Vacations Blog

We’re no Mother of Presidents like Ohio, but it’s not too bad a showing.  I’m talking about the number of presidents that have called New England home. In fact, it only takes four of New England’s six states to match the eight presidents (that’s nearly twenty percent of them, isn’t it?) that the Buckeye State has given us. Here’s a rundown of who they are and what they’ve left behind for travelers to see.

Birthplace of John Adams

John Adams (2nd President)

The Adams Family (no, not that Addams Family) was the first political dynasty of America. Our second president was born in 1735 in Braintree, Massachusetts (which later became the town of Quincy in 1792). Adams National Historic Park in Quincy is a nearly 14 acre compound that includes the birthplace of John Adams and his later home with Abigail which they called Peacefield. Both homes and the surrounding gardens are open for tours.

Not only was John Adams the only one of our first presidents to have a son, but one of his sons also became president.

Birthplace of John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams (6th President)

How about having to live up to John and Abigail Adams as parents? John Quincy Adams was born in 1767 in Braintree, and was groomed for politics from a young age. His birthplace also stands in Adams National Historic Park.

Adams wasn’t known as a great president, but interestingly he held more federal offices than most presidents—President, United States Senator and Representative, Secretary of State, and Ambassador. He was, in fact, one of only two former presidents to return to Washington after his presidency to serve in Congress, and was elected to eight terms in the House of Representatives where did have an excellent reputation. Both John and John Quincy Adams along with their wives are buried in Quincy in United First Parish Church.

The Pierce Manse

Franklin Pierce (14th President)

The 1804 birthplace of fourteenth president Franklin Pierce in Hillsborough, New Hampshire is now under water. But at least they call it Franklin Pierce Lake and it serves his hometown as reservoir. The year Pierce was born however, the family moved to a new home which does still stand in Hillsborough as the Pierce Homestead. A later home of Pierce, the Pierce Manse, can also be visited in Concord, New Hampshire.

Pierce too wasn’t known as a great president, but there are some interesting facts about him. Like you might expect from a mid-nineteenth century Romantic, he associated with writers—one of his best friends was Nathaniel Hawthorne and another friend was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. At least he had good drinking buddies. That’s probably why he died of cirrhosis.

Replica of Chester Arthur Birthplace

Chester Arthur (21st President)

Vermont calls Chester Arthur the other president born in the Green Mountain State. To me this assumes that people know at least one other Vermont-born president. I know all of us UpTake readers are smart, but Americans in general…not so much. (The tag also brings to mind “the other white meat” which is not, I think, what they were going for.)

Arthur was born in Fairfield, Vermont in 1829. There was some speculation at times though that he may have actually been born in Ireland or Canada—which would have made him ineligible to be president. His original birthplace in Vermont did not survive, but was reconstructed in 1950 and is a state historic site.

Childhood Home of Calvin Coolidge

Calvin Coolidge (30th President) 

That’s right, Coolidge is the president from Vermont. He’s also the only president to be born on the Fourth of July—in 1872. His childhood home in Plymouth Notch still stands and is actually the site where the thirtieth president was sworn in by his father, a Justice of the Peace. Vice-President Coolidge had been visiting his family when he received the news by messenger that President Warren Harding died on a speaking tour in California.

Coolidge was also one of the first presidents to have an official library. The Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum is found in Northampton, Massachusetts where Coolidge was once mayor and where he returned to reside after his presidency.

JFK Presidential Library and Museum

John Kennedy (35th President) 

Kennedy might be remembered as the most popular president from New England—and he had the accent to prove it. Just visiting Kennedy sites alone could make up a vacation.

Kennedy’s 1917 birthplace is in Brookline, Massachusetts near Boston and is preserved as a national historic site. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is nearby in the Dorchester section of Boston.

Beyond Boston, the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port on Cape Cod served as the summer White House during Kennedy’s presidency. The six acre area includes several Kennedy family homes, but they are closed to the public. The John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum however is open to the public. In Newport, Rhode Island, visitors can also enter St. Mary’s Church where John Kennedy married Jacqueline Bouvier in 1953.

