Thursday, October 17, 2019 at 9:55am we arrived in Boston, MA. Our starting point for our New England tour. The feeling of excitement couldn’t contain within me but I couldn’t really let it out because there was a nor’easter storm that had just passed through as we were flying in and the turbulence from the wind on the plane was more than I would have liked to experience. I felt like we were about to crash into the Atlantic before our trip even began and I was not ok with that. I kept gripping Cameron’s hand till it turned deep red cause I was freaking out. Haha! I honestly had no clue what a nor’easter was till we landed and the pilot informed us what had happened and I googled it. Needless to say. It was trippy and scary and I was glad we landed safely.
After landing, we headed to baggage claim to grab our overstuffed bags because we think we’re Lisa Rinna or something. We can never pack just the right amount or under pack. We ALWAYS overpack. I just think you can never be too prepared and good thing because I think we wore all of the outfits we packed.
We got our bags and was supposed to head down to the car rental center. Sounds pretty easy right? WRONG…it took us about 45 min. to find where we were supposed to go. We were collaborating with a car company that sent us instructions on where to pick up the car. Long story short it took us going up and down escalators several times, crossing the drop off location, getting on a shuttle to another location, taking a shuttle back to beginning location and getting on another shuttle to a location off site from the airport which housed the car we were supposed to be in. It was very comical. Well…it wasn’t at the time but looking back on it we can now laugh and only added to the memory.
We hopped in our rental car and headed straight towards Cape Cod. Our first stop on our trip. We stayed at the Chatham Bars Inn in the heart of Cape Cod. upon arrival we met with Beth and Maria who gave me my first test of a lobster roll. I had been waiting to try one because I knew if I was to try it for the first time it would need to be in Cape Cod. All I can say is it’s now one of my favorite things EVER!!. Don’t ask me why just trust me. Go to Chatham Bars Inn and try it. You’ll thank me.
We talked over lunch and learned more about each other and what each other did. I love learning about people and where they come from and what brought them to that place in time. Everyone is on a journey in life and to sit and break bread with others to learn about that journey is always so beautiful to me. They were such great people and had more in store for us.
After we filed our tummies Beth and Maria took us to the farm where the Inn sourced all their produce from. We met with the manager who ran the farm and learned about the produce and what all goes into running a farm and an Inn. I never knew it was so involved but was great to hear and learn. We went to see the tomato crops they had been growing and it was kind of magical. I had never seen tomatoes grow in such an intrinsic way and pattern. I think I ate about 5 lbs. of cherry tomatoes. I never knew there were so many kinds but they were delicious.
It started raining pretty hard not too long after we arrived. After effects from the nor’easter that had hit earlier that day. We took some tomatoes to go and hit the road back to the inn. After we got back Beth and Maria showed us to our cottage that we would be staying at and we parted ways. Cameron and I walked in with fresh baked goods waiting for us and we immediately took to the backyard where our cottage overlooked the most breathtaking view of the ocean. It was so picturesque and quaint. I had to stop and take it all in. It was everything I thought Cape Cod to be and more.
We rested up for a bit then gathered ourselves together and headed back to the main house at the inn for dinner. The food at Chatham Bars Inn is nothing short of scrumptious. I wanted to get everything on the menu. Every item seemed so meticulously thought out and curated for the inn and was executed beautifully. We sipped on wine and cocktails over a calamari appetizer talking about the day and our overall impression thus far of Cape Cod and the inn and the feeling was mutual. Utter Heaven.
Finishing up dinner we headed back to the cottage where we relaxed and finally fell asleep. We hadn’t realized how tired we were from the trip which started around 4:00am that day. We had been going non-stop all day so once our heads hit our pillows we were out like lights.
Morning came with a bright beam of light from the sun on the ocean bursting our bedroom with such bright colors that if heaven were to exist here on earth it’s light would have filled this room. We steadily got ourselves ready for the day while sipping on caffeine to get our bodies awake. Hunger hit us pretty quickly and we headed to the main house again for breakfast. We sat at a table overlooking the ocean and the ships bobbing to and fro as the sun reflected off their hulls.
Wanting to walk off our breakfast we took to downtown Chatham which was only a few blocks from where the inn sat so it was a nice morning to get out and take in the fresh autumn air while gazing upon the beauty of the cape. The little shops and stores were everything that I had pictured them to be. Small, quaint and everyone so friendly and eager to meet someone from out of town so they could share their points of interest to you and get to know more about you. It was so nice.
After walking around for bit and venturing into all the shops our dogs were pretty tired. We headed back to our cottage and packed up our things and loaded the car, Ruby. That’s what we called our temporary car for this trip and she treated us very well.
We were off to Vermont…
On the road for 4 hours we finally made it to our destination. The Quechee Inn at Marshland Farms in Vermont. We pulled up and it was the cutest little B&B we had ever seen. We went to check in and they told us that the water heater had in fact broken so they offered to refund our reservation and make one at a nearby hotel or we could keep our room at a discounted rate. We asked if we could think about it and they escorted us to the den where a roaring fire was blazing in the fireplace and fresh baked cookies and coffee filled our senses. We rested and took in a cookie or 5 and decided to stay as we had dinner reservations at their restaurant that was located in the B&B at 7:00pm.
We had some time before dinner so we decided to venture out and explore Vermont. They gave us a map of the roads and where to see what that we took with us. We drove about a mile through the trees and fall foliage then all of a sudden an opening where we crossed a bridge that overlooked the most gorgeous river gorge. You could see all the fall colors for miles and the sound of the river was nothing short of spectacular. We headed downtown where we went to Gillingham’s General Store. It was one of the attractions I had looked up before and its a definite must. So cute and quaint. You have to put it on your list of places to see when you go to Vermont.
