Balco
Footballguy
I went years ago, I think I was around 12, but I didn't really see too much going on there. Some guys holding hands, that's about it. I agree, it is fine for families. Had some nice bike routes as well.
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Touring New England 8-10 days - Completed (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter rick6668
- Start date
Dickie Dunn
Footballguy
Huge garage, but depending on what day you go, it could be pretty packed with commuters. It wouldn't be a very long cab ride, if you need to go that route.
To get there, get back on 93 North but stay to the right and drive like you're going to take Route 3 South at the "Braintree split". There will be an immediate exit for Burgin Parkway, and that will take you right to the Quincy Adams station.
squidrope
Footballguy
Doesn't look too bad... but Days 5, 6, & 8: Need some rearranging here. Newport is a slam-dunk. But I would think long and hard about how to combine the Boston-Provincetown Ferry with my tour of the Cape and the Boston open day. Imo, not much to see on the upper cape... outer cape has the best sights and that can be a long drive from the mainland. I guess, if it were me, I'd just drive to Boston, park... take the ferry to P-Town, go and see the Cape that way... spend a day in Boston, etc... and then drive down to Newport after I was done with Boston & the Cape.
So I'd drive from Portsmouth to Boston... park... take ferry to P-town and arrange a B&B or whatever in P-town. See if you can catch a bus tour of the cape or a whale watch from P-town... when done with the Cape, just return to Boston on the ferry and hoof it to see what you can of Boston, then head down to Newport. I would NOT try driving all the way down to the Cape and mess around with the bridges, etc. Too long a drive, too much time wasted.
my
I agree with the above about the waste of time dealing with the bridge and the drive on the cape. Take the ferry, you'll be happy that you did. Your itinerary has me tired looking at it. Missing the Mayflower is worth the rest you'll get.
When in Portsmouth you might check and see if there is a play going at Prescott park. Bring a blanket and stake out your spot early to get good seats (leave the blanket and come back at show time). I always bring out of towners to Chauncey Creek lobster pound (Kittery ME). Lobster in the "rough" (picnic tables) BYOB. It's on a tidal creek and people will show up in boats to dine there. Get there early if you don't want to wait. Great place and experience. There is also an old water front fort your kids might like exploring that is a few miles from C.C. It's called Fort McCleary.
I agree that your kids would love Hampton Beach. (FYI- NH has 15ish miles of coastline and 3 of the beaches are among the 50 cleanest beaches in the country) But there is a few (State park) beaches just north of HB that are less honky-tonk, that your kids and wife would love too. Jenness, Wallis Sands, North Hampton (Beach Plum directly across street has great lobster rolls and ice cream. All state beaches have facilities (N Hampton and Hampton updated recently) If you have rain, check out Seacoast Science Center. They have an indoor tidal pool that allow you to handle star fish and other tidal creatures. Plus some other nice interactive stuff.
Let us know how you enjoyed your trip.
squid
rick6668
Footballguy
Well, trip is complete, got home Saturday afternoon. Thought I'd post an update for those who asked.
Day 1:
Drove from Rochester through the Adirondacks (Lake Placid). Hadn't been there in quite a while. Stopped shortly after Lake Placid in a valley along the river to take a break and watch some climbers climbing a very steep cliff. Didn't spend too much time here as the Adirondacks are relatively close and will be an easy weekend trip. Took the Ferry across Lake Champlain (Essex Ferry, thanks on the recommendation The_Man). This was a great ride. Drove on to the Hotel in Waterbury, checked in and then onto to Ben and Jerry's Factory. Took the tour, kids loved it and decided to just have ice cream for dinner. Great Day, weather was perfect, sunny and high 70's low 80's.
Day 2: Drive to Mount Washington. Stopped at the town of Gorham for lunch and a train museum at the Gorham Historical Society. My oldest son really enjoyed this, they had turned the old train station into a museum and also had a small museum in one of the rail cars there. They even had a Russel snow plow there which my son was very excited to see and get his picture taken with. Drove on to the Auto Road, it wasn't quite open yet as there was a bike race in the morning. I knew this already, so we hit up the gift shop/welcome center and it opened in about a half hour. Driving up the Auto Road was great. My wife was terrified of the heights. Spectacular views all around, was a perfect clear sunny day (got lucky). Stopped at various points on the way up to take pictures. Reached the summit and walked around for a little while, it was much cooler and a little windy but not really bad at all. The Cog Railway train was just coming up, so we got some pics of that as well. Got some great pics up here and then took the drive back down again stopping a few times to rest the breaks and take in the scenery. The CD you get to listen to was great, 2 tracks one for going up and one for going down. Then drove into Maine (Not much to see in this part of Maine) and onto Bar Harbor. Checked into the hotel, then into town for Dinner. Ate at Pat's Pizza, kids enjoyed it, walked around the town some and then to the hotel for the night. Long day of driving, but worth it.
