Heading North in September

I%26#39;m looking for suggestions for end of September activities or places to visit in the north (NY and on up into Canada). We%26#39;re planning a week long trip from Northern Virginia.

We like driving, photography, festivals, cute towns, old towns, shore towns, etc.

Heading North in September

I guess this hasn%26#39;t been answered here because it isn%26#39;t obvious that one would have to go through Maine to see New York State and Canada. Did you plan to visit Maine also?

Heading North in September

Yes, but we don%26#39;t have a plan yet, because we know nothing about it.

When does fall begin in Maine?

Fall foliage generally begins to change in northern VT, NH and ME in very late September and early October. Northern means above the White Mountains in NH and parallel in VT, and probably above a line that follows Rte 2 across Maine to Bar Harbor. You can get more precise info, especially once the season begins, at the NH State Tourism website - www.visitnh.gov. You will find a lot of other useful info there, as well as links.

September is a great time for COunty and agricultural fairs. Here is a list of fairs in September:

August 29 - September 3, 2007 Lancaster Fair

August 30 - September 3, 2007 Hopkinton State Fair

September 7 - 9, 2007 Hillsborough County Agricultural Fair

At the 4H Center in New Boston

September 14 - 23, 2007 Rochester Fair

September 27 - 30, 2007 Deerfield Fair

October 6 - 8, 2007 Sandwich Fair

This actually a line up of some of the best in the state. Lancaster, being a northern town, is unique in its own right. Deerfield, I believe, is the oldest in the state. Sandwich is quite renowned. And the Hopkinton State fair is a good one. New Boston is great for ag. stuff.

And I am sure Rochester is good, but I really don%26#39;t know anything about it.

General suggestions include the coast of Maine - you could spend a week there, easily. The White Mountains in NH. If you go, you%26#39;ll love the Kankamagus Highway, cutting through from Lincoln to COnway. For old and cute towns - just get off the interstates. I or anyone could offer particular suggestions, but you will find them anywhere you go. Once you plot out a rough route, it will be easier. The visitnh website will have a link to covered bridges in the state. It will also break the state by regions. This will help you begin to focus your direction. Also, anywhere you go in VT is cute and quaint.

Will you be driving up from VA or flying into the area? If you can work it out to fly into one airport and fly back from another, you may be able to avoid having to double back on your tracks. One interesting route would be to drive from the coast of NH/ME on Rte 4 to Concord, NH, then up I-89 through NH and VT to Burlington and into Canada and Montreal, then back down through NY State, you would have an awesome route that would give you a taste of everything you want. There a ton of good places to get off the highway, and the highway gives you the option to make time when you want to. COncord to Montreal is about a 4 hour drive, straight through. Of course, this will miss the White Mountains, but you will go through the Green Mts of VT, equally beautiful.

It sounds like I have a lot of planning to do. I appreciate your help and will repost more here once I figure it all out.

Thanks for your help!

4th of July in Bar Harbor for couples w/ out kids???

any couples in their late 20s/early 30s been to bar harbor during the week of 4th of july? wanted to know if they had fun, what they did or if they thought it was geared towards families with kids. thx

4th of July in Bar Harbor for couples w/ out kids???

The island is good that weekend although High season for visitors and locals.

4th of July in Bar Harbor for couples w/ out kids???

I%26#39;m not in your age group. But I live here and have been to the 4th of July activities. I wouldn%26#39;t say they are exclusively geared toward families. I%26#39;ve seen young couples having fun on the Village Green during the various musical programs. There is a pancake breakfast, a huge lobster feed at noon, a parade, and fireworks at night. There%26#39;s various musical programs at the two village parks throughout the day. There are sidewalk cafes, live music at Carmen Verandah in the evening, and lots and lots of good restaurants.

thank you baxter and bonnie. looks like this is where we will be headed!

rent rates for central pa

Photographing in Maine

I am going to be there from April 30th-May 7th, and wondering what all I should do while I am there, Sure I can%26#39;t shoot at night, but I will be alone and wondering where the best spots to go to for a single guy? I have been to a RiRa%26#39;s in Philly, and loved it, but wondering what to do. I have been going through a lot of photo%26#39;s already and know what to shoot while I am there on assignment but just want to know who wants to hang out meet up for some drinks and a good time. By the way i don%26#39;t do karaoke nor do i even want to hear it while I am there :) I am going to probably be staying at the Garden Inn downtown.

