Travel The East

Looking for plans this Halloween weekend?  What better place to celebrate than America's Biggest Halloween party in Salem, Massachusetts!  Salem is infamous for its witch trials in 1692- a series of hearings, accusing and prosecuting those suspected of witchcraft.  Yet even with the passing of centuries, the spirit of witchcraft and spells has embedded itself deep within the very essence of this historic city.  Witch and magical shops, haunted houses, historic landmarks, psychic and tarot readings, are just a sample of what you can expect during your visit to Salem. Salem Storefronts October marks the month-long Haunted Happenings festivities in Salem.  More than a quarter of a million people come from around the world to experience Salem's Halloween celebration. We made the trip to Salem this past Saturday, which was less than an hour drive from Boston.  With so many visitors in town, street parking was not an option. Instead we paid $15 for the day to park in on

Here in New England the seasons are a revolving door. One our favorite times of year, like many others, is the transition into Fall. This season has so many defining characteristics and activities that make it a special time of year – the leaves changing colors, crisp air, Halloween, football, apple picking, and much more. This past Saturday was a beautiful Fall day, however very windy. So we saw this as an opportunity to leave the hiking boots in the closet and visit a local farm. Boston Hill Farm in North Andover, MA was the perfect place to soak all the characteristics of a perfect Fall day!  Boston Hill farm offers both apple and pumpkin picking. From the parking lot, it is a beautiful 10 minute walk through the farm to get to the orchard/pumpkin patches. For those looking to skip the walk, there is also a tractor offering hayrides to get to the picking area. On our walk back from the farm, we stopped to visit some of the animals, including very friend

The changing of seasons is one of the best parts of living in the northeast.  Especially when the kaleidoscope of colors emerge in Autumn.  New England's Fall foliage attracts visitors from around the world, every year. With mid-October through early November being the peak in the season, we make all efforts to get outdoors and enjoy the Autumn scenery. Two years ago was the first time we hiked Welch-Dickey Loop in Thornton, New Hampshire.  It immediately became our favorite mountain hike for Fall foliage in New England.  Being only a 2 hour drive from Boston, with a hike time averaging around 4 hours, this trip is definitely doable in a day for those in the area.     Wearing a Montauk Tackle 1/4 zip pullover One of the best features of this hike is that you climb up two summits.  We did Welch first, followed by the Dickey summit, taking the loop trail.  The Welch summit is 2,605ft and the Dickey summit is 2,734ft.  As with most mountain hikes in New Engl

At 6,288 feet, Mount Washington is the highest point in the northeast. This was our most challenging hike yet and one of the most memorable for more reasons than just the hike itself. We started the day by parking at the Pinkham Notch parking area, which is where most of the main trails begin. There are many trails to get the top of Mt. Washington, which vary in distance and difficulty. We chose to take the Tuckerman Ravine trail to the Lion Head trail. These trails were moderate in difficulty, with some minor climbing involved.  The hike started off on the Tuckerman Ravine trail, which was predominately a steep hike through the woods for a couple of miles, with no climbing involved yet . From there, the Tuckerman trail gives you the option to branch off to the Lion Head trail. This was when the hike started to become very challenging, but the views became very rewarding. As we progressed up the Lion Head trail, the trees began to thin out and we were able to

This past weekend we discovered why Acadia is rated America's #1 National Park.  It's 47,000 acres of spectacular scenery, stretched mainly across Mount Desert Island in Maine.  Situated on Maine's coastline, Acadia National Park is nature's playground with sandy beaches, cliff walks, mountainous regions, greenery and wildlife of all different species. We camped with a group of friends at Blackwoods Campground for the weekend.  Blackwoods is situated within Acadia Park.  The grounds are very clean and the campsites are private and secluded from your neighboring campers.  Blackwoods is also in a great location, being only a short drive into Bar Harbor, the main town on the island, and walking distance from a number of hikes and trails. Since we arrived later on Friday evening, we only really had one full day to discover the most of Acadia. So we hopped in the car Saturday morning to take the scenic 27-mile drive on Park Loop Road, stopping at all the Ac