Marker of the Birthplace of George Bush

George H.W. Bush (41st President) 

The first Bush in the office of president was born in 1924 in Milton, Massachusetts. The home is private, but a stone marks the site. Shortly after George’s birth, the family moved to Greenwich, Connecticut where George was raised. The family also spent much time at the summer home of Bush’s grandfather, Connecticut Senator Prescott Bush, in Kennebunkport, Maine.

Following service in the Army during World War II and college at Yale University in New Haven, Bush and his family moved to Texas where he still resides. Bush also still owns and visits the family home in Kennebunkport several times a year.

Childhood Home of George W. Bush

George W. Bush (43rd President)

Like his father, “W” is better known as a Texan. But he was born in Connecticut in 1946 at Grace-New Haven Community Hospital (later Yale-New Haven Hospital). Bush moved to Texas with his family in 1948, and resides there again following the recent end of his two terms as president.

There you have it—the Presidents of the United States with roots in New England. And even though they were born in four of the six New England states, Kennedy’s wedding and Bush’s summer home get in the other two.

Despite being six states, New England is a pretty compact area. It might be kind of interesting—especially to a presidential history buff (or maybe only to a presidential history buff)—to visit each of these sites. That could probably be done in just a few days time or it could take a couple of weeks if you take in other attractions.  But if you come, do it in the late spring, summer or fall. It’s still pretty cold and wet here for Presidents Day in February.

Parts of New England are getting up to three feet of snow this week. Can you say white Christmas?

Because of Christmas and the New Year, there’s also a week off from school for most kids at the end of this month. Can you say Christmas vacation?

For a lot of folks, a winter vacation means skiing. And, although some of the best skiing in the country is admittedly in the West, some of the best family destinations for skiing are in New England. These six states offer nearly ninety ski resorts with a wide range of trails for all levels, great scenery, local attractions, and activities for downhill skiers, cross country skiers, snow boarders, snow mobilers, ice skaters, and even non-skiers looking for great amenities like spas, indoor pools, game rooms, and great restaurants and entertainment.

Everyone has their own “top ten” or “best” list, and there are some notable exclusions here.  Stowe, for one, is usually in any list of top Vermont ski resorts.  The five here, however, come up again and again as the top New England destinations for family skiing.

Smuggler’s Notch

Skiing at Smuggler's Notch in Vermont

Located in Vermont, Smuggler’s Notch is a year-round resort that has been catering to families for over thirty years.  My own family and I have even visited in the fall.  With indoor pools and hot tubs, game rooms and play rooms, child care, great restaurants, indoor and outdoor activities, entertainment, on-site lodging (rooms with one through five bedrooms are available) and more, the resort is a great hub any time of year for visiting Vermont attractions. For skiers, three peaks—each appealing to different skiing and snowboarding levels—all lead to the base village.

Okemo

Also in Vermont, Okemo offers over 100 trails with most for intermediate skiers. Not to leave anyone out, there are also novice programs and a few runs for advance skiers. Other family attractions include a wide variety of kids’ programs, a snow park, snow tubing hills, and an ice skating arena.

Bretton Woods

The Mount Washington Hotel in New Hampshire

Located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, this is the state’s largest ski resort with over 430 acres of skiable terrain—including both downhill and cross-country skiing. Bretton Woods specializes in creating beginner and intermediate runs for family skiers. Again though, the advanced skiers won’t be left out. Bode’s Run—an expert’s only run—was designed by Director of Skiing, Olympian and World Cup Champion Bode Miller. In addition to great family programs and activities, Bretton Woods also offers a variety of accommodations that include The Mount Washington Hotel—one of New England’s finest.

Killington

Another Vermont resort, Killington is the largest in the East.  Like other great family destinations, Killington also offers something for beginners, intermediate and advanced skiers.  Because of its size, the resorts attracts more than just families.  But also because of its size, there’s a whole lot to do here both on and off the mountain in the local area.

Sugarloaf

Skiing above the tree line at Sugarloaf in Maine

Sugarloaf is the second-highest peak in Maine and offers the only skiing above the tree line in the East—and the longest continuous vertical drop in New England.  Sugarloaf is a great family ski destination, but—being deep into Maine (about four hours north of Boston)—there’s not much surrounding it.  Because of that, vacationers to Sugarloaf are likely to stay on the resort and take advantage of its restaurants, shops, entertainment, and activities for the whole family.