Photographing in Maine

There is a free arts and entertainment tabloid sized paper that you can pick up anywhere in the Old Port area where you will be staying. In there you will find articles, ads and all kinds of listings of events, clubs, etc. Also, just walking around the Old Port you will be able to walk into tons of places. A quick look around will probably tell you if it is your kind of place to hang.

Photographing in Maine

Thank you so much, I like the nice quiet bars where you can meet locals and just talk about anything. What are the smoking laws there right now? I love to smoke a good cigar while having a glass of scotch and just wondering is it possible to still smoke around there?

Maine is smoke-free in all indoor areas. We%26#39;ve gotten so used to it, it%26#39;s a shock to sit in a smoke-filled restaurant or bar now when visiting other places!

You might mention explain more about what you are looking for. Like what age crowd you want to hang with. And, if you want to pick up girls and dance, or just sit somewhere nice and enjoy good food and drink.

For example, if you were in your 20s and 30s I%26#39;d tell you Gritty McDuff%26#39;s in the Old Port is hopping, but if you are in your 50s it probably won%26#39;t be your scene.

Yeh, you%26#39;ll need to go outside for that cigar.

I am in my mid 30%26#39;s not looking to hook up with anyone, just like to sit and enjoy drinks. I am not into dancing and would rather sit at a towny bar and enjoy good conversations with a whole mix. Thank you all for all your great comments. I just found out that I will be there from April 30th-May 8th. I am staying at the sable oaks marriott, is that a nice place and close to anything fun?

The Sable Oaks is nice, but it%26#39;s out by the Mail Mall so the area looks like ';any mall %26amp; strip shopping center area, USA'; and not particularly Maine-y or New England-y. In other words, the area lacks character.

I%26#39;m assuming that as a photographer you are a very visual person. I am a very visual person, and if it were me and the Old Port hotels are the same price, I%26#39;d move my reservation to the Old Port in a heartbeat. Not just the fun of being in the old port, but also the fact the the Old Port is full of great eating and drinking spots, all in walking distance. The Sable Oaks is inwalking distance of Target. Linens %26amp; Things. Wendys. Dull, dull, dull.

Of course, if your shoot is out by the Mall, it makes more sense to be close to the Mall.

My2¢.

Oops. That should have been Maine Mall.

see the first part of my shoot is in Alfred, so that is where my company is putting me up, and they just figured that instead of moving hotels that it would be easier for me to just stay there. are there taxi%26#39;s that I could take to the area of more character then driving of a night after the drinking? What are the average temps in early may out there?

Ah, Alfred. You%26#39;ll get plenty of ';character'; there. Lovely teeny town especially if you can explore the backroads.

For typical weather, I like to use the Trip Planner function at Weather Underground, see www.wunderground.com/tripplanner/index.asp

I%26#39;m sure the Sable Oaks can find you a taxi. It%26#39;s within a mile or so of the airport and there are always taxis there. Plus, the Old Port bars should be able to help you get a taxi home.

Still, if you are staying over after your job for a couple of days of personal sightseeing, I%26#39;d move hotels. It%26#39;s worth the effort as in the Old Port you are walking distance to so much. It%26#39;s a really fun vibrant area for 30-somethings.

Yeah I may switch over then, though I am still on business, I have to shoot up and down the coast after I am done in Alfred, but my mainstay will be in Portland. I think I will take your advice thank you so much for being great with the info! I am really looking forward to coming on out there!

Vacation trip to Maine, New England with RV

Hi, This year we will be making a trip to the USA (halfway July) and we are planning to rent an RV for 10 days or so, to make a journey into New England. If possible we would like to rent it around Boston (which is our flying destination) then drive around and stay at nice lakes with our little sons (4%26amp;7) and end somewhere at the beach where we can drop off our RV, rent a van and stay at a lodge by a lake or the sea for 10 more days. We have seen one here (migis.com) but we are not sure what the weather will be in July in Maine, so we might go more south to Cape Cod, Nantucket or somewhere else.

Any advice on the rental of the RV, locations, itenerary and lodges would be much appreciated.

Fernando

Vacation trip to Maine, New England with RV

I don%26#39;t know anything about RVs. But I could suggest that you spend that week at a lodge by a lake in Maine rather than at Cape Cod.

