The beginning of this year I was hit hard with symptoms of perimenopause. You can read about these struggles in my blog post, Perimenopause Hit Me Like a Brick Wall. I was hesitant to post that blog post, but after many of my friends encouraged me to I was shocked with how many women reached out to me with their own struggles with hormones. Now that we are into fall I have been having people checking in on me, I thought I would write an update of what I have been doing and how I have been feeling.

It was a beautiful fall day and we had a few hours to do some exploring and decided to take a little drive around Central Massachusetts with a small itinerary.

I am constantly on the lookout for new activities around New England for my family and I do to. Thanks to Groupon I have found some pretty good activities. such as our latest find, Godzilla. Codzilla is a high speed boat that takes you around Boston Harbor providing you with fun and thrills

North Conway used to be my husband and I’s go to destination for day trips or vacation when we were dating and first married. Over the year’s it has become so crowded we have not gone as often. We recently wanted to take our daughter away for an overnight for her birthday to a hotel that had a spa. North Conway is where we found one.

We have come to love Rhode Island, for a small state it offers so much. We needed to get away for an overnight in August and chose to go to Rhode Island, with the main purpose to go to our favorite beach in Watch Hill.

Metrowest is the towns in Massachusetts that are west of Boston and east of Worcester. We finally had a Saturday free of sports and decided to do some exploring of places I had on my list to visit in this area.

As a woman in my 40’s I am aware that changes can start happening to my mind and body, but I did not expect for it to hit me like a brick wall.

I love the four different seasons that New England offers, but there is something about summer time in New England that is simply amazing. As a family, we have been fortunate to travel around New England visiting a variety of places during the summer. I have complied my top ten summer destinations that we have visited in New England.

When you think of New England, castles are not the first attraction that comes to mind. New England has a plethora of beautiful castles to visit. Below are the ones that my family and I have visited over the last couple years.

February Vacation is a popular time to travel. We wanted to go somewhere, but were having difficulty choosing a place due to the weather. We usually go cross country skiing, but with lack of snow, this was not an option. After some research and reviewing my places to visit folder, yes I have one of those, we settled on Chincoteague Island in Virginia. It is a small island south of Ocean City, Maryland and north of Virginia Beach.

Portland Maine is Maine’s largest city hosting an array of activities from shopping, variety of eateries, history and so much more. Growing up in Northern Maine going to Portland was always a trip to the big city. Now living in Southern New Hampshire we always drive past Portland when heading north. We recently decided to do a day trip to Portland to do some exploring. Below is how we spent the day exploring Portland.

New England is full of many beautiful ocean beaches. We have not even begun to visit them all, but in our travels over the years we have visited some great beaches throughout New England that we enjoy spending time at. Below are our top five favorite ocean beaches in New England.

New England has a plethora of amazing restaurants with so much variety. Traveling around New England we have visited some pretty amazing and delectable restaurants. Below is my family and I’s top 10 favorite restaurants in New England in no particular category or order.

Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun are both very popular casinos in Connecticut. Located just 15 minutes from each other these casinos offer so much more than just gambling. During our summer vacation my husband, 14 year old daughter and myself visited both casinos and below is my takeaway of each one. My husband and I have been to both casinos, but it has been several years. This was our teenage daughters first visit.

We have stayed at a couple KOA’s and always enjoyed them. When planning our August vacation we had difficulty finding a place to stay and did not want to spend several hundred dollars a night. We do not spend much time where we stay therefore we do not like to break the bank on lodging.

We initially wanted to go to Cape Cod, but after not being able to find affordable lodging we expanded our search and that is when I found a cabin at Mystic KOA. It was perfect for our vacation needs.

I love exploring New England Islands. Block Island has been on my to do list for a while so when we were planning this years summer vacation this was my only request.

Sun Outdoors Old Orchard Saco in Saco Maine is a family campground with lots of activities, amenities and close to lots of family fun activities like water parks, beaches and the Pier at Old Orchard Beach.

I love finding off the beaten path places to check out. This past weekend we found one of those places thanks to Tiktoc. Do not bash this social media app as there are many great travel recommendations there. We got a late start on our days trip to due my daughter having softball in the morning. We left Southern New Hampshire around noon heading to Connecticut to check out a hopefully fun waterslide.

Manchester Vermont has become a favorite place of mine to visit. The beautiful landscape and quaint downtown area provides something for everything. This past winter we had visited and explored Freedlyville Quarry. Todays visit we had a different agenda.

“Adult friendships are hard.” I cannot tell you how many times I have been with someone or with a group of women and this topic comes up. Why is it so hard to find or maintain friendships as adults?