New England Travel and Vacation Gazette and Other Wicked Good Content

Chutters in Littleton, N.H., holds the world's record for longest candy counter at 111 ft. and 11 inches -- certified by the Guinness Book of World Records .  The choice of candy is truly amazing, featuring jar after jar of hard-to-find sweets like Malo Cups, Necco Wafers, Hard Rock Candy, Laffy Taffy, Bottle Caps, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Fireballs, Mint Juleps, Sour Balls and just about every other candy imaginable. It's like walking through a candy museum. The penny candy section is most impressive with more than 60 jars of candy that still costs a penny for each item. There's also a colorful M&M candy dispensing machine the size of a soft drink machine, as well as gourmet and traditional jelly beans, sours and gummies! Chutters also features a chocolate covered candy counter (no, the counter is not covered with chocolate!), homemade fudge, gifts, soaps, candles, home furnishings and some gourmet foods, but it's really the candy counter that "sweetens...

My sister-in-law Maggie Kerrigan recently wrote a fantastic book entitled The (almost) Blank Journal to inspire clarity and creativity for daily writing. Meant for both the creative mind and highly structured thinker, Maggie's book features "prompts (motivational words and thoughts) for writing and drawing..." It's really a simple but brilliant concept. Plus, Maggie knows what she is talking about, given her quest for creativity as a significantly talented artist. I own several web sites and blogs, but this one, the Weekly New England Travel and Vacation Gazett e, has hit a creative road block several times in its existence without clear direction -- that is, until I opened Maggie's Christmas gift in the mail. As often as possible, I am going to try my hand at daily writing on this blog -- motivated and guided by Maggie's journal. Today, I focus on Resolutions with the topic being New England Travel in 2014.  Since we are on a tight family budget, cheap ...

The Vermont Country Store in Wetston, Vt., is one of New England's most famous country stores. I took this close-up photo in an attempt to capture the welcoming, old-time feel to the storefront. Notice the front porch benches, the rocking chairs, the old wooden door, the windows with mullions, the American flag at the top left and the family business sign -- this is so New England!  It gets even better inside with more than 5,000 hard-to-find items, some that you thought you would never see again, like Chiclets, Uncle Wiggily board game, the original Gumby and Pokey bendable buddies, Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific Shampoo etc., For more on the Vermont Country Store and other country stores to love during your New England travel. please read our Best Country Stores in New England article.

It's time to get more social in New England, and we're ready to break the ice. I noticed how many great social media travel and local business pages there are in New England, whether it be on Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or through bloggers (clearly, a form of social media). From state tourism agencies to the local country store, we plan on sharing what we feel are the very best examples of social media in the six-state region. Hopefully, this will help with your New England trip planning, as well as learning more about some phenomenal local businesses. I'll be blogging about social media in New England over the next few months, and, if it is well received, we'll consider switching full-time here to a New England travel social media blog. We will also keep you up to date on our own social media pages, including Google+ , Facebook , Twitter and Pinterest . Let's get things started by recognizing the New England Aquarium in Boston, Mass., as having on...

I was thinking this morning about a nice place to visit in New England on a great spring day like this.  Kennebunkport, Maine, instantly came to mind. In reality, I won't be able to travel there due to prior work commitments, so the following pictures will be a prime motivator to put Kennebunkport on the "very near future" travel calendar... Colorful Dock Square (pictured above), is such a fun place to shop -- so many neat, colorful mom and pop shops there. For dining, we always go to Allison's for a great cup of chowder and  fresh catch" seafood special... There's nothing quite like getting out to Goose Rocks Beach and enjoying the spring solitude while strolling the expansive beach... Or enjoying some windy weather and fantastic water views by the rocky Maine coast at Cape Porpoise... Driving along Ocean Avenue (pictured below), is always a treat with more great water views. Farther up the road from Dock Square, you'll find some am...

New England Travel Thoughts It's a rainy day here in the Northeast,   a good day for travelers to visit some of Boston's best museums  like the Museum of Science, New England Aquarium and Museum of Fine Arts Boston... Congratulations to Bondir restaurant in Cambridge, Mass. , chosen by Bon Appetit Magazine's in its  " The Best New Restaurants in America in 2011"   (September 2011 edition). Bondir bills itself as a restaurant serving "Sustainable Modern American Cuisine."... Today, we give shout outs to Attleboro, Mass. , for its great community and patriotic spirit; Narragansett, R.I. , for its wonderful ocean beaches; Old Lyme, Conn. , for a remarkable sense of preservation; Dover, N.H. , for bringing its downtown back to life in a big way; Woodstock, Vt. , for its postcard picture perfect look; and South Berwick, Maine , for just being itself, a sleepy, friendly little town... It's amazing how Davis Square in Somerville, Mass. , has gone from a ra...

