Spring Fling ‘08: Classic New England
This trip has been completed! Click here for photos!
May 12 to May 22, 2008
Your trip features:
• Tour Vermont’s Green and White Mountains and historic Ethan Allen Highway built in 1927.
• Visit New England Maple Museum.
• Dine at one of the New England Culinary Institute’s restaurants.
• Play at Foxwoods and Mohegan Casinos.
• Tour Providence Rhode Island and Old Fort Knox, Maine.
• See Newport's Million Dollar Mile “cottages” of the ultra rich.
• Learn about the pilgrims at Plimouth Plantation.
• We’ll cross Sagamore Bridge to Cape Cod for shopping.
• See historic and beautiful Cape Ann, Rocky Neck Art Colony, and Salem’s Witch Trials.
• See Walker Point, summer home of the Bush Presidents.
• Enjoy a New England Lobster Bake in Boothbay Harbor.
• Tour the Norman Rockwell Gallery.
• Tour the homes of two American authors: Mark twain and Uncle Tom's Cabin author Harriet Beecher Stowe
Your trip includes:
• Medical insurance (with pre-existing coverage).
• All breakfasts and dinners and some lunches.
• All accommodations.
• All entry fees where applicable and gratuities..
Book Early and Save!
| Book by | Deposit | Balance* | Trip Total | |
| December 31 | $1,001 | $1,567 | $2,568 | SAVE OVER $300! |
| January 31 | $1,500 | $1,268 | $2,768 | SAVE OVER $100! |
| February 28 | N/A | N/A | $2,888 |
Based on double occupancy per person with 26 paying passangers.
Late bookings if space is available.
*Balance is required by February 28, 2008
INTERARY
Day 1 begins when we travel to Bangor, ME and where we will be lodging overnight. Dinner will be at a local restaurant. The evening will be free for those who wish to go to the casino.
Day 2 begins with a stop in North Conway for shopping. Travel to Montpelier, VT. Enjoy an afternoon guided tour of Montpelier with a stop at the Capital Farmers Market. Overnight lodging in the Montpelier area. Dinner tonight will be at the Main Street Grille, one of New England’s Culinary Institute Restaurants.
Day 3 begins when we travel to Rutland, VT via Scenic Highway 7. Tourthe New England Maple Museum offering a trip through over 200 yearsof maple sugaring history starting with the Native American discovery that maple sap cooked over an open fire produces a sweet syrup. Travel to Stockbridge, MA and visit the Norman Rockwell Museum commemorating Norman Rockwell’s Vermont years and the entire span of his career. Check into your hotel for an overnight stay and dinner at local restaurant.
Day 4 begins when we travel to Hartford, CT and tour the Mark Twain House, where Mark Twain lived and worked from 1874 to 1891. Visit the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, home of the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Spend the afternoon at the Mohegan Sun Casino. Check into the Foxwoods Casino for a two night stay. Dinner tonight will be at Foxwoods Casino.
Day 5 will be a Free Day at Foxwoods for gaming, shopping, or relaxing. Dinner coupons for the casino will be provided for dinner tonight. For those who wish Blue Diamond will arrange a guided tour of the New London & Mystic area and strongly encourages you to visit the Mashantucket Museum and Research Center which is a very short walk from our hotel -- you’ll be glad that you did so.
Day 6 begins with a shopping stop in the Providence or Newport RI area of your choosing. Visit places such as the Brick Marketplace or Bowen’s Wharf in Newport. Travel to Plymouth, MA and tour the Plimouth Plantation, site of the first Thanksgiving. Check into a Plymouth, MA hotel for a two night stay. Dinner is included tonight.
Day 7 will be a day of shopping at the Cape Cod Discount Mall featuring stores such as Banana Republic, Ann Taylor Loft, Talbot’s and Eddie Bauer. A Food Court featuring Au Bon Pain, Sarku Japan, and Freshens Yogurt. Also at the mall are two full service restaurants, TGI Friday’s and Not Your Average Joe’s, and a Regal Cinemas 12 theater megaplex. Dinner will be at a local restaurant.
Day 8 begins with a tour of the Salem Witch Museum, presenting the history of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. We’ll also visit the famous Rocky Neck Art Colony - every artist of note has painted here! We tour Cape Ann - a hidden sightseeing treasure - jutting into the Atlantic
Travel to Cape Ann, MA for shopping. Stop at an artist’s pier where they display and sell their work. Dinner is included tonight. Lodging tonight will be in the Gloucester area.