Day 3:
Spent the Day in Bar Harbor/Acadia. Rented bikes from Acadia Bike (my daughter got a tag-a-long to mine) and took the shuttle to Acadia. Took the trail around Eagle Lake and Jordan Pond, stopped at Jordan Pond house for a break and visit the gift shop. Had the pop overs, they were great. Rode back along the path stopping for pictures at various points. Was pretty tired by then end, just over 10 miles on the rock/dirt trail pulling my daughter so we had enough biking. Took the shuttle back to Bar Harbor and brought the bike back. The tide was high at this point, so we headed back to the hotel and let the kids swim for a few hours. Then went to the bar and the tide was now down enough to expose the bar and we walked to Bar Island letting the kids explore the rocks and pools exposed when the tide went out. We were all pretty tired after this so we stopped at a restaurant on the way back to the hotel for dinner and called it a day. Great busy tiring day.
Day 4:
Drive down Route 1 on our way to Portsmouth NH along the coast and took in the sights. Another beautiful sunny day. Stopped at Kennebunkport, then drove along 1A to stop at York Beach and played with the kids in the sand and water. The water was really cold. Stopped for ice cream at The Goldenrod and walked around some of the shops. Stopped at the Nubble Lighthouse and onto the hotel in Portsmouth. Kids were really tired, so we just ordered a pizza in the room. (Can't remember the place but it was good). Kids swam in the pool at the hotel and then to bed.
Day 5:
Drove along the coast again on our way to the Cape. Was foggy along the coast but was supposed to clear up and be a good day, so we skipped the Seacoast Science Center as this was a rainy day destination (Thanks squid) . Stopped at Hampton Beach (Thanks fred, Gawain, captain amazing, johnnycakes for the suggestion) It was still cloudy, so we parked and walked along the walkway and then along the shops on the way back. Kids stopped at the arcades and played a few, my younger son loved the shooting gallery. By the time we had walked back to the car, it had cleared up and was beautiful out. Hit the beach with the kids. They loved this place, playing in the sand and jumping in the waves. Water was warmer than York. After a few hours, packed up and headed down to Plymouth. Drove right through Boston, this was nice, but we'll be back. Was my 14 year old's birthday, so we stopped for lunch at a Red Robin just outside of Plymouth. Drove into Plymouth, visited Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower II. We all loved this, very cool place. After a couple hours, back in the car and down to Hyannis on the cape. Checked into the hotel and then went onto the town of Hyannis to walk along the shops and got ice cream at Katie's. Back to the hotel, kids swam in the pool and then to bed. Another beautiful day, but starting to rain a little in the evening and not supposed to be a good day tomorrow. Storms and rain.
Day 6:
Day at the Cape. Wasn't raining yet, so we decided to drive to the outer cape and maybe see the Cape Cod National Seashore and Provincetown. Stopped at Salt Pond visitor center and drove by Nauset Light Beach. Rain started in, so headed to Provincetown. Rained all the way there and poured at Provincetown. Was raining too hard to even stop so we decided to drive back toward the hotel. Once back I checked the weather and it looked like there was an hour or so of possible clear weather, so we hit up Pirate's Cove mini golf. Was a lot of fun, had to hide out twice in the tunnels during a brief downpour, but overall it wasn't bad. Had dinner at a seafood place, I had Lobster, Wife and kids had haddock. Very good. Drove to a model train store in Hyannis as my son wanted something for his birthday the day before and he picked up a few things. Back to the hotel, kids swam and another night in the books.
Day 7:
Visit Rhode Island. Drove along the south western coast of the cape, not much to see here really. Should have likely just taken Route 6 out of there, but oh well. Made it to Newport. Was another beautiful sunny day in the low 80's. Walked around a little, wish we had more time here, great place. Drove to Brenton Point State Park for some great pictures along the Ocean, then to Fort Adams State Park and visited the Fort. Very cool place. Drove back up through Newport and across the bridges and along 1A. Narragansett beach looked great but was very busy. Drove along the coast further and down to Point Judith Lighthouse for some pics and then Aunt Carrie's for lunch (Thanks John Bender) Had the clam cakes and the flounder, was excellent. Kids really liked the raisin bread. Also got ice cream here at Aunt Carrie's, then drove back up to Scarborough Beach. Great beach! Kids loved it here and the waves were really rolling. Kids didn't want to leave, but had to go after a few hours as we changed our hotel from Newport to Braintree to make sure we got a full day in Boston. So we packed up and drove to Braintree. Checked in and off to bed.
