Boston and beyond - quick trip!

Old Apr 30th, 2007, 05:27 AM
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I would head north to Newburyport, Portsmouth or York Harbor

Newburyport is a great day trip. The city has great restaurants and shopping for you and Plum Island has great ocean beach for long long walks.

After visiting Newburyport I would head a little further north to Portsmouth. Stay at the Wentworth by the Sea for water views. Ordione State Park is just across the inlet and offers nice walking trails and a rocky coastline. Kittery Maine is also just across the harbor to the north and is lovely. There is outlet shopping there too but there's more to Kittery than just strip malls.

Slightly further north is York Harbor and York Beach. You could also stay at the York Harbor Inn - I've stayed twice and liked it both times.
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Old Apr 30th, 2007, 11:56 AM
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The culinary tour of Boston's North End is great. The pushcart vendors are in Haymarket on Fri and Sat. Mostly fruit and vegetables but an interesting piece of Boston. I'd vote for Portsmouth NH, too. Shops are interesting. The drive out Rt 1B from Strawbery Banke thru Newcastle is beautiful. You'll see Wentworth-by-the-Sea. You can also drive the coastal road by the beautiful mansions in Rye. The road out to Kittery Point is also lovely. Many people recommend Chauncy's for lobster (open deck) but not sure when it opens. Check to see what's going on in Portsmouth Fri and Sat night. There are several theaters and various places that have live music. You might enjoy a visit to Strawbery Banke historic area. If the weather is warm, a harbor or inland rivers cruise would be nice.
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Old Apr 30th, 2007, 02:34 PM
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If the meetings wind up between 3 and 4 on Friday, you likely wouldn't get in a rental car until 4-5, in the height of weekend traffic - so if you decide to leave Boston, I'd wait until 6 or 6:30 to get in the car -
you can make it to Newport RI or the Cape -and leave after breakfast on Sunday and make your flight.

I'd consider Newport, RI - more will be open than on Cape Cod - and you can see verything you mention: beaches, coastal views, bridges, rocky shore, sandy beaches -

start with the ten mile drive www.oceandrivenewport.com
you can do the drive in under an hour or spend half a day stopping to walk beach areas, have lunch (Castle Hill), tour areas, etc. that interest you along the way - the directions and what you will see are on that above web link

walk the Cliff Walk -
www.cliffwalk.com
with the mansions on one side and ocean on the other

great wharfs that reach into the harbor with shops and restaurants, Newport Art Museum, tour of a mansion
www.newportmansions.org

the International Tennis Hall of Fame -

great restaurants - sunset and dinner at castle Hill if not along the wharf -

see if Francis Malbone House has rooms instead of one of the larger hotels - or else I would stay on the harbor....

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Old Apr 30th, 2007, 02:39 PM
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Thank you all so very much for the advice. Bottom line from your comments -- even if we left Cambridge mid to late afternoon on Friday, it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to try to do any of Cape Cod, as we must be at the airport by 2pm on Sunday.

Portsmouth sounds like a lovely destination, and I'm anxious to see a detailed map for the wonderful routes that one of you suggested. Is there a scenic route from Boston to Portsmouth?

Newburyport is also very appealing ---if we didn't leave Cambridge until Saturday morning would it make more sense to go to NBPort and stay there? If so, any suggestions as to where to stay?

Should we be thinking of the train rather than renting a car? When we went to Rockport, we took the train and then hired a car (taxi?) to get to the airport the next day.

Many thanks again!






