Staycation - Massachusetts (Waltham, Newburyport: beach, places, summer)

[DreamworksSKG]

I'd also suggest the Butterfly place in Westford

Butterflies surround you at The Butterfly Place, Westford, Massachusetts

and Kimbal Farms and ice cream
Welcome to Kimball Farm

[DreamworksSKG]

I have heard some great things about the Ecotarium in Worcester

If you go there's a diner you can go to for breakfast in Maynard

5 & Diner Franchise Corp - The Diner
The 5 and diner

The Miss Worcester Diner is pretty good too in Worcester
awesome spam and eggs
Worcester MA diner - Google Maps


The Higgins Armory museum is in Worcester as well
Higgins Armory Museum - Worcester, MA - A Museum of Arms and Armor

Worcester is also home to the WPI campus Worcester Polytech Institute, and Clark University

Enjoy

[Lindsey_Mcfarren]

Originally Posted by capecodcathy

Call it "DayTrippin' in MA".

Most of us are in situations these days that prevent us from taking an extended vacation (for me, that's a whole week!), and are looking for things to do a little closer to home.

DreamworksSKG composed a wonderful post about Cape Cod which I'll link to here:

Where to spend a weekend on the Cape??? - Massachusetts (MA) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

I'm sure, though, that there are many others here who have a lot of information to offer on "staycations" in their own areas. Western MA? Merrimack Valley/Southern NH? Worcester area? Just to name a few. Little known attractions that cost little to no money? Even if the attractions are inexpensive, we'll usually spend money on a restaurant, ice cream parlor, etc.

It just makes sense to keep our tourist dollars in MA. Post your ideas and bring some business to your local area!

Thanks much!

I NEVER got tired of Boston as a child. We would walk the Freedom trail, check out the church where Paul Revere hung the lantern to warn of the British advancing, then you could follow it up with a visit to Lexington Concord where they shot when they saw the whites of their eyes. I don't know if Old Ironsides is still in the water but it was fun to visit as well. The Bunker Hill monument, the Arboretum, the park whose name I don't recall that has the swan boats, the exhibits at Harvard. So many things to do.

[DreamworksSKG]

I am developing a off the beatn path guide to new england and especially greater boston

so when i have more i'll send ya the link

[capecodcathy]

More wonderful suggestions. Goyguy, great plug for Rockport and that's what this thread is for! Haven't been there in years but hope to make it before the cold air sets in.

[Lindsey_Mcfarren]

Originally Posted by capecodcathy

More wonderful suggestions. Goyguy, great plug for Rockport and that's what this thread is for! Haven't been there in years but hope to make it before the cold air sets in.

If I'm not mistaken Rockport is right by Plum Island, no matter what time of the year you go there, its wonderful. They have board walks to enjoy bird watching throughout the marshy area there. The Canadian geese come there with their babies. There is also a nice beach there on Plum Island.

My parents were always finding boardwalks through naturally preserved areas, we brought our binoculars to bird hunt and our field guide to identify the birds as well as the wild flowers.

If your interested in Salem, I also found that place fascinating. Of course it does cost to tour The House of the Seven Gables but it was fascinating. I hear its THE place to be for Halloween.

[Acipenser]

Originally Posted by redpanda

We also love to trek to North Adams for Mass MoCA.

Great suggestion -- and if you're in that neck of the woods and art is your thing, I suggest the Clark Art Institute in Williams. They have a truly world class collection (e.g. Degas, Renoir, Monet, Homer, etc.), excellent exhibitions, and admission is free between Nov 1 and May 31.
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute

[miu]

Work is quiet for me during the summer. I've actually very content to spend my days off at home puttering around the house and garden with my dogs. Once in a while, I will head off to a local antique store to poke around.

I'm not interested in encountering any weekend traffic either. Yuck. Any Cape and Maine trips will have to wait until fall.

[GardenMediaGroup]

Staycation in your own backyard! And go to the farmers markets that you keep meaning to hit and don't!

[goyguy]

Funny, my earlier reply vanished.
Ditto on Plum Island, which is actually adjacent to Newburyport. (Rockport's a few miles down the coast, beyond Ipswich and Gloucester.) It's the second-most northerly beach in Massachusetts, behind Salisbury. The beauty of it, literally, is that most of it is a nature preserve which draws "birders" from around the world. And - new this summer is a shuttle service from the Newburyport commuter-rail station and the city's downtown! (See separate thread.)
A weekend could easily be made out of a trek to Newburyport. Matter of fact, that's exactly what's on my agenda starting this coming Friday evening! Market Square - besides a few modern additions like electricity and cars - looks much the same as it must've in the early 1800's. Newburyport was one of the first international shipping ports in the US, and is also where the Coast Guard and Customs Service got their starts. Museums in town are there to tell about both. Exactly as in Salem, there are numerous grand old houses that the traders constructed using their fortunes. And in the tradition of every town in New England near the ocean, Newburyport has a multitude of restaurants, taverns, and of course gift shops eager to take tourist dollars.
After three decades in Massachusetts, I finally took the time to explore Gore Place in Waltham last Sunday. This is a really neat spot that an afternoon could easily be whiled away at. The mansion, built in 1806, only can be toured at certain times (and with an admission charge.) But the grounds are open daily until sundown, with all access including parking FREE. Although the original land holdings have been reduced, some 45 acres are still maintained as they would've appeared in the early 1800's: open fields, along with a small wooded thicket surrounding the brook which "babbles" across. Toward the southeast corner of the plot, there's a small farm featuring demonstration gardens of flowers and vegetables. Kids might enjoy (while not feeding and only cautiously petting) the animals kept there: two exotic breeds of chicken, a flock of goats, and some fifteen sheep. Because it lies along Route 20 and has fairly busy streets along its western and southern boundaries, one never completely escapes traffic noise at Gore Place even when alongside the brook. However, that reminder of modern times soon fades into the background as you watch barn swallows wheel and swoop over the fields while the farm goats and sheep bleat and the chickens cluck. It's a jewel of natural preservation amidst 20th-Century suburban development. During the summer, there are Wednesday-evening concerts on the grounds, with educational events (such as sheep shearing during the spring) happening throughout the year. Visit GORE PLACE FEDERAL PERIOD HOUSE MUSEUM for more info.
Elsewhere in Waltham can be found the Charles River Museum of Industry (don't quote me on the name, lol) and of course Moody St with its myriad retailers and famous Restaurant Row. Gore Place is easily reached via the MBTA 70 or 70A buses, from the first stop after the Watertown line (landmarks = Walgreen's, and John Brewer's Tavern, both on the right.) Stay on the same bus until Waltham Common - by the commuter-rail station - if Moody St is your destination. Walkers, such as me, can travel between the two spots on foot by way of the paved "trail" along the river - although the route calls for a detour at one stage and is a half-mile or so south of Gore Place. Since browsing in stores doesn't cost anything, and the only fee at Gore Place is for house tours, you could easily fritter a day away in Waltham without passing the plastic or parting with any cash. (Pack a lunch for picnicking by the river or on the Gore Place grounds.)