While the food is well-crafted, it’s the general merriment that makes The Back Eddy in Westport, Massachusetts, a summer dining must. The kitchen relies on nearby waters for the bulk of its plates, including classic fish-and-chips; crispy, cuminy wild shrimp; and all manner of shellfish. There’s plenty for landlubbers, too, from fiery habenero meatloaf to […]
Travel
Walden Pond
Walden Pond State Reservation Open year-round 8 a.m.-sunset; day use only. $5/vehicle parking fee. Route 126 South, Concord and Lincoln, MA. Visitors’ Center, 915 Walden St., Concord, MA. 978-369-3254; mass.gov/dcr/parks/walden
Walden Pond: Thoreau’s Sacred Place
View a slide show from photographer Smari’s book on Walden: A Year. If you come early enough on a summer morning to Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, you get a sense of where Henry David Thoreau lived, and what he lived for. Light slants through the towering pines on the southeastern shore, glittering on the […]
Ski Resorts in Summer
Looking for scenery, endless activities, few crowds, and family fun? New England’s ski resorts may be the best summer and autumn destinations around. And the best bargains. Here is a sampling of ski resorts that have transformed into summer destinations. Remember to look on your favorite ski resort’s web site for summer and fall packages. […]
Paddling A-Long
Kayaking under one of Vermont’s famous covered bridges. It just doesn’t get any more beautiful than this!
Five Favorite New England Inns
Finest Summer “Cottage” Inn at Shelburne Farms 1611 Harbor Road Shelburne, VT 802-985-8498 (inn) 802-985-8686 (farm) shelburnefarms.org As I drive directly into the setting sun, the entry posts appear as two shimmering blurs. My vision clears, but the illusion of passing through the pearly gates persists. “Welcome to Shelburne Farms,” the gatekeeper says, advising that […]
One summer, I stood on a platform in the Junior Miss department of Jordan Marsh at Rhode Island’s Warwick Mall and watched my favorite stockboy wheel overloaded racks of men’s suits and women’s coats through the aisles. It was 1973, and I was a Marsha Jordan Girl, one of eight high school kids who modeled […]
Memorial Day Parade
Concord, MA: History, Museums, Places to Stay
When the red-coated ranks of British regulars tramped westward from Boston on the fateful morning of April 19, 1775, little did they know that they were about to catapult the sleepy village of Concord, Massachusetts into the history books. The British captured the rebels’ stores of ammunition and flour and dumped the lot into the […]
East Bay Sunset
Sailboat in the east bay
Rhode Island Foliage Driving Tour
I REALIZE THAT some travelers think of Rhode Island as a tangle of highway blocking easy access to somewhere else. I say give them a map and bid them Godspeed. I know this small and unruly state, and I can tell you for a fact that it affords more opportunities for easy enjoyment than any […]
Connecticut Foliage Driving Tour
THERE’S A PERFECTLY good reason why Nathan (“I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country”) Hale came from northeastern Connecticut. Settled a generation after the rest of New England’s colonizing along the coastline and the Connecticut River Valley, this area became home to many ex-Massachusetts families looking for more […]