>> NARRATOR: Coming up on Weekends with Yankee.

>> Now, this is a good, solid clam right here.

>> WIESE: You've got a clam and I got a pet rock.

>> NARRATOR: Richard and Amy take a trip to the Rhode Island shoreline and stop in at the beautiful, historic Weekapaug Inn.

>> WIESE: I would like to toast to the good life.

>> TRAVERSO: To the good life.

>> WIESE: To la dolce vita.

>> NARRATOR: Amy joins James Beard Award-winning chef Joanne Chang at home in Boston's Chinatown.

>> So, first you make like a taco and you just pinch the top.

To me, it looks like a little couch.

>> TRAVERSO: Oh, it's so cute.

>> Yeah, right?

>> NARRATOR: And Richard continues through the Ocean State to check out how multiple generations of farmers are working the land on the Rhode Island farm coast.

>> If you're brought up a farmer, if you think you're young and you want to go farming, I'll help anybody that's willing to give it a shot.

>> NARRATOR: So come along for a once-in-a-lifetime journey through New England as you've never experienced it before.

A true insider's guide from the editors of Yankee magazine.

Join explorer and adventurer Richard Wiese and his co-host, Yankee senior food editor Amy Traverso, for behind-the-scenes access to the unique attractions that define this region.

It's the ultimate travel guide from the people who know it best.

Weekends with Yankee.

>> Major funding provided by: ♪ ♪ >> Massachusetts is home to a lot of firsts-- the first public park in America; the first fried clams; the first university in America; the first basketball game.

What's first for you?

♪ ♪ >> Grady-White, crafting offshore sport fishing boats for over 60 years.

>> The Barn Yard, builders of timber-frame barns and garages.

And by American Cruise Lines, exploring the historic shores of New England.

>> NARRATOR: It's a hidden little gem, but a four-star destination: the Weekapaug Inn, located on the Rhode Island shoreline overlooking the Quonochontaug Pond and the Atlantic Ocean just beyond.

Originally conceived of as a small inn, it was built and opened in 1899 by Frederick and Phebe Buffum.

>> So they opened a 30-room inn directly on the ocean that operated summers only till about 1938, when the inn had grown to over 100 rooms.

♪ ♪ >> NARRATOR: Then the unexpected happened.

It was September 1938, and hurricane-force winds came through and completely destroyed the inn.

It was the most destructive storm to strike the region in the 20th century.

But the Buffums remained even more committed to the inn, so they scoured the region, found a beautiful but more sheltered location, and within six months, had not only rebuilt the inn, but were open for business.

>> And from the summer of 1939 to 2006, the Buffum family operated the Weekapaug Inn on a summers-only basis.

>> NARRATOR: On the Register of Historic Places, Weekapaug was the first building reconstructed after the 1938 hurricane.

♪ ♪ To this day, it remains a go-to destination for families near and far.

>> Obviously, this area has attracted quite a few notable people who have come to stay.

But probably the Weekapaug Inn's most notable guest would be Eleanor Roosevelt, who stayed here in August of 1926, and so her signature can be found on display in our lobby for everybody to view.

>> WIESE: What a breath of fresh air.

You look around here and there's just unencumbered views.

>> TRAVERSO: It's so open and beautiful.

And I love how this place kind of integrates nature into every program, like having a naturalist on staff.

And there's even dining options where you're really immersed in the nature around here.

>> WIESE: I'm looking at nature.

I have an appointment with a naturalist, so I'm going to see you in a few minutes.

>> TRAVERSO: Okay, I'm going to go see the chef.

>> WIESE: Okay, I'll see you later.

>> TRAVERSO: Okay.

♪ ♪ >> This is a beautiful property.

We have beautiful salt marshes.

We see marine mammals, we see fish.

Just an incredible number of birds.

One of the really cool things about a salt marsh like this is that you can determine elevation simply by the type of plants that are growing.

This is salt marsh hay.

It grows where it's inundated from time to time, but not constantly.

Now, you get a little closer to the water down here, this taller stuff, it gets wet more often.

Right over here, we have the high-tide bush, and it's starting to get woody.

Those need to be a little bit higher, and then you get up into some of the other shrubs that we have up higher, and each one of them is hyper-specialized for where it sits in the marsh.

>> WIESE: You know, as a kid.

I used to go out clamming a lot, and we have a clam rake.

Should see what we can find?

>> Let's do it.

♪ ♪ My favorite spot's right over here, the other side of the line.

>> WIESE: So as a kid, typically, if I felt something hard in the sandy soil, that would be a clam.

But here, there's a lot more rocks in the water, so it's a slightly different technique.

♪ ♪ >> Oh, I got two!

>> WIESE: Oh, you got two.

>> This guy is going to be a little small to keep.

So I gotta throw that guy back.

This one I put in the category of quahog.