Maine will be much less crowded and much less expensive. The average July temperature in the area of Maine where Migis Lodge is located is right around 80F degrees, dropping down to around 60F during the night

.

Vacation trip to Maine, New England with RV

Thank you Bonnie, you%26#39;re advise is much appreciated and I feel Maine is probably the way to go for us.

Before you start you trip buy a copy of ';Wooalls Campground Guide'; or aleast visit there wed site. This is a great source for the kind of RV info your looking for.

Check out Cruise America for RV rental. They have a rental location in Lawrence, Massachusetts, not far from Boston. I don%26#39;t have personal experience, but have seen their rigs around. Seem quite nice. www.cruiseamerica.com

We had an awful time with cruise america - from filthy van to no cooking or bedding packs that we ordered to fridge not working, shower blocked, petrol dial fixed on full so we ran out of petrol in the middle of no-where, bald tyres that were declared unroadworthy by a garage that we pulled into, the previous renters used soil pipe was in the van, the van flooded and set off LPG detector alarm everytime it rained. the internal walls bulged and had mould stains on. We were in trouble at every site because our water outflow leaked. Overall the holiday was ghastly because of the van. it was supposed to be nearly new - it was 7 years old. We couldn%26#39;t swap it as every van they owned was out on loan!!!

While we were touring we noticed that a company called %26#39;el monte%26#39; had wonderful vans seemingly all under a year old and their customers were all satisfied. If we went again we%26#39;d use them.

WOW! what an aweful experience with Cruise America. They are one of the big companies.

One of the difficulties you may encounter, kikilech, is that you may not be able to rent an RV in one location and leave it in a place that you would hope for. It may need to go back to Boston. In any event, Google RV Rentlas Boston, and see what you get.

I had looked into RV rentals a number of years ago, and they may cost $150 or more a day. Depending on where you want to take it, you may want to consider alternatives, including motels, cottages, camping. You can rent a van for $350 to $450 a week. That leaves quite a lot for lodging, etc. By the way, look into Enterprise Car Rental. They tend to be very reasonably priced, especially compareed to the major companies - Hertz, Avis, National and others. As you get away from the cities, there are still a lot of older privately owned motels and cottages. The cottages tend to be small and old fashioned, but many are still well maintained. This may be less desireable for a week long stay, but may be entirely adequate for a one or two night stay on your route. Depending on where and when you are traveling, you may even be able to find vacancies as you drive, especially away from the coast.

Some campgrounds have rustic camping cabins. These may be state run or private campgrounds. I am not sure how to point you in the right direction. Perhaps the individual states%26#39; tourism websites. NH%26#39;s site is www.visitnh.gov. If you own camping gear, you could probably pack enough of what you need in a duffle or two and check it through on your flight.

I agree with going to Maine rather than Cape Cod, mainly for the lesser crowds. But if you find your interestes taking you down that way, the Cape is beautiful. North or south, there is so much. The ocean is warmer in the south, but swimmable north.

There is so much to do and enjoy in New England, and I am sure you will get all kinds of suggestions, and can read other forum threads to learn more. So, I am just going to suggest a couple of things that might not turn up. There are 2 fun circuses in New England at that time of year. One is Circus Smirkus, a youth circus of very high quality, featuring kids aged 12 - 18. Very talented, well choreographed and costumed and a load of fun. They perform in a circus tent and the young kids, like yours, can sit right on the floor next to the ring. Check their website for schedule.

http://www.smirkus.com/

The other one is The Big Apple Circus, a professional one ring circus in a tent. They finish their tour season in Hanover, NH, usually about the 2nd, 3rd and 4th week of July.

There are some great hands-on children%26#39;s museums and science centers that your kids will love. Also several excellent aquariums. Write back once you know your route a bit more, and you can get more specific suggestions.

zits

price of airfare

Why is airfare to Bangor, Maine from the Chicago area SO expensive? Why is it we can fly almost anywhere else in the United States cheaper? I have family in Maine and would visit more often if this were not so. The thing that REALLY bothers me though is, each time I have a relative with fast fading health problems and need to get home quick before they pass, I cannot find a round trip for one person under 800.00 dollars or more. This means if both my husband and I go , we pay over 1600.00 to see our dying relative plus hotel and other expenses. Even the comppassionate flights are that high. I went in 1998 to visit my dying mom and it was 886.00 just for me even after showing all the proof I needed. Why can%26#39;t there be some reasonable rates to Bangor or even Portland and then we could rent a car and drive the rest of the way?

