I love New England in the Fall, but every Columbus Day Weekend, so does everyone else. They drive up here in huge numbers, making this the worst traffic weekend with the possible exception of Thanksgiving. Leaf Peeper clogging 93 North on their way to Franconia and Crawford Notch. When I worked 1 1/2 hours from home I hated this weekend – it could take me four hourse or more to fight my way home.
Usually I could escape to somewhere closer, like Salem, Mass. Even the crowds of the “Haunted Happenings” in Salem don’t put me off – I love to people-watch the crowd. But this year they decided to hold the second annual Harry Potter conference in Salem (just because Rowling mentioned Salem in The Chalic of Fire), so in addition to leaf-peepers and Halloween tourists, were going to have all the Potter fans roaming around.
On top of which, it’s supposed to train all weekend, so they’ll all be jammed into the few indoor spaces. Brothers is going to be packed to the gills.
[stupid question] Is it really Columbus Day this weekend? So my kids are home from school on Monday???[/stupid question]
I feel your pain, Cal. I live and work in the Route 2, 495 and Rte 117 area and we get all the apple pickers, along with the leaf peepers. But with this weekend’s forecast of 2-5" of rain followed by…more rain, I think the traffic won’t be quite so bad as usual.
Good grief, I’m out of it. I honestly had not even thought about Columbus Day weekend.
At least I don’t have to work the concession stand at the SHS football game tomorrow for the Band Parents. The game got moved to this afternoon to beat the rain, and darn the luck, I have to work. But now Saturday is free, for indoor activities anyway.
Sunday I’m flying. The rain WILL stop. I demand it.
This weekend, especially, I’m glad I moved. Last year I was living right next to I-93 (as in, my backyard abutted the freeway), and between the noise and not being able to get anywhere, it was a pain in the nether regions.
Ouch! Stay out from under that - that sounds worse than cats and dogs!
There is nothing like New England leaves. I still laugh out loud every fall when the news out here tells us the aspen are in their full glory. “Get to the mountains this weekend to catch all the colors!” All the colors consisting of yellow and green.
I’ll be one of those Columbus Day leaf-peepers you’re talking about. I’m flying into Burlington this evening. I’m staying with friends on a farm outside of Montpelior, though, so I don’t plan on clogging up your roads too much. I’ll just peep at the leaves from their windows and stay inside where it’s warm and dry!
So go to Brothers Deli in downtown Lynn instead. Great food, great prices. Brothers Kouzina up Route 1 (in the old Bickford’s building) will be open soon.
So THAT’S why there were so many moron drivers on 128 today! Like Caricci said, the colors aren’t too vibrant out here so maybe people will go home early>?
I’m going to cut a little slack here, because my usual Columbus Day trip is out Rte. 2 to Amherst and Northhampton for cider and apples and handcut doughnuts at Atkins Farm. And for the foliage, of course. I’m a UMass boy, and that area is really where I want to be this time of year. And I’m sure that all the folks out there are cursing the Bostonians who tie up traffic. Well, with the anticipated rain I may just stay home.
I’m curious how good the foliage will really be in this area this weekend. In my commute along Rte 128 from the North Shore to Concord, I have seen precious little in the way of good autumn color. I’m heading up to Maine next weekend and I hope to see some better displays then if the rain doesn’t take all the leaves down.
Brother’s and/or Red’s, eh? Pubs, I hope? I’ll have to check them out (just not this weekend, thanks for the warning ). I’m one town over from Salem (Lynn), and I tend to go to the Salem Beer Works.
). I’m one town over from Salem (Lynn), and I tend to go to the Salem Beer Works.