A Letter to Our Readers
The gifts that travel brings us aren’t bounded by any season, but when the air softens, the promise of summer and the days following nudge so easily into fall — well, traveling then just feels different, doesn’t it? Remember, when you were a child, that almost inexpressible sense of escape on the last day of […]
The gifts that travel brings us aren’t bounded by any season, but when the air softens, the promise of summer and the days following nudge so easily into fall — well, traveling then just feels different, doesn’t it?
Remember, when you were a child, that almost inexpressible sense of escape on the last day of school? I’ve never replicated that burst of freedom and joy as an adult, except right before a summer vacation — when the days stretch ahead, full of plans, or no plans — just the feeling of going somewhere new, or returning to somewhere I love but haven’t seen in far too long.
That’s the feeling I hope you get from these pages. The wonder of New England travel is how compact this region is. All the places you see in this special travel issue are within a few hours’ drive of one another. New England gives travelers more variety, more choices, in less area than anywhere else in America. We’ve done our best to capture all the diversity these six states offer.
Inside, surround yourself with art and culture, take a stroll through our graceful small towns, discover a history tour you’ve never heard about but that will stay with you long after, explore more lakes and rivers than you can imagine, find the best beach, and venture north to see moose. This is the New England we know and invite you to share.
I also want to invite you to travel without leaving home: the no-gasoline way to discover what makes New England unique. Our award-winning Web site, YankeeMagazine.com, has long brought New England right to your desk — but now we take you deeper, to the passions and expertise of our bloggers. Below find Heather Atwell (skiing and the outdoors), Annie B. Copps (food), Justin Shatwell (music), Edgar Allen Beem (New England art), Polly Bannister (home), and my own shaggy self (the world of Yankee). And surely in the months ahead we’ll be adding more voices. Our blogs are really conversations with you about what we love. I think you’ll find us good guides and good companions. This is a trip we can take together.
As always, I want to know your favorite places in New England. Send me an e-mail at editor@YankeeMagazine.com, or write me at Editor, Yankee Magazine, 1121 Main Street, Dublin, NH 03444.
Mel Allen
Mel Allen is the fifth editor of Yankee Magazine since its beginning in 1935. His first byline in Yankee appeared in 1977 and he joined the staff in 1979 as a senior editor. Eventually he became executive editor and in the summer of 2006 became editor. During his career he has edited and written for every section of the magazine, including home, food, and travel, while his pursuit of long form story telling has always been vital to his mission as well. He has raced a sled dog team, crawled into the dens of black bears, fished with the legendary Ted Williams, profiled astronaut Alan Shephard, and stood beneath a battleship before it was launched. He also once helped author Stephen King round up his pigs for market, but that story is for another day. Mel taught fourth grade in Maine for three years and believes that his education as a writer began when he had to hold the attention of 29 children through months of Maine winters. He learned you had to grab their attention and hold it. After 12 years teaching magazine writing at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, he now teaches in the MFA creative nonfiction program at Bay Path University in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. Like all editors, his greatest joy is finding new talent and bringing their work to light.
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