There are many things to do within an hour of Boston: Battleship Cove, Lizzie Borden B&B and Museum, the historic Liberty Trolley Ride, Louisa May Alcott’s Home (Little Women), The deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Walden Pond, Old Sturbridge Village, and numerous cranberry bogs and apple orchards. Get out of the city and check out these destinations.
Battleship Cove
Battleship Cove in Fall River MA is America’s Fleet Museum. A short 52 minute drive from Boston. Where you can see the battleship USS Massachusetts BB59, the destroyer USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr DD850, submarine USS Lionfish SS298, PT Boats 617 and 796, and German missile corvette Hiddensee. You can experience firsthand what it was like to serve on a Navy warship in WWII and the Vietnam War era. Dive into a submarine and explore the high-speed missile corvette that the Soviets designed to fight us. America’s Fleet Museum also has aircraft which are prominent in American aviation. It includes two Vietnam War combat helicopters and two of the first drone unmanned aerial vehicles used by the military. While you are there visit the National PT Boat Museum, the Admiral Arleigh Burtke National Destroyer Museum, and the Women Protecting US Maritime Museum.
Lizzie Borden B&B and Museum
Do you remember the Lizzie Borden poem?
“Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks
When she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one”.
You can stay in the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast in Fall River MA. This is the house where the murders took place. Although Lizzie was acquitted many think she did it. Spend the night or tour the house. Or just take a tour. Overnight guests get to see a little more of the house.
Liberty Ride Trolley Tour
25 minutes from Boston in Lexington, MA you can visit the birthplace of American liberty. Board a classic trolley to ride along the historic Battle Road while your costumed guide recounts events of April 19, 1775, beginning with the shot heard round the world. On the tour you’ll see the historic sights of Lexington and Concord, including Minute Man National Historical Park.
deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum
While you are in the Lexington/Concord check out the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum is a 30-acre sculpture park and contemporary art museum on the shore of Flint’s Pond in Lincoln, Massachusetts. Established in 1950, it is the largest park of its kind in New England encompassing 30 acres.
Walden Pond
Walden Pond is a lake in Concord, Massachusetts. The pond is protected as part of Walden Pond State Reservation, a 335-acre state park and recreation site managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. The reservation was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962 for its association with the writer Henry Davis Thoreau whose two years living in a cabin on its shore provided the foundation for his most famous work,”Walden; or, Life in the Woods”. Fish, hike, swim, and enjoy the history.
The Orchard House – “Little Women”
The Orchard House was purchased by Louisa May Alcott’s father, Bronson Alcott, in 1857. It was a typical colonial house on 12 acres of land surrounded by orchard apple trees, giving the home its name. The Alcott family lived there for 20 years and growing up here provided the inspiration for “Little Women”. The contents of the house are mostly the real items there when Louisa May Alcott and her family lived in it. For fans of “Little Women”, the authenticity makes the visit very special. Guided tours introduce visitors to the family members themselves, the household items that held meaning to them, their individual and collective achievements and lasting impact, as well as their influence on characters in the beloved novel, Little Women.
Old Sturbridge Village
Old Sturbridge Village is a living museum located in Sturbridge, Massachusetts which recreates life in rural New England during the 1790s through 1830s. It is the largest living museum in New England, featuring costumed historians, artisans and farmers; historic homes, trade shops and water-powered mills; a working farm with heritage breed animals; and permanent and rotating exhibits.
Apple Orchards
There are numerous apple orchards ripe for the picking from July through October each year. Apple orchards offer various types of fruit including apples, peaches, pears, nectarines, pumpkins and grapes. Many orchards have barnyard animals for the kids to pet and their stores contain products from their fresh fruits.
www.lookoutfarm.com (Lookout Farm)
brooksbyfarm.org (Brooks by Farm)
www.honeypothill.com (Honey Pot Hill Farm)
carlsonorchards.com (Carlson Orchards)
redapplefarm.com (Red Apple Farm)
Cranberry Bogs
Harvest begins in early October when the bogs are flooded. Fully ripened red fruit framed by the autumn foliage — a scene repeated many times throughout Southeastern Massachusetts. Call ahead to set up a tour. Gift shops will have juice samples and recipes, as well as an array of cranberry condiments, cranberry honey, hand-painted cranberry vine candles, cranberry taffy, etc.
stonebridgefarmevents.com (Stone Bridge Farm)
admakepeace.com (Makepeace Farms)
flaxpondfarms.com (Flax Pond Farms)
www.mayflowercranberries.com (Mayflower Cranberries)
Need More Adventure
Door County, Wisconsin
Door County, Wisconsin is a peninsula just north of the city of Green Bay that is bordered by Lake Michigan on the east side and
Upper Michigan Peninsula (Eastern Half)
The eastern half of the Upper Michigan Peninsula includes Pictured Rocks National Seashore, Grand Island, Tahquamenon Falls State Park, Soo Locks, Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum,
Savannah GA Southern charm, history, and haunted happenings
Savannah Georgia Head to historic Savannah, Georgia and experience southern charm amidst giant oak trees, Spanish moss, and beautiful Victorian homes. Shop along the river,
