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How
Manchester and Burlington
link
nicely with Cape Cod
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Spotlight on Travel - Mike Cohen
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BURLINGTON,
Vt-- I have just returned from a marvelous family vacation in Cape Cod.
Just as I did a year ago with Maine, I will be sharing the stops I made
in different towns with readers of The Montrealer over the next several
months.
I would like to begin, however, with a
friendly tip on how to expand this excursion.
The
drive from Montreal to Cape Cod
is more than seven hours. I always like to break these trips up. Rather
than leaving home at the crack of dawn, we do so closer to noon and
stay over somewhere else for the night, following the exact same format
on the way back.
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The Church Street
Marketplace is a popular pedestrian mall
in Burlington, Vt. (Photo: Mike Cohen)
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Manchester
(Manchester
(www.manchestercvb.com)
New Hampshire remains my choice for stopover
number one. The Highlander Inn (www.highlanderinn.com), a full-service
facility which is conveniently located only about five minutes from the
large Mall of New Hampshire, is a good choice. We checked into the Inn,
selecting a spacious and comfortable one bedroom suite. The rooms are
soundproof and what I like about them most is the fact when you book a
suite; there are two doors to the washroom. Therefore if a child is
sleeping on the hide-a-bed, they will not have to travel through your
room and wake you in the morning. We headed directly to the Mall for
several hours. The following morning, after a splendid continental
breakfast at the hotel, we headed to Cape Cod, which at this point was
only two and a half hours away.
On the way home, we stopped in Burlington, Vermont for two nights. Once
again it broke up the drive. When I was young my family went to
Burlington each summer for an extended stay. There is great shopping,
restaurants and choice of accommodations here.
We stayed somewhere new for me. The Doubletree Hotel Burlington
(www.doubletreevt.com)
is just off I-89 on Williston Road and near the
airport. I was struck immediately by what a large and attractive
property this was. All standard guestrooms include the Sweet Dreams
bed, coffeemaker, hairdryer, iron and ironing board, refrigerator, easy
chair, in-room remote printing, Lodgenet with web access and Game Cube,
speakerphone and complimentary wireless high speed internet
access. In
the suites the main bedroom has a king size bed, the living room is
equipped with a pullout couch, a working desk with two chairs and two
flat screen televisions. There is an indoor pool, connected to an
outdoor patio and an on site restaurant (Trader Duke’s).
We were greeted with hot chocolate chip cookies upon checking in.
This was originally a Ramada Inn, and then a Clarion before being
converted to a Doubletree in 2005, at which time 33 suites were
constructed. There are 161 guest rooms in all. A lot of Montrealers
stay here before they catch a flight. You can leave your car here for
two weeks for a charge of only $25.
One of the more established fish restaurants in town is Shanty on the
Shore (www.shantyontheshore.com),
located at 181 Battery Street
overlooking Lake Champlain. The restaurant is owned by the husband and
wife team of Al and Kim Gobeille. There is free parking and a menu
which features excellent clam chowder, tasty appetizers, plenty of
seafood, chicken, steaks, sandwiches and some tantalizing desserts.
General Manager Christian Chardain and his staff merit some applause
for the way they will break open a lobster for you and serve it minus
any shells. A lot of restaurants won’t go to that trouble. Ask if
Big
Al’s Platter is available on the night you dine. It consists of
flounder, shrimp, clams and either fries, baked potato or rice. For
dessert, save some room for the fabulous Shanty pie – silky
chocolate
mousse with chocolate crust and whipped cream on top.
One of the main reasons to come to Burlington is the shopping.
University Mall is only a block away from the Doubletree and features
JC Penney and the Bon-Ton. There is also the Church Street Marketplace
pedestrian mall and Burlington Town Center, home to Macy’s. Other
spots
worth checking out are Shelburne Farms, Shelburne Museum and the
Vermont Teddy Bear Factory. There are cruises in the summer and a
number of ski resorts not very far away in the winter.
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