This is a, this is a good solid clam right here.

>> WIESE: You've got a clam and I got a pet rock.

(both laughing) For me, this is a complete luxury.

This is leisure, this is a five-star experience for me.

Just mucking around on a tidal flat and seeing what I see.

But I know Amy's waiting inside and she's not necessarily sharing in my wonderment.

She wants to get down to a meal.

♪ ♪ >> This is our herb garden, where we have various different herbs out here.

We have our lovage and sage, some lemon balm, oregano.

>> TRAVERSO: My gosh, so gorgeous.

>> These beautiful late-summer herbs, rosemary.

>> TRAVERSO: And so now, we're going to be taking this over to a special place called the Pondhouse, right?

>> Yes.

Pondhouse is our outdoor dining venue, which kind of was inspired to feature and put a focal point to all the local ingredients that we have an opportunity to work with here.

>> TRAVERSO: Okay, so we're going to make our salad now, right?

>> And so right now, we're going to work on making a very light dressing.

Going to start with a little bit of Dijon mustard.

Next, we're going to grab our honey, some fresh-squeezed lemon juice.

And with these three ingredients, we want to make a nice little paste.

♪ ♪ We're going to slowly drizzle in our olive oil.

You want to add some of the fresh herbs that we just picked from the garden?

>> TRAVERSO: Okay.

>> And then we're going to mix that in.

A nice little lemon zest in there.

>> TRAVERSO: The zest.

>> Is going to be great.

Our dressing is ready.

>> TRAVERSO: Okay.

>> And then right behind you, we have a selection of our greens.

This is sunflower shoots.

>> TRAVERSO: Oh, okay.

>> When we add this to a salad, it adds a nice little crunch from the stems, just like sprouts.

>> TRAVERSO: Mm-hmm.

>> But then a really nice nutty flavor that you get, like eating sunflower seeds.

>> TRAVERSO: Mmm.

>> And then we have pea shoots for a little bit of sweetness and a little bit of earthy flavor, as well.

>> TRAVERSO: How do you know when you've added enough vinaigrette?

>> Well, at this point, I'm going to say it's up to your taste buds.

>> TRAVERSO: Right.

>> You really want to have until you see a nice little sheen over all your dressing, and it's nice and coated.

>> TRAVERSO: Let's do a little taste.

>> All right.

All right, cheers to that.

>> TRAVERSO: Cheers.

Mmm.

>> Beautiful.

>> TRAVERSO: Really good.

>> Very fresh.

>> TRAVERSO: Oh, look at this!

>> WIESE: That's nice.

>> And our local seafood fare.

>> WIESE: We have a five-star view, you have this fantastic meal.

>> TRAVERSO: A warm grill.

>> WIESE: A warm thing, and, you know, good company.

>> TRAVERSO (laughs): Yeah.

>> So here, you're going to get to take over and do the cooking for yourselves.

This is our barbecued lobster tails.

Next, we're going to go with our shrimp.

And then these are our local, our Stonington scallops.

>> TRAVERSO: This is, like, the summer equivalent of fondue.

You know, with friends, get people around the table.

So now I see some sauces here-- what should we use those for?

>> So those sauces are here for one of our featured ingredients, which are the Quonnie Rock oysters that you see at the end there.

>> TRAVERSO: Well, thank you, chef.

>> WIESE: Thank you very much.

>> It's our pleasure.

We're going to let you take over the cooking right now and then tend to our other guests we have at the hotel.

>> TRAVERSO: Okay, thanks.

>> WIESE: Thank you very much.

>> Enjoy.

>> WIESE: Yeah.

Amy, I would like to toast to the good life.

>> TRAVERSO: To the good life.

>> WIESE: To la dolce vita.

♪ ♪ >> TRAVERSO: Cheers.

>> WIESE: Okay.

>> NARRATOR: Now it's time for Amy to head north, to Boston's Chinatown, to catch up with chef and restaurant owner Joanne Chang.

♪ ♪ >> TRAVERSO: Wow, look at this gorgeous feast, and I understand that we are celebrating something today.

>> Yes, it's Dad's birthday.

>> Wow.

>> TRAVERSO: Happy birthday!

>> I'm so lucky, I'm so happy to be part of this celebration.

>> Dad, pretend like the camera's not there.

>> Oh, okay.

>> You ignore the camera.

>> Oh, okay.

>> Yeah.

(all laughing) >> TRAVERSO: Let's do a toast.

>> Kanpai.

>> Thank you.

>> Kanpai.

>> Happy birthday, Dad.

>> Thank you.

>> You're welcome, Amy.

Please, help yourself.

>> TRAVERSO: Thank you.

I see something that looks a little familiar here.

>> Yes.

>> Birthday boy, you go first.

>> Yeah, Dad, you go first.

>> Oh, thank you.

