New England Travel and Vacation Gazette and Other Wicked Good Content

Article and Photos by Eric H. If you're tired of dining at those box-shaped restaurants that all look the same (and often offer the same tasting things), then we suggest taking a look at some of the photos below. Every once in a while, there's a restaurant that stands out from the others -- unique in appearance and usually with an endearing gimmick. Before briefly describing each restaurant, we present to you the photos: Prince Pizzeria, Saugus, MA Beef Barn, North Smithfield, RI Tex Barry's Coney Island Hot Dogs, Attleboro, MA Milk Bottle Restaurant, Raynham, MA The Traveler Restaurant, Union, CT (look at all the books!) The Lyndon Freighthouse, Lyndonville, VT The Western Hotel, Harrisville, RI The Prince Restaurant , in Saugus, MA (517 Broadway, Route 1 South, Tel., 781-233-9950) with its "Leaning Tower of Pizza" structure, features some wonderful Italian-style pizza and pasta with homemade sauce. The Beef Barn , in North Smithfield,...

Article by Eric H. We're back! Call it an upgrade to 50,000 watts of new online content centering on New England travel and vacation ideas. So, what's been going on the the VisitingNewEngland.com newsroom? Well, we're currently featuring a photo essay of Cohasset, Mass. , one of New England's most beautiful coastal towns. With a pleasing harbor and a quaint village setting, it's hard to believe that peaceful Cohasset is a suburb of Boston. Due to popular demand, we also added a "Vacations Package" element to VisitingNewEngland.com. Here, the potential to save money is enormous by combining hotel, air and car rental bookings into one package. The Vacations Packages is powered by Orbitz, one of the true leaders in the travel industry. For horse lovers, we think you'll enjoy our article on a Lakeville, Mass., farm that showcases several Clydesdale horses . The horses are stunning up close, surely different than what you see in those beer commerc...

Article and photo (Salem Cross Inn) by Eric H. This list is always changing, but here are my five current favorite restaurants in New England: Salem Cross Inn, West Brookfield, Mass. - Charming, historic restaurant beautifully situated around open fields and rolling hills in the idyllic, Norman Rockwell-type central Massachusetts town of West Brookfield. Wonderful New England fare abounds for lunch and dinner, including chicken pot pie, Yankee Pot Roast, maple salmon, apple pie, prime rib, and homemade breads made in a beehive oven from 1699. With gleaming hardwood floors, post and beam ceilings, roaring fireplaces, antique furnishings, and a serene candlelight glow at night, the Salem Cross Inn will truly make you feel like you're in New England! The Salem Cross Inn also features some very "New England" special dining events, including multi-course fireside feasts, apple pie contests, herb sampling, fireplace pit roasts and hayrides and sleigh rides at various times of...

Article and photos by Eric H. If your town or city has too many empty storefronts or municipal buildings, we suggest frequently reminding your local appointed and elected officials that there is a way to make good use of these structures. Of course, it all starts with your community encouraging local businesses to come into town -- so if that isn't the case, remind your local reps of that, too! One of the best examples in New England of re energizing an empty town building is the Somethin's Brewin' Cafe , a library-turned-cafe in Lakeville, Mass. Holding onto the overwhelming charm of this 1913 Andrew Carnegie-funded former library, Somethin's Brewin' has created an unofficial, relaxed town meeting place where locals can have a cup of coffee or two over a delicious breakfast or lunch. The food is delicious, the atmosphere one-of-a-kind! To read the full review on Somethin's Brewin', click on the link above.