New Durham NH/Salem/Portland/Niagara Falls/Toronto vacation – July 2014
New Durham NH/Salem/Portland/Niagara Falls/Toronto vacation – July 2014
I was thrilled when my husband’s parents bought a lake house on Merrymeeting Lake in New Hampshire in 2014! It gave us a wonderful reason to vacation in New England (and a free place to stay!). Merrymeeting Lake is a beautiful lake in the mountains near the town of New Durham. The lakehouse is a short drive from Boston, Salem, and Portland, giving us so many day trip opportunities. Our kids were 15, 14, and 11 the first year we visited the area.
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Our daytrip to Salem MA was one of the highlights of this vacation. We visited the Salem Witch Museum (www.salemwitchmuseum.com) and the Friendship of Salem, a stationary museum shop. This was a fascinating experience of a sad event in American History – the Witch Trials of 1692. We all enjoyed the presentation and learned a lot! We also did the self-guided tour of the museum – with three kids it is nice to go at your own pace! The Friendship of Salem is a short walk from the witch museum. It is a replica pirate ship you can tour and is another unique and interesting thing to see while in Salem.
The second daytrip we took was to Portland ME. We went on a lighthouse boat tour through Casco Bay. This is when I realized how gorgeous the area is! The rocky coast is full of beautiful wildlife, homes, and buildings. Boat tours are a great way to experiences cities from a different perspective – I highly recommend it! We also had a great time walking around the town, shopping, and eating ice cream and other treats. We also discovered some beautiful lighthouses that we were able to view close up and learn about on our own. This was more exciting for me than the kids, but they humored me J
We scheduled two days to visit Niagara Falls during our journey home from New Hampshire. I wasn’t sure how excited the kids would be about it, but it was a hit. The first night we walked to the falls to view them with the colorful lights at night– so beautiful! We quickly discovered that dining options are pricier at Niagara Falls than average. We decided to splurge for one meal at the Copacabana Brazilian Steakhouse. They offer you a huge variety of meats at your table and have an all you can eat buffet for appetizers, side dishes and other options. It was delicious and so much fun! The highlight of our trip was our excursion on the Hornblower (www.niagaracruises.com). It is similar to the Maid of the Mist, but on the Canadian side of the falls. It was awesome to see the falls from the up-close perspective.
From there, we decided to make our way to Toronto Canada. The main attraction was the CN tower, one of the tallest buildings in the world. It was definitely worth the extra time in the car. The views of the city from the observation level are so impressive! There is a glass floor to give you an idea of just how from the ground you are – although I was only brave enough to take a peak J They also offer an EdgeWalk experience, if you’re up for it! (www.cntower.ca)
This was one of our most exciting and rewarding vacations! Of course there were stressful situations and challenges, but we made some many wonderful memories!
I would love to hear about your experiences! If you have a question or comment, please feel free to message me below!
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