# Vacationing in New England with kids: suggestions? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 19, 2011, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacationing-in-new-england-with-kids-suggestions/568172 "2011-01-19T04:47:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MC\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@MC\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_E)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacationing-in-new-england-with-kids-suggestions/568172/21 "2011-01-19T23:54:13Z")
Mount Washington, you can either drive up, or take the Cog Railway (which is a little pricey). There is also a gondola type ski lift nearby that is open year round that takes you up to the top of a mountain, which is a good view. I think it is Cannon Mountain. ---
**Author:** ![VernWinterbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c67d28/32.png) [@VernWinterbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VernWinterbottom)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacationing-in-new-england-with-kids-suggestions/568172/22 "2011-01-20T03:08:53Z")
Some of the most popular places to visit in southeastern Massachusetts are Horseneck Beach in Westport and the small, but very nice [Buttonwood Park Zoo](http://bpzoo.org) in New Bedford. In my hometown, [Fairhaven, MA](http://fairhaventours.blogspot.com), where I guide historical walking tours, you can visit the harborside [Fort Phoenix](http://fort-phoenix.blogspot.com/). There is a public beach there and on Thursday afternoons, June through September, I’ll be there in colonial clothing to talk about the fort’s history, demonstrate firing a flintlock rifle, and showing how an 18th century barber/surgeon pulled a tooth. We’re off Rte. 195, thirty minutes east of Providence, RI, on the way to Cape Cod. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacationing-in-new-england-with-kids-suggestions/568172/23 "2011-01-20T03:21:54Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > If you haven’t been here in 40 years, you haven’t really seen the Peabody-Essex Museum. To start with, they merged the Peabody Museum with the Essex Institute (hence the name). Then, some 5 years ago or so, they did a MASSIVE rebuild of the place, doubling it in size and adding a huge interior space. They imported an entire _house_ from China (the _Yin Yu Tang_) and attached it to the museum. > The PEM actually extends beyond the physical museum. They own quite a few historic homes in Salem, and if you ask at the desk you might be able to get a tour of one of them. Oh man. Maybe I should reconsider my “no travelling” stance. I hate to travel, but that sounds like it’s worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacationing-in-new-england-with-kids-suggestions/568172/24 "2011-01-20T04:11:10Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > New Hampshire: > > [Santa’s Village](http://www.santasvillage.com/) > [Storyland](http://www.storylandnh.com/) > [Canobie Lake Park](http://www.canobie.com/index.html) > [Water Country](http://www.watercountry.com/) Hey! No Clark’s Trading Post? No Mt Washington Railway? (turn on your Garmin as you get close & listen to it go Absolutely Crazy with “Recalculating! Recalculating! Please Drive to Highlighted Route!!!”) > [@robby](#): > > I actually came into this thread to mention [Mystic Seaport](http://www.mysticseaport.org/). We’ve been several times, and often take visitors there. There’s a museum, as well as a whole waterfront area, with various historical ships and historical recreations. It’s all very kid-friendly. Many local schools have field trips there. > > The village of Mystic itself is fun to walk around in the area near the drawbridge. > > Some of our favorite restaurants in Connecticut are nearby, including the [Captain Daniel Packer Inne](http://www.danielpacker.com/) in Mystic, and [Abbott’s Lobster in the Rough](http://www.abbotts-lobster.com/) in nearby Noank. I guess I’m simply horrible (or maybe its changed) but The Seaman’s Inn used to be Awesome! I never found a single bad thing on the menu (even the ‘Carpet Bagger Special’ , a fillet mignon with oysters, rocked). Yeah, I know…steak at a seaport? Still…wow. * * * Lake Compounce? Bristol Steam Trains? The Robber Baron Mansions in Newport? And…if you want to Truly Scar Them For Life… Bickfords Pancake Houses _ **FROM HELL** _!!! (I DARE you to play ‘People are Strange’ on the jukebox!!!) :eek: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacationing-in-new-england-with-kids-suggestions/568172/25 "2011-01-20T04:27:58Z")
Seaman’s Inne changed hands, and from what I hear, isn’t as good as it used to be. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![MichaelQReilly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@MichaelQReilly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelQReilly)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacationing-in-new-england-with-kids-suggestions/568172/26 "2011-01-20T05:08:41Z")
There is also the other [Peabody Museum](http://www.peabody.yale.edu/) at Yale in New Haven (both named after [the same guy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Peabody)). They have one of the better dinosaur collections in the country. What kid doesn’t love dinosaurs? When I was a kid that was one of the big three places, along with Mysitic Aquarium and Mystic Seaport, that my family hit every summer. They also have mummies, cool wildlife dioramas, and some kid-specific outreach stuff. If you are into art and architecture, that part of New Haven is actually a great place to go. There are a ton of great old buildings in that area, including the Yale campus. Also, Yale’s art museums are pretty decent (although not as good as the [Wadsworth Atheneum](http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/) in Hartford). ---
