Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for massachusetts
America’s Oldest Restaurant
By Linda Tancs
Along Boston’s Freedom Trail you’ll find America’s oldest restaurant, Union Oyster House. Housed in a building dating back to pre-Revolutionary days (1716), its stalls and oyster bars remain in their original positions since the opening in 1826. The brick structure was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2003 and is a rare surviving example of the city’s Georgian architecture. A favorite of statesmen, artists, travelers, inventors, athletes and theatre figures, it’s notable as the home of Isaiah Thomas (publisher of The Massachusetts Spy from 1771 to 1775) and the place where Louis Philippe, later King of France, taught French to prominent Bostonians. The toothpick (invented by a Maine family in the timber industry) also made its debut there. Not only is the Massachusetts eatery America’s oldest restaurant, but it’s also one of the world’s oldest establishments (the oldest being Botín in Madrid, founded in 1725).
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Home of Little Women
By Linda Tancs
Louisa May Alcott wrote her beloved classic Little Women at Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts. The grounds contained an orchard of 40 apple trees, giving the home its name. Largely unchanged since the Alcott occupancy in the mid-1800s, the premises even retain 80 percent of the family furnishings, making a visit to the property akin to walking through the pages of the novel. The house is shown by guided tour only.
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African Meeting in America
By Linda Tancs
In Boston, Massachusetts, the African Meeting House is the oldest African edifice in America, and the adjacent Abiel Smith School is the first building in the nation constructed for the sole purpose of housing a black public school. Located on Beacon Hill, both structures were built in the 1800s and represent the crown jewels of the Museum of African American History. Once the heart of Boston’s 19th century free black community, the historic landmarks are a testament to courage, ingenuity and perseverance. You can discover the stories of courageous Americans on a guided walking tour of two trails highlighting black heritage and community. The museum’s branch in Nantucket hosts another meeting house and heritage trail.
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The Art Gallery Town
By Linda Tancs
In the restful enclave of Wellfleet, Massachusetts, life is good. Located on the narrowest part of Cape Cod, it’s surrounded by beautiful beaches bayside and oceanside. Hikers will find some of the best trails in the Cape Cod National Seashore, not to mention nature walks, workshops and classes available through the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. These days it’s taken on particular renown as the art gallery town, bursting at the seams with galleries featuring local works. And let’s not forget the internationally acclaimed Wellfleet oyster. The annual OysterFest is this weekend. Free shuttles will run to the town center from Newcomb’s Hollow Beach, White Crest Beach and LeCounts Hollow Beach (Maguire Landing).
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Land of the First Light
By Linda Tancs
Located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, the island of Martha’s Vineyard enjoys an international reputation as a summer playground for the well-heeled. The island’s original natives called the place Noepe, which means “land of the first light.” That may have been a prescient observation, considering the island is graced with five lighthouses: Edgartown, Cape Pogue, East Chop, West Chop and Gay Head. The sweeping views include Vineyard Sound, the tony enclaves of Edgartown Harbor and Chappaquiddick, and the cliffs of Aquinnah. No yacht? No worries. You can grab a flight to the island year round or take a ferry from Rhode Island, Hyannis or other ports.
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No Man’s Island
By Linda Tancs
Three miles southwest of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts is a real “no man’s land.” Nomans Land Island National Wildlife Refuge, a one-time Naval training ground, aerial bombardment and gunnery range, is closed to all public uses due to the risk of unexploded ordnance. But its intertidal beach, rocky shores, shrub habitat and abundant wetlands are welcoming hosts to common terns and double-crested cormorants (as well as migrating monarch butterflies). Literally, this place is for the birds.
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The Residents of Copp’s Hill
By Linda Tancs
Shoemaker William Copp once owned a spot of land in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts. Now Boston’s second oldest burying ground, Copp’s Hill is the final resting place for ordinary Bostonians–merchants, artisans and craftspeople. But how does one define ordinary? Now there’s the rub, as these grounds harbor the remains of some extraordinary people, like Robert Newman, who placed the signal lanterns in the steeple of the Old North Church on the eve of the Battle of Lexington and Concord; Shem Drowne, the weathervane maker who crafted the grasshopper atop Faneuil Hall; and Prince Hall, the anti-slavery activist and founder of the Black Masonic Order.
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Inside Nantucket
By Linda Tancs
Thirty miles south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Nantucket is a crescent-shaped island chock-full of architectural and natural delights blissfully off the beaten path. For instance, there’s Sconset Bluff Walk, an unadvertised public way littered with stately homes and ocean views. And Steps Beach at low tide, when you can walk along a sandbar. Did you know that you can summon turtles at the dock at North Head Long Pond with raw drumsticks? Now you can tour like an insider.
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Hats Off at Peabody
By Linda Tancs
At the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, the hats have it. Through 3 February 2013, an anthology of hats is on display. Let’s face it; we fell in love with the fascinator when Kate (that’s the better half of William and Kate) put the glam in that modest little accessory. At the Peabody, British milliner-to-the-stars Stephen Jones has created an homage to headdress. You’ll find caps, crowns, bonnets, turbans, fascinators and more than a few head-scratching designs. It’ sure to be a heady experience.
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A Free Guide on the Freedom Trail
By Linda Tancs
Considered the oldest public park in the U.S., Boston Common is the starting point of the Freedom Trail in Boston, Massachusetts. From there you can pick up a map of this 2.5 mile walking trail highlighting 16 historic landmarks, such as the site of the Boston Massacre, Faneuil Hall, Old North Church and the Bunker Hill Monument. If self-guided tours aren’t for you, don’t fret. You can pick up a free guided tour of the trail by a National Park Service ranger at Faneuil Hall.
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