After touring six new states in New England over the course of four days and four nights with my mom and sister last week, it feels good to finally be setting aside some time to relax on my weekend and write about our trip! Life is always moving forward; I just have to try to remember to catch up! Sometimes it can be hard to make time for even our favorite people and things but it is always worth it to do so. Like travel and writing 🙂
I planned this trip with my mom and sister for Memorial Day weekend and this was, surprisingly, the first trip the three of us had taken together as adults. We knew we wanted to stay some cool places, eat some amazing food (seafood!!) and see as many new states as possible. They let me do most of the planning leading up to the trip and I compiled a pretty incredible four day itinerary for us.
The three of us arrived separately on Thursday evening to start our trip in Boston, MA; my mom flew in from Detroit, MI, my sister from San Francisco, CA, and myself from Tampa, FL.
Day 1
After arriving to our hotel well past midnight, I had a restless night of sleep and woke up early on Friday to hit the gym before my mom and sister got up and around. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Boston Harbor, since it was conveniently right next to the airport and my sister could get us a free night with her Hyatt rewards (score!). We had a beautiful 12th floor view over the harbor and downtown Boston from our room.
We grabbed a quick lox bagel breakfast sandwich at home.stead bakery & cafe in the southern part of Boston before heading to see the sights downtown. A lot of people will recommend the Freedom Trail but we weren’t as interested in seeing the history of the city as other travelers may be since we only had one day here. There definitely is a lot to see if you decide to walk it! We started by walking through Boston Common and Boston Public Garden (apparently the first public botanical garden in America). I always love to see a bit of nature in the city. We kept going and wandered through Newbury Street, which is basically a long row of expensive boutiques on a very enchanting street with some older architecture to appreciate as well.
By then, it was time to get off our feet and grab a bite to eat and a cocktail at Citrus & Salt. I highly recommend the Pan-Roasted Scallops (almond jam, gooseberry salsa, candied chiles) for a bite and the Take Your Pants Off for a cocktail. The atmosphere and food was a tasteful and impressive coastal Mexican vibe.
Before heading out of town we stopped to walk through Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall, a great go-to spot for a quick bite in a market-style atmosphere. They seriously have everything you could possibly want from seafood to Greek to homemade Boston cream pies. Also a great spot to grab some souvenirs.
After having our fill of the big city, we headed north up the coast (<2 hours) to Portland, Maine where we had reserved an incredible Airbnb overlooking the Port of Portland. We couldn’t make it to our room without stopping for an indulgent dinner at Scales downtown Portland first. Every item we had was fresh, seasonal, local, and incredible. I don’t have enough good things to say about our experience here, including the service! We started with a bottle of Pinot Gris and the Ramp Rolls that came highly recommended. For our entrees my mom had the Seared Scallops (smooth as butter), my sister had the Pan Roasted Halibut, and I had the Baked Haddock. We literally all but licked our plates clean everything was SO good. And then, of course, we got their seasonal blueberry & peach cobbler to top it all off. Can you say food coma?
We picked up a bottle of wine, checked into our Airbnb, and relaxed in the hot tub before calling it an early night.
Day 2
The day we had the best breakfast of our trip! We started the day at Bayside American Cafe, several blocks off the downtown strip in Portland and we had about a 30 minute wait but it was totally worth it! My sister and I split the crab cake eggs benedict and two bacon cheddar pancakes which was more than enough food. The crab cakes are made fresh each morning with crab caught locally and they are not made with excess breading; light and crisp. Again, we had great service and the funky yet charming vibe, inside what can only be referred to as a hole-in-the-wall, made our experience all the more enjoyable.
After stuffing ourselves to the absolute brim (again), we headed to the Fort Williams Park & Lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth (20 minutes south of Portland) to burn off a few calories. Apparently, the Portland Head Light is the most photographed lighthouse in America and the oldest in Maine. The park is a decent size and there are several trails and even a small beach if you want to spend several hours at the park relaxing.
We headed back to Portland to visit the Urban Farm Fermentory. This is where brewery meets fermentory and you can get flights of kombucha, mead, jun, cider, and beer! The vibes, music, and tasting room are all excellent and we ended up spending several hours here and taking a growler of the blueberry mead for the road. I definitely recommend this for a visit to Portland if you are into any of the five things listed above.
We knew we couldn’t leave Maine without stopping for a lobster roll at Highroller. I was really impressed that their roll was more of a grilled Texas toast roll than a thick bun like most places offer. It seemed like all the good places to get a lobster roll had lines out the door, so be sure not to let yourself get to a point of starvation before stopping somewhere for lunch! We also stopped at Maine Lobster Shack on our way out of town for some clam chowder and lobster stew. I know lobster stew may sound weird but it was actually very good and one of my favorite things we tried on the trip!
We drove about an hour northwest to the quaintest town of Bridgton, Maine to find our next Airbnb. We stayed in a flat above the Depot Street Tap House conveniently right next door to Vivo, a family-owned Italian restaurant where we stopped for dinner. Our flat had a private hot tub which we took advantage of for some relaxation after dinner. If you stop at the Tap House, you have to ask for the Maine’s Tiniest Park Tour! Don’t worry about sounding crazy, they will know what you are talking about and be more than happy to oblige.
Day 3
Staying in Bridgton put us less than an hour away from the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire which is beautiful to drive through, but even more enjoyable if you stop for a hike! There are endless trails to choose from and as you drive through the forest you follow a river with tons of historic covered bridges.
Since we were so close (<1 hour) from the border of Vermont, we decided to stop for lunch at Tuckerbox for some Turkish cuisine and basically, just to say we had been to Vermont.
Next up was an almost 3 hour drive to Providence, Rhode Island – our longest drive of the trip! We rented out an artist’s loft and everything was so uniquely decorated that it blew us all away. There was even a hammock on the deck for us to relax in. Our host had left us a list of restaurant recommendations in the area and we opted for The Slow Rhode because I had been craving a fat, juicy burger for days, and because it was walkable from the flat. It was nice to wind down with a few local brews on our last night of the trip. When we got back to the flat we sat outside on the deck and caught up before settling in for the night.
Day 4
Last, but not least! We started the morning at Providence Bagel where we were greeted with a pleasant aroma of freshly baked bagels. I got the everything bagel with salmon lox smear and it was heavenly. The coffee was sub-par so I would recommend going to a proper coffee house for someone looking for a decent latte, but the bagels were incredible.
If you go to Rhode Island, you HAVE to do the Newport Cliff Walk. It is less than an hour south of Providence and was one of my favorite stops on our entire trip! The trail follows the coast and there are huge mansions and rocky shores/cliffs to take pictures of before ending up at the public beach. This would also be a great spot to come for a morning run. We passed several other sightseers on the walk but it was not crowded by any means and was actually quite pleasant.
Since we were so close (<1 hour) to Mystic, Connecticut we had to make the trip to Mystic Pizza for A Slice of Heaven! For anyone who doesn’t know about the pizza that made the movie famous (Mystic Pizza), you’ll have to go find out for yourself! The pizza did not disappoint and the small town of Mystic is charming and right on the water, making the trip more than worthwhile.
We finished our sites for the last day ahead of schedule so we stopped at Trillium Brewery on our way back to the airport in Boston. The location is in the middle of an industrial park and pretty random, but the brewery was hopping and the beers were SO good. I had two of their blackberry sour’s and if I could have taken more than 3 oz. of liquid in my carry-on, I would have definitely taken a growler for the road!
Overall, New England was an incredible experience and it is so easy to see several states in one trip!
May 2019
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