I can hardly wait until The Big E New England States Fair , running Sept. 16-Oct. 2 at the Eastern States Exposition Grounds in West Springfield, Mass. Love the midway, animal exhibitions, parades, musical entertainment and comfort food vendors... Was driving up Route 495 in Hopkinton, Mass., the other day and already saw some leaves changing color . Scary thought, as it seemed like Memorial Day Weekend was just a few weeks ago. I'm looking forward to the peak colors, though, later this month and in October (depending on location in New England)...To answer the age old argument -- which is better for pizza in Boston, Santarpio's or Pizzeria Regina ? The answer is "yes!"... Coastal Newburyport, Mass. , has a near perfect downtown. The choice of stores, restaurants, the water views, brick sidewalks, historic old buildings and homes make for an ideal, walkable central district... Come to think of it, though, coastal Portsmouth, N.H. , is just as nice and a great way to ...

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 and photo (The Goldenrod, York Beach, Maine) by Eric H. . How did we get here so quickly -- from the chillingly cold weather in February to the blazing hot heat and... WHAT?!!!... Memorial Day Weekend just a few short days away? The "unofficial" start of summer means lobster, ice cream, beaches and other warm weather New England delights.   If you're looking for some travel ideas, we encourage you to visit our "Top 30 Memorial Day Weekend New England Travel Ideas." Here, we list 30 New England towns and cities that feature great summer appeal -- from coastal getaways to beautiful mountain towns. Some destinations are obvious but ultimately worthy like Plymouth, Mass., and Old Orchard Beach, Maine, but we include some hidden gems, too, like Old Lyme, Conn., and Watch Hill, R.I. In other words, a little something for everyone. Happy New England travels, and please write us about any New England summer destinations you'd like us to cover!

Article and photo (Jordan Pond, Acadia National Park, Maine) by Eric H . We are pleased to announce that the 2010 New England Travel Newsletter is available for your reading pleasure at http://www.visitingnewengland.com/New-England-Travel-Spring-2010-Newsletter.pdf  . Our first online newsletter includes spring-related articles on Kennebunkport, Maine, Boston, Mass., Ogunquit, Maine, an amazing castle in Connecticut, a few key spring events, colorful large photos of New England, and more. The New England Travel Newsletter will be published four times a year -- spring, winter, summer and fall. Please feel free to contribute by emailing your story ideas, tips and calendar of event items. We hope you enjoy the newsletter, and would appreciate any feedback you have so that we can help this publication grow with each season. Happy travels!

Cohasset Town Common, Cohasset, Mass. (photo by Eric H. Article and photos by Eric H.  I had a chance to tour more of the Cohasset and Scituate, Mass., area yesterday. Both South Shore towns (located about 25-30 miles south of Boston) offer some wonderful coastal views -- particularly along Jerusalem Way in Cohasset and quaint downtown districts with restaurants and cafes with outdoor seating as well as gifts shops, boutiques, galleries, and an overall nice "Main Street USA" feel. Cohasset's town common is surely one of the greatest village greens in New England with its pond and large expanse of land surrounded by historic buildings. If you have a chance, please sign up at our Facebook Fan Page to take a look at a video taken at Minot Point in Scituate of the ocean current.  The waves were really spectacular, as you will see! Below is a photo of the rush of the ocean yesterday: To give you a flavor of the two towns, here are some photos of Cohasset Village, ...

Article and photo by Eric H. Cohasset Harbor, located in the picturesque South Shore suburban Boston coastal town of Cohasset, Mass., offers a nice setting for a spring day. Whether it's fishing, walking, or just viewing the scenic protected harbor, the feeling is relaxed and purely quintessential coastal New England. The Atlantica Restaurant , specializing in seafood and water views, is located here, as well as the Cohasset Harbor Inn resort , making for a delightful, "hidden" New England getaway. Even though you feel like you're a million miles from the hectic urban, suburban life at Cohasset Harbor, Boston is only about a 35-minute drive! For additional info and another view of Cohasset Harbor, please check out our Cohasset Harbor travel photo essay at VisitingNewEngland.com.

Article and photo (Dick and Jane's General Store, Walpole, Mass.) by Eric H. We have some exciting new articles -- and a special new feature -- that we'd like to alert you to at VisitingNewEngland.com. The latest feature story centers on ALLCANEAT , a 100 percent gluten-free food facility that will open soon in Randolph, Mass. Located at the former Zeppy's Bagel site, ALLCANEAT will feature breads, pizza shells, cakes, cookies and other foods that people with Celiac's Disease typically cannot eat. ALLCANEAT will also feature a cafe/store. There's quite a story behind the business as executive vice president of sales and marketing David Ford saw, first-hand, a family member diagnosed with autism make a remarkable turnaround after starting a gluten-free diet. We were also the first to break a story on Dick and Jane's General Store , a fantastic "retro" store located in Walpole, Mass. With bins of penny and old-time candies, homemade fudge, coffee...

Article by Eric H. Our flagship site, VisitingNewEngland.com , recently launched a "Questions and Answers" New England travel forum to encourage dialogue between us and our readers. Over the next several months, we will be asking questions on New England destinations, dining, lodging and attractions. We look forward to your responses. Here are the introductory questions -- please feel free to participate!: Dining: What is your favorite pizza place in New England? You can post a reply here What restaurant makes the best clam chowder in New England? You can post a reply here Lodging: What is your favorite Vermont inn or bed and breakfast getaway? You can post a reply here Destinations What is your favorite scenic New England fall foliage drive? You can post a reply here Attractions and Events What is your favorite annual Halloween attraction or event in New England? You can post a reply here More questions are on the way! If you would like us to post a...

