Teenagers First Time in New England
 

I'm traveling to New England with my two teenagers in a couple of weeks. We fly into Boston at noon and will be staying at a B&B in Kennebunkport Saturday night. While in Maine, I'd like to get the kids on a Lobster Boat tour. Any suggestions for Kennebunkport? Where do we get a good pier-side lobster dinner?

Sunday we head up to Conway and across the Kancamangus to Lincoln and then over to Fairlee, VT for a business conference. Any sites we should see on the way? Maybe a quaint local dinner for lunch? Recommendations for activities in Fairlee?

On Tuesday it's back to Boston for a day + and the Freedom Trail. Any suggestions are welcome. I love experiencing the local ambience and want to share that with the kiddos.

I'm afraid you've picked what I consider the dreariest month for a visit. Here in NH we had 78 deg weather a few days ago but yesterday was sunny and blustery. The trees are quickly shedding leaves. Some high elevations are seeing the first snow. Not sure when snow making starts at the ski areas. Not sure you can find a lobster cruise this time of year. Portland ME has a year round schedule for the mailboat stopping briefly at different islands in Casco Bay. Not much narration.
The Kanc is thru national forest so you'll see some good mountain vistas. Conway is always busy. Best to find lunch in that area because of the many options.
For quaint and somewhat local I would take the route from Rt 16 south of Conway thru Tamworth and over to Center Sandwich. The Corner House Tavern gets good reviews and is definitely quaint. We haven't been to the Squam Lake Science Center in Holderness for years but you might check to see what's going on. If you head down to Moultonborough and then over to Meredith you can pick up Rt 93. Meredith is a pretty tourist town on Lake Winnipesaukee.

What do your kids like to do? If they like hiking, there are plenty of opportunities in VT and NH, check the nps.gov site and search for Appalachain trail for a start. It will be cold in the mountains and some ski areas are already making snow and one or two are open, so if that is something they would like, check the sites for the ski areas.

In Boston, the Museum of Science is great for teens, fantastic show on static electricity, great planetarium, Imax etc. The freedom trail is great, but don't miss the USS Constitution too. There are islands in the harbor that have mail boats that go to them in the summer, not sure about Nov. but worth a check, also a ferry that goes out to Provincetown on Cape Cod, not sure about this time of year, but also something that teens might find interesting.

If you are not familiar with the unique driving conditions in Boston, use the T to get around in the city.

Dress in layers, mid November can be cool, crisp, sunny and neat or damp, rainy, and cold, or snowy, icy, and freezing. You will probably meet all of these if you stay more than a day.

As others have mentioned, mid November is a cold, dreary month in this part of the world. I can't imagine going on a lobster boat in freezing temps. However, you could get lucky and have some nice sunny days in the 50's. The white mountains of New Hampshire offer spectacular hiking opportunities, just be sure to dress warmly, and stay in no hunting areas. The woods of Northern New England are full of hunters in November. There are lots of places to eat & shop in North Conway, Lincoln & Woodstock New Hampshire. As for Fairlee, its a quiet little village on the Connecticut River. It's a great area for bicycling or kayaking (weather permitting). It does have a quaint little diner. Just a few miles south is Hanover New Hampshire, a very beautiful college (Dartmouth) town with several good restaurants, a very nice art museum, and some fun shops. A good place to stroll around. Just across the river is the Montshire Museum of Science - a fun, hands on place for families. About 1/2 hour west of Fairlee is Woodstock Vermont, the ultimate cutesy Vermont tourist destination. It's another nice place to stroll around - shops, restaurants, art galleries.
If your kids get bored and crave a Mcdonalds or WalMart, Rte 12a in West Lebanon New Hampshire is our regional strip mall shopping area.