1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die (20 page)

BOOK: 1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die

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Salem and neighboring Marblehead were once part of the same town. Today Marblehead, the self-appointed “Yachting Capital of America,” is both a prosperous suburb and an antique seaport (and one of many locales that claim to be the birthplace of the American Navy). The tumble of narrow streets of historic Old Town is virtually an open-air museum of architecture; plaques on many houses give the name and occupation of the original owner and the date of construction, often predating the American Revolution. Many of them house artful shops, bakeries, quaint eateries, and specialty stores. The gracious Harbor Light Inn is a romantic choice of 21 rooms tastefullyy furnished in unfussy Federalist style, with the welcome surprise of a quiet garden patio and heated outdoor pool.

W
HERE:
15 miles northeast of Boston.
Visitor info:
Tel 877-SALEM-MA or 978-744-3663;
www.salem.org.
P
EABODY
E
SSEX
M
USEUM:
Tel 866-745-1976 or 978-745-9500;
www.pem.org.
H
OUSE OF THE
S
EVEN
G
ABLES:
Tel 978-744-0991;
www.7gables.org.
S
ALEM
W
ITCH
M
USEUM:
Tel 978-744-1692;
www.salemwitchmuseum.com.
S
TREGA:
Tel 978-741-0004;
www.stregasalem.com.
Cost:
dinner $28.
R
OCKMORE
F
LOATING
R
ESTAURANT:
Tel 978-740-1001;
www.therockmore.com
.
Cost:
dinner $30.
H
AWTHORNE
H
OTEL:
Tel 800-729-7829 or 978-744-4080;
www.hawthornehotel.com.
Cost:
from $109.
H
ARBOR
L
IGHT
I
NN:
Marblehead. Tel 781-631-2186;
www.harborlightinn.com.
Cost:
from $145.
B
EST TIMES:
late July for Marblehead Race Week; early Sept for the Labor Day Regatta; Oct for Halloween in Salem (
www.hauntedhappenings.org
), when the city pulls out all the stops.

Oldies but Goodies

B
RIMFIELD AND
S
TURBRIDGE

Massachusetts

The country’s largest and best-known antiques market teems with more than 6,000 dealers and some 130,000 visitors, who come to forage through history’s marketplace. Materializing in central Massachusetts three times
a year and lasting less than a week, the Brimfield Outdoor Antiques Show occupies a 1-mile stretch of Route 20. More than 120 acres are blanketed in tents and thronging with sellers and buyers. Dealers come from all over the country, their choicest pieces in tow, to haggle with the decorators, designers, and merchants who descend in convoys of rental trucks and SUVs, ready for a major haul. They’re not fooling around, either, and neither are the legions of amateurs who arrive as early as 4:30
A.M
. on opening day (Tuesday), loaded for bear.

Each field keeps its own schedule, but many dealers are open for business between dawn and dusk throughout the show’s six days.
By the weekend, the prime merchandise has been snapped up, leaving casual customers to wander through the remaining unwantables, seeking the off treasure among the trinkets. Latecomers to “the Brimfield fleas” can take advantage of slashed prices on items the sellers don’t want to haul back home, so everybody wins. Bring cash or an ATM card, wear your most comfortable shoes, and remember this insider’s tip: It almost always rains during the May show.

It’s just 6 miles from here to nearby Sturbridge, where the main attraction is also a remarkable collection of antiques—and the buildings that house them. The largest living history museum in the Northeast, Old Sturbridge Village is a re-creation of a rural New England 1830s community, arranged on 200 pastoral acres. Its 40 period buildings—the earliest dating to 1704—were transported from all over New England in the mid-1940s and reassembled and restored here. The community captures a transitional period in American history—the sawmill uses technology patented in 1830—in an interactive way that’s especially appealing to children. Costumed guides bring alive everyday life that evolved around the small school, cider mill, tavern, store, and more, as well as homes furnished in period style, and a working farm and herb garden. The “residents” demonstrate their trades and crafts, from blacksmithing to cooking, and the village, open year-round, celebrates various holidays as well as the changing of seasons, while engaging visitors in the experience of sheep shearing and harvesting.

Enjoy a ride in a horse-drawn sleigh in Sturbridge.

W
HERE:
Brimfield is 64 miles west of Boston.
B
RIMFIELD
O
UTDOOR
A
NTIQUES
S
HOW:
Tel 413-283-2418;
www.quaboag.com.
When:
3 shows (Tues–Sun) yearly, beginning 2nd Tues in May, 1st Tues after July 4th, 2nd Tues in Sept.
O
LD
S
TURBRIDGE
V
ILLAGE:
Tel 800-SEE-1830 or 508-347-3362;
www.osv.org.
When:
closed Mon, April–Oct; closed Mon–Tues, Nov–Mar.
W
HERE TO
S
TAY:
Publick House, Sturbridge, tel 800-782-5425 or 508-347-3313;
www.publickhouse.com
.
Cost:
from $89.
B
EST TIMES:
Apr for Barnyard Babies activities; early July for Independence Day events; Dec for Sturbridge Christmas celebrations.

