What a lovely trip, Sharon! Here's some recommendations. NEWPORT: You can't get as far as Providence & NOT go to Newport. I'm certain there's some law against such a crime! :) lol Anyway, after your feet are hurting from touring the "cottages" I recommend lunch at The Red Parrot, right on the waterfront (Website: http://www.redparrotrestaurant.com/). Order dessert "to go". Drive to Brenton Point State Park on Ocean Boulevard to enjoy your dessert. It's right on the water at the entrance to Newport Harbor. If you're there on a weekend you can also enjoy the beautiful huge kites that clubs fly. It's one of my favorite parks. And for some unknown reason parking is not a problem. (website: http://www.riparks.com/brentonhistory.htm). PORTSMOUTH, NH I highly recommend The Dolphin Striker for dinner (Website: http://www.dolphinstriker.com/). The Striker is right on Portsmouth Harbor in a 1761 building. You can enjoy the downtown shops before dinner. If you want to spend a night near Portsmouth...then I recommend Wentworth By-The-Sea overlooking the Atlantic in New Castle. Wentworth is not a budget inn but it sure is a wonderful place to stay. We've spent a couple anniversary weekends at Wentworth (Website: http://www.wentworth.com/). It's hard for me to imagine being in NH & not also going to Exeter. If you have time, it's sure worth the time. This is NH's colonial capital & home of Phillips Exeter Academy, one of the premier prep-schools in the US. The campus is awesome as is the colonial town square. For eats in Exeter it MUST be Loaf & Laddle at 9 Water Street, Exeter, NH. Mustangs (Cathy) & I will, probably, differ on what to order but rest assured that anything you choose will be delicious. This is a lunch place. Right across the street from Loaf & Laddle is the Gilman Garrison House (Website: http://www.historicnewengland.org/historic-properties/homes/gilman-garrison-house/gilman-garrison-house). Definitely worth a tour. It's also an ancestral home from my mother's line. The wonderful steepled church on Exeter town square is where my DS & DDIL were married. My ancesters worshipped there in the 1600s. Next, I highly recommend you take Route 1 from Portsmouth, NH up the Maine coast. If you take I-95 you're going to miss so much of what makes New England...New England. WELLS, MAINE Billy's Chowder House has wonderful seafood stew. They are also known for their lobster stew. Billy's is located on a salt marsh in Wells, Maine. From northbound Route 1 in Wells...look on the right side of the road for a small sign (about 12"x12") that says, "Billy's Chowder House" with an arrow pointing right (east). That's the only sign. Turn right at the next light then be careful because almost immediately on your right side you'll see Billy's but it's the wrong place! It's Billy's Clam Shack. Keep driving & you'll come to Billy's Chowder House on the left right on the marsh (Website: http://www.billyschowderhouse.com/). I could go on all day about fun places in northern NE but guess I'd better stop with this. :) /tricia

We did it about 5 yrs ago. We live in CT. Our itinerary was 3+ weeks and involved flights, but, FWIW.... here is what we did. We drove to Burlington VT. Stopped for lunch in Great Barrington; cute town on the way. Did the bike ride along and "into" Lake Champlain. Loved it. Stayed 1 or 2 nights. Then we drove to Montreal, spent the afternoon, (shopping and lunch, must eat at Arthur's!), and continued on to Quebec City. 3 nights there, highlight was plein aire Cirque du Soleil, and the food. Bayard IIRC. Casual. Then we *flew* to Toronto, and from there drove to Niagara on the Lake (the charming Canadian side). Great food again Treadwelll (farm to table), and a jet boat tour of the Falls. Then we flew (IIRC all the flights were Westjet) to Halifax from Hamilton, ON. From Halifax drove to Cape Breton, spent a few nights there. Did some hiking and whale watching and beach walking and moose spotting. Drove around the island to get to the PEI ferry. Took the car ferry to PEI. Spent a few days there. Singing sands, jumping off the bridge at Souris, touring Cavendish Park, and the home Anne of Green Gables. Loved PEI. Drove over the PEI bridge and stayed in St. John to break up the drive and stay at a cool hotel for the kids with an indoor/outdoor slide. On to Bay of Fundy, where we stayed in Canadian Park Svc yurts overlooking the BOF. Walked the BOF, also ziplined over the coast. Misc hikes. The drove to Bar Harbor for a few days and hiked in Acadia. Lovely park and great little town. Then we drove to Rockland, took a boat out to Vinalhaven, and then private transfer to our very own private lighthouse (Goose Rocks) where we stayed 2 nights. Kayaked. Then we drove to Portland ME. Cute shopping, fabulous foodie town (Central Provisions is TDF), fun ferry system to surrounding islands. Next we drove to Ogunquit, Maine, did he beaches, lighthouse, walked the Marginal Way, Charming. Yummy food again, Northern Union, Brix and Brine. From there, home. In re border crossings, easy peasy into Montreal. You need passports of course. Took very little time. Same thing when we crossed at Vancouver about 3 yrs ago. No big deal. HOWEVER you want to avoid high traffic times (google for more info)

@jupiterbaseball Unsure if you still need it but https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5396961/coretec-calypso-oak-noble-oak-or-pembroke-pine-photos#n=355 has a lot of good cyril discussion.

We’ve stayed at the Casa Monica hotel in St. Augustine several times. It’s very nice and has a good restaurant. The historical area of town is worth an afternoon, along with the fort. Amelia Island is also lovely with a completely different vibe than St. Augustine . The Ritz Carlton is where we have stayed but there are many Air BNBs. DS1 and I rode horses on the beach and through the old growth oaks one time with a guide and really enjoyed it. Too hot for summer but if you are there in Feb. or early spring the weather would be fine. We stayed at Greyfield for a week long second honeymoon many years ago— right before the Inn got air conditioning 😵‍💫and when guests had to dress for dinner (men in suits, women semi formal). The food was heavenly and we spent a couple of days with a naturalist who took us all over the island in an old army jeep. Jekyll is my happy place on the Georgia coast, we go at least every third year to the Jekyll Island Club for either Easter or New Years. The island is very laid back and there is an interesting sea turtle research facility you can tour. The restaurants are not outstanding but they're adequate. The old Episcopal chapel in the historical area is lovely; you can tour it and many of the restored mansions thst were winter cottages for Northern tycoons.