Five years ago was the last vacation dh and I made without kids. We went to San Francisco and had a blast.
So next year after the baby has weaned we want to go North East to see the changing of the seasons (and visit some awesome yarn shops). So sell me on a place (or two). I really don’t have a clue where we should go. 
I’m so excited.
I agree 150% that you and your hubby should get away, just the 2 of you. Lonnie and I have always made a point of doing just that, even if it was just overnight in a town a few minutes away, it is time that we can spend together and it’s one of the best things that we’ve done for our marriage. Of course, now our kids don’t live at home, but we still take day trips and weekend trips together (other than vacations)!
As for the northeast, I don’t know, I’ve not really been since I was a kid. I do love DC and Philly and NY, I went to NYC a few years ago and it’s just great, you can’t beat it! I guess it all depends on what you are looking for in your vacation…slow, romantic; fast-paced, lots of site-seeing, romantic or what…what do you all want to do?
It’s also going to depend on when you realistically plan on going. The foliage turns much earlier in Maine than it does in CT.
[color=blue]Maine is beautiful, actually the leaves have already started to change here. A trip up the coast would be beautiful and romantic. 
lots of B & B’s to visit. Lots of wonderful restaurants… Portland has a variety of yarn places to drool in. Or go a bit inland and head for New Hampshire–up the Kancamagus Highway or through Grafton’s Notch - incredible color.
'K will stop playing the Chamber of Commerce lol.
anne
sebago, ME [/color]
Newport, RI is a fun place. I love going to see the mansions!
Boston! (No, I’m not biased because I went to school up there and am dying to move back. I don’t know what you’re talking about.)
Boston is a pretty city, clean, has good public transportation (seriously, don’t drive in Boston. EVER. Take a cab or the T–that’s the subway system. I repeat: do not drive in Boston. Between the bad drivers and the crazy street layout…just don’t.) and is a good walking city–it’s got a small town feel, and it’s not hard to walk around, plus you find neat stuff!
I didn’t start knitting until after graduating and coming home, so I can’t comment on yarn stores, but I’m sure they exist.
And Boston has easy access to lots of pretty places where you can see the leaves–Salem is gorgeous and FUN in October, and Walden Pond is really pretty (where Thoreau used to live.) You will need a car to get to Walden, but the commuter rail goes to Salem. It’s also not far to get to other New England states–1 hr to southern Maine, an hour to CT, 45 minutes to Providence, RI. Not sure how far to Vermont.
Yeah depending on how much time you are going to take and what you really want to see you could realistically spend time in all of the New England states in a week. The driving distance between all of them is so short. When I loved in CT we made the drive to Kittery Maine in about 4 hours. We were on a long weekend and managed to do MA, VT, ME, and of course CT that weekend. Granted we didn’t spend a lot of time in each state and having more time would have been outstanding but it does go to show how easy it is to drive between the states.
(for reference it takes about five hours to drive all the way across Iowa…lol…really the states are close in NE! 
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Repeats for us have been Mystic, CT, and Burlington, VT. A “don’t miss” in Burlington is the Shelburne Museum…lots of quilts and lots of Americana.
JudyD
aaaah Mystic! (i am stalking this post…sorry…i MISS New England a LOT!!!)
Mystic is a delightful town…fun to walk around in…the seaport is great…and there is always Mystic Pizza to eat at just so you can say you have been there! (I don’t think the pizza is THAT great but it is good.) Not far from Newport either!
I’m with brendajos, they are all great and so close. DH and I drove from Maryland to Maine, stopping in every state along the way in about 11 days. We loved it!!! I must say, New Hampshire and Vermont are abosulety gorgeous! We were mountain biking a lot, so we got to see a lot of the land and forests. We also made it a point to visit tons of waterfalls along the way. We’ve been talking about going back in the fall to see the leaves…maybe next year. (we need a dreaming emoticon!) Bar Harbor in ME was our last stop, and it really let us down. We saw so many beautiful things in so many other states.
I highly recommend the mansions in Newport. They are amazing! We saw fireworks on the 4th of July in Burlington, VT, which was a nice little town, although we didn’t get to see a whole lot at night. We didn’t go to Boston, but I’ve been before, and that’s a pretty interesting city as well. Lots to see and do! Salem was really interesting as well.
If you’re into “civilized” entertainments, I say check out Boston. Concord NH is pretty ok, but nothing beats Boston - there’s just so much to do & see. If you’re into “natural” entertainments, check out the Kangamangus (I know I butured the spelling) Highway or Bar Harbor or any of the other scenic areas in New England - and there are a LOT of scenic things to see!!
A few years ago I would have recommended going to see the Old Man in the Mountain, but he collapsed. 
Such a sad day that was!!!
NE is a broad range. What do you want to do?
Brenda it’s cool to have you as a stalker on one of my posts, keep at it I’m learning a lot.
Dh and I do get away for a night here and there. Not as much as we would like, but you are so right Rebecca it is important. Just planning it is so good for us.
