YES, I KNOW I should probably narrow down this question, however, can you PLEASE tell me what the "must-sees" are in New England? (You can exclude Boston; we're very familiar with that charming city!)

While we know the rest of the country extremely well, I'm not sure where to start to plan next summers 2.5 - 3 week adventure in New England. (Maine, Mass, VT, CT, RI, NH)

If anyone would be so KIND to answer this, I would be most grateful. Thank you very much!

PS: Will 2.5 - 3 weeks be too long or just about right? Should we include a few days at a beach too, a bit further south? Thanks, again!

Let us know what your interests are so we can "tailor" our answers for you. But as a beginning I'll throw out some "must-sees" in Vermont.
The Northeast Kingdom for moose watching-Island Pond is the "epicenter" of moose country in Vermont. In St. Johnsbury, the Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium is great. In Central Vermont, you can visit Stowe and go to the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream factory and either hike,drive, or take the gondola to the top of Mt. Mansfield. Burlington VT is a great city to visit-full of great restaraunts, shopping, nightlife etc. In southern Vermont, I suggest visiting Manchester & Bennington. In Manchester, visit Hildene,the summer home of Robert Todd Lincoln. Also drive to the top of Mt. Equinox. If you like outlet shopping, Manchester has them all. In Bennington, visit the Bennington Museum and Battle Monument. I would also suggest visiting Montreal for a couple days--it's only 1 1/2 hours from Burlington. Have fun planning!!!

The length is okay or not, depending on how often you feel like checking in, unpacking, packing, checking out.....

Outside Boston, I consider the Longfellow's Wayside Inn + Mary-Martha Chapel + Old Grist Mill a must, and you can add in Walden Pond and the De Cordova museum in the same day. Also consider Cape Ann (Gloucester and Rockport) and must for another day, and the Crane Estate, Crane's Beach and Hammond castle are possibles to go with that (look for concert schedules up there) -- get lobster and clams in Essex while you're there.

In Maine, the classic tourist checkpoints are Freeport (LL Bean and lots of stores, some discount but many upscale e.g. Burberry, Coach, etc.) and Boothbay Harbor. Both are a bit too touristy for me. Many will direct you to Mt. Desert Island, but Bar Harbor can be a Bit Much (congested, touristy, upscale) although Mt. Cadillac has a spectacular view and SW harbor is okay. I kind of enjoy poking along the coast, checking out the light houses (Portland, Pemaquid, etc.) but you should be aware that each foray away from Rte. 1 can be 30 minutes to the tip of whatever "point" you are going to. I'm very fond of the Bradley Inn at Pemaquid Point. Friends are devoted to Camden/Rockport area as quintessential Maine.

Ellen,
Portland, Maine, particularly the Old Port, is a must see. Camden is a lot of fun,with great scenery and shops and restaurants. Bar Harbor is touristy, but still a great spot. Ogunquit is fun too, with colorful people, great restaurants and beaches.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for your replies!!! No, we don't mind packing and unpacking. We've done that for 3-4 weeks every summer for years. It's part of the fun!!!

Our interests include National Parks, WILDLIFE spotting, some short hiking (dh and ds will hike more than dd and myself!) HISTORY is BIG in our house, including homes/libraries of Presidents etc. and generally anything and everything that is unique to the area. And we also try to take many major league baseball games across the country.

Thanks again, so much!!!

"Ellen," the handful of replies you've received have just scratched the surface of what can be done in three weeks in New England.

I pondered posting a reply, but something stopped me... your name. "Ellen Griswold" has replied to many posts on this Forum over an extended period using material from those wonderful old National Lampoon movies. Now, you're seeking travel advice, and all I can think is "troll."

I have a hunch -- and it is only a hunch -- that if the identical question were posted by "Chris C." with a spurious Hotmail or Yahoo address, it would get much more attention.

No need to reply or rebut... just wanted to express an opinion.

It's been years since I've been there, but I remember enjoying Acadia National Park tremendously. Some of the hiking trails have lots of mosquitos so use lots of bug spray. We took a very interesting park ranger-narrated trip on a boat. I hope to go back myself someday.

Hi Ellen. I want to put in a plug for coastal Maine. Camden and Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park are absolutely fantastic areas. It is picturesque and there is so much to do there, plus wonderful inns, restaurants, etc. A very good website for vacation planning is www.visitmaine.com

THANK YOU so much for your replies. I am taking copious notes - I still like to plan our itineraries on legal pads! I can assure you we are a living, breathing mid-western family who are considered travel groupies. We love hitting the road in our van and seeing EVERYTHING we can possibly see. With a PLAN. People are AMAZED at what we are able to see and experience and not feel rushed. And it's because I start to plan MONTHS ahead of time - like I am now.

So again to you lovely people who have graciously answered my posts, I say a hearty thank you and God Bless you. And please keep the info coming.

Dear Mr. Sanders, How excited I was when I first saw you had replied to my request about New England information! I have always read your posts and found them insightful and informative. And, occaionally amusing!

How disappointed I was to read your post.

I can assure you, I am a living, breathing, travel-junkie, nick-named Ellen Griswold by dear friends who think our family is very similar to the fictitious family in the movies! You see we do travel quite a bit on road trips, each summer for 3-4 weeks each, and also over spring and Christmas breaks. We have two young teenagers, a son and a daughter, who are beginning to look and act more and more like Rusty and Audry. We are a very close family and our favorite past-time is traveling TOGETHER! Yes, our "cool" teenagers still like to be with us - especially on vacation! We have a ball! Which is WHY I'm beginning to think about our summer vacation for next year, the last one before "Rusty" goes to college.

