Heading to the East Coast this summer?  Love great food?  Be sure to visit Martha’s Vineyard during your travels.  Whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, a family vacation or a girl’s night out, one visit to Martha’s Vineyard, and you’ll never want to leave!

The island covers about 100 square miles, and is divided up into several small towns.  Each town has a distinct personality, our favorite being Vineyard Haven, also known as Tisbury.  The Vineyard Haven area is known for great shopping, dining, and is home to our favorite Martha’s Vineyard Restaurant.

With about 15,000 residents year round, and over 100,000 residents in the summer, activity in the area swells in the summer, but the island is worth a visit any time of year.  We recommend avoiding the area around the 4th of July if crowds aren’t your thing, as this is the island’s busiest weekend of the year.

Stay in one of the locally owned Inns, spend a day at the town beach, and explore the shops around town -there is never a shortage of things to do while visiting Martha’s Vineyard.

If you’re heading to Massachusetts, spend a day or two at Martha’s Vineyard, you’re sure to be pleased!

Welcome back!

Anywhere that is close to a major city usually gets the overflow of what the city has to offer.  In this case, Worcester, Massachusetts is just one of those places.  Being the second largest city and within an hour of Boston, Hartford and Providence and only three hours from New York City Worcester has all of the fine dining, lodging and activities that any major city could provide.  Worcester is also home to 13 colleges that give the town a younger feel. 

One activity to note is the New England Summer Nationals that takes place every summer in July in Worcester.  Events like drag racing in downtown, controlled burnouts, extreme stunt bikes and of course the “best in show” car judging contest.  With car shows come the fans that want to let off some steam of their own and enjoy the local libations.

To appease both adults and children Peppercorn’s Bar and Grill is an upscale Italian eating establishment that is family friendly and also attracts customers who are looking for a cocktail.  Worcester sharing its’ fine living theme and a host to over 10 colleges in the area one must expect a good brewery and grill to take the pressures off of school.  With 18 TV’s and a casual atmosphere, Brew City Grill and Brew House is one to visit and feel like a local.

Kids have an equal amount of fun to experience in Worcester and the area with museums, aquariums, science centers, zoos, and of course Six Flags New England amusement park located just under an hour away in Springfield, Massachusetts. 

If you’re just passing through and staying a night or Worcester is your final destination for business or pleasure there are plenty of lodging options to choose from in and around Worcester.  If you are on business and need to have adequate space for meetings and groups then Worcester can provide you with the amenities.  All in all Worcester, Massachusetts is close to everything but far enough away to have its’ own identity amongst all of the metropolitans of the north east. 

Just a few miles off the coast of Massachusetts lies Martha’s Vineyard, an island that awaits anybody who is interested in kicking your feet up, putting your toes in the sand or just relaxing and getting away from it all.  With the New England coast typically being rocky and rugged, Martha’s Vineyard paints a gentler coast line with a plethora of public beaches, state and historical beaches, harbors and lighthouses that symbolize and dot the New England coast.  Public transportation can get you to most of the aforementioned beaches with some accessible by walking to from wherever you are staying on the island. 

 Joseph Sylvia State Beach, owned by the state and maintained by Dukes County, MA offers roughly two miles of mild beach to enjoy.  A leisure walk along the beach and the harvesting of shellfish (which requires a permit) are normal occurrences seen here. 

Long Point Wildlife Refuge  is home to an ecological array of coastal marine biology that can be experienced through a Wildlife Discover Tour which is offered by the Trustees of Reservations.  One can canoe or kayak through the refuge or have an expert naturalist guide you. 

Aquinnah Public Beach (Moshup Beach) is a nearby beach consisting of protected cliffs called the Aquinnah Cliffs that are a national landmark.  Combining both natural cliffs and soft sand Moshup Beach was voted the Best Walking Beach in America by the Travel Channel. 