A Road Trip Filled with History and Culture

A
LONG THE
M
OHAWK
T
RAIL

Williamstown and Deerfield, Massachusetts

Tucked into the rural corner shared by Massachusetts, Vermont, and New York, Williamstown rises to its self-appointed moniker of “The Village Beautiful,” home to prestigious Williams College and a lively
cultural scene that belies its isolated location. The picturesque town’s signature event is the Williamstown Theatre Festival, where big names from Broadway and Hollywood as well
as up-and-comers appear in revivals and contemporary works. Add to that workshops, talks, late-night cabaret, and other events, including free shows and children’s activities, and you have a jam-packed schedule that includes some 200 performances each summer. Founded in 1954, the festival has launched the careers of such actors as Christopher Reeve, Kate Hudson, and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Afternoons can be spent at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute (“the Clark”) among its works by Renoir, Gauguin, Degas, and Toulouse-Lautrec as well as silver, porcelain, and furniture. The Williams College Museum of Art may pale by comparison, but it’s a noteworthy museum with collections of American art from the late 18th century to the present, proudly highlighted with works by Picasso, Warhol, and Hopper.

Williamstown is a gateway to a plethora of outdoor activities. Follow the 8-mile drive almost to the top of 3,491-foot Mount Greylock, the state’s highest peak and the anchor of Massachusetts’ first state park. The 1896 House Country Inn sits in the mountain’s shadow on a 17-acre estate dotted with Adirondack chairs, where guests can sit and take in the view of the lush countryside. The six B&B suites found in the renovated barn are lavishly decorated in the style of six distinct eras, such as the oft-requested Victorian suite. The Orchards Hotel, designed to evoke an English country estate, encloses a serene courtyard and gardens, overlooked by the interior rooms; units that face out have views of the mountains.

Williamstown is the western terminus of the Mohawk Trail (Route 2), which extends 63 miles east to the Connecticut River and the town of Millers Falls. Originally an ancient footpath worn by Native Americans, the trail was the main route connecting the British colonists in Boston and the Dutch in Albany. First paved in 1914, it’s the only active motor road in the country that predates World War I and was the first scenic road heralded to promote tourism. The narrow road twists and turns through gorgeous scenery and appealing towns such as North Adams (see p. 63), at other times encouraging motorists to take detours, such as the turnoff that leads to Shelburne Falls. Abuzz with creative energy thanks to a recent influx of craftspeople, galleries, shops, and eateries, this Victorian village is most known for its pedestrian Bridge of Flowers across the Deerfield River. The local women’s club maintains the gardens on the bridge, keeping them festooned with plants that bloom from early spring through late fall.

Deerfield, settled in 1669 and perhaps best known as the target of an Indian raid in 1704, is a unique destination even in history-soaked Massachusetts. On the mile-long tree-shaded main street are 13 antique houses and a contemporary building that make up an engaging museum complex. Escaping the feel of a theme park, it preserves the town’s architectural history as well as the history of American decorative arts—furniture, silver, glass, ceramics, and textiles.

Welcoming guests from its central location since it opened in 1884, the classic Deerfield Inn has a landmark front porch and the obligatory resident ghost. The decor includes an extensive collection of Colonial decorative arts. Beautiful countryside continues south of Deerfield, where the Connecticut River flows into the Pioneer Valley and an area called the Five Colleges for the mostly private institutions of higher learning clustered here: Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, Smith, and UMass Amherst. Summers are quiet, but when school is back in session, the area is virtually buzzing with activity, both campus-related and otherwise.

W
HERE:
131 miles northwest of Boston.
Williamstown visitor info:
Tel 800-214-3799 or 413-458-9077;
www.williamstown
chamber.com.
M
OHAWK
T
RAIL:
Tel 413-743-8127;
www.mohawktrail.com.
W
ILLIAMSTOWN
T
HEATRE
F
ESTIVAL:
Tel 413-597-3400;
www.wtfestival.org
.
When:
July–Aug.
T
HE
C
LARK:
Williamstown. Tel 413-458-2303;
www.clarkart.edu
.
When:
daily, July–Aug; closed Mon, Sept–June.
W
ILLIAMS
C
OLLEGE
M
USEUM:
Williamstown. Tel 413-597-9017;
www.wcma.org
.
When:
closed Mon.
M
OUNT
G
REYLOCK:
Lanesborough. Tel 413-499-4262;
www.massparks.org
.
1896 H
OUSE
C
OUNTRY
I
NN:
Williamstown. Tel 888-999-1896 or 413-458-1896;
www.1896house.com.
Cost:
from $79 (off-peak), from $129 (peak).
O
RCHARDS
H
OTEL:
Williamstown. Tel 800-225-1517 or 413-458-9611;
www.orchardshotel.com.
Cost:
from $175 (off-peak), from $205 (peak).
H
ISTORIC
D
EERFIELD:
Tel 413-774-5581;
www.historic-deerfield.org.
D
EERFIELD
I
NN:
Deerfield. Tel 800-926-3865 or 413-774-5587;
www.deerfieldinn.com
.
Cost:
from $173 (off-peak), from $206 (peak).
B
EST TIMES:
July–Aug for Williamstown Theatre Festival; late June and late Sept for Old Deerfield Craft Fair (
www.deerfield-craft.org
); mid-Sept–mid-Oct for foliage.