Issue Date: October 18, 2009
TravelSmart |
EVERETT POTTER |
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Take a trip ... and travel back in time
The harvest season is ideal for visiting two great living history museums where you can experience the sights and sounds of the days of old.
Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts offers a look at life in 1830s America. There are more than 40 period buildings, many restored and relocated from across New England, and the museum is staffed by costumed historians who share their expertise. Sturbridge opens a window on such essential tasks as sheep shearing, gardening and dying yarn. It's an hour west of Boston, and admission ranges from $7 to $20 (free for kids under 3). Visit osv.org.
Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia takes you back decades earlier, to 1700s America, when it was the capital of the colony of Virginia. The Great Union flag still flies here, and because it's a real town, the horse-drawn carriages, the men in powdered wigs and the colonial fare in the taverns seem that much more authentic. From hundreds of period homes and re-created gardens to a genuine 18th-century coffeehouse opening Nov. 20, there's so much to see that it's worth a night or two. The Autumn Getaway at the Williamsburg Lodge starts at $149 a night. Visit history.org.
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