Boston Massachusetts is a great vacation destination if you're on a budget!

No matter what your interests, hobbies, or vacation-styles, there's something here for you.

For skiers, hikers and mountain bikers, the Blue Hills Reservation in Dedham is ideal (http://jplewey.googlepages.com/bluehills). With over 7000 acres of forests, fields and streams during the summer, and skiing during the winter, this can be your one-stop vacation destination!

The historic North Shore of Boston is another great place for a day trip. The North Shore of Massachusetts is home to some of the best beaches, fishing spots, world class restaurants, and historic landmarks in the world.

Each small New England town, from Salem to Gloucester, is vibrant with four hundred years of rich cultural history.

Got a history buff in the family? Be sure to visit Salem village, where the infamous Salem Witch trials took place centuries ago. Stroll down cobblestone streets, board a colonial ship sitting in the harbor, tour the witch museum, or dine in one of many fine dining establishments that the city has to offer, many of them right on Pickering Wharf in Salem Harbor. You might even pay a visit to Nathaniel Hawthorne's authentic House of Seven Gables. Salem has something for everyone!

Next, be sure to tour Beverly's Gold Coast, where wealthy ship captains and leaders of industry kept their summer residences. President Taft kept his summer White House here, at what is now the beautiful Lynch Park; Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Oliver Wendell Holmes lived in Beverly, and today the legendary American author John Updike makes Beverly his hometown.

Be sure to tour the coast from Beverly up toward Gloucester along scenic Route 127, stopping along the way at the numerous lands of the Trustees of Reservations and the innumerable scenic vistas by the ocean. In historic downtown Beverly Farms, spend some time exploring the exceptionally fine dining and boutiques.

In Gloucester, the historic fishing seaport of New England, you can visit the memorial to fishermen lost at sea, and the now-famous pub, The Crow's Nest, where the movie The Perfect Storm was filmed.

No trip to the North Shore of Massachusetts is complete without spending a day at Crane's Beach, in historic Ipswich. Originally the summer estate of Richard Crane, founder of Crane Plumbing, the property is now owned by the Trustees of Reservations. Spend a weekend at the luxurious Inn at Castle Hill and bask in the class and style of a bygone era, or simply relax in the sun of Crane's Beach, voted one of the 10 best beaches in the world by "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous".

Once you spend some time on the North Shore of Massachusetts, you'll want to come back year after year to take in everything that this beautiful and historic region has to offer... all without breaking the bank!

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