8 Things I Love about New England ...

Photo Credit: R. Parent Photography

Everything you’ve ever heard about the fall foliage in the New England states is absolutely true. It is utterly gorgeous. My entire state looks like a water color painting right now. It is so blazing and colorful, you don’t really feel like it can be at all real. Add into that the fact that fall is my favorite season of all time, and I’m a happy girl.

You’re basically tripping over history here. Everything is so old, so rich in history. Heck, the house I live in was built in 1768 -- true fact! Proven and everything -- and trust me, you can tell in the winter! I swear, sometimes I think even the fast food restaurants are historical. “This McDonald’s is built on the site of an old Puritan burial ground…”

When you get into historical cities, be ready to just flip. Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut: wherever you go, there are remnants of the way things used to look, as well as whole, complete examples. So much has been done to retain original architecture, and the juxtaposition against more modern buildings and fixtures is surprisingly effective.

Photo Credit: RI PhotoMan

Salem is my favorite city in all of Massachusetts and all of New England as well. It has great examples of both a richly historical atmosphere and that dark, wonderful Puritan architecture. You can easily spend hours there and still not know everything about the city.

New England has so many stories, so many legends hiding just under the surface. Of course you can hear many of them in historical towns like Salem, but talking to locals can get you even more. Oral stories getting passed down are just as delightful as written ones -- sometimes more so, because it seems like every generation builds on the original.

This past summer, the first in New England, was hot. And I hate to be hot. However, I also saw some amazing things that made the summer magical for me. The good days were perfect. And I tell you, I noticed things that I haven’t noticed since I was a kid -- it was sort of like a northern version of "Prodigal Summer" by Barbara Kingsolver.

Photo Credit: kocojim

In just the right location, you can be close to everything! It’s cool to poke fun at how small the New England states are, and how easy it is to get from point A to point B -- but it’s also true! There is so much to experience there, and the beauty is that you can get to most of those places in just a few hours at most.

Growing up, I was always a beach kid. When not spending time at the local “beach,” which was actually just a man-made lake, my family always scrimped to try and spend time at the ocean every couple of years. The fam did Myrtle Beach and Virginia Beach -- where the water is halfway warm in the summer -- and it did beaches in Maine and New Hampshire as well. And in Massachusetts now, of course. You know what? Cold! But still gorgeous, and so close!

But I’m probably missing something because I definitely haven’t finished exploring yet. I’m always on the lookout for tips though. Any suggestions?

Top Photo Credit: roxieffcc