In this day of escalating petrol and travel hassle, Id like to propose that we discuss some of our favorite locations for mini trips.Rules
1Nothing exotic-Im more intereseted in some place that you could drive to from your home than something that requires visas and many airdrops. Even though Im a Sagittarius, I dont have any of the "Wander lust" genes. In fact, without a close friend (mrs F) and family, Ive been so fed up to here with international travel that I wanna see all the statess and much of Canada before I retire to New Mexico.
OK ILL START
1WASHINGTON DC> I dont think that this even belongs on a list, like PAris or London, or Valpariso, its in aleague of its own so
RULE 2, no real big towns that are world renown.
HERES MY FIRST TWO.
A> CHESTERTOWN MARYLAND. This is a little sleepy ton down on the "Eastern SHore" of The Chesap[eake Bay. Its a town that has been restored from a commercial shipping center for ommestibles going to te markets of Va, DC, and Baltimore and has been transformed into a town of hops , restaurants, and its on the tidal River. There are always the semi "Tall ships" namely tyhe SUltana,The Pride of Baltimore, The EDna Smith, The Kalmar Nikel (about 1 week a month). as well as a fleet of bugeyes, oungies, skipjacks, buy boats, shallops, nine log canoes and other indigenous wooden sail craft and one wooden paddle boat (being restored)
Its a day trip that always affords good food and stuff to see.
B> FREDERICTON NEW BRUNSWICK-The capitol of New Bruswick is actually a laid back town with a vital art community and one of the best little art museums aroun (The Lord BEaverbrook Art Museum). The town celebrates summer by activities in the arts almost every weekend and people seek out and seem to support their downtown as a going enterprise. One of te best German Restaurants ever is located in Fredericton and , no matter wjhat the temperature is in the lower 48, its always nice nd mild there(course now, Ive not been there in February, when I hear that the moose come into town).
If this thred has any legs, Ill come back with afew other places that we like to visit again and again.
(I don't know what the latest word is on the museum, but see it before Lord Beaverbrook's descendants claw back all that priceless art work.)
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Wilso
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Sat 4 Aug, 2007 07:50 am
bookmarking. There's some wonderful places around here, but I'm not getting out much now. And my descriptions lack the articulation I would like. Once the little one gets a bit bigger (is awake more than asleep) I'm going to start getting my other half out to see some of them (she was pregnant for most of the first 10 months after she arrived, and not much into days out). I'm going to try to get into the habit of recording my observations, and will come back to post them.
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farmerman
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Sat 4 Aug, 2007 08:05 am
cool Wilso-remeber, any notes you provide about day hops in OZ, will obviously help any soon to be visitors of your country. I always like to take advice of the people that have a close tie to an area. Tourists only see what others want us to see.
TC-I can speak as a local re: Fredericton since wve gone up to Harveys Station for about 20 years now to deliver wool ( we make our trips a business expense). If Lord Beaverbrooks descendants take away their permanent collection (actually) very little will be missed, with the exeption of the Giant Dali "Christ of the Pampas" and 2 Gainsboroughs . Beaverbrook museum has always been able to attract shows of new and important Canadian artists, so, if LB's kids want to remove all theportraits of "dead guys" let em go crazy, Ill still be fascinated bu all the works that they have coming in .
3. MAUCH CHUNK PA. (Once called Jim Thorpe Pa) located on the edge of the anthracite belt and the center of the infamous Hibernian revolts and the "Molly Macguires" incidents of the late 18oos, This town is a working class town with antiques and shops in a huge swath of the Appalachians. The town surrounds are worth the day hop and the many waterfalls and spring pools and Victorian stairsteps built by the Irish immigrants during the post Civil War era, make this a neat place to go, buy some fresh pasties (made at the Welsh Anglican Church fresh each day of the week and Saturdays) some double smoked kilebasi, Farmers Sweiss "ementhaler like" cheese, and a couple of Yuengling Brews and make a picnic on a hilltop, whose views would have impressed Frederick Edwin Church.
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Tai Chi
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Sat 4 Aug, 2007 12:48 pm
Re: Beaverbrook Museum -- that's good to hear, farmerman. (I guess the media has blown it all out of proportion as usual...)
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happycat
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Sat 4 Aug, 2007 02:19 pm
Havre de Grace MD - restaurants, shops, antiques, bed and breakfasts
Chesapeake City MD - on the C&D Canal, restaurants, shops, antiques
St.Michaels MD - restaurants, shops, antiques, famous people
Take the Cape May Lewes Ferry, or just visit Cape May NJ - antiques, shops etc...
most of my picks are water oriented
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cicerone imposter
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Sat 4 Aug, 2007 02:39 pm
There are really a great number of drive-to places from the San Francisco Bay Area that has its own attractions and interests.
1. Napa-Sonoma Wine Country
2. Muir Woods (redwood trees)
3. Sausalito (across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco
4. San Jose has the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, and the Winchester Mystery House, and Santana Row (shops and restaurants).
5. Santa Clara has Great America Amusement Park
6. Silicon Valley has many of the world famous high-tech companies including Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Google, AMD, Intel, eBay, Varian, and a whole bunch of others.
7. Santa Cruz, Monterey, and Carmel are good day trips.
8. Reno and Lake Tahoe are over-niters.
9. The Golden Gate Bridge and the Pacific Ocean.
10. Half Moon Bay and San Francisco.
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panzade
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Sat 4 Aug, 2007 02:55 pm
CHESTERTOWN MARYLAND.
