New England Travel Resolution for 2014

My sister-in-law Maggie Kerrigan recently wrote a fantastic book entitled The (almost) Blank Journal to inspire clarity and creativity for daily writing. Meant for both the creative mind and highly structured thinker, Maggie's book features "prompts (motivational words and thoughts) for writing and drawing..." It's really a simple but brilliant concept. Plus, Maggie knows what she is talking about, given her quest for creativity as a significantly talented artist.

I own several web sites and blogs, but this one, the Weekly New England Travel and Vacation Gazette, has hit a creative road block several times in its existence without clear direction -- that is, until I opened Maggie's Christmas gift in the mail. As often as possible, I am going to try my hand at daily writing on this blog -- motivated and guided by Maggie's journal.

Today, I focus on Resolutions with the topic being New England Travel in 2014. Since we are on a tight family budget, cheap day trip destinations will be prioritized on the New England travel agenda for 2014. These destinations will need to be close to home and have something unique and interesting to offer.

One such inspirational place is Onset, Mass., a Victorian seaside neighborhood in Wareham, Mass. We visited last summer, but nowhere near enough. With cheap parking, a beautiful sandy free beach located on the bay, stunning Victorian residential architecture, a walkable downtown with little mom and pop shops and cheap eats restaurants like Marc Anthony's and Stash's (with seafood and water views), I know Onset will serve for us as a lower-cost alternative to Cape Cod and coastal southern Maine. I can hardly wait until summer!

A view from the Onset town common

The beach looks mighty inviting!

A welcoming, walkable downtown

What are some of your 2014 New England travel New Years resolutions? Please comment below, we'd love to hear your ideas!

Macro Monday in New England: Vermont Country Store, Weston, Vt.

The Vermont Country Store in Wetston, Vt., is one of New England's most famous country stores. I took this close-up photo in an attempt to capture the welcoming, old-time feel to the storefront. Notice the front porch benches, the rocking chairs, the old wooden door, the windows with mullions, the American flag at the top left and the family business sign -- this is so New England!  It gets even better inside with more than 5,000 hard-to-find items, some that you thought you would never see again, like Chiclets, Uncle Wiggily board game, the original Gumby and Pokey bendable buddies, Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific Shampoo etc.,

For more on the Vermont Country Store and other country stores to love during your New England travel. please read our Best Country Stores in New England article.

Social Media Travel Info in New England

It's time to get more social in New England, and we're ready to break the ice.

I noticed how many great social media travel and local business pages there are in New England, whether it be on Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or through bloggers (clearly, a form of social media). From state tourism agencies to the local country store, we plan on sharing what we feel are the very best examples of social media in the six-state region. Hopefully, this will help with your New England trip planning, as well as learning more about some phenomenal local businesses. I'll be blogging about social media in New England over the next few months, and, if it is well received, we'll consider switching full-time here to a New England travel social media blog.

We will also keep you up to date on our own social media pages, including Google+, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Let's get things started by recognizing the New England Aquarium in Boston, Mass., as having one of the best Google+ businesses pages.  Informative, full of photos and videos, timely and sometimes humorous, the world-class presence of the New England Aquarium is very well communicated through Google+. Great job!

Spring is a Great Time to Visit Kennebunkport, Maine

I was thinking this morning about a nice place to visit in New England on a great spring day like this.  Kennebunkport, Maine, instantly came to mind.

In reality, I won't be able to travel there due to prior work commitments, so the following pictures will be a prime motivator to put Kennebunkport on the "very near future" travel calendar...

Colorful Dock Square (pictured above), is such a fun place to shop -- so many neat, colorful mom and pop shops there. For dining, we always go to Allison's for a great cup of chowder and 
fresh catch" seafood special...

There's nothing quite like getting out to Goose Rocks Beach and enjoying the spring solitude while strolling the expansive beach...

Or enjoying some windy weather and fantastic water views by the rocky Maine coast at Cape Porpoise...

Driving along Ocean Avenue (pictured below), is always a treat with more great water views. Farther up the road from Dock Square, you'll find some amazing waterfront resorts and inns like the Colony Inn and Nonantum Resort.

Beautiful, isn't it? I guess the moral of this story is "When you're in doubt on where to travel in New England during the spring season, go with Kennebunkport!"

Book a room in Kennebunkport, Maine at the lowest rate