What a wonderful time to be in New England, I am totally jealous!

During your two weeks of wandering, I would definitely recommend a fwe days in the Southern Maine coastal area (Kennebunkport/Ogunquit/York) It is delightful in September when most of the tourists have gone and thhe weather is still glorious!

Alexa

There's some great shopping to be had in Kittery, Maine.

If you can bump your vacation plans up a week, definately include the *Brimfield Antiques Mart* on your agenda - it runs until Sept. 7th this year. People come from literally all over and it is huge (wear walking shoes!)! In years past, there have been vendors that sell antique quilts and/or unusual fabrics, veeery cool!

Not far from Brimfield (15 minutes maybe) is Old Sturbridge Village, another 'don't miss'.

While in Boston, visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (the cafe in there is amazing, try the bread puddings!).

What are your interests or hobbies, Linda? I'll give this some more thought and post after work.

Here is a link that might be useful: You don't want to miss this...

I lived in Bennington for 2 1/2 years. There is lots to explore without going to Maine, which at least for where i am in Vermont is quite a ways.

In Benningotn the Blue Ben Diner is great. You have to look everywhere for specials as none of them are written down in one spot. I always loved the spinach pesto omelette. In Manchester candeloros (or something like that) is a great Mexican restaurant. They make your guacamole and the traditional bowl tableside. Manchester is also a great outlet town.

-Robin

I usually lurk on this forum but post quite often on kitchens and decorating. I just had to chime in when I saw your question about Bennington. My husband's family has lived in nearby Manchester for many years. I also suggest making a 30 minute side trip up route 7A to Manchester. Be sure to stop at the Cheese House (yes, the building is yellow and shaped like a wedge of Swiss). The people are super nice and there are all kinds of delicious local cheeses. When you head to Manchester, there are some fun high end outlets like Armani, Yves Delorme and some nice "regular" ones too. Manchester tries hard to integrate the stores into the small town landscape. The Little Rooster Cafe is fun for breakfast and lunch. Robert Todd Lincoln's Hildene estate is also located in Manchester and very enjoyable to visit. There are beautiful formal gardens and spectacular views. There is a very sad and chilling display of the Robert Lincoln's documentation of his mother's mental problems and other fascinating Lincoln memorabilia. If you like antique and estate jewelry let me know because I have a "connection" in town.

Can you tell I like it there?

Thank you all for the information!

Alexa - I will have to do some research to see if can spend some time in Maine but a couple of days in Boston then we want to explore Vermont from top to bottom.

Paulines - My DHs favorite food is bread pudding so that will be high on our list :) I doubt if I can drag him to an all day antique show but we want to take a couple of walking tours in Boston.

Robin - We love Mexican food!!! Manchester is on our must go to list. Do they have margaritas :)

deee - The cheese House sounds great. I hope the Rooster Cafe sells roosters! We will definitely go to Robert Todd Lincoln home. I was a history major at George Mason U and fell in love with everything related to the civil war. We only lived in the DC area for 18 months but we sure enjoyed all the museums and battle sites. I'm not much of a jewelry person unfortunately but thank you for the offer.

Things we want to do: quilt shops, anything related to food, short tours, museums, golf. We haven't made hotel reservations yet and am getting a little concerned due to the fall tourist season. Any cute places to stay?

Thanks again,
Linda in Oregon

I second a trip up Route 7A to Manchester, If you're hungry, Candeleros is worth the trip alone. The last time I was there I exchanged mole recipes with the chef. I think mine's better; but Candeleros makes a mean enchillada mole! The best you'll find at any New England restaurant.

Manchester reeks of New England charm. At the end of September, they'll be lots of 'leaf peepers'...bus loads of them. Prowling through the antique stores will leave you broke but clutching a treasure, for sure.

Continue heading north & you'll come to Norwich & King Arthur Flour. I could spend an entire weekend in their store!

Depending on your time frame, Dankin Farms is another fun Vermont expedition. I could eat myself sick on their samples alone. My favorite souvenir from Dakin's is a little shaker jar of their powdered maple sugar. I love, love, love it lightly sprinkled on grilled salmon. I've sent their gift baskets, as busines gifts, many times always to rave reviews.

With two weeks, you might also want to consider taking the ferry at Burlington across & going to Lake Placid, NY?

I'll think of some other fun stuff. Right now, I've starved & off to make some lunch.

/tricia

You will be about 12 miles from from one of the finest small art museums in the country, the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, MA. Well worth an afternoon.

They have a lot of French Impressionist stuff, including the famous bronze by Degas of the young ballet dancer. ("Petite Danseuse De Quatorze Ans"--go to wikipedia and enter that term for a preview.)

They also have an enormous painting by Bouguereau, "Nymphs and Satyr". Go to Wikipedia and search for "Nymphs and Satyr" for a preview.

And you'd be only about 40 miles away from Stockbridge, MA made famous by Arlo Guthrie in 'Alice's Restaurant'. (I'm showing my age here.) Dunno if Officer Opie is still there, though.

Here is a link that might be useful: clark art museum

arley, Arlo still performs 'Alice's Restaurant' on Thanksgiving Day at the church (he purchased the church & has a center for abused children there). It's practically impossible to get tickets! The Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge is a good place to eat (and shop for curtains & Country Curtains).

The Bennington Museum has the largest collection of Grandma Moses' paintings available for public viewing. The museum store sells copies of Grandma Moses' great grandson's painting "Girl's Night Out" (Will Moses). It makes me laugh out loud! There's a Robert Frost exhibit through the end of 2008 also. If you're interested in early American antiques the Bennington Museum collections are excellent...nice glass, pottery (Norton), & furniture.

While in Vermont, look for windows placed on a diagonal...unique to Vermont in New England. The Connecticut River forms the boundary between Vermont & New Hampshire (the river's entirely in NH though). There are several lovely picnic areas along the river. Don't try to fish though...NH requires a license even though you're in Vermont! Yankee land squabbles are alive & well.

/tricia

Having been born and brought up in Vermont; there are many places you could easily take day trips to from Bennington, it is a small state. There are several cheese makers in Vermont that are worth checking out....some quaint villages to visit are Grafton, Woodstock, Quechee, Weston, the list goes on and on! There is also the beautiful campus at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH, it is just across the river from Norwich, VT, where King Arthur is located.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vermont Cheese Makers

I am excited about this because DH and I will also be going to NE in September. We made the trip about 20 years ago, and have sworn that every year we would do it again, but were never unable to. Since I will probably retire end of August, we are definitely going this fall. I have written all these recommendations down. I will also be going up to Maine since we will have plenty of time. Have fun on your trip Linda.
Sherry

While there, you won't be far from Mt.Washington and the Cog Railway. It's worth the trip! and the views are wonderful from up there also. But if you go, make sure you have some really warm clothes to wear! Even in August, it can be very cold up there. If you don't have the time to take the train up, try driving up. The views at each turn just take your breath away. I like the view from the top, but I think I liked the ever changing views driving up even better.

There is a yarn shop/embroidery shop in Bennington, also, that is worth the visit, from my stand point. I am a knitter and DH is great about stopping at the yarn shops along the way on our travels.

Oh! I almost forgot about the wooden bowl store! It's very near Bennington, but I can't remember exactly where. We stopped last fall and I love the ones I bought! I use them quite often.

Tami

Marigene, I'd love a recommendation on the cheese makers in Vermont. We go to Manchester on a regular basis so I'd like to do a side trip to a cheese maker.