FREDERICTON NEW BRUNSWICK
done both...great day trips
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CalamityJane
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Sat 4 Aug, 2007 03:02 pm
New Hope, PA. Great little town with tons of antique stores.
Saratoga, NY. Horse town, great food and not far from Lake George
Newport, RI, one of my favorite little places in the US
Sedona, AZ, used to be a sleepy little town with its red beautiful mountain formation. Unfortunately it's not that sleepy anymore.
Ventura, CA, small town with great flair
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fishin
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Sat 4 Aug, 2007 03:12 pm
Belfast, ME - The prototypical Maine coastal town. Lobester boats at the docks and a nice, walkable Main Street lined with dozens of small shops, studios and resturants.
Charlemont, MA - The heart of the Berkshires. This is "Small town New England" locked circa 1910 with a real live General Store that has been in operation since the 1860s. Rolling hills and tons of forested land. It also has the Greenfield river for whitewater rafting/kayaking and fishing.
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ossobuco
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Sat 4 Aug, 2007 03:14 pm
Point Reyes Station/Inverness/Olema - gorgeous area in west Marin County with Pacific Ocean views and Tomales Bay views to choose from (I've stayed at a motel by Tomales Bay in Inverness). Nicer hotel and restaurant in Olema. Monka's Inn used to be in Inverness, very rustic/upscale with fabulous food, but it burned badly recently. Don't know if they've reopened.
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cicerone imposter
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Sat 4 Aug, 2007 03:32 pm
For over-nites, I would also include Mendocino County. Rustic, serenity, and excellent for romantics.
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farmerman
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Sat 4 Aug, 2007 05:32 pm
Had an office in Novatto for a bout 12 years then sold it. I loved all of Merin County.
The Dolly Sods--This is a breached synclinal mesa just like the legendary "lost worlds " of Doyle. The Dolly sods are a outlier of pleistocene scenery, a barrens of ferns and cycads growing in a highaltitude wetland, It comes to life late in the year and has indigenous plants and creatures whove adapted to this high wintry terrain. Animals like the Appalachian cave rat and the short tailed squirrels. Its a really weird and wonderful place located off route 33 about 75 mi West of Dulles Airport and in the beginnings of theRidge province of the Appalachians. Waterfalls pitch from the top , as there isnt much percolation of rainwater or meltwater from winter snows. One needs to be attuned to the little things like native orchids that only grow there. SOme are so rare that tyhe Forest ers will not tell you where they are.
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farmerman
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Sat 4 Aug, 2007 05:36 pm
Point Reyes Station Picture a l;ong sandy road that ends in a series of seacliffs that overlook a Pacific surf strand. Always cold and usually foggy, one can hear seals barking from somehwere but between the wind, fog muffles, aurf and the singing sands, you dont know from where the seals are calling. Many rows upon rows of old fossil fence lined that were put there in the 30's and 40's for watch posts and there still remain a few gun turrets from the war , just in case the Japanes navy decided to shell us
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ossobuco
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Sat 4 Aug, 2007 05:46 pm
I'll post some photos, Farmer.. not my own. I swear, I nearly died of beauty on my drive from Petaluma to Inverness, and that's just an entry road.
Never did get off 101 and go into Novato, regret it.
Well, that's enough. None of them show hills of golden grasses...
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sumac
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Sat 4 Aug, 2007 06:33 pm
osso,
Been thinking about you recently - all those wonderful articles in the NYT about places in Italy. You must be salivating.
Also, yesterday I listened to your Puccini disk, with eyes closed(of course), and nearly swooned from the wondrous rapture of it all.
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hamburger
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Sat 4 Aug, 2007 08:32 pm
gananoque is a small town just a 30 minute drive east of here - kingston/eastern ontario .
it has a beautiful location right on the st. lawrence river and a great summer theatre .
went to afternoon show at the "1000 island playhouse" . the theatre is a former boathouse of the local canoe-club . so it sits right up against the river - just a beutiful location .
afterwards went for dinner at the gananoque inn . it's a former carriage factory building that has ben turne into a wonderful little hotel .
again , the dining room overlooks the st. lawrence river , so you can enjoy your meal - and drinks , if you like - while watching the sailboats glide by and the powerboats zoom along - the 1000 island in the background : PERFECT !
hbg
boaters can tie up right at the playhouse - and the river cruiseboat will take you there too !
can you beat that ?
view from the honeymoon suite of the inn over the st. lawrence river
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ossobuco
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Sat 4 Aug, 2007 08:37 pm
Hi, sumac! My feasting on italy is all by reading or music these days. Once in a while I look places up online and go into italy tharn.
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hamburger
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Sat 4 Aug, 2007 08:41 pm
another great spot to visit nearby are the SANDBANKS on lake ontario , about an hour west of here - two hours east of toronto .
Quote:
Giant sand dunes and golden beaches form two of the largest freshwater baymouth sandbars in the world here, on the shores of Lake Ontario. Efforts to stabilize shifting sands disturbed by farming have revived distinctive dune plants such as bluets, butterfly weed and sand spurge. Trails feature dune stairs to protect this delicate vegetation.
they are beautiful in summer ...
but perhaps even more beautiful in the middle of winter with the snow and ice packed against the dunes and the waves rolling in !
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