nile13

Thanks, Kevin!

scosurf

Viggo I live in R.I. less than 1//4 mile from the nicest beaches in the world. We also have a easy day trip to Block Island. we are 20 min from Newport and you are welcome to crash at our house. Two of the three boys are off to college so we have plenty of rooms. Bob

helennsandra

You might also want to consider checking out Martha's Vineyard. It seems like exactly the kind of place you're looking for. There are lots of nice places to stay and tons of great restaurants.

Academictech

Viggio,

I second the Rhode Island trip, it's a short drive from Boston. Especially if you go you should stay at The Ocean House in Watch Hill, RI. The beaches, accomodations, food and wine are second to none. We have travelled all over the world and can't say enough about this gem of a place.

rome

For Newport Hotels I highly recommend the Chaneler @ Cliff Walk. Spectacular place in a great location.

http://www.thechanler.com/

V

Please do. I would love to find a "buck-a-chuck" place for "some" oysters :-).



Thank you all for the great input. I have put all the good recommendations in an excel spreadsheet which will be sort of our itinerary. I will list the places we will visit tomorrow. First a few additional questions:

1. I have booked (or me and with help from some kind RLers) accomodation for Boston and the Cape. Other than that, we will be doing a road trip along the coast north of Boston, possibly all the way up to Bar Harbor. Then go west heading back and then South to end up on the Cape. This road trip will be one week. For this I have no accomodation booked. We are thinking Bed and breakfast places. Do I need to book this in advance? If you have any nice Bed 'n breakfast recommendations in cities like Porstsmouth, Portland, Camden, Bar Harbor etc.? I have noted Stonehurst Manor for NH. Any nice places in Vermont? And also going south west of Boston?

2. Microbreweries / Brewpubs. I noted the Porstsmouth brewing company in Portsmouth which is a possibility if we are staying there and then doing Kittery outlets the day after. There must be tons of nice brewpubs or microbreweries around? Even in Vermont or west of Boston. Something like the Victory Brewery which was very nice or the "Iron hill" brewpub that they have in PA. I love belgian style beer but I like a lot of other beers as well.

3. Theme park. This is not a must but wifey would love a nice rollercoaster. We don't the spectacular ones that you can find in the US over here in Europe.

4. Anything special that we need to think about considering it's the 10th anniversary of 911 on sunday? I did not think of this until recently? Also the hurricane(?) Katia now seems not to hit the US coast but rather stay out in the sea. So no need to worry about that I guess..

5. We also want to go to the cinemas and preferably an IMAX movie. Availability in Boston?

6. Standup comedy / dining. Is there a comedy club in Boston where you can enjoy a show and have something to eat?

7. Skylounge / bar. Is there a bar or a lounge that is fancy and which serves really nice cocktails?

8. Any tips for a yacht cruise on CC? We are doing the Whale wathing thing but it might be nice just to get out at sea and enjoy the scenery from there..


That's it for now.

Getting closer!

Bill Verburg

There are a # of day sailing operations in Newport, I'm partial to this outfit as it is on one of the boats I helped build.

JasonAndreas

Six Flags in Agawam, MA. -- about 2.5-3 hours west of Boston and only open on weekends in September/October.

The Boston Aquarium has the largest IMAX in the area.

nile13

OK, there are oysters all over the place. Nice ones for $1 on Wednesdays are right across from Marriott at Sol de la Terre (I'm sure that my GF would love to have us join you there ). there are also $1 oysters at Marleave from 4 to 6 and from 9 to 10 on weekdays, but last time I was a bit underwhelmed. the really good, but not cheap oysters are at Neptune on Salem Street.

Porthmouth brewery is a pretty nice place. There are quite a few others, one interesting brewery is Cape Anne in Gloucester, MA. Right next to it is a Glouchester House, a restaurant with very decent lobsters. And you can walk the next street over and visit assorted weird little stores there. A decent beach, Good Harbor Beach is nearby for an hour or two respite if it's warm.

Canobee Lake amusement park is right nearby there in NH, so you might stop by for half a day. Generally discount tix are available for it.

IMAX is at Aquarium, about 10 steps away from Marriott you'll be staying in. I wish they showed Senna in Imax, but noooo... There's also a Mugar at Science museum, not a bad place to visit.

9/11 will not be an issue in Boston, for better or worse. but if you feel like wasting half a day, come to our Porsche autocross on Sunday, 9/11. About 45-50 minutes easy drive from Boston and I can guarantee you a few rides in assorted interesting P-machinery of your choice. wife is welcome or send her shopping on Newbury St. or Coplley/Prudential malls. I would advise against that, though Weather is going to be fine as of Friday.

There are 2 comedy clubs within 10 minutes of where you'll be. Nick's and Improv Asylum. Not sure about the food, I believe at least Nick's serves food.

Bars. Of which there are a few in Boston If you'd like a nice stiff old fashioned drink, Barbara Lynch's new place called... Drink is very, very good. beyond good, as a matter of fact. 5 minutes drive or taxi. There are others.

If you are doing a whale watching things, i'd strongly suggest doing it from Gloucester, not from Boston.

deadhead1960

When you go through Portland, Maine, stop downtown at "Duckfat." It's a well know but casual place to eat lunch. Make sure you have the french fries...they are cooked in duck fat and are to die for!

