Drives

One doesn’t drive in New England simply to get from Point A to Point B at the fastest possible time. No, we like to linger, savor the beauty, cherish the history. We’re fortunate to be blessed with a diverse landscape full of majestic sights like the jagged shoreline of Maine, the granite notches of New Hampshire, the verdant farmland of Vermont, and the long stretch of white beach found in Rhode Island. We stop not only to post photos to our Instagram and Facebook accounts, but to dine on lobster rolls and fried clams at renowned seafood shacks, hike on the same shoreline and forest paths that inspired Winslow Homer and Robert Frost, and stop to stay at legendary inns or a new cabin built into the vast Maine wilderness. To read my story for Yankee Magazine on 8 Great Summer Drives, including maps, please click here. 

Only a 90-minute drive from Portland, Cannon Beach is where the mighty timber of the Pacific Northwest meets the long stretch of beach from California, offering the best of both worlds. First stop is towering Haystack Rock, which stands tall in the shallow waters, inspiring awe from all who stroll hand-in-hand on the hard-packed sand. Be on the lookout for the resident pod of grey whales off the Oregon coast which number around 200. Then drive over to nearby Ecola State Park and take a hike in this Emerald Forest, where massive 300 year-old Sitka spruce trees have trunks as wide as a redwood. The woods soon recede, replaced by sandstone bluffs, pink colored beaches and the great expanse of the Pacific. Make your way south, stopping in the fishing community of Bay City for small, tender Kumamoto oysters on the half shell at Pacific Oyster. Dessert is creamy blackberry ice cream at Tillamook Cheese Factory. Spend the night in affordable Manzanita, where rooms at the Spindrift Inn are as low as $109 a night in the months of September and October. 

Yesterday, as I was taking a spin to the local coffee shop on a Vespa, I was thinking how great it is to cruise on any form of transport in weather this sublime, be it a moped, bike, skateboard, or car. On Sunday, I plan to bike along the Charles River to grab my chicken shawarma sandwich at Inna’s Kitchen at the Boston Public Market. This is the time of year to truly see the authentic seaside villages and rolling rural mountain roads of New England. If you need ideas on routes, be sure to check out my recent story for Yankee Magazine on 8 Great Summer Drives, including maps. Have a great weekend! 

Since I already wrote about Asheville and Charleston this week, let’s continue south to Mississippi and a memorable drive my brother Jim and I once took. In the small Delta town of Clarksdale, learn about the birthplace of the Blues at the Delta Blues Museum, and then spend the night at one of the most intriguing properties in America, the Shack Up Inn. Set on the Hopson Plantation, where the mechanical cotton picker made its debut in 1941, owner Bill Talbot has converted six former sharecropper shacks into his own version of a B&B (bed and beer). The next morning head south on Highway 61 through the rolling green farmland that makes up the heart of the Delta. Eventually you’ll reach the trenches Union and Confederate troops dug during the Civil War’s bloody Siege of Vicksburg, now a National Military Park. Another hour of driving and you’ll find that gem of a town on the Mississippi River, Natchez. During its heyday prior to the Civil War, when cotton was king, Natchez had more millionaires per capita than any other city in the country. They built palatial estates, like Monmouth Plantation, your final stop. Monmouth’s meticulously landscaped grounds, shaded by centuries-old oaks and their thick dress of Spanish moss, is bursting with colorful azaleas come spring. 

It certainly was a privilege to be born a Vanderbilt in the latter part of the 19th century. While Cornelius Vanderbilt II erected his mega-mansion, the Italian-style villa The Breakers, in Newport, brother William and his wife Alva were designing the nearby Marble House. Then there was the youngest of Cornelius’s siblings, George Washington Vanderbilt II, who decided to shun the Atlantic coast and build his estate in the therapeutic mountain air of North Carolina. Built in the French chateau style by renowned Manhattan architect, Robert Morris Hunt, the Biltmore Estate in Asheville is still one of the largest private homes in America, close to 180,000 square feet. Each spring, Biltmore celebrates the legacy of American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, the mastermind behind the Biltmore gardens. Olmsted’s influence is obvious throughout year, but especially in spring when a progression of blooms spreads like a flowery blanket across the estate. The gardens come to life with the tulip bloom followed by multi-colored azaleas, rhododendrons, and roses in the resplendent rose garden.

2017 marks the 150th birthday of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. There’s no better way to celebrate his life than to head to Iowa, home to the only remaining hotel designed by the famed architect, Historic Park Inn Hotel in Mason City, along with two other Wright-designed homes, the Stockman House in Mason City and Cedar Rock in Independence. The ultimate summer road trip through America’s heartland begins in the Hawkeye State. The Iowa Department of Transportation recently announced the designation of three new scenic byways to join Iowa’s growing list of iconic byways and historic trails. From standing atop a Mississippi River bluff to stepping into the world of American Gothic painter Grant Wood or retracing the footsteps of Lewis & Clark, each of Iowa’s byways highlights a unique feature of the state. Along the way, road trippers will not want to miss the state’s wacky roadside attractions, like the world’s largest bull, tallest corn stalk, and largest strawberry. 

We could have rented a car to visit the vineyards of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, an hour’s drive from Cape Town, but the thought of driving on the left-hand-side of the road while downing glasses of wine did not thrill me. It was a wise move to hire a driver, especially when we realized that the drive is exquisitely beautiful with vineyards rolling to the base of jagged mountain peaks, dotted with the distinctive white Cape Dutch style architecture. Our driver, Malcolm Frye, picked us up in his comfy VW Van and off we went to Stellenbosch. Malcolm delved into the complex and often tragic history of South Africa while stopping at four very different wineries he had selected. He was a wonderful companion for the day, full of anecdotes from a very full life in southern Africa (ask him about his military stint in Angola and about his son, a pilot for Cathay Pacific). I’d highly recommend him for drives to the Wine Region, Cape Point, Hermanus, and the Garden Route.

Only an hour drive north of San Francisco, expect the vineyard-draped hillside of Napa Valley to be tinted with crimson and gold come autumn. But the real reason to head here this time of year is to participate in one of the harvest season’s crush parties, where you get to stomp on the grapes. Some of the biggest names in American wine, from Opus One to Stag’s Leap, line Highway 29 north of Napa and the Silverado Trail heading back south from Calistoga. Stock up on cheeses, bread, cupcakes, and other picnic fare at the 40,000-square foot Oxbow Public Market in Napa. Then hit Highway 29 to pick your selection of wine. Have the requisite mud bath in Calistoga at Golden Haven Hot Springs. Andaz Napa is a 141-room boutique hotel located in the center of Napa, a good place to unwind after your day or two of touring.