We headed back to the Quichee Inn and showered, very coldly, and got ready for dinner. We walked to the dinning hall where a roaring fire still donned the room and the sound of people laughing and happily drinking and eating took place. We sat down and sipped on more wine and the most delicious Italian dinner we both had ever had. Topping dinner off with some apple pie and coffee we headed to bed to get some much needed rest.
We awoke pretty early because there was a morning shot that we wanted to get at a local farm in the area and took us about 40 min. to find but we found it. It’s such a gorgeous place and apparently one of the most popular places to shoot as there were about a dozen photographers lined up with their very expensive equipment ready to get that shot of the morning sun coming up over the ridge.
After we got our shots we headed back to the inn to pack up because we were headed to Salem, MA for the next day of touring. Before we hit the road we wanted to venture downtown a bit more and checkout some stores that we hadn’t been into yet. After some walking and more picture taking we hit the road. Very satisfied with Vermont and would go back in a heart beat.
…off we went
So we arrived in Salem around lunch time and quickly realized how much more spread out and busy it was than what we thought. We unloaded our bags at our next place which was a very cute airbnb in the heart of Salem and only a few miles from downtown Salem. We unpacked and wanted to go downtown so we took a little walk. As we were walking we saw other people. Lots of people. walking in the same direction. All donned in witch costumes of some sort or black clothing. As we got closer downtown we realized there was some sort of festival going on. Apparently we didn’t know it but the weekend we decided to visit was the busiest time of the year for Salem. One week before Halloween I guess we should have known. haha!
We quickly were overwhelmed with the vastness of this festival and after a bit of walking around decided to go back to the airbnb. To be honest it was little bit too much for us. We are all about festivals and things but it just wasn’t our scene. Instead we decided to order pizza from a local pizzeria and stay in and Netflix it up. We actually were both kind of glad to kind of stop for an evening and just relax. All the going had us wanting to chill out for a bit and the fact that we weren’t feeling the witch festival didn’t make us FOMO too much.
One of the main reasons we added Salem, MA to our tour was because of the move “Hocus Pocus”. It’s a movie that I had grown up with since I was little and had introduced it to Cameron the previous year so we both were excited to see the filming locations for the movie. The main shot I wanted to get and had bought costumes for was the pioneer village which if you’ve seen the movie you know it from the opening scene of the movie. Well I had bought us colonial costumes so we could get the perfect shot for Halloween. Upon arriving to the village we noticed that the gates were closed. Apparently there had been a lot of trees down from the nor’easter which cause them to close it up.
Very upset and wanting to bad to not let this shot go to waste, Cameron and I jumped the fence in the back and timidly made our way to the cottages. As we approached I noticed there were security cameras all around so we quickly jumped back over the fence and sadly walked back to the car. So we did the next best thing. Take a shot of us and then a shot of the village and photoshop the pictures together. haha! you can see the photoshop job above. Even though we didn’t get the shot I wanted the memory of trying to get it was quite comical so it was fine. We visited the other filming locations including Max Dennison’s house, Alison’s family mansion and the city hall where Winifred Sanderson donned her vocal spell on the town of Salem.
We headed back to the airbnb to pack up our things and head to our last stop on our New England tour. Boston.
Last stop on our tour was to Boston. The big city. Such a gorgeous place and so much history as well. We arrived around 2 or so to Encore Boston Harbor where we checked into our room. In the middle of this resort was the most beautiful carousel made entirely out of flowers. It was so amazing and definitely a beautiful hotel. We went to our room on the 26th floor overlooking the harbor where we unpacked and enjoyed a hot bath in the exquisite bathroom and snacked on cookies and m&ms before dinner. haha! because who doesn’t like dessert first?
We headed to dinner at a place called “Frenchie” which was suggested by our friends David and Zach who live in Boston and whom we were meeting there for dinner. We had all been chatting over social media so when they heard we were coming to the city insisted we all meet up for dinner. We had a wonderful time getting to know our new Boston friends and eating some really great food. they showed us around some of the city after dinner where we learned more about the area and it’s history. We parted ways and Cameron and I headed back to the resort for a little bit of drinks and slots in the casino before heading up to the room for some rest.
We awoke the next morning very hungry so hurriedly dressed for the day and packed our bags and headed downtown Boston for some delicious breakfast and coffee before venturing out and exploring. I think Acorn Street is one of my favorite streets in all of Boston. It’s the most historical and most photographed. For good reason too. You could seriously feel the history just walking down the street. The cobblestone streets and homes that ran up the alleyway transported you back in time. We visited local parks, the public library and other various historical points of interest.
Walking for about 8 hours and exploring all of Boston, it felt like, it was time to return Ruby to the rental place and get back on a plane to Nashville. We got to the airport and immediately grabbed coffee as we both were so tired and exhausted from walking so much. We boarded our plane with caffeine and great memories of such a great trip. I think our favorite places we visited were definitely Chatham Bars Inn and Vermont. We would definitely come back to New England and make a trip with just those two places on the agenda and spend more time there. Salem was great but not what we expected and Boston was beautiful and rich with history but still just another city in my opinion. I’m more of an ocean/seaside and country kind of person so that’s why I prefer Cape Cod and Vermont.
I hope you enjoyed following along with our journey and we can’t wait to come back to visit. Definitely plan on coming back to Chatham Bars Inn for more fun and adventures.
Be sure and checkout the links to these amazing places below to plan your next stay in New England.
-StayFoxx
1) Chatham Bars Inn – Make your reservation today