Sincerely Harriette

price of airfare

Dolly,

Unfortunately, Southwest does not fly to Bangor or Portland. You may want to consider flying into Manchester, NH (MHT) and driving from there. You should be able to get a non-stop from Midway to MHT for as little as $130 when they are having a fare sale, to maybe $225 +/- with advance booking. Even with little or no notice, your fare should be less than $400 RT. MHT is about a 4 - 5 hour drive to Bangor.

I just checked USAirways and put in a random RT set of dates for July 7 and July 18. This is long enough to include a Saturday night stay. Chicago (O%26#39;Hare) to Bangor. When you enter the date info, there is an option to select ';Low Fare Finder (For flexible dates)';. This will show you the lowest fare available one day either side of youor departure and return. You can also manipulate the dates to see other low fare possibilities. I got a fare for July 6, 7 or 8 departure and July 17, 18 or 19 return of $422).

There might be better options available if you looko further.

price of airfare

Hi dollydimples,

The reason the fares are so high is there is no cheap (i.e. Southwest) compitition flying into Maine. The other poster has it right about flying into Manchester. We are flying in in July and have 2 round trip tickets IND-MHT for under $400.00. You can rent a car and drive 4 hours to Bangor and still pay no more than $600.00.

You can go to sites like farecompare.com to find days that would be cheaper than others. You can also check out the Southwest site for prices from Midway to Manchester. Southwest is not in any of the airfare sites(Expedia, ect).

I hope this helps.

Yes, no competition, probably because demand is limited. If it makes you feel any better (and the flip side is that), a Bangor *departure* is expensive as well. Manchester NH and car rental is an excellent idea and friends who fly Southwest to Chicago love it. Manchester seems to be equidistant from Boston. What is really interesting is that I can%26#39;t get an international flight from Bangor *International* Airport. I have to fly over Bangor to Philly to catch the plane back to Bangor. Makes for a very long trip.

We live east of Bangor but always fly out of Portland to get much better fares. Next month we go to San Diego and BGR to SAN was at least $600 but we got PWM to SAN for $298. For the last three years we have been getting much cheaper fares out of Portland. However, we also book well in advance. Our flight next month lays over in Chicago (ORD). I would look closely into airfare into Portland. Portland now has Jet Blue and soon will have Air Tran and this is making for more competative fares with all airlines, we are flying United. The Bangor fares are always terrible. Manchester is definately cheaper but is such a long drive for us, distance wise Boston (Logan) is just as close as Manchester but the traffic is worse and therefore it taks longer to drive.

Lots of folks in the Bangor area will take the Concord Bus (just opposite the Bangor terminal) to Portland or even on to Boston Logan where they can take advantage of much more affordable airfares. See concordtrailways.com/maine_bus_schedule.htm Makes the trip much longer in terms of trave time, but that%26#39;s the cost of trying to fly to an airport where there isn%26#39;t much demand/competition.

When your relatives aren%26#39;t sick and you can be flexible about travel, try the farewatcher function at Travelocity and book your flights when there are fare wars. travelocity.com/info/鈥?0.html

Planning a trip to Maine in Sept. 2007

My friends and I are planning a trip to Maine this year, sometime after Labor Day Wkend. Our activities include: hiking, biking, sightseeing, and kayaking. (not whitewater kayaking). We%26#39;re interested in seeing some wild life. Would like to stay in a place that is fairly inexpensive. We%26#39;re looking into Bar Harbor, Acadia National Park, and Baxter SP. Is their any other places that we must see. We%26#39;ll be spending a whole week in Maine. Can you also suggest best places to eat.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Planning a trip to Maine in Sept. 2007

With respect to Bar Harbor and Acadia NP, check the forums for these locations---there is a lot of conversation regarding people%26#39;s 2997 plans that might help you.

The Overview links in those forums (see the top of this page) provide information on hikes, walks, restaurants, things to read, etc.

See %26lt;www.acadiamagic.com%26gt; for information on lodging, activities in ANP and on Mount Desert Island in general (including sea-kayaking opportunities).

