The Northeast (Part 1)

This year, Colin and I took off the whole week of 4th of July.  We thought it would be fun to visit some of the Northeastern states (and cross them off my bucket list), AND go to a couple of baseball games.

We flew to Baltimore (Maryland - check!) early Saturday morning on June 29th to make the most of our time off.  Once we got our rental car for the week, we checked into our hotel and headed downtown.

The Inner Harbor is a gorgeous area lined with shops, restaurants, and entertainment.  We walked around a bit and ended up stopping to eat at a Pizzeria Uno and enjoyed a view of the harbor.

We walked back to Oriole Park at Camden Yards to watch the Orioles game.  They were playing the Yankees (oh dear), so the game was intense to say the least.  LOTS of Yankee fans in the stands...every time the Yankees started a chant (yes, they would start the chant at the Orioles field), the Orioles would chime in.  It was crazy!  The Orioles quickly shut them up with an early lead 4-0 in the bottom of the first inning.  The Orioles ended up winning 11 to 3.

The next day, we drove through Wilmington, Delaware (Delaware - check!).  Wilmington was a cute little town.  We got some pictures, and were back on the road!

Next stop - Hoboken, NJ (New Jersey - check!).  We were going to grab a tasty treat from Carlo's Bake Shop (from the TV show Cake Boss), but the line was really, really long.  (They line up in front of the CVS across the street and get tickets!)  We had things to do and places to go, so we snapped a quick picture, grabbed some pizza next door, and headed to the next town.

After driving around New York City (and hitting some hefty tolls!!), we made it into New Haven, Connecticut (Connecticut - check!).  We drove around Yale's campus (really cool!), and stopped to take pictures in several areas.  They had a very old graveyard that had headstones that dated back to the 1830's!  You could barely see the words on them.

Last stop of the day - Providence, Rhode Island (Rhode Island - check!).  Providence was actually a really cool town.  We walked from our hotel to dinner and to see THE First Baptist Church, and Brown University's campus.  We had dinner at a cute little burger place close to campus - Harry's Bar & Burger.  It was tasty!

{Providence homes; First Baptist Church; Capitol; Brown University}

The following day, we went to Cape Cod (so cool!).  It was a quaint little area.  I didn't realize how big it actually is.  There are several towns on the Cape.  We did some shopping for mementos (ornament and magnet), and drove to Sandwich, Barnstable, Orleans, and Yarmouth.  We made it our mission to see several light houses, and we toured a windmill where a sweet man told us all about how it worked.  "Keep your nose to the grindstone!" 

 

{Typical home on the Cape; windmill; on the boardwalk; Nauset Lighthouse}

Colin had his first taste of a lobster roll on the trip at Nauset Grill in Orleans, and we found a DELICIOUS pastry stop, Cottage Street Bakery, where we tried their famous "dirt bomb" (a bran muffin rolled in butter, cinnamon and sugar), amongst many other treats.

{Shops; Nauset Grill; Cottage Street Bakery}

Afterwards, we headed off the Cape and drove north to Plymouth, Massachusetts - home of Plymouth Rock, and Salem, Massachusetts - former home of the Salem Witch trials.  Plymouth Rock was definitely NOT as big as you would think, but worth the stop to hear the guide explain a little about it.  The Salem Witch museum was not high on our priority list, so we opted for a quick picture and then back on the road!

{Colin at Plymouth Rock beach; Plymouth Rock monument; Plymouth Rock; Salem Witch Museum}

That evening, we made it to Portsmouth, New Hampshire (New Hampshire - check!).  This was another cute town.  We checked in and walked to dinner at Portsmouth Gas Light Co. for some delicious wood-fired pizza.  They had an open kitchen, so we got to watch them make our pizza from our table.   Delish!  Afterwards, we walked to Annabelle's Ice Cream.  They pride themselves on using all natural ingredients.  It was the perfect ending to the day.

{Gas Light pizza kitchen; wood fired grill; Annabelle's ice cream menu; downtown Portsmouth; Colin & I at Annabelle's}

The next day, we hit the road to Portland, Maine (Maine - check!).  We walked along the pier and hit some shops for some more mementos.  We also checked out a light house before heading to a local brewery for Colin to taste the local flavors.

{Lighthouse; view of the Portland pier; Allagash brewing company}

Outside of town, we went and visited a lighthouse and dipped our toes in the Atlantic ocean - it was chilly!!

{Portland Head Light lighthouse; Atlantic ocean}

Later that day, we drove to Brattleboro, Vermont (Vermont - check!).  What's in Brattleboro, you ask?  Not much.  This was my way to get Vermont checked off my bucket list without going WAY out of the way to something cooler (like Ben & Jerry's in Waterbury, Vermont).  We stopped at a veteran's park for some quick pictures.

Then, it was back on the road! (Do you see a theme here?)  Last stop for the day was Hartford, Connecticut.  We checked in, enjoyed some appetizers in the hotel lounge, and then walked to a local Italian restaurant - Saluté.  After dinner, we walked through the park across the street before heading back to the hotel.

The next day, we headed to Philadelphia to pick up my parents for the second part of our journey!