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Old May 1st, 2007, 02:14 AM
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Newburyport is an easy stop on the way to Portsmouth. Very nice downtown area. Portsmouth has a variety of great restaurants so I would choose to spend the night there. Rt 1 from there to Portsmouth is a mix of industrial, commercial and interesting marshy tidal areas. I like the drive but there will be a lot of traffic Friday night and Saturday morning. It's the original highway so it's very narrow and built up whereas Rt 95 is a newer multi-lane limited access interstate. Sunday morning might be a much better time to drive around the Rt 1 area in Massachusetts. I've driven it more than once but can't remember which section has the beautiful homes and horse farms. When you get to Portsmouth there will be signs directing you to Strawbery Banke since it's a major historic area. Since Portsmouth is a typical old New England town you will find a lot of one way streets. Once you get to Strawbery Banke and Prescott Park, keep driving and you'll be on Rt 1B which goes to Newcastle. Kittery Maine is in the opposite direction right across the bridge. A few weeks ago we went on a kitchen tour in the Kittery Point area and then drove to York. You can either drive past the outlet malls/Rt 1 or take a different route (sorry, map not handy) that takes the scenic route. I'm not that familiar with the whole York area except for the beach area which is a very popular family destination (nice but long walk to Nubble lighthouse) If you follow signs to the parking garage you can walk to the boat dock or walk around the popular boutique/restaurant area.
Not sure what time the shops in Newburyport open on a Sunday. If 10am, you could easily visit Sunday morning and have lunch before going to the airport leaving Friday night for Portsmouth restaurant, Sat morning explore Portsmouth - go out Rt 1B and then spend the afternoon in the Kittery/York area. If we get a nice weekend it's going to be gorgeous. Flowering shrubs are blooming, daffodils are out, willows are just beginning to leaf out. Maples etc are just beginning to leaf out. On the coast you might see more green. It's a great time to drive thru residential areas (state highways). I think spring is much prettier that fall foliage time. It's a little early for apple blossoms. A friend on Cape Cod says she thinks spring is really late this year. I wouldn't take a train for a visit to this area. No sure when polo season starts but that's another activity that takes place in the stretch between Boston and Newburyport.
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Old May 1st, 2007, 06:49 AM
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There are a few B&Bs in Newburyport but no hotel. The desire by some to develop a hotel on the waterfront has been the subject of serious political debate for decades now.

I like dhfrosts idea of staying in Portsmouth and hitting Newburyport on your way back to the airport. In Portsmouth I would stay at the Wentworth by the Sea. You can follow Rt 1 and take the side rts of 1a along the water - particularly pretty just south of the Wentworth through Rye and Hampton NH. Rt 1 takes you right into Newburyport. As you are crossing the bridge over the Merrimac take the right exit and at the bottom of the ramp turn left. This will bring you right into the shopping area. There is a free parking lot on the right and a pay lot on the left. You can have lunch at the Black Cow - right on the river - lovely views. Another option is 10 Center St. - no views but nice food in a very antique building. Not Your Average Joe's has two great outdoor sitting areas in the Firehouse and the food is casual and good.

If you have an interest in seeing the ocean, keep heading straight through downtown toward Plum Island. You pass through the marsh and over a bridge. After the bridge is an intersection. Straight ahead is the Plum Island Grill - good food - gorgeous views of the salt marsh which are particularly popular at sunset. Beyond that is the developed portion of the island. There are places to park and the beach is public. If you turn left at the next intersecton and follow that road for a mile or so, you will come to a public parking lot. This lot is at the mouth of the Merrimac. Where the Merrimac meets the ocean is one of the most difficult spots to navigate, always a few incidents there each summer. Not surprising that Plum Island was the birthplace of the US Coast Guard.

If you take a right back at the Plum Island Grill you will find the National Wildlife reserve - 7 miles of undeveloped ocean front which you may or may not be given access to depending upon the mating season of piping plovers. There is always beach front available at the first parking lot. And this is considered some of the finest bird viewing areas on the East Coast. Lots of trails and boardwalks to follow too.

I live very close to Newburyport and I can't sing the praises of this area enough.
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Old May 1st, 2007, 07:23 AM
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I'd definitely recommend the ICA (Insitute of Contemporary Art) that recently opened.

As for your 'beyond' portion, southern Maine is gorgeous. York, Wells, Ogunquit, you can't go wrong. You can make a pitstop in Portsmouth NH on the way up for shopping and lunching.
Newburyport is also beautiful and nice to walk around, though I'm not sure an overnight would be needed.
If you're up for still doing P-town, I'd suggest taking the 90-minute fast ferry instead of driving.

Have fun!!
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Old May 1st, 2007, 10:12 AM
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Thanks so much for all of the great suggestions. I'm thinking we'll make our decision once we're there (printing all of this to bring with me!) We may leave Friday afternoon, or head out Saturday morning.

Love the idea of the high-speed ferry to Provincetown but I'm pretty sure it doesn't run until the 12th of May. We leave tomorrow and return on Sunday.

Does anyone know if we can pick up a car in Cambridge where we are staying and return it to the airpot?

Again...many thanks to all!
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Old May 1st, 2007, 12:06 PM
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I'm sure you can have different pickup/dropoff points for the car. You'll likely need to pay more, but it's doable.
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