I’m keeping this post super short and to-the-point, but I wanted to find time to do a recap of our trip to the East Coast because quite honestly, my memory stinks and I’ve found this to be a perfect way to be able to remember exactly where we went and what we did.
First off, special thanks to my aunt for convincing us to make this trip a reality (over a few glasses of wine of course) and my cousin for helping us plan our itinerary. Now that she’s moved out East, we have a whole new part of the country to explore based on her recommendations, which are always winners.
We absolutely loved Maine last time we were out east and have always wanted to see the leaves changing in Vermont, but we were a few weeks shy of leaf-peeping season so we opted to head south of Boston and check out Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Newport, Rhode Island. All were a hit. I’d rate the latter two more highly than the first – only because there was more to do within a smaller footprint – the Cape is very spread out and requires a good amount of driving. (Which is not as ideal when contending with a nap schedule.)
CAPE COD
So here goes! On the Cape, we stayed in South Yarmouth, which was fairly central and very chill. We had easy access to the beach which was wonderful, and were close to Hyannis for more dining options. We really only had about a day to explore the whole area since we opted to take a ferry to Nantucket on our second full day, so we ended up splitting our time between Chatham for lunch, and Hyannis for dinner. Chatham was beautiful – particularly the area around Chatham Bars Inn. If money was no option when it comes to these trips, I would have booked a room at the inn, but since they were just a *bit* more than we wanted to spend, we had to settle for lunch at their lovely Beach House restaurant instead. Highly recommend – and be sure finish off the excursion with a little jaunt around town.
For dinner, we headed into Hyannis and ate at Spanky’s Clam Shack. Hilarious name, but it has a great relaxed setting outside and lots of seafood options to choose from.
NANTUCKET
Nantucket is exactly as I pictured – extraordinarily charming and picture-perfect. It is possible to do it in a day trip (particularly with the 1-hour, fast ferry option that we chose), but next time, I’d love to plan for an extended stay. We chose Nantucket over Martha’s Vineyard because it’s more walkable without a car – there’s a bustling town right off the ferry that has lots of shopping, dining, and even a beach or two – but we missed out on Sconset which lies on the opposite side of the island. (Note – you can get there by public bus but we didn’t want to push it and miss our ferry back.)
We lucked out and got a fantastic lunch seat at Cru, which fills up weeks in advance for dinner but is open to walk-ins during the day. We rounded out our feast with scoops at Jack & Charlie’s Ice Cream before boarding the ferry back. It was a long day but Ben was a trooper and we’re so glad we squeezed in this day trip.
NEWPORT
We loved Newport. The town has a lot of personality, there are gorgeous old mansions to tour (you’ll feel like you’re in Europe!), and there are some beautiful vineyards and sprawling ocean-front grounds on which to sip rose. We only spent a day and a half there, but it was just enough time to get a good flavor of the city.
My reco: When you get downtown, head for The Black Pearl. It was the perfect spot to dine on the wharf, surrounded by the most charming streets, a view of the water, and a menu that was tasty but not overpriced. We didn’t think we’d have a chance at getting in without reservations, but lucky us, we were immediately escorted to a prime table outside along the water.
The following day we did a lawn & garden tour of the mansions – The Marble House and The Breakers. We didn’t think it would be wise to let a toddler loose inside these grand and opulent estates, but in hindsight, I’d focus only on The Breakers and find a way to see both the inside and outside. It truly was the most spectacular of all the homes. (Though I’d take any one of them!)
We capped off the day with drinks at The Lawn at Castle Hill Inn. The restaurant was nearly impossible to get into without long-standing reservations, but they welcome walk-ins on their Adirondack chairs outside until they reach capacity. Patrons outside can head into the bar to grab drinks, which they can enjoy while looking out at the sunset. It was awesome and one of our highlights of the trip.
That’s it this time around! Next time – per Jake – we’ll be sitting at a single resort for a full week 🙂