New England Travel and Vacation Gazette and Other Wicked Good Content

Brookfield Orchards in North Brookfield, Mass., is tucked away in the hills of rural Central Massachusetts, but the drive for an apple dumpling with vanilla ice cream or cheddar cheese is well worth the day trip. The dumpling is huge and flavorful, the vanilla ice cream thick and creamy. Simply amazing, no other words to describe the combo! While many make a beeline for the apple dumpling and ice cream, others prefer the dumpling with cheese. This might seem like an odd duo but somehow it works. Knowing that it's not always easy to find a quality cheddar cheese, I personally prefer having it with the dumpling. Either combo works and the good news is that unlike many other local farms, Brookfield Orchards is open year-round 9 a.m.-5 p.m. You can eat the apple dumpling on a bench in the welcoming garage-like main retail room, although the fall time features an outdoor snack bar. Known primarily as a fall apple picking destination, Brookfield Orchard also features an excelle...

Article and photos by Eric H. If you're looking for an out-of-the-way but worthy fall weekend farm stand destination, we're confident that you'll enjoy Jane and Paul's Farm on Fruit St. in Norfolk, Mass. Tucked away in a peaceful, rural Norfolk neighborhood, Jane and Paul's features apple picking (MacIntosh, Daybreaks and Empires, at this writing), a pumpkin patch, a farm stand with excellent produce (nice tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers a few days ago!), a good variety of plants for sale, a highly-developed corn maze (could take up to a 1/2 hour to figure out), and a small animal area with goats, rabbits and chickens. Jane and Paul's also sells delicious Ever So Humble Pie Company ready-to-bake, all-natural pies. We highly recommend visiting this friendly family-owned and operated farm that offers what you'd expect at a farm stand -- apple picking and pumpkin picking (with wagon rides out to the fields), great produce, plants, etc.) -- but without the hu...

Article and photos by Eric H. Sunshine Farm in Sherborn, Mass., is never out of its gourd(s). Excuse the play on words, but come fall time, gourds play a prominent retail role alongside their famous cousin -- the pumpkin -- at this peaceful road side farm stand, minutes from the more hectic retail shopping pace of Route 9 in Framingham and Natick. Gourds can be used for fall decorations, or for use as sculptures, baskets, masks or musical instruments. Some people even give out gourds for Halloween. Growing up, we had neighbors that gave us hungry kids non-edible gourds instead of candy bars. Place that brilliant 1970s-style idea alongside orange shag rugs, pet rocks and Ford Pintos. If you are so inclined to buy a gourd, Sunshine Farm offers one of the biggest selections in the area. If you are not so inclined, the third-generation, family-owned 100-acre Sunshine Farm offers a wonderful little fall destination experience with a farm market (including a bakery, and a wide variety of on-...