Nestled on 7 acres of forest and meadows is Lambert’s Cove Inn and Restaurant on the island of Martha’s Vineyard.  Definitely catering to the art of dining Lambert’s Cove Restaurant indulges in the likes of lobster bisque and seared scallops with a truffle cauliflower puree.  The freshness of their sides is directly linked to the garden along with their homemade soups and bread.

Fishbones Grill and Waterfront Café, which is located on the dockside of the Oak Bluffs Harbor, offers all that you would expect being next to the sea.  Their menu ranges from market priced lobster, choice mussels and clams all the way to chicken fingers for the kids.  There is fare for everyone at Fishbones Grill and Waterfront Café.

For those of you looking for value in your stay on Martha’s Vineyard the months of October through March offer great rates for lodging and you are still getting the beauty that lasts year round.  The Mansion House at Martha’s Vineyard offers lodging, a health club, a spa and a restaurant. The Mansion House offers Martha’s Vineyard lodging specials all within view of the Vineyard Sound.  One just takes the ferry over from the mainland and you are just steps away from your room. 

 If you’re in to camping then there is only one place to go and that is the Martha’s Vineyard Family Campground that is just 1 ½ miles from the Vineyard Haven ferry terminal.  This campground also offers cabins to rent if you are not into roughing it.  Amenities at the campground include restrooms, hot showers, general store, laundromat, playground and recreation area.  There are bikes, mopeds and cars to rent or you can just take a shuttle or taxi.

 For any time of the year Martha’s Vineyard allows visitors to explore the beaches, experience exquisite seafood and stay in luxury or take the family camping.  For more information on Martha’s Vineyard you can visit the Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of Commerce. 

Rockport, Massachusetts is another of those places you have probably never heard of, which is exactly the kind of place that makes for an ideal New England getaway weekend. It’s a short,  scenic hour’s drive from Boston.

Rockport’s character is that of a cultural haven within a classic New England seaside village. Interesting, eh? Imagine a picturesque town on a harbor called Sandy Bay at the very tip of a peninsula (Cape Ann) and surrounded on 3 sides by the mighty Atlantic Ocean.

The region, known as the Essex National Heritage Area, includes the surrounding communities of Essex, Glouster and Manchester By the Sea, which share Rockport’s heritage of seafaring and have also held a similar, long-time attraction for artists of all types.

One of the best ways to experience the area is during the annual Trails and Sails Weekend, which is usually held the last weekend in September. Over 150 free programs are offered throughout the area over 3 days.

However, nearly any weekend you may choose to visit, you’ll find entertaining and interesting things to do- the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, free summer concerts, dance performances, art shows, photo exhibits, meet the author events, artisan studio tours, dory races, story telling, recitals, book chats, auctions, winetastings, the Clam Chowdah Festival and much, much more. You’ll also want to visit the lighthouses and beaches of Cape Ann.

When you make this Yankee town your very own hometown for a few days, you’ll have plenty of charming choices for lodging. To immerse yourself in the true spirit of the area, consider the only historic grand hotel in Rockport , where you can rock on the porch looking out over the harbor and dine on fresh seafood much as Ralph Waldo Emerson and his family did long ago.

While you may not be familiar with Pittsfield, you’ve probably heard of The Berkshires and this enigmatic little city sits right in the heart of that famous region. It’s elevation provides expansive views of the Hoosac and Tactonic hills covered with eastern hardwood forests, six lakes, and the powerful Housatonic River.

Like many places in New England Pittsfield’s history is very long and very interesting and chock full of odd characters. The most famous of these is Herman Melville, who wrote Moby Dick at his Arrowhead home. The historic Colonial Revival home of another famous citizen, Thaddeus Clapp, has been restored as a gracious Pittsfield Massachusetts bed and breakfast.

Pittsfield began as an agricultural village, developed with mills and sheep farming and then became a bastion of Northeast industrialism and a playground for wealthy. Now, it prides itself on being a premier cultural resort adorned with beautiful, historic architecture. Ongoing plays, ballets, operas, children’s theater, dances, concerts, galleries, a living history center and the celebrated Berkshire Museum keep residents and tourists engaged and entertained throughout the year.