Welcome to the Start of the New England Fall Season!

Article and photo (2008 photo of Adams Farm, Walpole, Mass.) by Eric H.

Fall begins at 5:18 p.m. today in New England!

Although the past few weeks have brought us fall-like activities like apple picking, some pockets of impressive northern New England fall foliage and local, traditional autumn-related community events, we can now officially say that summer is in our rear view mirror. In the past few weeks, in preparation for your fall travel, we have presented you some fall travel and vacation ideas. We will continue to do so until late October on virtually a daily basis. For the start of fall today, we bring you a "sampler" of some more autumn travel ideas with many more New England fall travel tips on the way:

The Century House bed and breakfast in Nantucket, Mass., tells us that Restaurant Week 2009 will take place, Sept. 28-Oct. 4, in Nantucket, and will feature "special pricing and unique menus" from 30 different local dining spots. Presented and organized by the Nantucket Chamber of Commerce and The Nantucket Magazine, Restaurant Week will feature events and specials like three-course-meals ranging from $25-45 offered by local restaurants, a food and drink tasting event, junior chef competition, a course on how to make bloody Marys, and chowder contest. For dates and times of the event, please log onto http://www.nantucketrestaurantweek.com, e-mail at info@nantucketrestauranrtweek, or call 508-228-1700.

The Maine Office of Tourism and Travel reports that The 25th Annual Harvestfest in York and York Beach, Maine, will take place from October 16-18 and includes a parade, pumpkin carving, craft fair, ox roast and bean hole baked beans, live music and fireworks.

Max Sabrin, special events coordinator with the Old Saybrook Fire Department, says that the Old Saybrook Fire Department will hold its 12th annual Haunted Hayride 2009 in Old Saybrook, Conn. for several days in October. Dates include Friday, Oct 16th, Saturday the 17th, Thursday the 22nd, Friday the 23rd, Saturday the 24th, Wednesday the 28th and on Thursday the 29th at Clark Memorial Field (Fireman’s Field) on Elm St. For more information, log onto the Old Saybrook Fire Department Web Site.

By the way, the photo above of Adams Farm on North St. in Walpole, Mass., creates a nice fall scene, doesn't it? If you like solitude in the suburbs, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better spot to stroll without noise around the Boston area. About a mile in, you cannot hear any modern-day noise annoyances -- just the pleasing sounds of Mother Nature. With about 700 acres of town-owned land connected with the New England Forestry Foundation and the Norfolk County Agricultural High School, Adams Farm makes for a perfect low-impact fall hike. Colors generally reach their peak here in mid to late October.

We'll be featuring many more New England fall events, attractions, travel tips and vacation ideas. Stay tuned, and check back in often! If you have a fall travel suggestion, please e-mail us at The Weekly New England Travel and Vacation Gazette and we'll consider it for publication.