MA Travel Guide

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You Should Go to Nantucket This Summer

May 31, 2013 at 2:41 PM | by | Comments (0)

Why aren't you pouring lemonade from a pitcher within a stone's throw of a lighthouse already? It's nearly summer and a weekend, which is typically reason enough for us to peace out to the nearest island and don the sailor-stripe shorts.

Last year, our destination of choice was Nantucket, an idyllic hunk of land off the coast of Cape Cod. We managed to get there for under $80 roundtrip from New York City, thanks to a sweet JetBlue special, and it turned out to be one of the most pleasantly surprisingly trips of our entire year. As a result, quite a lot of you were inspired to make a similar budget-friendly jaunt but, in case you haven't yet been, here's everything you need to know to say "f*ck it, I'm going to Nantucket."

The Nantucket Field Trip series:
· Getting There (by air)
· Getting There (by ferry)
· How to get around the island
· What you've gotta see and do
· What and where to eat
· Bonus stuff about whales

[Photo: Jaunted]

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Boston Marathon Bombings Cause Deaths, Subway Suspension, No-Fly Zone

April 15, 2013 at 4:31 PM | by | Comments (0)

This afternoon, as the 26.2-mile Boston Marathon was under way with approximately 27,000 runners, two explosive devices detonated in the vicinity of the Finish Line, near the downtown Boston intersection of Boylston and Essex Streets. Initial reports state that the bombs were in trash cans within a block of each other (we've pinpointed the locations on a map below) and the explosions caused storefronts to explode as well as serious injuries for bystanders.

· 10pm: American Airlines is also offering a change waiver for flights to/from Boston. The Wall Street Journal tweets: "Officials found what they believe are 5 additional, undetonated explosive devices in Boston area."

· 8pm: One of the two confirmed dead is an 8-year-old boy.

· 7:15pm: The London Marathon is scheduled for this upcoming Sunday. Organizers are working with US authorities to review security and the potential for a copy-cat crime. The London Marathon is expected to have 37,000 runners. [Source: NBC News]

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O Beautiful for Spacious Skies, for Amtrak Waves of Grain...

March 12, 2013 at 5:22 PM | by | Comments (0)

Take a train through Europe, and you're bound to follow sparkling rivers near castles or dart through tunnels bored into scenes from a Tuscan dream. Take a train through the United States, and you're going to see lots of backyards with algae-green above-ground swimming pools, and Wal-Mart parking lots.

Okay so we're exaggerating a little, because sometimes, from the train window, you do get to see what's promised in "America, The Beautiful:"

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain...

This scene is exactly what kept us company through some of a recent Acela ride from New York to Boston. For a $120 one-way ride, the view better be worth it.

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Back to Nantucket: How to Take the High-Speed Ferry

July 19, 2012 at 12:46 PM | by | Comments (0)

In case you missed it, our fearless leader—and editor—headed over to Nantucket for a few days of rest, relaxation, and exploration. We kind of were intrigued by what she saw and what she did, so before we knew it we were looking up the ferry schedule and figuring out a way to blow off obligations for a chance to head 30-miles off the cost of mainland Massachusetts. Unfortunately for us we missed out on the JetBlue deal, but then again there’s always the ferry.

There’s a couple different commercial ships running back and forth between Nantucket and the large island known as the contiguous United States. Freedom Cruise Line, Hy-Line Ferry, and the trusty Steamship Authority all send ferry boats back and forth across Nantucket Sound. We went with the high-speed option from the Steamship Authority, and would recommend it to you as well.

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Nantucket on a Budget: Dining, Drinking and 'BYOF'

June 22, 2012 at 5:53 PM | by | Comments (0)

Welcome to summer! Let's talk island, hm? We just got back from a spur-of-the-moment trip to Nantucket and this week we'll share with you all the awesome stuff we loved on the sandy bit of land off the cost of Massachusetts. Pack your Nantucket Reds, your Sperry Topsiders and an argyle cardigan (or four) to drape around your shoulders, and away we go!

Part Four: FOOD.

Well it's been a fun week trying to prove that Nantucket isn't the crazy overpriced island everyone thinks it is. Read the whole series here. For our last hurrah, we'll tackle the dining dilemma.

Since Nantucket suffers from a super short, super sunny summer season with a crazy influx of visitors, the good places book up with reservations well in advance. That's fine though, since we're after the places the locals love, where lobster rolls don't break the bank and cocktails cost less than two digits. We visited (and drank and ate at) all of these ourselves, so let's have at it:

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Foreign Grocery Friday: The 'Sconset Sweets of Nantucket

Where: 79 Orange Street [map], Nantucket, MA, United States, 02554
June 22, 2012 at 4:12 PM | by | Comments (0)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

This week we've been doing our part to help you enjoy the notoriously expensive summer vacation destination of Nantucket, MA. The island may have no shortage of multi-millionaires wearing Nantucket Reds, spending the season in their fourth home, but it does have a shortage of yummy baked goods.

There are no Panera Breads, Le Pain Quotidiens or other chain bakeries on the island. What it has are small, independent bakeries that run out of the good stuff before noon. We stayed on Nantucket with a descendent of the very first settler, and this man who knows the island inside and out recommended we hit Nantucket Bake Shop, a short bike ride south of town on Orange Street.

There we discovered delightful little powder sugar-coated 'Sconset Sweets, a local pastry named for another town on the island.

