might be here when they have draft horses plow. As you head north from Boston to Maine, stop off in Portsmouth NH. Great restaurants and you can also visit Strawbery Banke living history museum. Make a loop out through Newcastle. You will go past the old hotel and then drive along the coast thru Rye and see the fabulous private homes. Along the coast of Maine, make sure to visit Pemaquid Point and Camden. In Camden, drive up to the top of Mt Battie for a fabulous view overlooking the harbor. You can watch boats sailing along the coast. The Farnsworth Museum in Rockland has a lot of work by Maine artists, including the Wyeths. Concord NH might be a good stop for an overnight in the middle of your trip. The downtown area has interesting shops as well as the Museum of NH History. Drive around some of the residential areas to enjoy Spring flowers. From Concord NH you can take Rt 89 up to Hanover NH (home to Dartmouth College) mentioned by another poster. But it is also a pleasant drive along Rt 103 from downtown Concord, past the hospital and thru the towns of Hopkinton, Contoocook and Warner. In Warner you can visit the Kearsarge Indian Museum. We haven't been there but have heard many good things. After you drive thru Warner you can get on Rt 89 and continue west to Hanover. Then you can go right over to VT.

a few comments - the Billings farm and Museum just outside of Woodstock Vt. is a very nice place to spend an afternoon. A working Vermont dairy farm and museum, with lots of exibits, butter and ice cream making, quilting, antique farm machinery, etc in a beautiful setting.
Also, the Cornish/Windsor covered bridge which is about 1/2 hour south of Dartmouth College is the longest covered bridge in the US, and is a great photo op, in a very scenic setting. If you drive across into Vermont, drive up the Mt. Ascutney auto road for a spectacular view of New Hampshire and Vermont. Hanover NH (Dartmouth Campus town) has some very nice restaurants, and is quite a picturesque college town. One word of warning - May is black fly season in northern New England, so you may encounter these little biting gnats if you venture into the woods!

Thank you so much for all your help. I now have a place to start. Using your suggestions, I now will be checking my trusty road map, the internet, and my AAA tour books to create an itinerary. Do you think three days on the Cape and four days in Maine will be enough? That will leave seven days for the other points of interest.
Thanks again...Carol