>> So this is called guotie, which means it's a pot sticker- style dumpling that we just made and went shopping for in Chinatown.

>> TRAVERSO: It's fun to see a dish from raw ingredients right through to the finished product.

>> It's just as exciting seeing these, even though we had nothing to do with...

It's wonderful seeing it come to fruition.

♪ ♪ >> TRAVERSO: Mmm.

So Joanne and Christopher, you are partners in Myers + Chang.

But people may not know that you're also behind Flour, which is a very French-influenced bakery.

>> French and American.

>> TRAVERSO: And American, yeah.

>> Christopher and I have been running Flour now for almost 19 years.

We started off with one location in the South End, and about seven years in, we should see if we could do another.

And then another and another and another.

And we now have eight locations.

>> TRAVERSO: Wow.

And then, Christopher... >> Yes.

>> TRAVERSO: You have more of a fine dining background before Myers + Chang Restaurant.

>> I do, but from the time I was a kid growing up on a long tradition of Polynesian restaurants on the North Shore... >> TRAVERSO (laughing): Yes.

>> The only thing I ever really wanted to open was an Asian place.

>> TRAVERSO: I love those restaurants... >> Oh, my God, I love them so much.

The place I used to go to all the time was called the Tiki Lau Two.

>> TRAVERSO: Mm-hmm.

>> And it killed me not to name this place Tiki Lau Three.

>> (laughing) ♪ ♪ >> TRAVERSO: So this is Chinatown.

It's such a gorgeous day.

>> Isn't it beautiful?

I love all of the restaurants, obviously.

I mean, it's such a great place to go out and sit and eat and get takeout.

>> TRAVERSO: One thing I love about it, it doesn't close up shop late at night.

>> Right.

>> TRAVERSO: You can find something to do here.

>> Great bakeries.

There's a lot of great grocery stores.

Mom and I like to, you know, shop around in the grocery stores when she comes to visit.

♪ ♪ This is our neighborhood joint.

>> TRAVERSO: Stuff you can get here obviously that you can't find anywhere else.

>> Yes.

♪ ♪ I come here probably about once a week.

I love the produce selection.

Groceries, vegetables, fruits, I stock up on soy sauce.

>> TRAVERSO: So what are we having today?

>> So today we're going to make Mama Chang's pork and chive dumplings.

These are the most popular dish we have at Myers + Chang.

And I've been making them with my mom since I was a little girl.

>> TRAVERSO: Aww, that's so great.

Oh, I see wrappers.

>> Yes, they have different dumpling wrappers.

So for Mama Chang's pork and chive, we use the round ones.

>> TRAVERSO: So what's next?

>> Okay, so now we're going to get the ground pork.

>> TRAVERSO: Okay.

>> We want to make sure to get a nice fatty ground pork so that the dumplings are really juicy.

>> TRAVERSO: There are no diet dumplings.

(laughing) ♪ ♪ So pork and chive, is that your recipe, Sue?

Wow, what part of Taiwan are you from?

>> I'm from the eastern part of a very small city called Yilan.

>> TRAVERSO: Do you still have family who lives there?

>> Yeah, my sister.

>> TRAVERSO: Aww, that's so nice.

>> And my husband's brothers.

>> TRAVERSO: There we go.

>> Looks good.

(speaking Mandarin) >> TRAVERSO: So what's in our filling today?

>> The ingredients-- pork.

>> The ground pork?

>> TRAVERSO: Pork.

>> A little bit of ginger.

>> TRAVERSO: Okay, that's a lot of ginger that's not a little bit.

>> I don't think they sell it small.

>> TRAVERSO: Yeah, that looks good.

>> This will work, yeah.

>> Scallions and... >> Chives?

>> Chives.

>> TRAVERSO: Okay, so I see chives.

Actually, I see two different kinds.

>> Yeah, there's chives with flowers and then garlic chives.

>> TRAVERSO: Oh, they smell so intense and fragrant.

>> They're beautiful.

Mom used to grow these at home.

>> TRAVERSO: Really?

>> Yeah, I still do.

>> TRAVERSO: And do you eat the little buds?

>> Oh, yeah, you eat the whole thing.

>> TRAVERSO: Okay, so we've got that.

>> So we've got the chives.

>> And the Napa cabbage.

>> We're going to mince the cabbage, salt it, take out all of the water, then mix it into the filling.

>> TRAVERSO: Okay.

>> Okay, we got our stuff.

♪ ♪ >> So there's a lot of water in Napa, but we want all of the crunch and flavor, so we're just going to finely shred it, and then we add a ton of salt to it.

>> And what the salt does is take out all of the liquid.

♪ ♪ >> TRAVERSO: So you're massaging that in?

And now you're chopping the chives.

>> These are the chives and a little bit of scallion.

You know, when we were in the store, and you could smell all of the garlic chives?

