5 Fall Bucket List Destinations for New England

I always love writing bucket list posts because they let me get to dream and plan and get excited about the possibilities of traveling! When we moved to Boston last year we couldn’t wait to see all of the leaves changing and take in all of those fall views. But honestly we moved mid October and with moving and getting settled, those leaves got away from us and we didn’t really get to see any of them.

1. Bar Harbor, ME - This has been on my list pretty much since we got to Boston. If you look at photos of this wonderful place, it looks like another destination that you would want to visit in each season because it has so much to offer. If/when we visit I want to stay a Balance Rock Inn. It seriously looks like the most perfect cozy and romantic spot. They are pet friendly, have a cozy fire pit and are right on the water! It’s so dreamy- add in the fall leaves and you have yourself a romantic weekend getaway!

2. Wilmington, VT - We spent a weekend here at the beginning of the summer and it was absolutely gorgeous, we took our drone and flew it over the billions of trees and got some really cool footage. You can read more about that trip, here. But the whole time we were there Dustin and I talked about visiting again in the fall when all of the leaves would be firefly oranges and reds. For this trip I would 100% stay in the house that we stayed at in the summer. I will link the VRBO house, here!

3. Salem, MA - Salem has been on my bucket list since I was a little kid, I’m sure its on yours as well if you’ve ever seen Hocus Pocus. I’m not a huge Halloween person, not a huge fan of scary movies or being scared for that matter. But the architecture and leaves and charm that Salem has in the fall is just too irresistible! We will be visiting this fall, its only a 25 minute drive from us! If we were further, we would stay over night in Salem. I would want to stay at The Salem Inn, its adorable and pet friendly which is a huge plus for us. The “to-do” list in Salem seems pretty long but I will have a better list once we visit and I will link that post here once its done!

4. Stonington, CT - This town has been on my list since before we moved to New England because of the Inn at Stonington. This Inn popped up on my radar a while back and I have wanted to visit ever since. There is something so beautiful about fall near water and this town is on the ocean! There are TONS of restaurants and wineries to visit that are right by it! Not to mention the museums, art and history that fills the town. This is absolutely high a must add to your bucket list this fall!

5. Mount Washington, NH - I would love to visit the Omni Mount Washington Resort. This is the mac daddy of weekend getaways lol, the amount of activities that this gorgeous hotel provides for its guests is unbelievable. The resort is tucked in between a billion trees that turn shades of red and orange in the fall. The resort has so many restaurant options, shopping and spa options to enjoy your weekend away. It’s the perfect weekend getaway to relax and enjoy the changing of season!

Date night in Boston: Aquarium

Date nights are our favorite and if I am being honest most of our date nights happen turn into day dates. I’m not sure but I would put money on us being the most old spirited 24 year olds ever haha. I have mentioned this before but the first thing we did outside of moving into our apartment when we moved to Boston was going to the New England Aquarium and getting season passes so we could visit any time we want to. We love visiting aquariums, zoos and pretty much anywhere we can see/interact with animals. I mean a tortoise entertained us in Athens for a solid 45 minutes.. haha

To start this date night/day date, head to the New England Aquarium, it is right off the blue line and the train stop is literally called “Aquarium”. We basically start from the bottom of the building and work our way up. Right when you walk into the aquarium they will tell you when and where they are doing demos and answering questions for guests about specific animals throughout the day. The staff at the New England Aquarium are so eager to help and make sure that you have the best experience possible. Plus they are going through some updates to add more and more fish and animals for you to see!

We would 100% recommend visiting the aquarium if you are visiting Boston, and if you live here and haven’t been, go! You can easily spend a few hours here(depending on your browsing speed haha). If you go in the morning, you can walk across the street to Legal Seafood for lunch or if you spend the afternoon at the aquarium you can have dinner at Legal Seafood. The best thing about this restaurant is all of the gluten free options that they offer. The majority or their menu is naturally gluten free and they have separate fryers for the foods that do contain gluten. They make sure that they know of your allergy and a manager will bring your food out to you. I love getting the fisherman’s platter as well as the fish and chips. It’s rare that I get fried GF food! Dustin gets gumbo, a lobster roll, crabmeat roll or the lobster bisque(all non GF options). They also have really tasty drinks!

Weekend in Vermont

WEEKEND IN VERMONT

I’ve mentioned before that Vermont was never really on my list to visit, other than in the fall to see all of the leaves changed colors, but boy was I wrong… It was gorgeous, the trees were full, green and the water in the lake was perfect. I can’t even imagine how pretty it is covered in snow or orange and reds in fall. WOW, gorgeous! Anyways, I will stop talking about the colors lol and get to the actually stay!

