Summer will be here soon, and it’s not too early to start planning your vacations and getaways with family and friends. One of the most beautiful places to check out is the New England area. Whether close by or traveling cross-country, New England is a worthy pitstop that contains five states. To ensure your trip goes off without a hitch, here is how you plan the best summer day trips in New England.
Prepare Your Car
Before you set out for any summer day trips in New England, make sure your car can handle it. It’s always a good rule of thumb to take your vehicle in for service to check it out before going on any road trip. If you plan on visiting all five New England states, you want to avoid a breakdown unexpectedly. Your local auto repairs professionals will check your brake pads to ensure they’re fully functioning. After all, you don’t want to get into an accident because you couldn’t brake in time. They check your engine and transmission are functioning and will test it with diagnostic tests.
Expect auto professionals to test your tire tread. The tread refers to how much space is left between the circumference of the tire and the road itself. If it’s too worn down, it creates a slippery surface, as you won’t be able to grip the road. You can always test it with a penny by inserting it into the tread. If Lincoln’s head completely disappears, you have plenty of tread space left. However, if most of his head is still exposed, your tire tread is too worn to safely drive on the road. Your auto professional should rotate your tires to ensure as much even tread as possible.
Your windshield and all your auto glass must be clear and crack-free. Auto glass structures ensure proper visibility on the road, especially when taking summer day trips in New England. If there are any cracks or issues, those windows glass should be replaced. After all, a cracked windshield can shatter in on you and cause injury if you get into a collision. Plus, a cracked or broken windshield affects the structural integrity of your entire auto body. They may install a new wiper kit or repair the existing one, so your windshield can always be properly cleaned and usher water away when rain hits.
Plan Your Meals
One of the best things about New England is its food. If you’re a seafood fan, you’re in luck, as you have several seafood restaurants to try. One of the most well-known chains in the area is Legal Seafood. You may occasionally see Legal Seafood further down in places like Washington D.C., or Virginia. However, it’s not a chain of restaurants that are nationwide. Therefore, you should take advantage of a bowl of New England clam chowder, fried clams with the bellies, and several types of fish at this well-known establishment.
Don’t worry if you don’t feel like eating seafood on your summer day trips in New England. There are other tasty eats to try, such as some at a local Steakhouse. Feast on the Granite Steak and Grill in Rochester, NH. There’s Smith and Wollensky in Boston, MA. You could eat at David Burke Prime in Ledyard, CT. A long-time old-school eatery in Cambridge, Massachusetts is Frank’s Steakhouse where you can expect to spend $30-$50. If you have a slightly larger budget where you don’t mind spending as much as $100, you may want to check out the Bancroft in Burlington, MA.
Regardless of your palate, if you love soups and can tolerate seafood, you should at least have at least one or several bowls of the famous New England clam chowder before your summer day trips in New England end. This chowder is characterized by its thick and creamy broth containing whole clams, onions, and potatoes, and it’s very savory. While you can always get Manhattan clam chowder in New England it differs as Manhattan clam chowder is characterized by its use of tomatoes and red color. Manhattan clam chowder also uses milk instead of cream. While it is also very tasty, it doesn’t stand out in the way New England clam chowder does. Just be prepared that when you go to a typical restaurant in New England and order chowder, the default option is the New England clam chowder option, unless otherwise stated.
Charter a Boat
Who says your summer day trips in New England have to be by car? Because New England has some great coastal lines, you may want to take advantage of being on the sea as much as possible. The coastline of Maine, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and the inlets of Rhode Island, provide beautiful coastal viewings in which you can catch a summer breeze day or night. You may want to charter a boat and sail to another New England state. Make sure you find one of the several boat storage spots to park your boat for a while while you walk around the docks or go to the local downtown areas in these places.
Another reason to charter a boat is to enjoy some fishing time. Since the area is known for fishing, might as well try your hand at trying to catch some on your own. Instead of going to a restaurant, you may be able to have your fish fry on a local New England beach to end your day trip. If you go during the right time in summer, you may be able to go whale watching, as well as see seals and dolphins..
There’s a range of boats available for your needs and preferences. There are New England yacht charters, in which you can take advantage of luxury cruise yachts. When you want to be in with the jet-set crowd, summer day trips in New England may be the time to do so. According to Northrope and Johnson, crewed New England yacht charters start at $50,000 a week for some of the most luxurious yachts in the area. You can also take a vantage of boat tours so that you can get a tour of the area by water. Get your camera out and look out for a sealife or go for a dip in the water. Some of the most famous boat tours in the area are the Duck Boat tours in Boston. These boats can go from a waterboat and transition into a land vehicle.
