Fall in love with the sights and scents of New England

Few places conjure up the splendour of autumn better than the north-eastern corner of the United States. On a road trip with my daughter, Nicole, we drove through miles of maples, oaks and sycamores each offering their own resplendent palette of fall colours.

Our adventure started in Western Massachusetts paying homage to Nicole’s childhood favourite author, Ted Seuss Geisel, who was born in Springfield in 1904. The Amazing World of Dr Seuss Museum opened in 2017 and is a fantasy for lovers of his children’s stories.

The Cat in the Hat sits in the corner with his quotes scribbled all over the walls. A video presentation by Ted’s stepdaughter rolls on video next to the desk where he created his fantastic collection of artwork.

As we pass The Lorax and his trees Nicole fills me in on the character’s story. I’m struck by how prescient Dr Seuss was warning readers about environmental issues through his tales. Outside in the sculptor garden are sculptures of the characters from Thing One and Thing Two, The Grinch and a host of other characters. In total, there are five museums to visit on the site with one ticket giving entry to all.

Ploughing American style

Western Massachusetts (Mass) is home to the Eastern States Exposition (The Big E), a state fair best described as the Ploughing – but on a whole other level. Hosted in the town of Springfield, The Big E runs for 17 days every September at the midway point to St Patrick’s Day. A huge contingent from Dingle are over for the event and have been coming for 24 years forging a successful collaboration between the two twinned towns.

It’s not just an opportunity to display gin, crystal and the beautiful Louis Mulcahy Pottery, the music group Siamsa Tíre play in one of the tents accompanied by their dance troupe.

Each evening a Mardi Gras parade flows through the fair and concerts run late into the evening. Replica state buildings of New England’s six states were built to house the best of produce with everything from cupcakes to lavender wine and hand-crafted artefacts on display. Enjoying deep fried vegetables, funnel cake and my first taste of pumpkin beer were all part of the experience.

Springfield is also the birthplace of basketball. Invented in a school gym, on a rainy day in December 1891, the rest is history.

The Hall of Fame is built inside a sphere with interactive displays on three levels surrounding a basketball court and we get to shoot a few hoops before leaving.

Emily Dickinson

I’ve always known New England was rich in literary heritage but didn’t realise the author of another of Nicole’s favourite childhood books The Very Hungry Caterpillar hailed from the region.

Eric Carle was born near Amherst, a leafy college town with charming bespoke stores and a university. We stop off here at 30 Boltwood, a charming restaurant, for some delicious lobster Benedict and salmon bagels.

Carle was taken by his German parents back to their home country when he was five years old but as an adult returned to Amherst to build The Museum of Picture Book Art following the success of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Apparently, a copy of the book is sold every 30 seconds somewhere in the world. The library is a warm cocoon for any child’s imagination where you can peruse thousands of books.

Emily Dickinson spent most of her life in Amherst. We visit her house and enjoy an informative guided tour of where she wrote her inspiring poetry. Nicole had studied her poetry and as luck had it, a question about Dickinson came up in her Leaving Cert which helped her considerably.

A few miles north and we are in Deerfield, a historic town with authentic houses from the colonial period and we enjoy some regional treats at the Deerfield Inn. Chowder, wings and mac and cheese are firm favourites on the menu.

Deerfield is also home to the Yankee Candle Village so we drop by to make our own candles. The aroma of autumn is bottled in a jar of pumpkin spice and the year round Christmas Shop left us longing to linger all day. With options to make Yankee Candy jars and rooms filled with children’s toys and books, it’s a paradise for anyone wanting to feel young again.

It would be unheard of to have a girls’ trip without some shopping and The Holyoke Mall has all the favourites we’ve come to expect from a mall in the USA. With over 150 stores, including top brands like Target and Macy’s, unique boutiques, and plenty of dining options, it’s the ideal destination for shopping.

Holyoke is where we enjoyed the best meal of our trip at The Delaney House. Dingle-born chef, Mick Corduff, moved to Western Massachusetts 30 years ago. He now runs a hotel and several hospitality establishments in the area in the idyllic setting next to the Connecticut River.

The Mick

The steaks are the highlight here. There is a vast range from the gorgonzola sirloin, a 10oz sliced sirloin, gorgonzola compound butter, and merlot demi glace; to steak au poivre, a12oz New York strip and sauce au poivre; and grilled ribeye, a 16oz ribeye, with a choice of bearnaise, cajun or gorgonzola all served with red bliss mashed potatoes – mouth-watering is the only way to describe them and well worth a visit if you are in the area,

For a more laid-back experience, you can nip into the aptly named ‘The Mick’ where there is live music and contemporary cocktails.

Our trip down memory lane was a delicious taste of a corner of New England that is often overlooked as visitors rush to Boston and big city destinations.

While I always enjoy the capital of Massachusetts, this dabble into the countryside was a refreshing change of pace.

It took 20 minutes to get on the motorway to return to Bradley International Airport in Hartford, Connecticut for our direct flight to Dublin with Aer Lingus. With a suitcase full of delicious souvenirs and some new memories made we made our home but we’ll definitely be back.

Michelle Jackson was a guest of Visit Western Massachusetts. For more information on Western Massachusetts see explorewesternmass.com.