August 26, 2004 -- It's just not the sight of those gold and carmine hues that make fall what it is. It's also the festivals & the holidays, the smells of apple cider & burning, and that last chance to take a leisurely car trip out of town to a smaller, quieter place.
Bee-yoo-tiful Beantown
Think fall foliage and perennial favorite New England comes to mind, and you might as well start in Boston; use it as a base for exploring other parts of New England, or stay within the city limits, where you'll see plenty of color as well.
At the Arnold Arboretum -- America's oldest -- Boston has an outdoor "museum of trees" in a 130-year-old, 265-acre park featuring more than 14,000 varieties of trees and shrubs. The trees are labeled by Harvard staff, which administers the arboretum, making the preserve educational as well as just darn gorgeous. Admission is free; it's affordably reached by subway or bus; and there are free guided tours on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The schedule can vary, so call ahead at 617/524-1718 ext. 100 or go online to www.arboretum.harvard.edu/visitors/visitors.html for more information.
Also free of charge are wonderful walks throughout Boston and Cambridge; consider the paths along the Charles River, The Fenways and the Riverway (part of the city's "Emerald Necklace" of greenspace) to take in the autumnal air.
Gray Line to the Granite State
If you use Boston as a base, the Gray Line (800/343-1328 from 9-5 M-F; 617/720-6342 from 7-5:30 on Sundays; www.grayline.com) has all-day tours operating from several hotels between September 25 and October 24. These take you out onto the country roads of New Hampshire, with a stop for lunch at a local tavern. The cost is $45 for adults and $20 for children; you pay for lunch out of your own pocket. To make reservations online for "Fall Foliage Spectacular," go to www.etix.com/travel/servlet/onlineSale?action=viewTours&franchise_id=83.
The Gray Line also offers a daily three-and-a-half-hour tour from Boston called the "Battle Trail," which features Lexington and Concord, also beautiful during the fall foliage season. This tour runs $26 for adults, and $13 for children. You visit Harvard Yard, the Cambridge Common and places where the earliest battles of the Revolution occurred, passing the homes of Hawthorne, Alcott and Emerson before stopping at the Old North Bridge.
Cape May's Food & Wine Festival
Cape May, which the New York Times has called "the restaurant capital of New Jersey," is having its annual Food & Wine Festival from September 18-23. You can drive there from New York City or Baltimore in about three hours, from Washington, D.C. in four, from Atlantic City in one hour and from Philadelphia or Wilmington in under two.
In addition to offering plenty of opportunity to dine around some good restaurants, you can join workshops, seminars, tastings and cooking classes. Other activities include a lobster bake for $45, a relay race, a gourmet tasting & restaurant tour for $20, a gourmet marketplace for a sawbuck, a five-course beer dinner for$75 (new this year), gourmet lunches fixed at $20, chefs' "dine-arounds" (sorry, these are already sold out) and more. For $150 you can buy a package that includes admissions to the tasting/restauarant tour & the gourmet marketplace; three days of culinary classes, tastings & seminars; and a limited edition cookbook containing recipes featured in this year's classes. Check it out at www.capemaymac.org or phone 800/275-4278 or 609/884-5404.
Head North to Québec for a Different Culture
If you want something French to be your vacation theme and yet not cross the Atlantic on a six-hour plane ride, consider Québec. In the only walled city on the continent north of Mexico, Québec City is having a "Frankly French" vacation this fall, with packages starting from only $1,099, including airfare, hotel and rental car. That's the price from Boston or New York per person based on double occupancy, with airfare on Air Canada, seven nights' lodging and seven days' mid-size car rental with unlimited mileage. Out of Chicago, the price is $1,129; from Miami $1,149; from Atlanta $1,179; and from Los Angeles $1,279. This offer is valid through November 30, 2004.
After spending some time in the city, you'll drive out to explore the Charlevoix region, where sea and mountains meet, with villages dotting the landscape, including their rustic houses and tin-roof churches. Included in the journey is a two-night stop at La Malbaie, a resort town popular with Americans since President Taft put his Summer White House there. Another overnight stop is at Tadoussac overlooking the Saguenay Fjord, a good place for spotting white beluga and other types of whales.
This package is being offered by Maxxim Vacations (800/567-6666; www.maxximvacations.com).