I live in Texas. Going to see my brother in Dallas is a 8 to 9 hour drive. So these short 45 minute jaunts sound so wonderful.
We are thinking about a 4 to 5 day vacation (not including travel), lots of yarn, heck if a festival was going on that would be awesome!, slow and romantic. The idea of hitting four to six yarn shops in 4 or 5 days sounds euphoric. Probably half “civilized” and half outdoor fun. It’s so hot here we hardly get to go out.
Boston sounds lovely, I love the water. Not having to deal with a car the whole time will be nice. Here I live in my truck, so public transportation really does make a vacation feel more like a vacation.
I just called dh he said we have family history in Boston. heh, Cawthraven good sell!
Alfred, New York!! :roflhard: :roflhard: :roflhard:
Seriously, it will be pretty in a couple weeks and then there is this attraction:
If you can possibly make it, Longwood Gardens is absolutely spectacular. We were there this June, and it was like nothing else I’ve ever seen.
www.longwoodgardens.org
I say NYC, IMO you can’t go wrong with it. I haven’t shopped for yarn in the city, but there should be plenty of stores. There’s so much to do in the city that you could make it the whole vacation. Like Boston, you can get around without having a car. Maybe the subway isn’t the cleanest place in the world, but it’s cheap and gets you from point A to point B. Boston would be good for that too, but I’m a little biased because I live in Jersey.
If you are looking for a little more scenery artsy-ish, you can go to Ithaca, NY. It’s really pretty when the leaves turn colors, but it kind of happens early. There are gorges that you can go to and many trails to walk on. Depending on the weather, you can swim (illegaly, but everyone does it) in the gorges. That’s better in summertime into early Sept, but it’s kind of been chilly. In the commons area there is a knitting store that sells a good array of yarn. Yea, I went to IC last year so that’s why I mentioned it. I know in October they have Applefest which is held in the commons. A bunch of tables are set up and people sell apple related items (pie, cider, caramel apples, etc). If you were planning to go to NYC then Ithaca is about 3.5 hours, so I don’t know if that’s too much time or not.
I know the Berkshires in MA have plenty of trees that have pretty colors. It’s very country-ish and I don’t think it’s too far from Boston. I used to have a country house in Otis which is in the Berkshires. There wasn’t much around Otis and would have to travel to get to some kind of civilization.
I think your best bet is Boston or NYC. If you are going to travel by car to the destination I would probably say Boston because you have family there. At least you can park your car at their house and not have to pay for parking at the hotel.
On a kind of random note, Jersey is a nice place to visit. I don’t think it’s what you are looking for, but I have to defend it. We are not the armpit of America and all of Jersey doesn’t smell like trash. Pretty sure if you go to any major city there are unpleasant smells all the time. You just have to know where to go and where not to go. Ok, I’m done with that rant that no one in this topic provoked.
I hope you enjoy your vacation wherever it may be. Actually, I know you will because who doesn’t like a break from life?
Mystic is not a bad option at all. Its about an hour an a half from Boston, has some really nice bed and breakfasts and a good yarn shop. It also has a world class aquarium, Mystic Seaport and a nice, quaint downtown to walk in. Great seafood nearby in Stonington,Niantic and all around. There is also an old steam powered cider mill there. Its about a half hour more or less from Newport.(Newport is a good option but not as much for foliage as for touring various mansions) Depending on when you come the foliage can be great. There are also two large casinos about 20 minutes to a half hour away and even if you’re not into gambling they have some very good restaurants there and world class entertainment. If you want a spa treatment, Mystic is about 20 minutes from Norwich where there is the Norwich Inn (some really famous people flow through there).(actually very close to the Mohegan Sun, one of the casinos)
The Berkshires are another good option for foliage (and going to WEBS) They have the Norman Rockwell Museum. I do think they are farther from Boston though and not really all that near to Newport.
WEBS is in Western Mass. There are lots of B&Bs out here and there’s tons of scenery. If you come out in early October there are also lots of local festivals with games and local food and cultural things. Plus, I live out here and I’d love to take you around. Do a search for Northampton, MA or Amherst, MA for the more city-like towns. I live in Ashfield, MA, and our fall festival is the second weekend in October. Nearby Conway’s fall festival is the first weekend in October. There are lots of long, windy drives that are good for leaf-peeping, several sugar houses, and, of course, WEBS and a couple of smaller yarn stores that I go to.
Nafei, I’m from NJ, too. Bergen County. I like Boston more than NY probably because I’ve lived in Boston and not NY, but I do think New York’s the greatest city in the world–it’s still what I mean when I say “the city.”
But it’s not the kinda place you want to go to see the changing of the seasons. Maybe if you head upstate (Rockland and Orange have some gorgeous state parks) and up along the Hudson Valley and so on, but not IN the city. And it’s harder to get out of Manhattan than it is out of Boston. But I am biased.
OOOH Tarrytown!..I love Tarrytown! And there is Westpoint…and Kent Falls in CT…and and and…(can I come along on the trip? i will mostly behave i promise! 
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