Day 8:
The hotel provided a shuttle to the T station at Quincy Adams, so after breakfast at the hotel, we took the shuttle and the the "T" into Boston. Got off at State on our way to Faneuil Hall. Tour Guide stopped us right after we exited the station in front of the Old State House and used my kids in a Boston Massacre Re-enactment. Very Cool! Signed up for our guided tour along the Freedom Trail. It was going to leave in 45 minutes, so we walked through Quincy Market and the surrounding shops. Took our tour which was very fun. It was only us 5 and another group of 4, so it was nice. Visited various points on our way to the Boston Common. Once the tour was complete, we headed back to Quincy Market for lunch. Then took the T to the Science Center for our Duck Tour. Didn't realize you had to book a time, so I decided to book 6pm and in the meantime, we'd head over to the Aquarium. This was great for the kids, they got to touch Ray's Starfish etc. Saw a ton of interesting things as well as the large center tank. After a few hours we headed back to the Science Center for our Duck Tour. This might have been the kids favorite part of the trip. Our guide/driver was "Cowgirl" and was a lot of fun. All three kids got to drive the Duck in the Charles River. Saw a lot of historic sights. When it was over, we took the 'T' back to Quincy Adams and had the shuttle pick us up. Would have liked to have dinner in Boston, but my 6 year old was pretty beat. It was 9 o'clock when we got back to the hotel, we went out for a quick dinner and then off to bed. Weather was picture perfect. There was a game at Fenway, but just not enough time in a day. We'll be back.
Day 9:
Drive home
This was a great trip and we we able to see so many things. We will definitely be back to see more of Boston and I'd love to have more time at the beaches in RI. Only 1 day of rain at the cape, couldn't really ask for better weather. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions on things to do/places to stop.
Day 1:
Drove from Rochester through the Adirondacks (Lake Placid). Hadn't been there in quite a while. Stopped shortly after Lake Placid in a valley along the river to take a break and watch some climbers climbing a very steep cliff. Didn't spend too much time here as the Adirondacks are relatively close and will be an easy weekend trip. Took the Ferry across Lake Champlain (Essex Ferry, thanks on the recommendation The_Man). This was a great ride. Drove on to the Hotel in Waterbury, checked in and then onto to Ben and Jerry's Factory. Took the tour, kids loved it and decided to just have ice cream for dinner. Great Day, weather was perfect, sunny and high 70's low 80's.
Day 2: Drive to Mount Washington. Stopped at the town of Gorham for lunch and a train museum at the Gorham Historical Society. My oldest son really enjoyed this, they had turned the old train station into a museum and also had a small museum in one of the rail cars there. They even had a Russel snow plow there which my son was very excited to see and get his picture taken with. Drove on to the Auto Road, it wasn't quite open yet as there was a bike race in the morning. I knew this already, so we hit up the gift shop/welcome center and it opened in about a half hour. Driving up the Auto Road was great. My wife was terrified of the heights. Spectacular views all around, was a perfect clear sunny day (got lucky). Stopped at various points on the way up to take pictures. Reached the summit and walked around for a little while, it was much cooler and a little windy but not really bad at all. The Cog Railway train was just coming up, so we got some pics of that as well. Got some great pics up here and then took the drive back down again stopping a few times to rest the breaks and take in the scenery. The CD you get to listen to was great, 2 tracks one for going up and one for going down. Then drove into Maine (Not much to see in this part of Maine) and onto Bar Harbor. Checked into the hotel, then into town for Dinner. Ate at Pat's Pizza, kids enjoyed it, walked around the town some and then to the hotel for the night. Long day of driving, but worth it.
Day 3:
Spent the Day in Bar Harbor/Acadia. Rented bikes from Acadia Bike (my daughter got a tag-a-long to mine) and took the shuttle to Acadia. Took the trail around Eagle Lake and Jordan Pond, stopped at Jordan Pond house for a break and visit the gift shop. Had the pop overs, they were great. Rode back along the path stopping for pictures at various points. Was pretty tired by then end, just over 10 miles on the rock/dirt trail pulling my daughter so we had enough biking. Took the shuttle back to Bar Harbor and brought the bike back. The tide was high at this point, so we headed back to the hotel and let the kids swim for a few hours. Then went to the bar and the tide was now down enough to expose the bar and we walked to Bar Island letting the kids explore the rocks and pools exposed when the tide went out. We were all pretty tired after this so we stopped at a restaurant on the way back to the hotel for dinner and called it a day. Great busy tiring day.
Day 4:
Drive down Route 1 on our way to Portsmouth NH along the coast and took in the sights. Another beautiful sunny day. Stopped at Kennebunkport, then drove along 1A to stop at York Beach and played with the kids in the sand and water. The water was really cold. Stopped for ice cream at The Goldenrod and walked around some of the shops. Stopped at the Nubble Lighthouse and onto the hotel in Portsmouth. Kids were really tired, so we just ordered a pizza in the room. (Can't remember the place but it was good). Kids swam in the pool at the hotel and then to bed.
