fter leaving New Hampshire, we headed south along the Atlantic Coast toward Massachusetts. Our main goal was to visit Boston, but since Rhode Island and Connecticut were so close, we planned to take a day trip through both states while we were in the area.

As with most of our travels, I had already picked out several places I wanted to see—especially lighthouses. Unfortunately, our road trip through Rhode Island and Connecticut ended up being pretty much a bust. The lighthouses I had hoped to photograph were either inaccessible, located on private property, or too far offshore to get a good view.

The scenery throughout this part of New England was similar to much of what we had already seen during our travels through the Northeast. While I'm glad we experienced Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, these are three states we probably won't make a point of returning to. Sometimes traveling teaches you where you want to return again and again—and sometimes it doesn't. That's all part of the journey.

Our First Thousand Trails Experience

Since returning to full-time RV life, I see a lot of RVers who use and love their Thousand Trails memberships, and I sometimes find myself asking, Why? Our experience with Thousand Trails back in 2016 was definitely not a good one.

We had a membership and made a reservation at Gateway to Cape Cod, believing that meant we had a campsite waiting for us when we arrived. Instead, we discovered that sites were first come, first served, and there were no sites available for us.

That left us scrambling at the last minute to find somewhere else to stay. Instead of using the membership we had already paid for, we now had to pay out of pocket for another campground.

Thankfully, we found Pinewood Lodge Campground in Plymouth, about 30 minutes away. The campground appeared to have quite a few seasonal and permanent campers, but we were able to get a pull-through site that worked well for us and gave us a home base for exploring the area over the next few days.

Exploring Boston

There were three places at the top of my Boston list: Wahlburgers, Fenway Park, and Cheers.

Wahlburgers

Back in 2016, Wahlburgers didn't have nearly as many locations as it does today. We had watched the television show and wanted to see what all the hype was about—and, of course, find out if the burgers were really as good as everyone said. Yes, they were very good.

We especially enjoyed watching Paul Wahlberg, the brother who was actually in the kitchen cooking and trying to keep everything running while dealing with the rest of the family. Since we were already in Boston, visiting Wahlburgers seemed like something we just had to do.

Fenway Park

Visiting Fenway Park was both a good experience and a disappointing one.

To see the inside of Fenway, we purchased tickets for a stadium tour. What the ticket seller didn't tell us was that we wouldn't be receiving the complete tour.

There had been a concert at Fenway the night before our visit and another concert was scheduled for the following night. Because the stage and concert equipment were still set up on the field, visitors weren't allowed onto it. Our tour was shortened, but unfortunately, our ticket price wasn't.

That was a huge disappointment because walking onto the field was the part I had looked forward to the most. How much fun would it have been to stand near home plate and imagine having a bat in your hands?

Swing, batter, swing...and there it goes to left field...over the fence!

We can all dream, can't we?

Even without getting onto the field, we were able to explore the grandstand and learn some of Fenway's history.

One of the most interesting things to see was the famous red seat in the right-field bleachers. The seat marks where a home run hit by Red Sox legend Ted Williams landed on June 9, 1946. The ball traveled an estimated 502 feet before striking a spectator in the stands and is remembered as the longest home run ever hit at Fenway Park.

We also had the opportunity to sit in some of Fenway's original wooden grandstand seats dating back to the 1930s. At only about 15 inches wide, let's just say baseball fans apparently didn't require much personal space back then!

Despite our disappointment over missing the field portion of the tour, I'm glad we had the opportunity to see such an iconic piece of baseball history.

Seeing Boston by Trolley

To get a better look at Boston, we decided to take a hop-on, hop-off trolley tour. Our route had 16 stops throughout the city, and this is something I highly recommend when visiting a large city for the first time.

I like riding the entire route first. It gives me a chance to see the city, figure out where everything is, and decide which places I really want to explore. Then we can ride again and hop off at the stops that interest us most.

One of the places I definitely wanted to visit was Cheers—"where everybody knows your name."

For anyone who grew up watching the television show, walking into the place that inspired Cheers was just plain fun. There was memorabilia from the show to look at, and episodes played on screens in the gift shop. It was one of those places I had seen on television for years, so getting to experience it in person made it even more memorable.

A Day at Cape Cod

Of course, if you're visiting Massachusetts, how can you not make a trip to Cape Cod?

We spent a day driving around the Cape, enjoying the scenery and searching for more lighthouses to add to our growing collection of lighthouse photos.

We also found another opportunity for me to give fresh lobster a try. This time we ate at the Lobster Hut in Plymouth.

After my first lobster experience in Maine, I was willing to give it another chance. This one was definitely better, but I came away with the same conclusion: I don't want the whole lobster!

When they bring that lobster to the table and those beady little eyes are looking back at me, I'm done. Just give me the lobster tail and leave the rest of him in the kitchen!

Lighthouses

Lighthouses had become one of the things I enjoyed searching for as we traveled through New England. Some were easy to find and photograph, while others required a little more effort—or, as we would discover in Rhode Island and Connecticut, weren't accessible to us at all.

Highland Light

Standing high above the Atlantic in North Truro, Highland Light is both the oldest and tallest lighthouse on Cape Cod. Its history dates back to 1797, when President George Washington commissioned the original lighthouse, making it the 20th light station established in the United States.

