Family Travel

This is a guest post by writer Andrea Calabretta–thanks, Andrea! Where do we go to meet the “man in the yellow hat?”

A Visit to Waterville Valley, Childhood Home of Curious George

Hans and Margret Rey, the creators of Curious George, fled Paris in 1940 with the manuscript of a children’s book in their luggage. Like many other Jews of the time, Hans and Margret left the city in a hurry—mere hours before it fell to the Nazis—and the story goes that a German officer who saw their illustrations of the lovable monkey allowed them to pass.

Years later, the Reys had sold the Curious George series to Houghton Mifflin, and Hans was at work on another book: The Stars: A New Way to See Them. Needing a good place to see stars, the couple found a small cottage in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire.

They proceeded to spend summers there, inviting local children to regular “chalk talks,” where kids could watch Hans sketch and help him imagine new adventures for Curious George.

Curious George Cottage

Today, you can visit the Curious George Cottage and Studio in Waterville Valley, about 2 1/2 hours north of Boston in the White Mountain National Forest. Artist Nat Scrimshaw continues the tradition of chalk talks with local and visiting children. On Saturday afternoons, kids crowd around the local illustrator, and each one of them goes home with a poster-sized drawing.

The actual home where the Reys lived still stands, right next to the Waterville Elementary school. The picturesque red cottage is a meeting place for nature walks, snowman-building sessions and other family activities.

Winter Family Fun

The surrounding Waterville Valley provides additional opportunities for family fun—including back-country skiing, snowboarding, snowshoe-ing, an astronomy observatory, an ice-skating rink and more.

Children as young as three can join the Kids’ Venture Kamps, and on-mountain childcare is also available.

After a day of skiing, grab a round of hot chocolates and take a horse-drawn sleigh ride across the valley for great views of the White Mountain National Forest.

Family Festival in August

Though Waterville Valley is often considered a winter travel destination, the Rey cottage also hosts a family festival in August, and summer activities include nature walks, farm visits, children’s theater and swimming.

Before You Go

Pick up a copy of The Journey That Saved Curious George, a children’s book that details the Reys’ story.

For more information on Waterville Valley, check out www.visitwatervillevalley.com.

Andrea Calabretta is a freelance writer, editor and blogger based in Boston, MA. Visit BellyGlad (http://bellyglad.blogspot.com) to read about her culinary adventures.

** Related Family Travel posts: How Books Can Enrich Travel With Your Kids and Literary Travel With Kids

** You can also find Curious George in Mississippi (thanks to my Twitter friend @shawnz for the link. I’m @SheilaS if you want to follow us on Twitter, a sort of mass IM/microblogging site.)

We’ve had that first crisp fall morning here near Austin, and it made me think about a state that’s rather differently-sized.

Compact Rhode Island may be tiny compared to sprawling Texas, but that makes this New England state very accessible to short road trips and family travel.

Its official name is quite grandiose: “The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,” but locals call it Little Rhody.

Here are my top ten reasons to hit The Rhode:

Providence

This revitalized city combines the intellectual heft of Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design with an Italian/Portuguese soul. The result is smart, interesting people, a lively arts scene and good food. Don’t miss the last Waterfire of the season, at sunset on Saturday October 27th. It’s like a campfire on a river, set to music. Kids like the easily-walkable Roger Williams Park Zoo, or see what’s playing at the venerable Trinity Repertory theater company (maybe A Christmas Carol?)

Newport

Yachting, tennis and Gilded Age mansions might be this town’s claim to fame, but look deeper. It’s a fun sailor’s port that combines atmospheric Colonial architecture with quahog stuffies. Eats range from Flo’s Clam Shack to the White Horse Tavern (for older kids.) Conde Nast Traveler’s Wendy Perrin has a great series of blog posts about taking kids to Newport here, here and here. Check out Save The Bay’s Seal Watch Tours November 2007 through April 2008; their boats depart Bowen’s Ferry Landing. Starting November 17th, see stunning holiday decorations during Christmas at the Mansions.

Block Island

Geographically-picky types claim that it isn’t an island if you can drive to it on a bridge. Not a problem with ferry-supported, picturesque Block Island, which has much of the windblown allure of Nantucket or Martha’s Vineyard but zero attitude. November 23-25 is the annual Christmas Shopping Stroll and Turkey Trot 5K — see the island’s Chamber of Commerce site for more info.

Little Compton

Drop by the summertime-only Olga’s Cup & Saucer bakery café for divine pastries and breads, then pick up produce next door at Walker’s Roadside Stand (don’t despair in winter, because there’s also an Olga’s at 103 Point Street in Providence.) Unfettered parents may want to finish the afternoon at nearby Sakonnet Vineyards, imbibing some true Rhode Island reds.

Bristol

This charmer is at its most Yankee Doodle Dandy on the 4th of July, when the oldest continuously observed Independence Day celebration rolls through town. Nearby 18th century-style Coggeshall Farm Museum shines in winter with maple sugaring.

Pawtucket Red Sox Baseball

In summer and early fall, take me out to the ballgame (on Bobblehead Night!) with the Triple-A team for the Boston Red Sox. While sucking down a local Del’s frozen lemonade, be on the lookout for future Hall-of-Famers passing through on their way to the Show.

Jigger’s Diner in East Greenwich

How can you miss with gingerbread pancakes or traditional johnnycakes for breakfast? Get there early since the shiny narrow Worcester 1950 dining car fills up fast at this “East G” institution. Can’t make it there? Try Haven Brothers Diner in Providence.

Slater Mill

Known as the “Birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution,” Rhode Island spearheaded New England textile manufacturing starting with Samuel Slater’s mill on the Blackstone River. Today, many artists use the abandoned Pawtucket factories. Learn more at the Museum of Work and Culture in Woonsocket.

Watch Hill and Misquamicut Beach

Younger kids clamor for the Flying Horse Carousel in the elegant Victorian seaside retreat of Watch Hill. As teenagers they want the more rambunctious salt water taffy delights down at Misquamicut Beach. Other family fun in the South County section of the state includes Charlestown’s Frosty Drew Observatory for young astronomers and the Biomes Marine Biology Center in North Kingstown.

And a seasonal bonus….

Ski Rhode Island. Only slope in the state: Yawgoo Valley. Believe it.

For more details and ideas, see the helpful travel planning site Quahog.org or the Visit Rhode Island tourism Web site.

Technorati tags: travel, family travel, Rhode Island, New England

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