**Author:** ![MichaelQReilly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@MichaelQReilly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelQReilly)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacationing-in-new-england-with-kids-suggestions/568172/27 "2011-01-20T05:14:38Z")
> [@MichaelQReilly](#): > > There is also the other [Peabody Museum](http://www.peabody.yale.edu/) at Yale in New Haven (both named after [the same guy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Peabody)). They have one of the better dinosaur collections in the country. What kid doesn’t love dinosaurs? When I was a kid that was one of the big three places, along with Mysitic Aquarium and Mystic Seaport, that my family hit every summer. They also have mummies, cool wildlife dioramas, and some kid-specific outreach stuff. > > If you are into art and architecture, that part of New Haven is actually a great place to go. There are a ton of great old buildings in that area, including the Yale campus. Also, Yale’s art museums are pretty decent (although not as good as the [Wadsworth Atheneum](http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/) in Hartford). Oh, additionally, the Peabody also has all of the artifacts from the discovery of Machu Pichu. You wont be able to see them much longer without going to Peru because the Peruvian government sued Yale to get them back. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacationing-in-new-england-with-kids-suggestions/568172/28 "2011-01-20T08:52:52Z")
Whale watches are a lot of fun. My favorite place is out of Rye NH. Mystic Aquarium is awesome! I went there this past summer when my sister came to visit. They have a cage filled with birds and you can pay $2 or $3 for a stick of food. The birds will land on you and eat right out of your hands. You can also buy food for the stingrays. They suck it right out of your hand. I could have stayed and played with the stingrays all day. The Worcester Science Museum (now with the stupid name of Ecotarium) is a lot of fun. They have a planetarium which is very cool as long as you don’t suffer from vertigo. Worcester also has Higgins Armory, which is the only museum on this side of the world dedicated to armor and weapons (as in ancient armor and weapons). I love Sturbridge Village and go a couple times a year but I’m also a boring adult. We took our nephew this summer and while he enjoyed himself, he complained a lot about all the walking. If you do make it to northeast NY, definitely stop to see Ausable Chasm and if you’re going to go that far, you might as well stop in Plattsburgh to see the Perpetual Motion machine in the mall. Hampton Beach is always fun but I heard they had a big fire recently. I know my favorite arcade is gone. I don’t know how much else is gone. The Freedom Trail, Fanuel Hall, and the Charleston Shipyard are interesting. Every kid who comes to NE should tour the Constitution at least once. Anyone like basketball? The Hall of Fame is in Springfield. Mount Greylock is beautiful and you don’t have to actually walk to the top. Don’t go in the monument if you suffer from claustrophobia. I found out the hard way that I am mildly claustrophobic. I’ve never been but my boyfriend says Battleship Cove is great. We were going to go this past summer but some boy scout thing caused the battleship to be closed. Bastards. Oh well, we went to Mystic instead. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacationing-in-new-england-with-kids-suggestions/568172/29 "2011-01-20T09:01:08Z")
Oh! I forgot! If you like trolleys, there’s a trolley museum in CT and apparently there’s one in ME as well. Have your kids ever been to a Drive-In? I know there are still some in NE. The only one I know for certain is open all summer is right on Route 146 in RI, maybe 10 minutes past the MA border. Too bad you’re coming in August. If you could make it in September, you could go to the Big E and King Richard’s Faire (if they’re holding it this year). But, I’m assuming your kids need to be in school in September. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacationing-in-new-england-with-kids-suggestions/568172/30 "2011-01-20T14:18:43Z")
> [@congodwarf](#): > > If you like trolleys, there’s a trolley museum in CT and apparently there’s one in ME as well. Or, you could just go to Boston and ride the frickin’ Green Line. (It’s one of the subway lines, which has trolley-style cars; the line is underground in the city center, but runs above ground along streets farther out). ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacationing-in-new-england-with-kids-suggestions/568172/31 "2011-01-20T15:11:07Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > Or, you could just go to Boston and ride the frickin’ Green Line. > > (It’s one of the subway lines, which has trolley-style cars; the line is underground in the city center, but runs above ground along streets farther out). Well…yeah. You could do that. But if you like old trolleys, the museum is cool. The one in CT isn’t huge or spectacular or anything but they have a couple different trolleys running, including an open-air one. The enclosed one still has the old ads on the walls. It’s pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacationing-in-new-england-with-kids-suggestions/568172/32 "2011-01-20T15:50:02Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Seaman’s Inne changed hands, and from what I hear, isn’t as good as it used to be. ☹ ☹ That is truly a loss. Aside from great food, they used to have an entire menu selection of single malt scotch available for tasting. They were so good that tourists & locals used to visit. Shame. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacationing-in-new-england-with-kids-suggestions/568172/33 "2011-01-20T16:39:59Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Most of New York isn’t New England. But I grew up in the northeastern part of the state and for all practical purposes that’s part of New England. Awww, that’s so cute. Everyone really from New England is laughing at you, though. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacationing-in-new-england-with-kids-suggestions/568172/34 "2011-01-20T18:45:36Z")
One of my long ago memories of New England is eating lobster on the dock in Bar Harbor, Maine. Mmmmm, freshly-caught lobster. Yum. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacationing-in-new-england-with-kids-suggestions/568172/35 "2011-01-21T04:15:33Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Awww, that’s so cute. Everyone really from New England is laughing at you, though. How are things out in the Boston suburbs? ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacationing-in-new-england-with-kids-suggestions/568172/36 "2011-01-21T14:46:49Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Seaman’s Inne changed hands, and from what I hear, isn’t as good as it used to be. ☹ > [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > ☹ > > That is truly a loss. Aside from great food, they used to have an entire menu selection of single malt scotch available for tasting. They were so good that tourists & locals used to visit. Shame. Agreed. They’ve apparently changed the name to [Latitude 41° Restaurant](http://www.mysticseaport.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewpage&page_id=e8c11ebc-b0d0-d05e-1ab1da1149e4480a). I haven’t been there in a few years, but the reviews are fairly critical of the new management. The Seamen’s Inne was one of the first restaurants I went to when I first arrived in New England nearly 20 years ago. The CO of my first submarine had the whole wardroom there for dinner at Christmas time, which I thought was pretty nice.\* I had just reported to the submarine, and went to sea on that boat for the first time just a few days later, so it was kind of appropriate, I remember thinking. \*(Little did I know at the time that it would be all downhill from there with that SOB. :rolleyes:) ---
**Author:** ![bartleby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bartleby/32/10491_2.png) [@bartleby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bartleby)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacationing-in-new-england-with-kids-suggestions/568172/37 "2011-01-21T19:01:22Z")
Where in NE? i mean it’s rather large… I think that if you are in the are, a Stew Leonard’s in the area (Norwalk, Newington, Danbury), it’s worth the trip, the kids’d like it. Please, of you are going to be in the Hartford area, boycott the West Hartford Children’s Museum. Enfield CT has the Connecticut Trolley Museum. (dangit, i got beat) Get To Edaville before it closes… ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacationing-in-new-england-with-kids-suggestions/568172/38 "2011-01-21T19:03:30Z")
West Hartford has a children’s museum? What’s wrong with it? ---
**Author:** ![bartleby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bartleby/32/10491_2.png) [@bartleby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bartleby)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacationing-in-new-england-with-kids-suggestions/568172/39 "2011-01-21T19:13:45Z")
> [@congodwarf](#): > > West Hartford has a children’s museum? What’s wrong with it? Picture a Children’s Museum Picture a slightly frazzled man with his two children Picture one of those children in a wheelchair Picture being faced with steps, many steps RIGHT AT THE FRIGGIN’ ENTRANCE (oh, AFTER you pay) when asked how the [expletive deleted] I was supposed to get my kid up there, Picture the two employees having NO idea, and having to go find a manager (who appeared to be thin on the ground) to find that there is no elevator. Now I am faced with about 4 levels of Museum, most of which you need to go outside, around the building (in the rain) and wait for someone to come unlock the door. When I sent a letter to them after getting home, I just got a blow-off “well, sucks to be you” type letter in return. ok, I’m done ranting, sorry for the hijack… ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacationing-in-new-england-with-kids-suggestions/568172/40 "2011-01-21T19:15:56Z")
Wow. Just…wow. Damn. Didn’t the American’s with Disabilities Act put an end to shit like that? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacationing-in-new-england-with-kids-suggestions/568172.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacationing-in-new-england-with-kids-suggestions/568172.md?page=3)