Whatever your plans are for the holidays, have fun, be safe, and enjoy any vacation time you get.

A lot of folks have a love affair with Vermont.  It’s got scenic mountains and natural resources, quaint towns and farms, charming shops, and scores of romantic inns and bed and breakfasts.

Me?  I never fell for Vermont.  I see a lot of nothing to do and nowhere to go.  I also see a state that looks an awful lot like it never left 1962.  That, I suppose, it what attracts most other people.  There is one great thing I’ve found in Vermont though.  Actually three great things.  Factory tours.

I know what you’re thinking—factory tours are even more boring than Vermont.  And when the whole family comes along there’s sure to be at least one or two of you kicking at the floor just begging to get out.  But it’s different here and that’s because—and I know this is cliché—there’s something for everyone when it comes to Vermont factory tours.

Within just a few miles of each other, Vermont vacationers can tour Ben & Jerry’s ice cream factory, the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory, and the Magic Hat Brewing Company.

The Vermont Teddy Bear Factory

The Vermont Teddy Bear Factory in Shelburne is definitely the favorite of young kids.  And if your kid loves stuffed animals don’t expect to get out without buying a teddy bear—even if there are two or three dozen at home already.  Vermont Teddy Bear is famous for dressing and accessorizing its bears for any occasion and for its Bear-Grams—bears sent as gifts through the mail in boxes complete with air holes. The thirty-minute factory tour shows visitors where and how these bears are “born” including cutting, sewing, assembling, stuffing, dressing, and even pointing out the “Made in Vermont” twinkle in each bear’s eye. You’ll even see where bears can come back to the “hospital” to be repaired at no cost if they ever get hurt or damaged.  Before or after the tour, hungry families can stop at the Hungry Bear Café. The factory is open year-round seven days each week except for New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Admission is only $2.00 for adults and teenagers and free for kids 12 and under.  Seasonal hours are available at the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory website.

The Magic Hat Artifactory

The Magic Hat Brewing Company’s factory—or the “Artifactory” as they call it—is not a place for the kids. Located in South Burlington, the artifactory has as dark and funky a look and feeling as Magic Hat’s brews with their odd names, labels and hocus-pocus phrases under the caps.  (Magic Hat is well known in New England and may have reached the mid-Atlantic and Midwest, but I don’t think they’ve gone nationwide.) Seriously, the lobby and shop look like they were decorated by carnies of the Something Wicked This Way Comes variety.  Some folks find the guided or self-guided tours and all the beer-talk boring, but the tours are free so there’s no damage. Another thing that’s free is samples—that’s right, there’s free sampling of at least eight or more different brews.  If you do have kids with you, you can still stop in and visit the gift shop packed with Magic Hat merchandise like hats, shirts, glasses, mugs, bottle openers, and even weirder things like “beer soap.”  The Magic Hat Artifactory is open seven days a week—Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory

The factory that’s probably going to please just about everyone in the family is Ben & Jerry’s in Waterbury. For anyone who doesn’t know, Ben & Jerry’s makes ice cream.  At the factory, visitors get a short “moovie” (their word, not mine) in the Cow Over the Moon Theatre about how friends Ben and Jerry started in the ice cream business, how they operate their business, and how they’re advocates and examples of giving back to the community.  The tour continues on an enclosed mezzanine above the ice cream-making plant and ends up in the “FlavoRoom” where you get to taste a couple of samples—maybe even of some flavors that haven’t been released to stores yet.  There’s also, of course, the obligatory gift shop and a “Scoop Shop” for more of that famous ice cream.  Outside are cows, a playground for the kids (don’t worry, the playground isn’t in the same spot as the cows), and Ben & Jerry’s Flavor Graveyard where “dearly de-pinted” flavors no longer in production—like Peanut Butter & Jelly and Ethan Almond—go to rest.  The Ben & Jerry’s Factory is open year-round seven days a week except for New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Tours are $3.00 for adults and teens, $2.00 for seniors, and free for kids 12 and under. Information on seasonal hours and other deals is available by clicking on Tour Info at the factory website.

Whether you’re a fan of scenic mountains or not, young or old, with kids or without, you’re likely to enjoy at least one of these tours.  And if you’re really into factory tours—or teddy bears, beer and ice cream—you might just love them all.