Time for a Road Trip

During the first two weeks of December in Kennebunkport, Maine people visit from all over for their Christmas Prelude Celebration. Earlier this year we heard locals talk about the event and decided that this was time to check it out. For you shopaholics all the stores in town are open as well as a number of craft fairs. But more than that it is a place you can go to really get into the spirit of the season. You will find warm friendly smiles everywhere you look and decorations throughout the town.

{Editors Note:  Unfortunately when we visited earlier in 2016 the space that housed Breaking New Grounds was under construction and the coffee shop closed.   Please don't let that keep you from taking a trip to one of the most beautiful seacoast towns in New England.} The coast of New England has many unique qualities - the salty smell in the air, the afternoon sea breeze, lobster traps, fishing boats, and of course quaint towns. We enjoy the ocean very much and have spent quite a bit of time in many towns throughout the area. One of the best and most relaxing of these can be found in the small town of Ogunquit, Maine at Breaking New Grounds.

There is nothing better than taking a road trip to Salem, Massachusetts this time of year to get you into the spirit of Halloween. It seems that whenever we visit it is always a dark dreary day which is fine since it suits the environment well. Ghosts, goblins, and of course, witches come to mind when we think of this small city. There are many attractions available for those of you that enjoy getting scared out of your wits. While we tend to enjoy the people watching more than most of the “haunted” themed events, it makes sense to also incorporate some good food into our road trip to the north shore of Massachusetts .

Nothing says fall like a trip to an apple orchard. Luckily living in New England affords us the opportunity to have an abundance of orchards and we are always on the hunt for something fun to do on a beautiful fall weekend. If you are like me and not the biggest fan of apple picking (much to my wife’s chagrin), you will be happy to check out a festival held at a local orchard in Hampton Falls, NH.

It's time for another road trip and this time we take you to Rhode Island. My wife and her family lived in the Providence area for a time and they frequented Chelo's quite a bit. Having flown out of Providence recently we decided to check out the location directly across from the airport. We normally visit the Providence restaurant.

Unlike a road trip this was more of a joy ride where we jumped in the car without any idea of where we were going or if there would be anything worthwhile to do or see when we got there. It could have been an oasis or a disaster. So one afternoon we decided to head south from Tampa towards the water thinking that there must be some nice beaches along the way.

Back when I first visited Parlee Farms in Tyngsboro, MA several years ago it was just a small family operation with a tiny retail space as well as a petting zoo. Boy, have times changed. Today, the crowds are large and they keep adding more including apple picking (complete with a hay ride out the orchards) pumpkins, barn animals, and a bakery. Over that time we have seen them grow significantly and one thing has remained constant in the fall, our hunger for their homemade apple crisp.