Fall in New England

Now that summer is winding down, it's time to consider fall travel plans. I feel that traveling in the fall is the best time of the year. The tourist season is over and there are deals to be had.

My personal favorite is travel in New England. The leaf season is later than it is in Colorado and the colors are deeper and more spectacular. With the current economic crisis hitting New England harder than the other parts of the country, there are plenty of bargains out there. Can you think of a better way to celebrate the fall and the beauty of the red, gold and orange leaves than traveling to New England?

One of the top destinations this country has to offer is Nantucket, MA. It is a slice of heaven. Just taking the journey to Nantucket is an experience in itself. Although Cape Air flies directly to Nantucket from Boston and although Jet Blue and others now fly direct to Nantucket from NYC, I refuse to fly to the island. To me, the drive out to Cape Cod, exiting at Exit 6 in Hyannis and taking the ferry ride over are some of the highlights of the trip. I have now gotten to the point of giving myself an extra day going and returning just so that I can enjoy all the side trips this journey offers.

This year I was finally able to convince a group of girls from Denver to join me on my favorite trip and we made it a girls trip to Nantucket! My usual route is to start with a flight into Boston. Normally I'm able to find some good airfare deals from Denver to Boston. American Airlines regularly offers flights for around $180, but there is always a stopover in Chicago and it winds up taking the better part of a day to fly east. I've become spoiled in recent years by the direct flight from Denver to Boston on United Airlines and the convenient flight times. Recently, it's been cheaper to fly Colorado Springs to Boston with a layover in Denver to get the direct flight. Since I live in the Springs and parking at the airport is only $6/day, I regularly choose this option. I've previously gotten this flight for around $200, but the going rate now seems to be $248. Trust me, it's worth it in terms of cheaper airport parking and less gas and traffic to get to the airport. I've met many a traveler on that flight who drives down from Denver just to get the cheaper rate.

This year, we didn't plan our trip far enough in advance to get the good flight times at that price, but remarkably United was offering an opportunity to book a flight within the 48 states for only 20,000 miles instead of the normal 25,000 miles. So, each of us girls booked a different flight and we were off to Boston!

My favorite part about arriving at Boston Logan airport is taking the ferry across the harbor into the city or on to a southern suburb where I have college friends waiting to pick me up. The ferry is $10 to get into Boston and only a 10 minute direct ride or $12 to get to Quincy, farther south which is about a 35 minute ride. The departure times are convenient and can be gotten every half hour or hour. The best part about the ferry is there is a bar and snack bar on board! On warm weather days, grab a cold one and head upstairs to sit outside and watch the magnificent skyline as you approach downtown Boston. The easiest way to get to the ferry is to go out of the baggage claim area and catch the bus out front that says "Water Transport." That will take you to the dock over by the Hyatt hotel. If it is too late for the ferry or if you have just missed it and are in a hurry, there are also water taxis available for $10. Either way, more direct, convenient and economical than a cab or rental car into the city! See www.massport.com/logan/getti_typeo_water.html.

We spent our first night in Boston even though our ultimate destination was Nantucket. But in the fall, the last ferry to Nantucket leaves in the late afternoon, so it's pretty hard to get down to Hyannis in time. We spent the night at the Marriott Long Wharf which is next to the ferry landing. It couldn't be more convenient no matter how many bags of luggage we had! On the other side of the Marriott is Legal Seafood, the famous and popular chain seafood restaurant in Boston. Even though it's a chain, they do it right. It is well worth the trip. If you want to try something else, Fanueil Hall and Quincy Market are within walking distance with a number of stores, restaurants and bars to keep you occupied.

We woke early the next morning and took the water taxi back over to the airport to get our rental car. The hotel had a rental car desk with Hertz, but it was enormously cheaper to rent from the airport. We had booked the rental car months in advance and gotten a great rate. And we were off to Nantucket!

The drive to Hyannis and the ferry is about an hour and a half from Boston and trust me, that hour will fly as you whisk past the south suburbs of Boston and then on past Duxbury which has an amazing beach worthy of a half day stop. On past Plymouth Rock which is another stop worth making and you can feel the hustle and bustle of the city falling behind you as the trees open a little wider to the sky and you can sense the water nearby even though you cannot see it. You know you are on vacation and the destination will be fabulous. Cross the bridge and you are officially on Cape Cod. You can buy some salt water taffy now if you'd like.

Exit 6 is the Hyannis exit. Take a right and follow the road straight to the water and the ferry boats. I personally always schedule a half hour stop at Trader Joe's to stock up for the vacation. It is on the right about halfway to the ferry in a shopping area with the Christmas Shops.

There are 2 main ferry lines which service Hyannis to Nantucket and to Martha's Vineyard. They are the Hyline and the Steamship Authority. I have used both. If you head straight to the water, you will pull into the Hyline docks. www.hy-linecruises.com. Take a left and the Steamship Ferry will be on your right. I used to take the slow boat on the Hyline and loved to sit up top in the sunshine and enjoy the ride. The Hyline arrives in Nantucket on the Straight Wharf which is farther away from my hotel, so I have started taking the Steamship and am an official regular on that line. The Steamship has a fast ferry which is more expensive, but gets you to Nantucket in one hour, dock to dock. The round trip price is approximately $63 but you can buy a coupon book good for 10 individual trips which brings the round trip cost down to $51.20. This coupon book has no expiration date and is fully transferable, so we bought a book for the 5 of us and quickly used the entire book for our tickets. www.steamshipauthority.com.

There is a sheltered cabin on the first level with a snack bar and bar area. Upstairs are more indoor seats and seating on the outdoor deck.

Before off season, which in this case started the day after Columbus Day, you can buy your ferry tickets, drop off your luggage, park your car and head over to Baxter's Fish and Chips, a dockside restaurant just past the ferry parking lot. Good seafood, a lovely patio to sit outside on, great bartenders and a view of the approaching ferry so you never miss your ride. www.baxterscapecod.com. Unfortunately, since we arrived the weekend after Columbus Day, Baxter's had just closed. But we discovered Spanky's Clam Shack over by the Hyline ferry dock which was a short walk from the Steamship dock through a brick path between houses. They know the ferry schedules too and will make sure you get your food and pay before there is any chance of missing the boat!

We were finally off on the 1:55pm ferry to Nantucket! The bar on the boat cannot open until after the ferry leaves the dock, so don't even try. They will ignore you. Spend this time up on the outside upper deck checking out the view of Hyannis Harbor and the remarkable houses that line it.
Up next: arriving for a Nor'easter in Nantucket!