My husband and I (gah! so fun to type!) just got back from a nice little roadtrip around New England. Although probably one of our least well-planned trips, it turned out pretty rad. We, perhaps, spent a little bit too much time driving and would have probably had a bit more relaxing of a trip if we’d just slowed down and only chose one or two states to concentrate on but we had a blast regardless. We saw a ton, covered a bunch of ground, and I managed to cross off a few travel bucket list items.
When we traveled to New Orleans last year I wrote a summary type of post that covered a bunch about what we did. I really enjoy looking back on it. Of course, there will be lots of posts about favorite stops along the way but I enjoy writing this type of post as well because I get to talk about all the little fun details that might not be big or exciting enough to write a ton about.
What we did…
We drove… a lot. Maybe more than planned. Straight from Ohio to Connecuit where we made a quick stop at a maybe not so abandoned theme park. We checked out Seaside Sanatorium and then grabbed a hotel for the night because holy cow, sitting in the car all day is exhausting. The morning started in Salem, Massachusetts which was just as cute and quirky as I had hoped. I love when towns really embrace whatever they’re known for, like Roswell with their alien… well, everything. I was even excited to see that Salem’s taxis had witches on them! After walking around a while there, we headed off to Portland, Maine, making a few stops along the way to check out old cemeteries. In Portland I ate my first lobster roll, we hung out at a coffee shop for a bit then visited the ocean. I’m pretty sure that this might have been one of my favorite visits to the Atlantic so far. I still can’t stop talking about it. After that, we grabbed a hotel in Manchester, New Hampshire to rest up for the long drive home. I crossed Ponyhenge off my bucket list, finally, and we made a brief stop in Natick, Massachusetts to visit Kristina at Calliope Paperie (who had the audacity to not be in town that day. Hehe!) The rain started to pour down, and we finally hit the road for Cleveland.
What we ate…
- Caramel Patisserie in Salem, MA. A few years ago I was a macaron nut. I made it a priority to try some in every new city we visited. They were wildly popular at the time, and everyone and their mom was trying their hand at making them. This resulted in more than few not so awesome macarons being ingesting. Don’t get me wrong, even a bad macaron isn’t horrible but for the amount they cost I just hated gambling on them. I’d rather spend my money on new and exciting desserts. All of that to say, Jeff suggested we get some macarons since we hadn’t had any in a while. Holy cow, Caramel Patisserie’s macarons were top notch. I’m back to being completely obsessed. If you get a chance, try some of theirs! I highly recommend the rose or chocolate passionfruit.
- Becky’s Diner in Portland, ME. Jeff’s main objective foodwise was lobster roll. Becky’s Diner was SO great. We got seated upstairs on a patio overlooking the water… completely by ourselves! It was my very first lobster roll, (loved it!) and Jeff said it was the best one of his life. Our waitress was super sweet and seemed genuinely excited to give us beach recommendations. It was a relaxing little stop!
- The Holy Donut in Portland, ME. I’ve been craving these since our last visit a few years back!
- The Common cafe & kitchen in Natick, MA. While eating it, I wasn’t wildly impressed with their avocado toast. Now though? I can’t stop thinking about it and how good it sounds!
This was the first trip ever I actually did a good job at packing snacks! We, of course, ate a couple more places than listed and picked up coffee a few more spots but for the most part, we ate what we had. I’m pretty proud of all the goodies I packed, honestly.
Highlights for me!
- Finally crossing Salem off my travel bucket list. There are lots of other places I want to visit, obviously but it feels good to finally cross off another city I’ve been dreaming about!
- Holy Land, U.S.A. I only snapped a few quick photos because the property was sporting some seriously threatening ‘no trespassing’ signs. I wish I could have spent time exploring and taking photos but honestly, just seeing it in person was very exciting.
- THE OCEAN, ugh, the oceeeeeaaaaan. I love Lake Erie but there really is something so special about the ocean.
- Ponyhenge!!!!
- All the headstones with skulls and cherubs! Gah! You best believe I have lots of cemetery photos coming soon. Hope you’re ready!
- Just being on the road in general. Of course, there were moments it was not so fun but Jeff and I truly just enjoy driving new places. The excitement of never knowing what you’ll see next and knowing that around any bend or just off any exit might be your next big adventure.
I can’t wait to really start sorting through my photos. I’m very excited to share more soon!
Until next time, New England!
xoxo
Ps. If you love to plan out trips and are heading to New England any time soon – check out all the recommendations I got.
