2 Week Summary Aug, 2024

JetSetWay was down for a critical two weeks during our 2024 summer trip to the Northeast. A summary follows:

Woodstock, VT (not to be confused with Woodstock, NY) – Allyn and I spent a relaxing two days here.

Concord, NH – We stayed just down the street and could see the State House from our balcony and window. The State House is the oldest state capitol in which both houses of the legislature meet in their original chambers. Being Saturday, the farmers market was there today also.

Salem, MA – Everything seems to be built around the witches here.

Our road trip is over, and we are on a 2-week cruise in New England.

Provincetown, MA – What a fabulous seaside town at the very tip of Cape Code. They really have a fun and funky vibe here. It’s an exceptionally LGBT-friendly destination. It is so safe that people don’t even lock their doors! This was our favorite city partially because touring with our good friend Emily Flax.

Plymouth MA – In 1620 this was the final landing site of the first voyage of the Mayflower and the location of the original settlement of Plymouth Colony.

The Mayflower first anchored at Provincetown and weather stopped it from going to (what is now) New York as originally planned.

Nantucket MA – 200 years ago, tiny Nantucket Island was the whaling capital of the world. These days it is a summer retreat for rich folk, partially because it is 10 degrees cooler than the mainland. We took a ferry from Martha’s Vineyard to get there.

Newport RI – is famous for attracting ultra-high society wealthy people who enjoyed a glittering social life of dinners, sports and parties during the late 19th century. Their mansions, called summer cottages, were used 6 – 8 weeks during the summer. Many are still privately owned.

In the mid to late 1600s, thanks to Rhode Island’s religious toleration, the second oldest Jewish congregation in the United States was founded here.

Gloucester, MA – is the home to America’s oldest seaport and the oldest working art colony in North America. We took a schooner sail and, as usual, Allyn was busy helping to man the sails.

Camden ME – may be the most charming town on the entire coast of Maine. Plus, it bills itself as “The Jewel of the Maine Coast, where the mountains meet the sea”.

Because of that we opted for a tour to the state park to see Maine’s ultimate view. Due to the fog, we saw nothing. However, I snagged a photo that shows what we wanted to see.

Bangor, ME – In the mid 1800s, Bangor was the lumber capital of the world. It was close to tree-filled forests and was the last deep-water port on the Penobscot River, 30 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. Things changed after they cut down all the lumber and the railroads made distant places more accessible.

We enjoyed a low key walk around downtown Bangor this morning and surprisingly, ran into a marvelous, jammed bagel place. Then we continued chilling while enjoying the cruise back down the Penobscot River to the Atlantic heading to our next port.

Bar Harbor, ME – For the third time we visited here and still recommend it highly.  We started with the obligatory, yummy, lobster roll.

Then we took a fun and informative boat tour to learn about lobsters and the lobster fishing rules. This was definitely the best, most informative, tour of the trip.

Boothbay Harbor is another cute Maine town with about 6 or 7 blocks of fun stores and lobster restaurants; many with great views.