The lighthouse standing today is a 66-foot brick tower built in 1857. But its location along Cape Cod's ever-changing coastline eventually put it in danger. Years of erosion brought the edge of the cliff much too close for comfort, and in 1996, the 400-ton lighthouse was carefully moved approximately 450 feet inland. The incredible move took 18 days and gave this historic landmark a much safer place to stand watch over the Atlantic.

Today, Highland Light is part of the Cape Cod National Seashore and remains one of Cape Cod's most recognizable landmarks. With its sweeping ocean views and centuries of history, this was definitely one of those lighthouses that deserved a spot on our Cape Cod travels.

Nauset Light

With its distinctive red-and-white tower, Nauset Light is one of the most recognizable lighthouses on Cape Cod and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The 48-foot cast-iron tower, lined with brick, was originally built in 1877 as one of a pair of lighthouses located in Chatham.

In 1923, the tower was moved to Eastham to replace the last remaining light of the Three Sisters of Nauset. Like so many of Cape Cod's lighthouses, its story is closely connected to the constantly changing shoreline and the battle against coastal erosion.

Today, Nauset Light continues to overlook the Atlantic and has become an iconic symbol of Cape Cod. It's a great example of how these historic structures have been moved, adapted and preserved so future generations can continue to enjoy them.

Three Sisters of Nauset

Tucked among the trees in Eastham are the Three Sisters of Nauset, a trio of historic lighthouses with a story that shows just how powerful Cape Cod's coastline can be.

The original three brick towers were built along the shore, but erosion eventually claimed them, and by 1890 they had fallen into the sea. Three replacement towers were constructed in 1892, this time using wood atop brick foundations.

The Three Sisters were decommissioned in 1911, although one tower continued serving as a beacon after being moved farther inland and placed near the keeper's house. It remained in operation until 1923, when it was replaced by the tower we now know as Nauset Light.

Rather than disappearing completely into history, all three of the wooden Sisters were eventually preserved and reunited. Today, they stand together once again in Eastham as a reminder of Cape Cod's maritime history—and of just how much this coastline has changed over the years.

Giving Thousand Trails Another Chance

After four nights in Plymouth, we moved on to another Thousand Trails campground. This reservation had been made months earlier, and after what happened with our first Thousand Trails stop, we were hoping for a much better experience.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

Our second stay was at Sturbridge RV Resort in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. The campsites were packed so closely together that there wasn't enough room to comfortably open our awning.

Our neighbors arrived the same day we did and were supposed to stay for ten days. After one night, they packed up and left.

We stayed until our scheduled departure date, but by then we had seen enough. Between our first reservation not guaranteeing us a campsite and our experience at Sturbridge, we decided Thousand Trails simply wasn't worth the cost for the way we traveled.

We sold our membership as quickly as we could.

I know plenty of RVers today who use Thousand Trails and have great experiences with it. Ours just wasn't one of them. This was our experience in 2016, and like everything else in our travels—the good and the bad—it became part of our RV story.

Rhode Island & Connecticut

ne reason we moved farther into Massachusetts was to put ourselves in a better location for a day trip through Rhode Island and Connecticut. And, once again, I had my lighthouse list ready.

Unfortunately, this particular lighthouse hunt didn't go quite as planned. Several of the lighthouses I had hoped to see were on private property, inaccessible from where we were traveling, or so far offshore that getting a good view—or a good photograph—was nearly impossible.

But the day wasn't a complete bust. Looking back through my photos from that trip, I was reminded that we did manage to see two Rhode Island lighthouses: Pomham Rocks Lighthouse and Conimicut Lighthouse. Neither offered the close-up lighthouse experience I had envisioned when planning our day, but sometimes you take the view you can get!

Pomham Rocks Lighthouse

Pomham Rocks Lighthouse sits on a small rocky island in the Providence River near East Providence, Rhode Island. Built in 1871 and first lit in 1871, the lighthouse was one of several established along the Providence River as shipping traffic increased between Narragansett Bay and the busy port of Providence.

Unlike the traditional tall lighthouse tower you might picture, Pomham Rocks has a square tower rising from a two-story keeper's house. Its location on its own little island makes it especially picturesque, even when you're viewing it from a distance.

The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1974 but was later restored, and its light was relit as a private aid to navigation. We weren't able to get close to this one during our 2016 travels, but we could see it well enough to snap a few pictures and add another lighthouse to our journey.

Conimicut Lighthouse

Conimicut Lighthouse was another Rhode Island lighthouse we managed to spot during our drive. Standing offshore at the mouth of the Providence River near Warwick, it definitely wasn't one where we could simply pull into a parking lot and walk up for a closer look.

A light was first established at Conimicut Point in 1868, with the present cast-iron lighthouse constructed in 1883. The lighthouse stands about 58 feet tall and was built to help guide vessels through the waters between Narragansett Bay and Providence.

We could only see Conimicut Lighthouse from a distance as we traveled through the area, but thankfully, I still managed to get a photograph. It may not have been the view I had pictured when I put together my lighthouse list, but a distant lighthouse still counts!

This destination is just one stop from our original full-time RV adventure. Every place we visited left us with unforgettable memories, beautiful scenery, and lessons learned along the way.

Ready for another adventure?