%26lt;www.sleepbarharbor.com%26gt; provides information on B%26amp;Bs, including rates and availability.

I can%26#39;t help with Baxter S.P but someone should be answering that soon.

Planning a trip to Maine in Sept. 2007

First off, September is a great time to visit. We always visit in September and love it. cw%26#39;s recommendation is a good one. There are some excellent reviews there of restaurants from breakfast (I wrote it!) as well as restaurants for dinners, hikes of different levels and so on.

Also, if you check back for posts in the Bar Harbor forum from last September time frame, you will finds a number of detailed posts with restaurant reviews, hikes, etc that I posted after our last trip.

I don%26#39;t know a lot about Baxter so I%26#39;ll leave that to someone else. But you might also want to consider the Moosehead Lake/Greenville area for the kind of activities you are seeking.

Check the trip planner function at Weather Underground, see www.wunderground.com/tripplanner/index.asp as you pick your dates for travel. Anytime after Labor Day is good as prices and crowds drop noticeably, but late September can get pretty cold at nights so you might not want to come too late unless you have to. Conversely, the tail end of September will get you pretty darn close to peak foliage in Baxter if that sounds good to you.

If you want to stay inside Baxter State Park, best to jump on that immediately as reservations are hard to come by. There are very few cabin spaces to rent and they go fast. FWIW, inside Baxter is pretty primitive accommodations (no running water, no electricity and latrines.)

If you want to hike Katahdin, best to come earlier as it can snow on the peak in late September. For that matter it can probably snow in mid-July, too. :) You also want to give yourself a range of days to hike Katahdin and not lock yourself into a particular calendar day. That%26#39;s because you want to hike Katahdin in the best possible weather, and it you leave yourself a window, you can pick the best day weather and not get in trouble on the mountain. There were several posts on Katahdin last year, you should be able to search and find them easily.

Late September will probably get you lots of views of moose with full racks in Baxter. However, you want to be EXTREMELY CAREFULL if you are out looking for moose while the moosehunting season is underway. See maine.gov/ifw/hunttrap/moosehunting/index.htm Obviously, you don%26#39;t want to risk getting yourself shot.

Moosehunting is illegal inside of Baxter State Park, so if you plan your visit to the Baxter area during the moose hunt, then stay inside Baxter. If you come before or after the moose hunt, I%26#39;d send you to some great spotting grounds on The Golden Road outside of the park. (Search the archives for moose and golden to find the exact spots.)

Good Location for Rafting in August

We are closing in on a plan for our August trip to Maine. We would like to spend a few days rafting, moose watching, biking, etc. and then spend a few days in Bar Harbor/Acadia. Has anybody spent time at the Birches in Rockwood? It looks good for us, location- wise and I like that they seem to help coordinate activities. I would be interested in any feedback about the quality of the rapids (for example, is this area known as ';tame'; or ';lame'; at that time of year) and any specific feedback about the cabins/dining at Birches. I already read the reviews on tripadvisor, and they look good, but didn%26#39;t really get at these points. We haven%26#39;t booked it yet, and would be open to another location with a hotel/lodging option. Many thanks.

Good Location for Rafting in August

I%26#39;ve stayed at the Birches and Rockwood is a remote, wild area with lots of neat things around. It%26#39;s a good base for exploring the Moosehead Lake area. The dining room is as nice as anything you%26#39;d expect in a remote, wooded area. It%26#39;s just across from Mt. Kinneo and the boat leaves from Rockwood. That would be one fun biking trip.

That being said, I%26#39;m not sure that I%26#39;d stay in Rockwood at The Birches if my goal was to raft the rivers in the vicinity of The Forks. Seems like it%26#39;s a long way from the rafting. (Mapquest puts that as over an hour drive.) In fact, it seems to me from looking at their site that they recommend that you stay at their Kennebec base in The Forks when you raft.

I don%26#39;t know anything about the Birches%26#39;s Kennebec Lodge.

Rapids in that area are controlled by release of water from a hydroelectric dam, so every day is about the same, except that I think I%26#39;ve read that one of the rivers (maybe the Dead?) has higher volume on release on certain calendar dates. You could talk with The Birches about that if you want a more/less challenging trip. Basically, the beginning of the trip will have all the rapids, and then things will be fairly tame for the last half or so of the trip.

reptiles