Rent an AirBnb
Planning summer day trips in New England means you have to leave that same day. Give yourself time and spend at least a night or two by finding the right hotel or Airbnb. An ideal thing to do would be to find a nice hotel and one of the downtown areas such as downtown Boston, or rent a cozy Airbnb on one of the coastlines. New England has very seasonal weather however, it can get up there in the summer. So make sure you find a place that has proper solar shades so you can be comfortable inside.
New England is one of the oldest regions in the United States. Matter of fact, it’s the site of some of the original colonies. Therefore, your summer day trips in New England can give you a historical and contemporary residential architecture tour. While you can be impressed with some of the modern homes, particularly those on the coastline, you can also be transported back in time as you walk the cobblestone streets of places such as Boston, Massachusetts, or get more rustic with some of the cabins in Maine.
Go to the Boardwalk
One of the best things about being on such a long coastline is the ability to hang out at the local docks. Pick a state and you’re about to find a pier that has some café, restaurants, docked boats, or summertime events. If you come to the area for the Fourth of July, it’s a perfect time to enjoy the Boston Pops extravaganza. You can always see the fireworks just about anywhere in the city at that time. However, it’s even more spectacular when you’re standing by the pier.
In addition to fireworks, being down at the right pier in the region, may give you time to take in a summer concert. Work out for a day when you take advantage of the HarborFit initiative in Boston, in which you can learn tai chi, Latin dance, cardio dance, and other fitness activities in places like Piers Park or Carson Beach. The Boston Harbor also has a night sky camping experience, which can be fun for you and the family. Just make sure you bring a telescope and be ready to learn about the cosmos with a local park ranger.
Go Shopping
New England consists of five states. The states include Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, and Maine. Needless to say, you have plenty of places to go shopping regardless of your shopping preferences. You may want to take advantage of some of the smaller towns in the region and look around antique stores or open markets for rare coins. Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market in Boston, MA, are a haven for tourists to go shopping and grab a few drinks in the area. Shop for boat-themed souvenirs in Cape Cod. While summer is too early for New Hampshire’s beautiful apple-picking season, it’s the perfect time to take advantage of the state’s well-known tax-free outlets.
Become Familiar with the Lingo
Remember, the United States has different regions, and like other regions in different countries, people sometimes have a unique spin on words. Before you take a trip to New England, or most notably, Massachusetts in this case, you may want to familiarize yourself with some of the local colloquialisms. Most people in the country simply refer to the metro train as the subway or train. However, in Massachusetts, people refer to it as the “T”. So if someone says to you, “Do you need to take the T”, they’re not talking about the drink. Summer in a New England area means enjoying ice cream or other cool treats. If you take advantage of one of the several ice cream trucks in Massachusetts, don’t use the word “chocolate sprinkles”. Be prepared to use the word “Jimmies” instead.
Enjoy a Game
While the football team is referred to as the New England Patriots, they’re mostly Boston’s team. After all, Boston is very much a sports town that is the home of the Celtics, Bruins, and Red Sox. If you’re in town for a day or two, you may want to time your trip to catch a game at Fenway Park. If you come in August, you may be able to attend a Patriots football training camp in Foxborough, MA.
Cool Down at Night
As you’re busy maneuvering throughout summer day trips in New England you’ll probably be tired with so much to do. After all, you can easily bounce between several of all of the states before your short trip ends. Regardless of how much activity you have planned, give yourself enough time to wind down at the end of the day. Consider finding an Airbnb or hotel that has an inground pool or spa facility. That way you can ensure tired muscles can ease up. Then you’ll be ready to hit the road or drive your boat back to your home after your trip is over. You may be so relaxed, that you may decide to add another day onto your existing trip.
If you want to see one of the more diverse regions in the United States, a summer day trip to New England is a top choice. As mentioned, you have five states to choose from, and you can enjoy good food, beautiful coastlines, boating, or taking the “T”/subway when you don’t feel like driving in Boston. Enjoy using different lingo you would never use in any other part of the country and even learn some of the oldest history in the nation. Have fun this summer as you journey around the New England states.
