New England Travel and Vacation Gazette and Other Wicked Good Content

I just read in the Attleboro Sun Chronicle that the Stoneforge Foxboro restaurant in Foxboro, Mass., will close on Monday, June 28, to make way for a new restaurant and function space under the Christina's Functions business. Attleboro Sun Chronicle reporter Rick Foster wrote an excellent piece (as usual -- one of the best reporters in eastern Massachusetts, in my opinion; impeccable note-taking skills!) on the impending closing, writing that Christina's Fireside Grill will take over the current restaurant, although in a smaller setting. Foster reports that the rest of the former Stoneforge space will be used for "additional  wedding rehearsals, private and corporate functions ." Christina's function facility building is connected to the site that has accommodated Stoneforge and its predecessors including the Funway Cafe. We will miss the Stoneforge in its Foxboro location, but take comfort in knowing that the Stoneforge restaurants in Raynham, Easton and...

Congratulations to the six New England  restaurants that were chosen by Food Network Magazine for their great breakfasts! The July/August 2010 Food Network Magazine edition features an appetizing article entitled "50 States, Fifty Breakfasts" with one breakfast place in each state getting a hearty mention --including a specialty dish.  Honors in Connecticut go to Kitchen Little , 135 Greenmanville Ave., in the lively seaport town of Mystic, for its "Portuguese Fisherman" dish -- scrambled eggs with ground chourico and linguica sausages and cheese accompanied by a "soft toasted and buttered Portuguese muffin." The best Maine breakfast goes to Boynton -McKay Food Co .,  at 30 Main St., in the idyllic mid-Maine coastal town of Camden, for fresh buttermilk pancakes . In Massachusetts , Craigie on Main Street at 853 Main St. in the academic city of Cambridge, (Harvard University, MIT) gets the notch for "airy cake doughnuts " (only made o...

Article and photo (Jane and Paul's Farm, Norfolk, Mass.) by Eric H. June is the best time to pick strawberries in New England, so we recommend finding a local farm stand that offers "pick-your-own-strawberries" before its too late for this year. We picked some strawberries two days ago at Jane and Paul's Farm at Fruit St. in Norfolk, Mass. (Tel. 508-520-0812), where the crop was abundant and with some of the sweetest strawberries we've ever tasted.   Jane and Paul's is a great out-of-the-way place that makes for a nice day trip -- nice produce, small animal area, plants and and a relaxed, scenic setting. Our Twitter list of New England farm stands    features updates from local farm stands, some of which "tweet" on strawberry-picking status. For example, Cider Hill Farm in Amesbury , Mass. (45 Fern Ave., Tel.  978-388-5525) , reported yesterday that its strawberry picking status has been personally downgraded and that there's only abou...

The summer season brings us many opportunities in New England to visit Farmers Markets in some truly wonderful communities. A recent newcomer to the scene is the Walpole Farmers Market to be held every Wednesday, from 3:00 - 8:00 p.m., rain or shine, through October in downtown Walpole, Mass ( municipal parking lot across from Stone Field) . A southwest Boston suburb, Walpole offers a nice small-town personality, thus, providing a nice setting for a Farmers Market.  The Walpole Farmers Market, according to Walpole's Economic Development Office, features locally-grown high quality and nutritious foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables, local artisan baked goods, teas, spices, and arts and craft items. The Farmers Market Committee encourages you to come back often as products change throughout the season.   Whether a local resident, vacationer in Boston, or anyone else looking for a nice, inexpensive " staycation " day trip, this weekly event sounds like ...

Article and photo by Eric H . Here it is the first day of summer in New England and, for many, the beginning of school summer vacation! This summer, The Weekly New England Travel and Vacation Gazette will be featuring many well-known and hidden New England vacation attractions and destinations to help with your New England summer trip planning. We'll feature extended vacation ideas, as well as day trip and "stay cation" ideas. Always feel free to write the Weekly New England Travel and Vacation Gazette  on your favorite things to do during the New England summer  vacation and we'll consider it for publication. Today, we start things off by traveling to the Mayflower II in Plymouth, Mass.,  a true-to-life  replica of the ship that landed the Pilgrims in America. Plymouth has many fantastic travel attractions -- mostly centering on the Pilgrims -- and the Mayflower II serves as a great start of an entertaining and educational day in the Plymouth area. Includ...