Also, in my opinion, the whale watching is a potential waste of time. Given your relatively tight schedule, I would not dedicate a full day to potentially seeing at a distance a few whales while you're throwing up and feeling like crap.

dcdude

It's not as critical to book in advance now as it was before Labor Day, but it may be a good idea. I also wanted to go the B&B route as much as possible, but in practice, I found some of them to be exhausting when hauling heavy luggage up three flights of narrow, 19th century stairs. In Portland, we found the Holiday Inn to be not charming, but modern and well-located for walking with decent views (photo below): http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...and_Maine.html

For brewpubs, you have these two that are walking distance:

Gritty McDuffs (photo below)
396 Fore Street, Portland, ME
(207) 772-2739 ‎ · grittys.com
36 reviews
red claws ale · black fly stout · pub style · mug club · scottish ale
"Friendly attentive staff and my doggie is welcome! Whats not to love ? "

Sebago Brewing Co
164 Middle St # 1, Portland, ME
(207) 775-2337 ‎ · sebagobrewing.com
33 reviews
potato nachos · bass ackwards · novare res · runabout red · double ipa
"September 23rd, 2010 – Diners and brewpubs are always difficult to go to ..."

If you get all the way up to Bar Harbor, Southwest Harbor has a very cute village worth stopping into, if time permits. Little Notch Bakery may have the best blueberry pie you've ever tasted: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...bor_Maine.html

V

Thanks for the feedback once again.

For the road trip the plan is to leave Boston and go to Portsmouth, NH and stay there overnight. Then shopping in Kittery the day after and in the afternoon leave for Camden, MA. Dine in Camden, stay overnight and have lunch there and then leave for Bar Harbor. Stay overnight in Bar Harbor and then drive all the way to the see the White Mountain National Forest in NH. Stay there for a day and then we don't have anything planned for the next two days before we have to be in CC.

It would be nice if we could visit some place in Vermont or even southern NH. What about the smaller villages around lake Winnipesaukee? Anything idyllic on the lakeside worth visiting? What about Concord or Manchester?

We also thought about finger lakes and Burlington but it's a bit off from where we plan to go. When I'm putting all the recommendations together I realise that we have lot's of recommendations for places/todos in Boston, Portland, Newport, CC etc. but not so much for the places in between (se above). Which is difficult of course.. It's not a must either, we can go straight from the national park to some other place, that's also an option. Anyways we have plenty of time to plan this during our stay so no worries.


We'll stick with Neptune oysters . We will go for the buck-a-chucks on CC.

We will try Nick's comedy club but I'm unsure if we will be able to do that on the weekend though and they seem to only have shows running in the weekend... Same thing with the amusement parks aparently.. It's not a must but would have been cool.

We'll try the Barbera Lynch place, that sounds pretty cool for a drink. Maybe one of the nice restaurants we talked about are within walking distance from there?


Cool, will try Duckfat. Any suggestions on accomodation in Portland? A nice place to have dinner also?

The whale watching we will do from Provincetown on the cape, weather allowing... But I agree, it has to be like a few others, otherwise it'll be a waste if it's like 6hrs..


I will try to book a few accomodations, time allowing.. Are the brewpubs mentioned above good places to eat as well? We are looking for a nice authentic place to have dinner in Portland. I'll check out the Holiday Inn for accomodation. As you say, we will be carrying a lot of luggage and you don't want to leave too much stuff in the car..

nile13

Viggo, there are few nice restaurants within walking distance. Catch me after the race on Saturday and before the race on Sunday, I've PM'd you my cell. Depending on what you feel like after the flight there are a few places to go to.

Improv Asylum, btw, runs shows every evening at 8 or something like that. They are about a 10 minute walk, right around the corner from Neptune. Oh, Neptune doesn't take reservations and be prepared to wait for a hour+ if you go there Saturday night, for example. You can generally leave them your name and hang around North end for a while, maybe get a drink. Saturday is a zoo there.

Oh, btw, this weekend little arts and crafts (and some homemade glass, jewlery, etc) show at Columbus park, right outside of hotel's door. You might want to walk there for a bit. Sunday nights there are usually movies on the big screen in the same park.

cpdjfd107

Viggo, while in New Hampshire if you have time check out the cog railway.http://www.thecog.com/ I believe it is the oldest running railroad in America? but don't quote me on that. It is a fun ride up, about an hour each way, and it is pretty thrilling as the railroad turns to some pretty steep inclines and declines. The views a top Mt. Washington are breathtaking and there is a gift shop and restaurant at the summit. It is an easy way to see the White Mountains all at once. If you do end up staying at Stonehurst Manor the cog is approx 45 minutes away on a long beautiful road (Rt. 302) which passes by many small parks and pull offs to catch some of the views. Have a great time!!

JasonAndreas

The bartenders @ drink are excellent! You can be exceedingly vague with them (ex. sweet, vodka, no mango, you're a girl-drink-drunk, etc.) and they are only more than accommodating to concoct something that will taste incredible. FYI, Valet parking @ Drink is $16 but there is free (after 6pm) meter parking on the left past the light, one block towards the convention center.