Day 9 begins with a morning drive through the cities of Kennebunkport, Portland and Freeport, ME. Time for some bargain shopping at the Christmas Tree Store. Travel to Boothbay, ME and check into your hotel for an overnight stay. Enjoy an afternoon harbor on Cap’n Fish’s Scenic Boat Cruise. See lighthouses, seals, an old fishing village Dinner tonight will be a clambake at our hotel.
Day 10 begins with a tour of the Fort Knox National Historic Site. Visit Penobscot Bridge and Observatory. Stop for a visit in Bar Harbor enroute to Bangor, ME. Check into your hotel for an overnight stay. Tonight, dinner will be in either Bangor or Bar Harbor. The evening is free for those who wish to go to the casino.
Day 11 we will depart for Home.
More Information
• Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun: A bit of Vegas glam sprinkled upon these two in a formerly sleepy swath of southeastern Connecticut. Mohegan Sun noted for its restaurants and Foxwoods its superb Manhantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center with high-tech, high-quality interactive exhibits tell the story of some 10,000 years of Native Americans in North America.
• Mark Twain House and Museum: Located in Hartford Connecticut, Twain lived here from 1874 to 1891 writing “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”, “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”. Enjoy a guided tour of this beautifully restored 19-room mansion. Across the street is the Harriet Beacher Stowe Center the guided tour celebrates the legacy of the author of the greatest antislavery novel of all time, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”.
• Kennebunks: Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Kennebunk Beach are the quintessence of seaside Maine, brimming with magnificent architecture, beautiful lighthouses, rocky beaches, seaside hiking, bike routes, lobster rolls, and fine dining. St. Louis businessman D.D. Walker whose son, George Herbert Walker, bought property in the area and his grandson and great-grandson the two Presidents Bushes still vacation here.
• Cape Ann: A small rocky coast that juts out into the Atlantic just north of Boston has been inspiring artists for generations. Cape Ann was a center of commercial fishing that began around 1623. Gloucester is still a seafaring town, Essex the birthplace of the fried clam (1916 at Woodman’s Restaurant), Rocky Neck Art Colony the oldest working Art colony and Rockport artistically associated with Winslow Homer, Fitz Hugh Lane and Childe Hassem.
• Salam: Salam is best known for its infamous witch trials of 1692 (the name Salam is derived from the Hebrew word for peace). Salam is the home of the Peabody Essex Museum, Nathaniel Hawthorne and the House of the Seven Gables.
• The White and Green Mountains: White/Green Mountains are both part of the Appalachian Mountain Range that stretches from Georgia to New Brunswick. The White Mountains are found in Maine & New Hampshire; Mountain Washington at 6,288 is the highest, coldest and windiest too. The Green Mountains (mostly in Vermont) highest peak is Mount Mansfield 4,394 feet.
• The Newport Mansions: In the 19th century, wealthy, socially prominent families like the Vanderbilts and Astors descended on Newport to escape the stifling summer heat - to their cottages (a cottage based on no income tax, antitrust laws and other levelers of today’s society = generally 40 rooms or more and each newer one grander than the older ones)
• Montpelier: Vermont's State Capital was chartered in 1781. The name is a contraction of mont (hill) and peller (bare or shorn) and is home to the New England Culinary Institute, annual Film Festival and headquarters of serveral Insurance Companies. This city had the last remaining clothespin manufacturer in the U S which closed in 2006.
• Norman Rockwell: In 1963, he ended his 47 year association with Saturday Evening Post and began a 10 year association with Look, during which he painted pictures illustrating his interests, including civil rights, the war on poverty and the exploration of space. In1973, Rockwell established a trust to preserve his artistic legacy by placing his works in the custodianship of the Stockbridge Historical Society (later the Norman Rockwell Museum). In 1976, he arranged to add his studio and its contents to the trust.
• Boothbay Harbor English fishermen originally discovered this area of Maine back in the 17 Century. Fishing, ice cutting, shipbuilding, and lumber were the local industries. Tourism started in the early 1800's and Boothbay is the largest boating harbor north of Boston - often called the boating capital of New England. LOBSTER!
Even More Information
Please contact Blue Diamond Tours for more information on this or any Blue Diamond Tours planned trip.