Boston & Maine Residents - Coming for a Visit - Advise Please
 

I have had good advise from this board on many things, and I hope to find help on traveling too!!!

My husband & I are headed to Maine and the Boston area this spring for 1 week. I could use some advise on the area please.
We want to visit some of the Boston area and also go to Maine..thinking Portland area, but open to anywhere that is interesting.

1. Where to stay in Boston area...flying in there. Should we find a hotel in that area and explore from there or should we plan to stay a couple different locations? Is there a good location to stay that we can get back to easily from some day trips?

2. I want to see some light houses - where is the best place to do that?

3. I want to see some history about the area...suggestions?

4. I found a road trip on AAA that goes to these towns (Greenfield & Williamstown MA, and Bennington & Brattleboro VT. What is there and do these towns have anything interesting in them?

Any and all suggestions welcomed...Thanks!!

Those towns are way out west in MA. That trip sounds like a "Fall Foliage" tour for the leaf color. There is lots to see in Boston--The Freedom Trail, etc. You will not lack places to see. Just south of Boston(5 miles?) is Quincy(where I grew up) It has the the First Parish Church where John Adams and John Quincy Adams are buried.Their homes are about a mile up the street(great to experience the size of these home) The Adams mansion is about a mile in the other direction from the church. Traveling further south on Rte.3 all the way to Plymouth you can see the "Plymouth Rock", The Mayflower, and do a visit to Plimoth Plantation(a living replica with Pilgrims and Indians!) Just some ideas. I would get on the internet to check for visiting hours and prices. Good Luck! PS. I have stayed in Portland Maine and it is A great place to visit. Great little shops downtown, good food, and over the bridge there is an outlet mall if you are interested.

For lighthouses, go to the Cape. It begins about an hour south south of Boston and there are more than a dozen lighthouses. Bonus - there are two great quilt shops in Hyannis just a few miles apart!

We do plan to do Cape Cod...that will be enough lighthouses for me! I forgot to ask about quilt shops..that was on my list too. Any that are CHEAP or really unique...are top on my list.

There is only one quilt shop on the Cape now, Heartbeat Quilts closed last year, Boo Hoo. If you do travel to Greenfield, there is a Textile Mill there with a fantastic choice of fabric. Just north a little bit and you will find A Notion to Quilt in Shelburn Falls, another great shop.
Hope you enjoy your trip east.

Great information! Had I just gone by the website I found about that drive to the western cities...We would have been disappointed. So thanks for the insight.

Hope to hear about Maine's best spots too.