travelerfromtx

Haha, you're in luck! They do have National car rentals there also.

Have a great trip!

Momddtravel2

Travel - I like to travel ... I just like to do it for cheap

cw

Mom, I just checked www.lastminutetravel.com for October 2. The Hyatt Boston Harbor is available for $226 plus tax. It is the 4 star Airport hotel. Call them and they usually verify the hotel before you commit. They will have a free shuttle to the hotel from your terminal and you can either take the water shuttle into Boston the next day or to be more economical grab the shuttle bus to the airport station and take the Blue Line into Boston. It's only a couple of stops. It's a lot better than spending $500. And it will be easy to pick up your rental car to leave for Wenham.

As you found out, October is one of the priciest hotel months in Boston.

In addition, since your daughter is interested in medicine, you may wish to visit the new Mass. General Museum: http://www.massgeneral.org/museum/visit/

Momddtravel2

Cw - thank you!! Yes, it is very pricey - oh my! I seem to remember it is why I canceled going there with my daughter when she was 11 or so and we took a trip to NYC, Philly,& DC in the fall.. I was priced out..

That museum looks perfect for my daughter! Think you for the tips !!!!

cw

Come back for a longer visit sometime. Avoid September/October (foliage, college parents weekends) and May (college graduations), and the April Boston Marathon weekend. Maybe your daughter will give you a chance to be a regular visitor!

Momddtravel2

So... My friend who is from MA said "no, no, no to Peabody" that I will hate the area if I stay there...I will call her tomorrow @ work & see more of the reasoning... Oh.my.

Cw - a RedSox game is in my bucket list I am seeing them sat @ Yankee stadium but want to see them play at home

DebitNM

Peabody was always a bedroom community for commuters working in Boston. It is just a suburban town, that could pretty much be anywhere. Doubt it has changed much. I would stay in Boston as much as I could swing it.

cw

The two hotels, Springhill and Marriott Peabody are business travelers hotels off main highways and not in scenic areas. They are what they are--fine but with no charm. I am saying this from seeing them off the highway, not from personal experience. I'm sure they are fine suburban alternatives. But they won't give you a sense of Boston or of the Wenham area.

Mom, you won't have time this trip but you can take a tour of Fenway Park--next time.

gail

I am so confused about whether you are staying on North Shore (Danvers, Peabody, etc) or Boston or some hybrid. But regarding Peabody - it is a bedroom suburb. It is close to a couple a shopping malls, a lot of boring strip malls. People live there - it is not a tourist destination but close to major highways which makes it convenient for you on this trip.

Identical comments could be made about Danvers. They are contiguous - so not quite sure why your friend is saying that about Peabody. For just over $100/night - likely with free parking - seems to make sense to me.

Whatever you do, don't stay the entire time at the airport - it would be the worst of both worlds. Either stay on the North Shore near Gordon or stay in Boston downtown.

(And for others - notice the deceptiveness of hotel names that I caution about here frequently "Boston Marriott Peabody" - is not anywhere near tourist areas of Boston. It is about 10 miles from Boston, but not reasonable on public transit.)

Will return with some restaurant suggestions. I was also going to suggest that you reserve a hotel and then try Priceline for a deal - but now I see your husband is joining in on the trip - and for 3 people I would not recommend Priceline.

gail

If you want waterfront dining - in Gloucester I might try The Rudder. Go for the atmosphere; the food is very good, but there is better food in other non-waterfront parts of Gloucester. If the weather is nice you can sit outside and eat on a beautiful deck overlooking the water. It is in the Rocky Neck part of Gloucester - a tiny little spit of land so the views are great.

For lunch if in Rockport I would eat at The Greenery. They also have some water views in the back of the restaurant. Bearskin Neck is the part of Rockport with little quirky shops - all local, many local artisans' jewelry, paintings, photos.

Also in Gloucester, locals eat at The Causeway. It has zero atmosphere and if you read reviews there are some complaints about cleanliness - although our family has eaten there many times and never experienced such problems. It is always crowded and has no view except of the parking lot and a (?closed) liquor store next door.

Downtown Gloucester has a number of interesting little restaurants - we have not experienced many of them but could ask friends for recommendations if you want.

Between Wenham and Cape Ann you can drive thru Essex and Ipswich and eat fried clams at a number of local places. The Clam Box gets the best reviews, but I remain loyal to Woodmans - each are the type of super casual places. Woodmans you order at a window and carry food to fixed picnic tables inside. You can sit on an upper deck and look at the small marina across the street - but Essex and Ipswich are in tidal flat areas rather than on the ocean.

