Road Tripping in New England

The first few weeks of October are often the best time to take a relaxing New England road trip: no crowds, no traffic, sunlight and foliage. Our trip was spontaneous and planned last minute but it worked out perfectly. Here is how we did it:

We woke up one Saturday morning early, and started driving north on 128 toward Gloucester. Our first stop was the Beach Street Café on Beach Street in Manchester by the Sea. They open at 6am on weekends so we stopped by grabbed some delicious banana pancakes, eggs and bacon and some hot chocolate. We took our brown bags all the way down the street to Singing Beach. At this time of year, there are hardly any people here except for the locals enjoying a walk on the beach or a very chilly swim. You can park your car right in the parking lot and within seconds you can dig your feet into the refreshing sand and enjoy a delicious Saturday morning. We took in the views, the smells and went on a walk to the rocks on either side. Make sure to bring a sweatshirt and a blanket to sit on! The beautiful sunny morning, the warm smell of breakfast and the salty breeze reminded me why I love it here. New England is in the turning leaves and the singing sand and the crisp, clear water. If you don't drive, you can still enjoy Singing Beach by taking the Rockport line commuter rail train to the Manchester-by-the-Sea stop. The stop is a ten minute walk to the beach!

Around 11 am, we got back in our cars and headed to 95 North. Our next stop was to be Boothbay Harbor, Maine about 2.5 hours away from Manchester-by-the-Sea. The drive is picturesque and relaxing as you might expect. In Maine, we briefly stopped in Wiscasset to take a look at the cute antique stores and the small town. Right before the bridge, there is a cute crab shack if you are hungry!

Our first destination in Boothbay Harbor was The Lobster Dock. We were on a mission to find the East Coast's best crab cakes and we did! Bobby Flay was right on Throwdown: these really were the best crab cakes I have ever eaten and paired with clam chowder, they were divine. At The Lobster Dock we sat outside, ordered some beers, and enjoyed the view of the harbor from their deck.

Although it was difficult to leave The Lobster Dock, we got back on the main road, Rt. 24, and headed to our hotel on Lakeview Drive. The Beach Cove Hotel and Resort had plenty of available rooms on short notice and although the rooms lacked the cozy decorations and Maine charm, we had plenty of space. We paid only $95 for a spacious, clean room with two double beds and a sleeper sofa. From room number 24 we had a gorgeous view of a small lake and tall trees. You can canoe off the property's dock or sit around the fire outdoors at night.

After dropping of our bags and taking in the views from the balcony, we headed back into town. All the stores here closed at 4:30pm but in about an hour you could go through all of them. Our favorite was Abacus. It had such unique art, jewelry and local crafts that it kept us entertained for quite some time. It is a bit pricy but definitely worth a visit. There are a couple of jewelry stores in town and plenty of places to get a souvenir.

Even for us out-of-towners, Maine felt like returning home. In Boothbay Harbor, every meal we had was in someone's kitchen or living room. Everyone welcomed us as if were long-time friends and welcomed guests. During our stay we ate at The Thistle Inn for dinner, Mamma D's for breakfast and the coffee shop and wine bar. Everything is within walking distance. On the drive back we stopped at the outlets in Freeport, Maine for some shopping! It was a nice way to break up the drive and to shop, at outlet prices, in a cute Maine town on a beautiful fall day.

New England has so much to offer and the fall is one of the best times to explore summer towns like Boothbay Harbor, Freeport and Manchester-by-the-Sea, just a couple of hours north of Boston!