My parents joined me and Shae on the road trip in Maine and Vermont this fall. Their visit was bookended by us spending a total of about 6 weeks in Massachusetts.
Between being busy with work at times and Shae getting COVID, we weren’t always able to make the most of our time there. Despite that, we did find some fun things to do and enjoyed our time in this New England state.
Here’s a list of our best and worst things from Massachusetts.
Favorite Accommodation We Stayed At
Stephen – I think I’ll have to go for the Hyatt Regency Boston simply because I loved its central location and that it was only a couple of blocks from Boston Common.
Shae – My favorite accommodation was the little lakeside cottage in Wareham. It was comfy, cute and I loved working at the desk while looking out at the water.
Favorite Meal
Stephen – Food-wise, probably the clam chowder we had at the Hyatt Regency. I think it was in Massachusetts when we also ordered takeout from Naf Naf Grill; that’s a chain that offers Mediterranean bowls that are delicious.
Drinks-wise, both Mayflower Brewing Company and Tree House Brewing Company in Plymouth had some delicious beers.
Shae – I loved the little taste of quahog we had at Moby Dick Brewing Co in New Bedford, alongside the tasty punch it was just a wonderful little snack.
Most Disappointing Meal
Stephen – I can’t think of anything we had that was disappointing, but (dis)honorable mention here for the Hyatt Regency Boston charging $54 for a $10 bottle of wine.
Shae – I didn’t really have a disappointing meal, but I don’t like tea and I took one for the team to try all the historic teas at the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum.
Favorite Free Activity
Stephen – The free tour at New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park was excellent.
Shae – Walking along the Boston Freedom Trail was probably my favorite… Oh, no, wait, I loved the free tour offered by the NPS in New Bedford about whales and whaling. It’s a close tie on those two for me.
Favorite Paid Activity
Stephen – I’ll go for the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum. It was a good mix of history and performance by the people working there.
Shae – It would’ve been free but I chose to join the paid dinner experience and reserved her book, so it counts. I got to see my history hero, Dr. Heather Cox Richardson and hear her discuss her new book, Democracy Awakening (our affiliate link) in Springfield, Mass on her book tour. It was incredible. I had a fantastic evening.
Favorite Pet-Friendly Activity
Stephen – Walking around Boston Common.
Shae – I loved the walk with Truffles around the Boston Freedom Trail.
Least Favorite Activity
Stephen – The Salem Wax Museum – such a waste of money. Historic Deerfield was a little disappointing too, but has the potential to be good at other times of the year.
Shae – I’m not sure I had a least favorite activity, but I think I was most disappointed (even though I understood their reasoning) that the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne wasn’t pup-friendly. We had to walk it separately to hang with Truffles.
Favorite Hike
Stephen – I don’t think we went hiking in Massachusetts, so walking around Boston Common and along the Freedom Trail was as close as we got.
Shae – We didn’t really do a hike but the Boston Freedom Trail, especially when you walk it all and stop to see/read things is quite the jaunt so I’d probably pick that.
Favorite Quirky Thing We Did
Stephen – Would visiting a piece of rock that’s been glued back together and which likely wasn’t actually part of history count as quirky?
Shae – The Salem Wax Museum was pretty quirky… I’m not sure I’d recommend it either. But the Salem Witch Museum is very good.
Favorite Memory
Stephen – Sitting at the table in the cottage in Wareham looking out at the river – it was so peaceful there.
Shae – Getting to meet and talk to Dr. Heather and just listen as she spoke on the platform. I loved her podcast and was so sad to have it end; I was able to tell her that and she was just such a cool human being to be around for an evening.
Funniest Moment
Stephen – Shae trying to go kayaking in Wareham. The cottage was on the Sippican River which is a tidal river. A storm was rolling in at the end of the stay which caused much of the water to flow out of the section where we were staying. Shae wanted to try kayaking nonetheless and so we lowered the kayak into the river. However, the water was so shallow that it got stuck in the mud and Shae had a hard time getting out again. That meant her feet ended up in the deep mud and which wasn’t the easiest thing to clean off.
Shae – Dumping tea into the harbor in front of my English husband and in-laws!
Thing We Most Regretted
Stephen – Not visiting Springfield while we were in Conway and not ending up doing much in Plymouth due to Shae getting COVID.
Shae – Missing out on a few things in Boston and Plymouth due to busyness and sickness.
Something We Missed And Want To See
Stephen – Springfield.
Shae – Dr. Seuss Museum in Springfield, The Paul Revere House and a few other sites in more detail on the Freedom Trail, the Black Heritage Trail of the Boston Freedom Trail, Plimoth Patuxet Museums, Lizzie Borden B&B, going back to New Bedford to tour the whaling museum, not seeing a cranberry bog or Cape Cod.
Our Biggest Surprise
Stephen – How pretty western Mass is. As we were driving through, I was struck by how quaint so many of the small towns were, as well as how well-kept the homes looked.
Shae – Just how much there is to do in Massachusetts.
My Massachusetts Drinking Game Would Be…
Stephen – Take a drink every time you see a Dunkin’ Donuts. It was founded in Quincy, MA and there are more than 1,000 locations there.
Shae – Take a drink every time you see something about “liberty.” All about their liberty there!
Summary Of Massachusetts In 10 Words Or Less
Stephen – Worth a visit, deserved a better exploration than we gave
Shae – Pretty state with lots of history but expensive.
Massachusetts Cities We Visited In Order From Favorite To Least Favorite
Stephen – Boston, Wareham, Plymouth, Waltham, Conway. Seeing as we had such a fun day out there, I’d put New Bedford in second place if we weren’t only listing places we actually stayed.
Shae – Downtown Boston, Wareham, Waltham and Conway
Leave a Reply