And if you think back over the past six months or so Mr. Sanders, you'll recall that while I may use a fictitious (and funny) name, my posts are ALWAYS sincere, and I've been TOLD HERE MANY TIMES - informative and helpful!! I can post on nearly every geographical region in America, except New England. We have seen very close to every national park in the NW, SW, Rockie Mt. Region, SE, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. We've toured eight out of the 12 or so Presidential Libraries. We've also seen major league baseball games in nearly every ball park in America, except Yankee Stadium. (Is that what it's called? That's not on our list as we are avid TRIBE fans! There is NO team as good or ballpark as beautiful as Jacobs Field!)

However Mr. Sanders, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that one should not post his/her real e-mail addy. You might be quite surprised (and, if I must say so - quite impressed!) if you knew me and wonderful family. We would enrich your life, and not monetarily. However, since you seem to be quite cynical, you will never know.

I can assure you I am not a troll, although I used to play with them when I was a child in the '60's. If you don't care to help me as I start planning our 2001 Adventure, that's fine, I know there numerous lovely people on this forum.

BTW, whey can't everyone be as sweet and helpful as KAM and SFGhost???!!! But we've been out west so many times, we thought is was time to introduce our children to the land of the....no, I won't go there....you already know the reputation many ---- but certainly not ALL - easterners have.

Have a nice day, Mr. Sanders!

Yours in travel,
Ellen Griswold


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Ellen, actuallyI have successfully written to people who have left their real addresses & I did the same without a problem until recently. Aside from that aside, I know NE well: try block island, mystic/stonington/north stonington, Sturbridge, Lenox Mass/berkshires, newport, Maine coast, Lake WInepasauke in NH, & the White Mts around lincoln. Best guides are the Explorers Guide series carried in most bookstores---one for each state. Cant be beat.
Enjoy!

Hey there, Ellen.
I think you're being way too harsh toward Neal. Judging by his previous posts, I think he just genuinely assumed that someone who has spent so much time answering other peoples' questions (you), had probably been everywhere worth visiting in the US. If he assumed wrong, so be it, but don't be offended. I think he just didn't want to dignify a question from someone he thought might be 'abusing' your good name. Surely he can answer for himself, but ease up a bit. You know Neal means well when he bothers to post here.
BTW, my favorite NE stops have been in Burlington VT (esp south of B along the Champlain waterfront), Middlebury is a lovely town, Green Mountain vistas, White Mountains even more beautiful, Acadia is outstanding, numerous coastal towns along downeast Maine, Vineyard and Nantucket, Adirondacks offer some great sidetrips as well (tho technically not in NE). Good luck with your planning. Let us know what you end up doing.

My family loves Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor-- we've never spent much time in the town but its no more touristy than any other town outside a popular national park. I never found the mosquitoes a real problem. If you start in Boston and skip the city you could drive west past Lexington and Concord on the Mohawk Trail thru the Berkshires and up into Vermont on hwy 100 for example. We enjoy Stowe and the recreation path (a really nice walk) both in summer and winter. Northern Vermont is less popular and really beautiful. You could then drive east thru the White Mtns. in New Hampshire and finish your vacation in coastal Maine-- Acadia N.P., Boothbay Harbor and then, if you are flying from Boston, spend a day or two driving down. Whatever you choose to do, have a wonderful time on the east coast.

oh-- I forgot... In Rhode Island don't miss Newport and the mansions, great walking/biking on the islands around there, and Providence which is also very historic.

Some favorites of mine: Campobello International Park (you can stand at the EXACT spot FDR first felt a twinge in his leg while getting out of his boat; by the next day his legs were paralyzed), hiking in the White Mountains, Moose Lake (four of the five moose we saw in New England were near this lake), Eastport (a nice lighthouse view as you stand as far east in the mainland US as you possibly can), Ouchee Gorge, Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site (you can see the very kerosene lamp Cal took the oath of office from his father), Shelburne Museum, Bathe Covered Bridge (there are scores of these in NE but this is a personal favorite of mine), Canterbury Shaker Village, Strawbery Banke (yes, both words are correctly spelled).

For a truly offbeat attraction, either one of America's most unusual prehistoric sites OR its most meaningless clumps of rocks, check out "America's Stonehedge." Read up on it; most archeologists dismiss it as built in the 1700s but some aren't so sure. Then decide if you want to spend the money.

Hey Ellen, if you're anything like the REAL Ellen Griswold, I LOVE YOU! And you're too good for Sparky!

TJ if you pine for someone with a tendency toward inappropriate tirades like the one Ellen recently displayed, you're one masochistic, henpecked dude who doesn't know any better. More like Joan Crawford than Ellen Griswold.

Ellen, you go girlfriend!!!! Well said.

Thank you again, for all your thoughtful replies! You have given me a great place to start! I'm headed out this am to check out the Explorer Guides suggested here, and also see what Fodor's and Frommers offer. Fodor's National Park books have been our Bibles the last decade!

I'm sure I will be back with more questions ~ and I WILL let you know what we decide. I DID post a LONG trip report of this past summer's Western Adventure in July, the first one I planned with the help of all you wonderful Fodorites!

Thanks again, everyone! Have a lovely day!