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Nantucket on a Budget: The Stuff You've Gotta See

June 21, 2012 at 5:01 PM | by | Comments (0)

Welcome to summer! Let's talk island, hm? We just got back from a spur-of-the-moment trip to Nantucket and this week we'll share with you all the awesome stuff we loved on the sandy bit of land off the cost of Massachusetts. Pack your Nantucket Reds, your Sperry Topsiders and an argyle cardigan (or four) to drape around your shoulders, and away we go!

Part Three: Stuff to do and see..

Even though Nantucket costs an arm and a leg to stay and eat in, the actual sights and entertainment are nicely cheap and, for most of the places we loved, free. Even the evening window shopping is excellent, which makes another free thing to do. Alas, you'll find your own favorite places, but here's a short list of ours:

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Nantucket on a Budget: Getting Around on Two Wheels or Less

June 20, 2012 at 12:29 PM | by | Comment (1)

Welcome to summer! Let's talk island, hm? We just got back from a spur-of-the-moment trip to Nantucket and this week we'll share with you all the awesome stuff we loved on the sandy bit of land off the cost of Massachusetts. Pack your Nantucket Reds, your Sperry Topsiders and an argyle cardigan (or four) to drape around your shoulders, and away we go!

Part Two: Getting Around.

Now that we've gotten you to Nantucket, it's time to figure out how exactly to get around this quaint, but wild, island without dropping a fortune on a high-season car rental.

Nantucket's land area is only 50 square miles and you will want to see all of it—from the rose-covered cottages in Siasconset ('Sconset to the locals) to the hang-ten breakers of Surfside. Nantucket's land is also home to many paved bike trails and very easily navigable routes from town to town. Armed with a map from Young's Bicycle Shop, you'll do just fine whether you chose to explore via scooter, bike or jeep:

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Nantucket on a Budget: Getting There by Air

June 19, 2012 at 10:50 AM | by | Comments (3)


Cape Air Cessna 402Cs parked at ACK

Welcome to summer! Let's talk island, hm? We just got back from a spur-of-the-moment trip to the notoriously expensive Nantucket and this week we'll share with you all the awesome, not-so-spendy stuff we loved on the sandy bit of land off the cost of Massachusetts. Pack your Nantucket Reds, your Sperry Topsiders and an argyle cardigan (or four) to drape around your shoulders, and away we go!

Part One: Getting There.

When was the last time you paid less for a flight than for the car service to the airport? For us, the answer is this last weekend. Here's what happened:

JetBlue had an online airfare sale a month or so ago, as they are wont to do. We spotted $35 one-way tickets from New York-JFK to either Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket. We chose Nantucket simply because it's a little further away. Traveling on a Wednesday and returning on a Saturday, we paid a TOTAL of $73.50—the line-item, gosh-darn truth straight from our AMEX statement—in a world where calling car service just to drive one-way to JFK costs $80.

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Start the Week with Some Sweet Airport Rush Hour Time-Lapse Video

June 18, 2012 at 11:56 AM | by | Comments (0)

In case the coffee hasn't kick in yet, let us remind you that it's Monday. This isn't just any Monday, however; it's the final Monday of spring 2012. This Wednesday, June 20, the Summer Solstice hits and though we'll have more on that soon, we wanted to start off the week and end the season in style, in our favorite way: with a time-lapse airport video!

The above video, from YouTube user BostonAirborne, gives a sense of what it is to watch "rush hour" at Boston-Logan International. Filmed from Bayswater, aka the BOS plane spotter hotspot, the video captures the majority of the major US carriers patiently lining up for their go at the departure runway.

Keep your eye out for the few teeny tiny Cape Air Cessnas, who'll be popping up in other stories on Jaunted this week as we look at summer travel to Nantucket!

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Wish You Were Here: The Whaling Museum of Nantucket

June 14, 2012 at 6:22 PM | by | Comments (0)


Scrimshaw from the "Susan" on a whale tooth

What a lunch break! Today, while the sun burned away the grey clouds that had been hovering over Nantucket, we headed into the Whaling Museum to learn exactly why the word "sperm" plays such a huge rule in the history of this tiny island off the coast of Massachusetts.

The answer? Sperm whales and their spermaceti oil, which was used in lighting and candle-making, literally fueled both the development and industrial boom of Nantucket, setting the maritime foundations for history tourism. Have you read Herman Melville's Moby Dick? If so, then you're already well aware of one of the biggest events to feature in Nantucket's timeline: the sinking of the Essex, a Nantucket whaleship rammed by a nearly 90-foot sperm whale in the South Seas. The real-life tragedy of the Essex inspired Melville's fictional Pequod and her captain, Ahab.

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Buying Flights in Bulk: JetBlue's New $699 'Go Pack'

April 10, 2012 at 10:40 AM | by | Comments (0)

Buying flights in bulk—is this the next new thing? Virgin America tried it out last year with a Gilt City deal that saw a pack of 3 roundtrip short-haul flights going for $427, all the way on up to 10 long-haul roundtrips for $3,585. Well, the originators of the All-You-Can-Jet idea—JetBlue—are kicking off spring travel with a bulk deal of their very own. The only catch? You have to really love flying between Boston and Washington DC.

The deal is quite simple:
· Buy a "Go Pack" of 10 one-way flights between Boston (BOS) and all Washington, DC airports—Washington-Reagan (DCA), Washington-Dulles (IAD), Baltimore (BWI).
· Pay $699, plus $7 in taxes for each flight (so it's $776 total).
· Fly your 10 flights between April 23 through June 27, 2012.
· Earn a lump sum 4,200 TrueBlue miles

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