Article by Eric H. Photo of Museum of Fine Art Boston, courtesy of  MOTT ( MassVacation ) We have been building a Twitter list of museums in New England . With 34 listed so far and growing, we think you'll find a great variety, including the New England Aquarium,  Boston Museum of Science, Mark Twain House, the Shelburne Museum, Currier Museum and Paul Revere House. When logging onto this list, you'll find the latest updates, calendar of events, and perspectives from the museums. It true "live-time reporting" as once a museum sends a twitter message, you'll be able to read it instantly. We feel it is an especially useful tool in finding out more about each place -- great for your trip-planning. If you can't find what you're looking for, however, each museum has its web site included in its profile so you can find out more information. Please check back in often as many of these museums update frequently. Let us know what you think of the list and i...

Article by Eric H.     I read the sad news on the Joan and Ed's Deli Web Site today that its famous and beloved Natick , Mass., New York style delicatessen will close its doors after June 20, 2010. How sad, just goes to show that our favorite restaurants, for the most part, do not live forever. Joan and Ed stated on their Web Site that the "economic conditions have made it impossible to go on... Joan & Ed will begin an early retirement." We wish them the best -- what nice, nice people and what fantastic breakfast, lunch, dinner and desserts they have brought to us through the years. I was always impressed, too, how Joan and Ed would walk around the restaurant and talk with customers. This wasn't some forced, fake interaction, the way you see at some other local restaurants. They were the real deal, sort of like your nice grandma and grandpa with considerable culinary talents and vision deciding to open up a restaurant. Joan and Ed's has been in busi...

Article by Eric H. Whale watching has been a favorite New England travel attraction for many years. I remember taking my first whale watching tour about 30 years ago in Gloucester, Mass., and the memories are permanent. At first scary, the experience turned out to be safe and, ultimately, educational and fun. To see whales within very close proximity truly shows their enormity, nothing like the cartoons or other sights of whales on television (at least way back then, on our 19-inch Zenith television). Plus, it's just great to be out on the water in the good old New England summer time! If you are looking to whale watch these days on the North Shore of Massachusetts, 7 Seas Whale Watch is one of the highest regarded. A family-run business for 26 years, 7 Seas Whale Watch offers "a more sophisticated narration about the whales, their habitat, and the importance of preserving the ocean environment than with anyone else." Although whales aren't as plentiful as in t...

Article and photo (Short Sands Beach, York Beach, Maine) by Eric H. It's hard to believe we arrived here so quickly but summer vacation is now upon us in New England. Trip planning is in full motion, en route to more instant memories in our unique region. With that in mind, we have online -- and hot off the press -- our free 2010 New England Travel Summer Newsletter . Chock full of valuable New England travel information and colorful photos,  we write from a local perspective.  Thus, we recommend to you places we personally visit and enjoy immensely. As lifelong New Englanders, we have a feel -- and true love -- for the area. So, we not only present to you lots of information but also a great deal of passion for New England that we hope will inspire you to explore our great states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. Enjoy the newsletter and have a great summer!

Article by Eric H. Thought we'd take some time out from New England trip-planning information this morning to reflect on the warm memories of local television and radio ad jingles and slogans from yesteryear. Remember... Bradlee's department store with the ad singers stating that chipper, know-it-all inventory manager "Mrs. B is Buying?" The 1960s-style "In Crowd" swing-like jingle of Dave Dinger Ford in Braintree, Mass., asking "How does Dinger do it?" The Thompson's Clam Bar (Harwichport, Mass.) jingle, "We're going to Thompson's Clam Bar 'cause that's where the very best clams are!" The faint and anemic-sounding,  semi-muted tropical-like jingle for the Island Queen (the ferry from Falmouth to Martha's Vineyard)? Whalom Park (now-closed amusement park in Lunenberg, Mass.) for "A whale of a time?" The Filene's department store jingle that spelled out "F-I-L-E-N-E-S?" Ba...

Article and photo (Brown and Hopkins Country Store, Chepachet, R.I.) by Eric H. Following up on our recent Shop Local, Buy Local New England! posting, we have also updated out Best Shopping in New England article.  Here we include our top picks for New England country and general stores, mom and pop shops, outlet shopping, indoor malls, open air shopping centers and shopping-friendly historic urban districts in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.  It's really amazing the diverse offerings of shopping available in New England! As always, we welcome your feedback on your favorite shopping destinations in New England. Feel free to post here or send us an email through VisitingNewEngland.com .