In September, Evan had a wedding in Manchester, Vermont so we decided to fly into Boston and make a whole thing out of it. Neither of us had ever been to Massachusetts (or the southern part of Vermont) so it was going to be an exciting adventure for us. In true Lynn + Evan traveling style (and because we were slammed with work before we left) we did much of our research on the plane and after we arrived. We didn’t stay anywhere particularly exciting the first night- just a regular Hilton in the city of Woburn, a few miles outside of city of Boston.
The first night, we dropped our bags and drove to Salem. It was raining pretty steadily and the drive was mostly small streets, stop signs and lots of turns, which were fun in the rain and the traffic that built up as a result. We were starving by the time we arrived in Salem so our first stop was the Sea Level Oyster Bar where we enjoyed this lovely smoked octopus salad and other seafood thingies that were quite yummy. We walked around the wharf a little, but the rain wasn’t letting up so we resorted to driving around the city and pointing at landmarks. We did stop to get some dessert and coffee at Coffee Time Bake Shop and then laughed when we ordered coffee and tea and they both came back iced. I guess 50 degrees in Massachusetts means iced drinks for the natives.
We spent the next full day in Boston. Everyone suggested doing the Freedom Trail and so we did – but we did it our way! Instead of taking the guided tour, we grabbed an $8 brochure from the gift shop and carefully navigated with help from the map inside. I mean, Evan was a boy scout so we had it in the bag, right? The map didn’t end up being the difficult part – it was not running into a tourist with their phone in their hands or trying to read and walk at the same time.
I think that the graveyards were my favorite part. Perfectly eerie and yet full of so much history. I stood around and just took it all in.
Not being part of the tour meant that we could stop at the Green Dragon Tavern and the Bell in Hand Tavern for a drink in the middle of our walk.
We hit up Union Oyster House on our way back to the car and enjoyed a perfectly touristy experience while putting down two dozen oysters, a lobster roll and some clam chowder.
Yes, I totally wore a Dallas, Texas shirt in Boston.
On the third day, we drove to Manchester, Vermont, which was four hours away. The drive was breathtaking and charming and we wish that we had more time to stop along the way as we drove through cities such as Concord (and past Ralph Waldo Emerson’s home!). We did stop quickly for this beautiful church!
We stayed at the Manchester View that evening and, holy crap, was the view everything you could imagine. I settled in with some HGTV back at the hotel while Evan shot the rehearsal dinner a few miles away.
By this time we were hungry – yes, we are basically always hungry – so I found this quaint little place called The Silver Fork. It’s a six table restaurant so the competitive/foodie side of me HAD TO HAVE IT. I tried to call and make reservations, but the phone rang and rang. Since the hours are 5pm to close (wtf?!) we just drove straight there at 9pm and hoped for the best. We were greeted at the door with an apology that they were full for the evening so we sauntered back to the car and started talking about what we would do next. As we pulled out of the parking lot (ok, sort of peeled out in quasi-anger) the host ran after us, flagging us down to let us know there was a cancellation… so that’s how we somehow weaseled our way into the best food of my life. We started with a local cheese tray, which we basically licked clean. I followed that up with a Maryland Crabcake and Evan enjoyed the chef’s signature Weiner Schnitzel, which he is STILL TALKING ABOUT. Seriously, ask him about it. I dare you.
I’ll post some second shooter shots from the wedding in the next month or so, but until then here’s a quick snap of the ceremony location – which happened to be the backyard of the groom’s parent’s home. No big deal, just AMAZING.
The wedding ended early enough for us to stop at the Five Eyed Fox in Turners Falls for some light noshing on our drive back to Boston. We did get a glimpse of Turners Falls during our drive in the day prior – Evan had recognized the name of the village and taking a hard left to drive over the long bridge all the while telling me about the historic significance of the location. (In case you too have forgotten your New England history – it was the scene of the Battle of Turner’s Falls, viewed as a turning point in the King Philip’s War. This war fought between English colonists of New England and a group of Native American tribes. Metacomet, whose English nickname was “King Philip”, was the chief of the Wampanoag people.
The drive over the bridge the day before showcased some spectacular views of the falls and the prancing water of the Connecticut River but on Saturday night, well after sunset, you could lightly hear the river in the distance and the town was deserted so we had the bar (and the deviled eggs) all to ourselves.
Our final morning, a Sunday, started with bagels. Evan found a secret breakfast location and started driving towards Porter Square. He kept giggling and asking if I knew where I was going. I had no idea, honestly. When we pulled up to Bagelsaurus we both just busted out laughing. What a name! It was no joke, this place was legitimately amazing – we are still talking about those bagel sandwiches.
Our final stop was (surprisingly) not food related. We wanted to see the location of the Boston Tea Party. Except that it was kind of disappointing – it didn’t actually happen there, the boat wasn’t the actual boat, either. So we just kind of stood there and looked at the harbor as we joked about how we could have just googled images of it instead. No worries, we had jam packed quite an adventure into those couple of days up in New England! Stay tuned for our next adventure!