WHERE WE STAYED

Dustin and I, along with 12 other people, rented out this gorgeous house on a lake. The house was the perfect size. There were 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. Everyone had a spot to sleep and that was only counting beds. There was a huge couch in the basement right next to the ping pong table. It was great because there was easily a spot everyone to comfortably sit in and have their own space to escape to without feeling like we were all on top of each other. Here is the link to the house if you want to check it out!

The house seemed to have every little thing that we needed like towels, soap, and even stuff like spices in the kitchen. Pretty much if we forgot something, it was already there. I can’t speak for all VRBO’s(this might be a normal thing), but I thought that was pretty cool.

The house also had the perfect little beach that we were able to take their paddle boards and the small row boat out onto the lake. It was just the right amount of seclusion mixed with lots of things to do. I didn’t even mention the tennis courts we were allowed to use! Plus we were able to make a fire both nights and just relax in the little pavilion/gazebo they had.

There is a video of our stay at the bottom which shows the outside of the house as well!

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THE TOWN OF WILMINGTON

As if the house didn't have enough to offer, about a 3 minute drive away is the cutest little town full of coffee shops, tasty restaurants, and the cute shops. When we left the house on Sunday we went into the town and grabbed coffee and breakfast before making the drive back to Boston. We ate at The Village Roost. They had great food and tons of gluten free options for me, which was a plus! I have found it’s very rare in small towns to find gluten free foods. I went in expecting to only be able to get myself an iced coffee and some fruit of some sort, but they had buns for me to be able to have a sandwich!

There were such charming shops and some really cute buildings. I couldn’t stop taking pictures. While we were in the town they had a cute antique sale going on where you could buy antiques, food and drinks, plants and other things from small vendors and that was so fun and different. It was really like antique sale meets farmers market. Its always fun to take a trip and be away from the hustle and bustle of city life, but it was still fun to find this cute town next to us.

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When we were driving away from Wilmington I said to Dustin, “I’m sure this place is stunning all year round”. We plan to come back when its fall for sure to get more drone footage. We love taking drone footage and getting to see so much more than what you see on the ground! We hope you like the video! OH! AND on the drive home we literally saw a baby black bear!! We were so in shock, we seriously couldn’t believe what we just saw!

Catch & Release (Deepend remix) - Matt Simons

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10 Unique Rainy Day Activities in Boston

10 UNIQUE RAINY DAY ACTIVITIES IN BOSTON

Nothing is worse than having plans and having them get canceled due to rain. Totally been there, and it sucks! I compiled alllll the things to do in Boston that you can add to your arsenal of rainy day activities!

HERE ARE MY RAINY DAY ACTIVITIES

1. Kings Dining & Entertainment - This is a fun place to be able to bowl and grab dinner! If you are wanting to extend your night after dinner, watch a movie at Showplace Icon Theater which is just upstairs from the bowling alley.

2. Axe throwing - I have talked about our day at Urban Axes before, it was such a fun experience and the perfect activity for a rainy day if you are feeling adventurous. You can read more about our experience here!

3. Boda Borg - This is such a unique experience, its a combination of psychical challenges and mental challenges and its absolutely fun! I linked to a the page that has a video that goes further into detail!

4. New England Aquarium - Fun fact, this was the first thing that Dustin and I did when we moved to Boston, we love going to zoos and aquariums so much! We bought an annual pass and never looked back. Wander through the New England Aquarium and then have lunch or dinner at Legal Seafood (its one of our favorite restaurants)!

5. Butterfly Garden - This is located in the Museum of Science and I can’t wait to visit. Its a fun addition to spending the day at the science museum!

6. Laugh Boston - This is more of a “rainy evening” activity but I just had to put it on the list! We have seen Dirty Disney at Laugh Boston and I have honestly never laughed so hard in my life. They have a show 1-2 times a month - don’t miss it!

7. Drive-In Movie - This is a bit of a drive out of the city, but worth making the list! Load up the car and head to Mendon Twin Drive-In to see a double feature! The website says rain or shine, how fun and such a throwback!!

8. Boston Center for Adult Education - Take a class at BCAE, they have classes Monday through Saturday and they all look like so much fun! They have cooking classes, art classes, wine tastings, photography classes, anything you can think of, they have it!

9. Brooklyn Boulders - Take an intro to rock climbing class at Brooklyn Boulders! They teach intro courses for us newbies which is such a fun and unique way to spend a rainy day! They have everything you will need for the class as well.

10. Harpoon Brewery & Beer Hall - What better way than to spend an afternoon hanging out inside with friends at the local brewery while the rain comes down outside!

What is your favorite thing to do on a rainy day? Would you rather curl up with a good book or brave the weather and head out to explore?! Let me know in the comments below or you can email me at tarynintotravel@gmail.com and I will respond to you there!

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