i am not a travel writer. one important reason why is that i seldom travel.
the truth is, i have enough paid-time-off hours at work to take a 2-month vacation. clearly, i have not perfected the idea of taking time away.
recently, however, mrs. kudzu and i did take a week-long trip to new england. we had never been to that part of america, and decided to treat ourselves in celebration of our 30th wedding anniversary. somewhere along the way, we realized it was the first time she and i had taken a trip without kids since our honeymoon.
since we are not seasoned travelers, i would warn you not to take our suggestions as gospel, but here's my take on the american northeast:
day 1: the hartford, connecticut airport is amazing. easy to get to, easy to get out of, easy to rent a car, easy return a rental. plus, we had the amazing hospitality of Jasmine, who made the start of our vacation awesome.
day 1, lesson 1: georgia could learn a few things about rest stops and welcome centers. the welcome centers in maine and vermont are stunning, filled with information and practically a destination themselves. the vermont welcome center featured vermont-crafted furniture, woven items, sculpture and more.
day 1, lesson 2: new englanders either love dunkin donuts or they just don't have a choice. i didn't see any other kind of coffee shop in the six states we visited: connecticut, maine, massachusetts, new hampshire, new york and vermont. good thing i don't mind their coffee.
day 1: we decided to rent a place in newport, new hampshire because it is centrally located in new england. it's a 2-2.5 hour drive to northern vermont, maine, massachusetts, connecticut and the canadian border. kenny and travis, our hosts, gave us all kinds of tips for exploring the area. our airbnb was built in 1912 and had a cabin vibe that we loved. of course, there was a dunkin donuts and a grocery store less than a mile away.
day 1: newport, new hampshire is a good home base also because of its proximity to numerous covered bridges. we took the top off our rented jeep and drove around the area in search of them, including the longest covered railroad bridge (no longer in use) and the longest covered bridge in america. new hampshire is one side of the bridge. vermont is on the other. founded in 1761, newport has a small downtown area that includes a revere bell, which i hadn't heard of before. it's a short drive to mount sunapee, a ski and lake resort, if those kinds of activities are on your agenda. if you're looking for night life and a restaurant scene, don't stay there. there's not a lot to do in the fall in newport, but it's location makes it ideal.
day 2: maine is a must-see state. we visited kennebunk and kennebunkport before heading to freeport. kennebunkport, if you don't know, is home to the (presidents) bush family compound. it's on ocean drive. you can't get too close to the manse, but you won't care. the sea breaking against the rocks and the fancy houses on ocean drive are enough. kennebunkport is a tourist town, but it's quaint, colorful and fun. the town is also filled with old sea captain's houses including the wedding cake house. definitely visit.
day 2: the llbean store stays open around the clock. i should add that it's not a store, it's several stores. if we visit again, we'll leave our airbnb earlier to spend more time in maine. our stop at llbean in freeport was mostly in the dark and after most of the other stores in freeport had closed. still, it was very cool, and it was nice that we could buy things there and ship them home.
day 3: salem, massachusetts is a great place to visit in october. we spent a day there exploring the history of the witch trials in 1692. we toured a graveyard that includes the burial place of a mayflower pilgrim and other ancient (by american standards) graves, and we learned there are no convicted witches buried there. why? because they were convicted of witchcraft and put to death, they weren't permitted a christian burial. there is a witch trial memorial adjacent to the cemetery. i was surprised that so many of the convicted witches were men and that one of them was pressed to death. yikes! we also visited the witch house and the ropes mansion, made famous in popular culture in the movie hocus pocus. there were tons of tourists there dressed in witch hats or other costumes, which made the day fun. it's an easily walkable town with lots of restaurants and witch-themed shops. the one thing that surprised me probably shouldn't have. i didn't realize that salem was a coastal town. walking to the port, with an adjacent customs house from the colonial days, was pretty cool. that same custom house is connected to nathaniel hawthorne's the scarlet letter.
day 4: skip burlington, vermont. i had seen beautiful pictures of church street. they were so compelling that i wanted to go. burlington is on the shore of lake champlain and home to the university of vermont. church street is several blocks long of beautiful brick, with a picturesque church at one end. no cars are allowed there. parking is plentiful, and the shopping options offer something for just about everyone. (we purchased a flannel blanket/quilt from the vermont flannel company that is our favorite souvenir from our trip.) but, church street is filled with vagrants who don't mind asking you for money and don't mind sitting in an entryway to a store.
day 5 and 6: visit vermont. even thought burlington was a bit of a disappointment, the rest of the state was not. when we do go on vacation, we seldom do the "touristy" things," but we did on this trip. on day 5, we hit ben and jerry's factory in waterbury and the king arthur flour store and baking school in norwich. on day 6, we visited several covered bridges as well as the vermont country store, which was pretty cool and filled with maple syrup among other things. if i had it to do over again, i think i'd go to derby line, vermont, rather than burlington. i'm still mad at myself for not going there. there's a public library there that sits on the u.s./canadian border. you enter the library in america, but if you want to browse books, you have to cross the international border into canada. as i understand it, no passport is required, but they do suggest bringing one just in case.
day 7: pratt street in hartford, connecticut is a nice little pedestrian mall that was easy to access. we ate at bloom bakery there on our way to the airport before returning home. bloom is a combination florist and bakery. really. we had a chicken salad sandwich that was dang good. we were trying to grab a photo of ourselves using the timer function on my phone. it worked, but almost as soon as we were done, a group of men on their lunch break walked by and offered to take the picture for us. genuinely nice people, i tell you.
lesson 3: we did not encounter any rude northerners. i'm beginning to think the idea of southern hospitality is just something we like to say in the south to make ourselves feel better about the heat. every person we encountered was kind, helpful, friendly and warm.
lesson 4: pub food is where it's at. the mrs. and i don't eat out all that much. so, when we were hungry around lunchtime, driving through massachusetts, i had an idea. i saw a sign that said holyoke. i knew there was a mt. holyoke college, and from my experience, there's always good food around good colleges. we found ourselves at the yarde tavern in south hadley, mass. my pulled-pork sandwich was incredible. we also ate at blackback pub in waterbury, vermont and at the public house pub in quechee (pronounced KWEH-chee), vermont. every one of them had great food, great service and great staff.
here's a gallery of some of the standouts of our trip. enjoy!
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