Winchester Star: Travel

PORTLAND, Maine - On a cloudy, cool afternoon in May, a smartly dressed young man who looks to be in his 30s is checking into the Press Hotel on Exchange Street in Portland’s central Old Town district.The friendly check-in chit-chat turns to why he’s visiting the city and his reply is giddily enthusiastic: “I was traveling through New Hampshire on business and I just had to make a detour here to check out the food,” he beamed.And he didn’t [...]

Newport's Whitehorne House Museum has reopened after nearly three years with a new focus and new approach.

SPRINGFIELD - I’m relaxing in the spa at MGM Springfield while downstairs on the casino floor, it’s a riot of noise: open 24/7, even early in the afternoon the slot machines are jingling, the chips are clacking, and gamblers are winning and losing who knows how much money.I hear none of this because I’m a world away in MGM’s spa where the masseuse is turning my body into jelly.More | Talk | Read It Later | Share

Music plays an underappreciated role in many Shakespeare plays; too often we get some poor actor with a mandolin strumming out a half-hearted rendition of some sleepy ballad, and the show comes to a stop.But Allyn Burrows, artistic director of Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, sets his “Twelfth Night” in a seaside community in 1959, and then takes full advantage of the musical opportunities.More | Talk | Read It Later | Share

With no two sunrises or sunsets being alike, locals know the value and beauty of their Florida beaches. And now the rest of the world does too, thanks to TripAdvisor and its annual list of the country’s [...]

It's every bridesmaid's worst nightmare: A dress left hundreds of miles away and a fast-approaching wedding.Luckily, Southwest Airlines came to the rescue for a bridesmaid who left her dress in Houston after heading to a Saturday wedding in Costa Rica.More | Talk | Read It Later | Share

Dreaming of Hawaii? You may soon have another way to get there.On Tuesday, Southwest Airlines will make its first test flight from Oakland, Calif., to Honolulu, according to USA Today.More | Talk | Read It Later | Share

The new and highly anticipated cruise line, Virgin Voyages, will hit the high seas next year with its ship, the "Scarlet Lady."But moms and dads, leave the kids at home — this ship, which will leave out of Miami, is strictly adults only."Let’s face it, even parents could use a holiday from their little ones sometimes.More | Talk | Read It Later | Share

The new and highly anticipated cruise line, Virgin Voyages, will hit the high seas next year with its ship, the "Scarlet Lady."But moms and dads, leave the kids at home — this ship, which will leave out of Miami, is strictly adults only."Let’s face it, even parents could use a holiday from their little ones sometimes.More | Talk | Read It Later | Share

"I’m bored.” Kids love to say it; parents hate to hear it. Lucky for both, that “B” word is in no one’s vocabulary at Great Wolf Lodge, an indoor water park resort in Fitchburg, about a 90-minute drive from the South Shore.The hotel opened in 2014 and it’s been a howling good time ever since.More | Talk | Read It Later | Share