Maine foliage conditions for Oct. 7. Credit: Maine Department of Conservation, Press Release source: VisitMaine.com. Just got word from the Maine Office of Tourism that fall foliage will be best this Columbus Day Weekend at the lakes and mountains of western Maine and the Mt. Katahdin Region. For those unfamiliar with Maine fall foliage, you're in for a treat. Known to many for its coastal splendor, Maine is also a terrific autumn leaf peeping destination inland, especially around the majestic beauty of Mt. Katahdin (a challenging hike but worth it, as long as the weather is cooperative) and beautiful lake towns like Rangeley. Although Bethel is a famous ski town (Sunday River), the fall can be marvelous here, too, in this quaint, quintessential New England small town. Currently, rangers are reporting high color in the Bethel area with about 50 to 70 percent peak color and moderate leaf drop, according to the Maine Office of Tourism. Without further delay, here is the Maine Offic...

Article and photo by Eric H. If you live in the southwest Massachusetts suburbs or Northern Rhode Island and need a great pumpkin, we recommend trying Adams Farm in Cumberland, R.I. This friendly farm features many pumpkins under its seasonal canopy, as well as in the scenic fields. We've never found a shortage of pumpkins here, with the batting average of healthy-looking pumpkins high! If, however, you need to go beyond pumpkins, Adams Farm sells apples, cornstalks, mums, hay, Indian corn, candy apples, cider and gourds. Adams Farm also features hay rides, a corn maze and animals (cows, horses, goats)! The best time to visit Adams Farm is on the weekend where this delightful farm seems to be more in full operation. It's a beautiful place, one to kick back and relax in the pastoral New England fall countryside. Adams Farm, corner of Burnt Swamp Rd. and Sumnerbrown Rd., Cumberland, R.I.

Article and photos by Eric H. The Walpole Town Forest is really the Rodney Dangerfield, of Walpole, Mass.: it gets no respect. Unknown even to many Walpole residents, the Walpole Town Forest is most impressive between South St. and Walpole High School on Common St., with its truly scenic walk alongside the Neponset River. Current foliage is impressive (as evidenced by the photos on this posting), but in a few weeks the mirror-like quality of the river should be brilliantly reflecting the colorful array of leaves. Along this sector of the 365-acre Town Forest, you'll find scenic views from the “White Bridge” and an old dam and waterfall that dates back to 1650. With many more miles of hiking trails, you're sure to enjoy the rest of the mixed forest, ledge outcroppings, and wetland areas, whether it be hiking, horseback riding. mountain biking or cross country skiing (yes, it's not too far away). Hard to believe the Walpole Town Forest resides in the highly developed suburba...

Article and photo by Eric H. After all that rain yesterday, we highly recommend getting outside today and enjoying better weather in the New England fall time! If you're in the suburban Boston area and in a walking mood, we recommend strolling through Bird Park , an 89-acre gem in East Walpole, Mass., where stone walkways lead you past open, grassy fields, small walking bridges overlooking the water, mature shade trees, tree groves, and ponds. The leaves on some trees are beginning to turn color, making the experience that much better. Owned by the the Trustees of Reservations, overseeing 53,000 acres on 94 reservations in Massachusetts, scenic Bird Park is absolutely perfect for walking! For more information on Bird Park, click on the link above.

Article and photo by Eric H. Walden Pond State Reservation in Concord, Mass., remains one of New England's more famous,visited scenic attractions, but that doesn't take away from the solitude and purity of famed American author Henry David Thoreau's ("Walden") former residence. Perhaps best walked during the fall and foliage season, you'll find a marvelous 45-minute, 1.7-mile hiking path around the beautiful 61-acre pond filled with different perspectives of the clear pond as well as a virtual forest featuring different types of trees. Many trees have currently "turned over an old leaf," yielding some bright reds and yellows. Within in a few weeks, Walden Pond should transform into a wonderland of colors. Whether now or during more intense fall foliage, the hike through the woods and around the pond is as good as it gets for scenic, light recreational New England hiking. Walden Pond, a 103-foot deep pond, is technically a kettle hole, "formed ...

Article and photo (views from mid-Burke Mountain, Northeast Kingdom Vermont) by Eric H. Vermont is one of those "You had to be there" states. Vermont's incredible mountain and lake scenery is almost impossible to fully describe, and has to be seen to be fully appreciated. The laid-back lifestyle, the quaint, quintessential small towns with tall white church steeples, and the long winding country roads bring back previous travelers, attract new ones constantly, and even prompts many to move to the "Green Mountain State" for its wonderful quality of life. What better time to see Vermont than the colorful fall foliage season? The feeling of staying at a Vermont country inn surrounded by marvelous mountain and lake scenery, taking a leaf peeping driving through the Green Mountains, or going for a walk through the cool crisp fall air, rustling through the leaves, and having a nice warm cup of apple cider makes for a pure New England fall experience. Vermont features ...