Day 5:
Drove along the coast again on our way to the Cape. Was foggy along the coast but was supposed to clear up and be a good day, so we skipped the Seacoast Science Center as this was a rainy day destination (Thanks squid) . Stopped at Hampton Beach (Thanks fred, Gawain, captain amazing, johnnycakes for the suggestion) It was still cloudy, so we parked and walked along the walkway and then along the shops on the way back. Kids stopped at the arcades and played a few, my younger son loved the shooting gallery. By the time we had walked back to the car, it had cleared up and was beautiful out. Hit the beach with the kids. They loved this place, playing in the sand and jumping in the waves. Water was warmer than York. After a few hours, packed up and headed down to Plymouth. Drove right through Boston, this was nice, but we'll be back. Was my 14 year old's birthday, so we stopped for lunch at a Red Robin just outside of Plymouth. Drove into Plymouth, visited Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower II. We all loved this, very cool place. After a couple hours, back in the car and down to Hyannis on the cape. Checked into the hotel and then went onto the town of Hyannis to walk along the shops and got ice cream at Katie's. Back to the hotel, kids swam in the pool and then to bed. Another beautiful day, but starting to rain a little in the evening and not supposed to be a good day tomorrow. Storms and rain.
Day 6:
Day at the Cape. Wasn't raining yet, so we decided to drive to the outer cape and maybe see the Cape Cod National Seashore and Provincetown. Stopped at Salt Pond visitor center and drove by Nauset Light Beach. Rain started in, so headed to Provincetown. Rained all the way there and poured at Provincetown. Was raining too hard to even stop so we decided to drive back toward the hotel. Once back I checked the weather and it looked like there was an hour or so of possible clear weather, so we hit up Pirate's Cove mini golf. Was a lot of fun, had to hide out twice in the tunnels during a brief downpour, but overall it wasn't bad. Had dinner at a seafood place, I had Lobster, Wife and kids had haddock. Very good. Drove to a model train store in Hyannis as my son wanted something for his birthday the day before and he picked up a few things. Back to the hotel, kids swam and another night in the books.
Day 7:
Visit Rhode Island. Drove along the south western coast of the cape, not much to see here really. Should have likely just taken Route 6 out of there, but oh well. Made it to Newport. Was another beautiful sunny day in the low 80's. Walked around a little, wish we had more time here, great place. Drove to Brenton Point State Park for some great pictures along the Ocean, then to Fort Adams State Park and visited the Fort. Very cool place. Drove back up through Newport and across the bridges and along 1A. Narragansett beach looked great but was very busy. Drove along the coast further and down to Point Judith Lighthouse for some pics and then Aunt Carrie's for lunch (Thanks John Bender) Had the clam cakes and the flounder, was excellent. Kids really liked the raisin bread. Also got ice cream here at Aunt Carrie's, then drove back up to Scarborough Beach. Great beach! Kids loved it here and the waves were really rolling. Kids didn't want to leave, but had to go after a few hours as we changed our hotel from Newport to Braintree to make sure we got a full day in Boston. So we packed up and drove to Braintree. Checked in and off to bed.
Day 8:
The hotel provided a shuttle to the T station at Quincy Adams, so after breakfast at the hotel, we took the shuttle and the the "T" into Boston. Got off at State on our way to Faneuil Hall. Tour Guide stopped us right after we exited the station in front of the Old State House and used my kids in a Boston Massacre Re-enactment. Very Cool! Signed up for our guided tour along the Freedom Trail. It was going to leave in 45 minutes, so we walked through Quincy Market and the surrounding shops. Took our tour which was very fun. It was only us 5 and another group of 4, so it was nice. Visited various points on our way to the Boston Common. Once the tour was complete, we headed back to Quincy Market for lunch. Then took the T to the Science Center for our Duck Tour. Didn't realize you had to book a time, so I decided to book 6pm and in the meantime, we'd head over to the Aquarium. This was great for the kids, they got to touch Ray's Starfish etc. Saw a ton of interesting things as well as the large center tank. After a few hours we headed back to the Science Center for our Duck Tour. This might have been the kids favorite part of the trip. Our guide/driver was "Cowgirl" and was a lot of fun. All three kids got to drive the Duck in the Charles River. Saw a lot of historic sights. When it was over, we took the 'T' back to Quincy Adams and had the shuttle pick us up. Would have liked to have dinner in Boston, but my 6 year old was pretty beat. It was 9 o'clock when we got back to the hotel, we went out for a quick dinner and then off to bed. Weather was picture perfect. There was a game at Fenway, but just not enough time in a day. We'll be back.
Day 9:
Drive home
This was a great trip and we we able to see so many things. We will definitely be back to see more of Boston and I'd love to have more time at the beaches in RI. Only 1 day of rain at the cape, couldn't really ask for better weather. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions on things to do/places to stop.
johnnycakes
Footballguy
Glad you had a great time.... you must be young... I'd need a vacation after that vacation!
