Travel The East

If you're looking to explore the outdoors this weekend without travelling too far, check out the Boston Harbor Islands.  In total, there are 34 islands and peninsulas enclosed in the Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park .  All of which, attract a wide variety of visitors from history lovers, naturalist, artists and more. You can catch a ferry to a list of these islands from either Boston, Hingham or Hull.  We live over on the south shore nearby Wessagussett Beach, where Grape Island can be seen out in the distance.  Since the distance is relatively short, we paddled over with our canoe  two weekends ago to spend our afternoon there. Due to the winds that day, we docked our canoe over on the south side rather than the main entrance on the island where the ferries pull-in.  The beaches are rocky so bring comfortable footwear, possibly even water shoes.   Grape Island is a popular destination for campers, with designated campground sites and picnic settings

Rhode Island is known as "The Ocean State" for a reason.  It is home to some of the most beautiful coastal lands in the United States.  Newport's seaside city is a popular destination for tourists all around the world. However, a not so well-known spot for non-Rhode Islanders is Jamestown, which is just as scenic but with less tourist crowds. Jamestown is part of Newport County.  It is situated on Conanicut Island in Naragansett Bay, so as you can imagine there's no shortage of surrounding beaches.  On our recent trip to Jamestown we visited Beavertail Lighthouse and Park where we traded in the typical sandy beaches for ocean cliffs instead. The cliff walk at Beavertail is beautiful and suitable for all ages.  The rocks are large and flat, making for an easy hike along the beach.  It wraps around the coastline and offers spectacular views of the waves crashing against the rocks with calm blue waters out in the distance.  Many locals come here to fish or sim