If your daughter is seriously considering New England, then she needs to walk across the parking lot to get an iced coffee at Dunkin Donuts. You can not live in New England and not drink DD coffee - although it has now spread nationally. Nothing really special except that it is a New England institution (and a much lighter roast than Starbucks or Pacific Northwest coffee chains)

Go to the beach - it will be too cold in October to swim, but there is no beach anywhere near Dallas and the ocean is what we are all about here. On your way north on Route 128 follow signs to Wingersheek Beach - a flat expanse of beach on which it feels like at low tide you could walk to France. Crane Beach in Ipswich is amazing - there are dunes, walking trails - and in October few mosquitos or greenhead flies.

People complain about the cost of seafood. Local, fresh seafood is not cheap. If you find any that is, it is probably frozen and not very good.

Good luck with the college search, applications, waiting game. Beach house is reservable for Parents' weekend, move-in day, etc.

Momddtravel2

Gail.. Your email came back as non deliverable. Do you mind emailing me @ dawn Noel m @ g mail ?

DebitNM

A warning about fried clams in Essex - they are belly clam and not what most people who eat "fried clams" are used too. I love fired clams, but those belly clams were...Gross!

Gail - what about Newburyport for a visit??

jubilada

Speak for yourself, Deb. Whole bellies are the way to go for many!

I implore you , Dawn, to stay at the Long Wharf, a great hotel in a nice setting that really gives the feel of Boston. Peabody and Danvers both very bland.

HappyTrvlr

Clam strips are not fried clams! Only whole belly qualify.. That's what we grew up eartng and what we always choose no matter the price.
I agree,, stay in Boston, Marriott Long Wharf or Marriott Custom House are in great locations, near each other. Boston has so many colleges and universities which give it a youthfullenergy. I imagine your daughter will love it. My daughter did.

dfrostnh

DebitNM, I agree with the other posters. REAL clams in New England have bellies. Back in the day when Howard Johnson restaurants were popular, they sold clam strips. There was a rumor that the strips weren't really clams.

cw

And clam strips are often frozen. That's what you would order if you were miles away from the ocean. And you are desperate.

It's okay not to like fried clams (more for me!) but there really is no substitute.

travelgourmet

I would not stay in Danvers, Peabody, or anywhere up on the North Shore. I would stay in Boston (or Cambridge). These are suburban bedroom communities and the hotels up there are highway-side business motels. Boston is better by leaps and bounds.

Leaving by 7am would put you at Gordon with time to spare. If you finish by 4pm, you will be back in Boston by 5:30pm (probably earlier), even with traffic. You are talking less than 30 miles.

If you wanted to shave off some points, the 'Boston Marriott Cambridge' is 15k points per night less than Long Wharf. It is in a good neighborhood and much closer to the "hipster" areas in East Cambridge. It is right by MIT and nearer Harvard, so a much more "college" environment. Plus, it literally sits on top of the Red Line making transit around town easy. Parking is also probably $10 or so cheaper per night than Long Wharf. It is a well-kept business hotel. The bathrooms are dated, but it is very clean, very comfortable, and the rooms are a decent size.

Also a bit cheaper would be the Courtyard Boston Copley Square. A good, central neighborhood near the best shopping and with good restauarants, but I have no experience with the hotel itself.

Momddtravel2

What do you think of this location?
Residence Inn Boston Downtown/Seaport
370 Congress Street Boston, MA 02210
https://www.marriott.com/hotels/trav...ntown-seaport/

It gives us a tiny bit more space than a regular hotel room for the 3 nights & is less "points". I am not paying for the nights but using points. Which seems to be a good value in Boston - as the rates are so high during this time period.

I will also look at the Boston Marriott Cambridge as dd would like to be near Harvard! When we were discussing college and that Gordon is selective at 39% acceptance rate she said "Mom, that is *not selective, Harvard is selective". ;-)
I will go with all your suggestions and stay IN Boston...

travelgourmet

The Seaport Residence Inn is a good location. Not quite as accessible to the T as the Marriott in Cambridge, but still very central. It is easy walking distance to South Station and Downtown. There might be some deals to be had on parking at one of the nearby surface lots and you could get to it from the airport via the Silver Line, which is free and runs right through the neighborhood. It would also be a relatively cheap cab ride from the airport.

If you like the idea of the Residence Inn, there is also a Residence Inn in Cambridge. It is next door to the Marriott I mentioned above so a good location. The only downside is that, if it rains, you spend a tiny bit longer outside getting to and from the subway.

travelgourmet

"you spend a tiny bit longer outside getting to and from the subway."

The above is relative to the Marriott, which has covered access to the outbound subway and maybe a 100 foot uncovered walk to the inbound subway.