BY CLAY LARROY
MASSACHUSETTS: THE BAY STATE
When you choose to travel, whether it is for business or
pleasure, it is important to plan your trip well before hand. Here are some
tips to help you. Don't be afraid to cash in your airline miles. Many travelers
let their miles accumulate and never bother using them. Reap the rewards of
your traveling and spend the miles you've earned! Miles have expiration dates,
so be sure to use them before they expire. Travelling is a great way to use
your airline miles. When you need to plan a vacation contact me!
Full of history and diversity, Massachusetts offers everything
from cobblestone streets and village greens to space-age technology centers.
You can explore the nation's early history in this Eastern Seaboard state, walk
in the steps of the early pilgrims, tour battleships and lighthouses, catch the
excitement of a Boston Red Sox baseball game or be awed by whales drifting
along the coastline. The gateway to New England, Massachusetts was the
destination of the Mayflower in 1620, site of the Boston Tea Party which helped
ignite the American Revolution in 1773, and is one of the original 13 states.
The Berkshire Hills cut across its western corner.
To the east the land rolls down to the sea, embracing the state
capital, Boston, and the beaches of Cape Cod. Massachusetts has been named by
the WWF as one of the world's Top 10 whale-watching spots, with a variety of
species of whales found just 40km (25 miles) off the coast. Whale-watching
cruises operate from April to October. All of New England is recognized for
their varying accents, but Bostonians are especially notorious. They often drop
the "r" sound after vowels, and the mocking phrase, "Pahk the
cah in Hahvahd yahd" is used nationwide to imitate the unmistakable Boston
accent. Boston's team in Major League Baseball, the Boston Red Sox, are dearly
and fiercely beloved throughout all of New England. They are in a vicious rivalry
with New York City's team, the New York Yankees, and it is one of the oldest
sports rivalries in the country.
Things to see and do in Massachusetts
Battleship
Cove
See
Battleship Cove (www.battleshipcove.org)
in Fall River. The cove harbors 20th-century US Navy vessels and is the world's
largest historic naval exhibit.
Boston
Skyline
Survey
the Boston Skyline from atop the Prudential Tower (www.prudentialcenter.com).
The Skywalk viewing platform on the 52nd floor offers spectacular views over
the city.
Boston's
museums
Also in
Boston, see the 1822 USS Constitution at Charlestown Navy Shipyard, soak up the
culture at the Museum of Fine Arts (www.mfa.org), learn of the planet's living creatures at
the famous Museum of Science (www.mos.org),
or hear Kennedy's famous speech at the John F Kennedy Presidential Library and
Museum (www.jfklibrary.org).
Concord
Visit
Concord, one of the most historic and beautiful towns in the USA. Its Old North
Bridge was the site of the 'shot heard round the world' in the opening
engagement of the American War of Independence. The engagement commenced on
what is now called Battle Road in Lexington on 15 April 1775.
Experience
Cape Cod's beaches
Explore
the wild marshes or take a solitary stroll along pristine beaches in Cape Cod.
It has some 400km (250 miles) of beautiful beaches, seaside towns and fishing
villages. The Cape Cod National Seashore (www.nps.gov/caco) features unspoilt sandy beaches and
stunning desert-like sand dunes.
Follow
the Freedom Trail in Boston
Travel
the Freedom Trail, which is marked by signs and a red pavement line. It is a
5km (3-mile) walk that passes 16 points of historical interest, some of which
are in the Boston National Historical Park (www.nps.gov/bost).
Harvard
University
Tour
Harvard University in Cambridge (www.harvard.edu), the USA's oldest university (1636).
Hear a
performance of The Boston Symphony Orchestra
The
Boston Symphony Orchestra (www.bso.org)
is one of the greatest of all international ensembles. The orchestra has a full
schedule of autumn and winter concerts, and makes its summer home at Tanglewood
in the Berkshires (western Massachusetts). 'Boston Pops' concerts are staged in
the spring and summer, as well as at Christmas.
Higgins
Armory
Learn
about the development of arms and armour at the Higgins Armory (www.higgins.org) in
Worcester. Set in a medieval castle, it contains the largest on-display
collection of medieval and Renaissance armour in the western hemisphere.
New
Bedford Whaling Museum
Hear the
story of American whaling at New Bedford Whaling Museum (www.whalingmuseum.org),
the world's oldest museum of its kind, displaying the skeleton of a rare, 20m
(66ft) blue whale. New Bedford's whaling chapel, Seamen's Bethel, inspired
Herman Melville's description in Moby Dick (www.newbedford.com).
Old North
Church
Explore
the Old North Church (www.oldnorth.com),
the oldest standing church in Boston, which witnessed the start of the American
Revolution. From more modern time visit the Cheers Bar, upon which the popular
TV series was based.
Relax on
Nantucket Island
Once a
great whaling port, now a popular sun resort, Nantucket Island and Martha's
Vineyard (www.mvy.com),
a picture-postcard island, both lie off the coast of Cape Cod and are easily
accessible by air. Enjoy the slow pace of island life that has attracted
writers, artists and designers, or dive into entertainment and nightlife.
Retrace
history at Old Sturbridge Village
This
village (www.osv.org)
in central Massachusetts is a living history museum recreating an 1830s New England
town.
Sail off
the coast of Marblehead
Learn to
sail off the coast of Marblehead (www.marblehead.org).
The old town is full of 18th- and 19th-century homes of fishermen, merchants
and artisans, and is one of the east coast's premier sailing centers.
Salem
Dare to
venture into Salem (www.salemweb.com),
famous for the 1692 witch trials and its seafaring history.
Travel
back in time to Plymouth Plantation
Plymouth
Plantation (www.plimoth.org)
is an open-air museum recreating a 1627 Pilgrim village in the town of
Plymouth. The Mayflower II, also in Plymouth, is a full-scale reproduction of
the ship in which the pilgrims made their harrowing 66-day voyage from England.
Travel the Mohawk Trail
The legendary Native American trail (www.mohawktrail.com)
winds through 202,347 hectares (500,000 acres) of state parks, forests and
reservations, and is popular for foliage viewing in the autumn.
REFERENCE SITES:
I'm lucky to have been raised in the most beautiful place - Amherst,
Massachusetts, state of my heart. I'm more patriotic to Massachusetts than to
almost any place.
Uma Thurman
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