I had been anxiously awaiting this Hendo Girl’s Trip since we started discussing it months ago.  It’s been a dream of mine to do a “Fall Foliage Tour” of New England for almost 5 years, but Zach and I just never seemed to make it work with our schedules.  The leaves change within a very specific time frame, and you have to be ready for it.  So when the girls started planning – it couldn’t have come fast enough.

We left Salt Lake for Boston early Friday morning.  The four hour flight went by very quickly for me – thanks to Mindy Kaling’s new book.  As soon as we stepped outside the doors of the airport we noticed the weather was a lot chillier than at home.  I couldn’t have been more excited about it.  

Siri – who met us from Ohio – picked us all up in our rental car (a giant black Suburban).  Instead of staying in Boston, we started our trip off with a drive to Rhode Island.  It took us a while to get there because we left at prime time rush hour, but we took a detour for dinner along the way at Seina.  Our next stop was at the Pumpkin Walk at Roger Williams Park.  It’s the largest display of real carved pumpkins in the United States.  The entire zoo was covered with an insane amount of Jack-O-Lanterns.

Even the trees were adorned with teeny tiny little guys, all lit up.  

Not only was the sheer number impressive – but the detail.  The larger pumpkins were carved with entire scenes from movies or portraits of different characters and everywhere you walked had a theme – sometimes corresponding music. 

I would have loved to see how they hung and displayed the pumpkins in the daylight, but I am sure it would have ruined the magic of it.

After we left the Pumpkin Walk we drove back to our home for the next few days.  Gina rented us a stone house in Waterford, Connecticut.  It was late when we arrived and the streets were too dark to appreciate fully how incredible this place was.

The next morning when I woke up I almost peed my pants when I looked out the windows.  The owner had placed mini pumpkins all along the stone fence around the property…

I couldn’t get over how picturesque the place was.  Like it was picked right out of a film or a painting…

That first morning we set off on our first little road trip.  We drove through several dreamy little towns and made a pit stop at a local apple stand.

They had pumpkins in a wooden trailer, for crying out loud! 

We made it to Putnam, Connecticut for lunch at a quaint little place called Jessica Tuesday’s and to walk around town for their Fall Festival.  There were booths set up all over and live music.  Every street corner, every planter was decorated…

Some of us bought maple flavored cotton candy, others bought knit hats with pom poms, and some (Gina) danced along with the live band.

Then, to Massachusetts again.  We visited Old Sturbridge Village, an actual community that dates back to the late 1800’s.  We stopped for ghost stories at the barn, learned how these people lived, and watched them work.

We even asked a pair of gentlemen what they were doing and they informed us they were building a fence, and they legitimately were!  I watched them haul wood down the dirt road.  Women were baking over a real fire – some were sewing and doing other chores.

My favorite part of the village was the covered bridge with a view of the pond.

After Sturbridge we had dinner in Mystic, Connecticut before driving back to Waterford for the night.

The next morning Gina and I went for a run around our neighborhood.  I wish it was our real neighborhood.  But even temporarily, I was grateful to be there.  The sidewalks were absolutely covered in bright leaves and the houses along the streets were just as beautiful.  I kept thinking to myself, “How does one find themselves in Waterford, Connecticut?”  I could definitely call this place home.

Then we were off to Essex, where we had tickets to ride the Fall Foliage Train.  When we arrived I was impressed how legit this train was.  It was the real deal – with a conductor and everything.

Some of us were lucky enough to ride in first class where we each had our own little swivel chair placed right in front of the windows.  It was just us – and a bunch of leaf peepers.

We even had the cabin all to ourselves for a brief moment before they loaded up on the return trip.

It was very relaxing to roll by and see all the leaves and the view of the river.  After our train ride we walked around Essex for a while.  Quite possibly the most charming of all the little towns we visited.

The old houses we all spiffed up for Halloween.  It reminded me of my favorite – Hocus Pocus.  

After our walkabout we left Essex and drove back to Waterford for the last time.  We packed our bags, loaded up the car, and made our way from Connecticut to Rhode Island.  I’ve never been so sad to leave a rental home.  Until we meet again, stone house.  You were an absolute dream.  Don’t change a thing!