>> TRAVERSO: That smells so good.

>> Doesn't it smell good?

>> TRAVERSO: Yeah.

>> So now I'm going to take this ginger, and what I really love is taking a spoon and scraping the ginger skin, just comes right off.

And once you've peeled the ginger, then we mince it really fine.

♪ ♪ And we're going to add this minced ginger to the dumplings.

And Mom, how's that cabbage?

>> It's wilted.

>> TRAVERSO: Oh, I can see... >> And the water.

>> TRAVERSO: It's a lot softer.

Should I rinse that?

>> No, so what we do is, we just squeeze it.

>> TRAVERSO: Oh, squeeze that.

>> You see all that water that's coming out?

>> TRAVERSO: That's salty water, right.

>> If you don't squeeze it, then the liquid will make a soggy dumpling.

>> TRAVERSO: Okay.

So when you're having friends or family over for a dumpling kind of meal, how many do you usually make?

>> 100 to 150.

>> TRAVERSO: Wow.

>> Depends on whether they like it, like my son.

You can give him 30 and he will eat them all.

>> TRAVERSO (laughing): Right.

>> I remember him eating, like, hundreds at a time.

He could be a competitive dumpling eater.

>> You've never seen anything like it, their son, and her brother, can out-eat the two of us, three to one.

Is that safe to say?

(all laughing) >> So this all of those ingredients.

>> TRAVERSO: Oh, that smells so good.

>> Isn't that good?

You can smell the sesame.

>> TRAVERSO: The sesame, chives, the scallions, so good.

>> Okay, now we're ready to fold.

>> TRAVERSO: Okay.

♪ ♪ Okay, I'm going to give this a try.

So the filling goes in first.

Just a little more.

Like that.

>> Yup.

>> TRAVERSO: And now I'm going to dip my finger and half on the outside?

>> Just about half, right.

I'll show you how we teach the cooks.

So first, you make like a taco, and you pinch just the top.

>> TRAVERSO: Just the top.

>> And then you fold this finger and this finger like that.

>> TRAVERSO: Almost like you're crimping pie crust.

>> Exactly, exactly.

And then again on the other side.

But with the other finger.

>> TRAVERSO: Other direction?

>> Exactly.

>> TRAVERSO: Oh, okay.

>> But the more adept you get, the more pleats you can add.

The more pleats, the finer it looks.

Yeah, and the prettier.

>> TRAVERSO: Mm-hmm.

>> You can make it fat or skinny.

>> TRAVERSO: Oh, okay.

>> Because I like to make it fat so it will sit like that.

>> So, one of my early memories is to me, it looks like a little couch.

>> TRAVERSO: Oh, that's so cute!

Yes!

>> Right?

And then we'd have my little Fisher-Price kids, and we'd come from school... >> TRAVERSO: Joanne, you took a little bit of a left turn to go into this industry.

>> Yes.

I spent two years working as a management consultant.

I did cook a little on the side, but after two years, I said, "You know what?

"I've been so interested in doing this in my free time, maybe I should try it for my next job."

So I called up Mom and Dad, and I said, "I'm going to go work in a restaurant."

>> My husband was crying.

>> Oh, I don't remember that.

>> Big surprise, of course.

>> TRAVERSO: That's so sweet.

>> Dad doesn't deal well with the big situation.

I remember when I was going to propose to Joanne, calling her father in Texas, and ask for your daughter's hand in marriage.

Do you remember what you said?

>> Well... >> You said, "You need to speak to her mother."

(all laughing) >> TRAVERSO: All right, not bad.

>> Not bad for the first time.

>> TRAVERSO: For a beginner.

>> That's very good.

>> TRAVERSO: Thank you, you're very encouraging, Mom.

Did you know that no matter what she did, she would be a success?

>> I had no doubt about that.

>> TRAVERSO: Yeah.

>> There's a bunch of folds.

The simplest is half moon, where you just fold it in half.

>> TRAVERSO: Oh, right.

>> That's the simplest.

>> TRAVERSO (laughing): Right.

>> So I did a lot of these as a kid.

There's belly button fold-- same filling, same wrapper.

But first we start with half moon, and then fold it in half.

There we go, little belly button.

>> TRAVERSO: That's so cute.

Is that an innie or an outie?

(all laughing) ♪ ♪ I love the cooking technique.

Now, they're crispy on the bottom, but they're not crispy on the top.

How did you do that?

>> So this is a pot sticker- style dumpling.

So I have two skillets.

>> TRAVERSO: Okay.

>> We actually only need one, but we're going to use the other one as a lid.

>> TRAVERSO: Oh.

>> And what you do is, you fry the bottoms in a little bit of oil.

Once the bottoms get golden-brown, you add a little bit of water to the pan, and the water hits the oil and turns to steam, and then you immediately cover it.

>> TRAVERSO: So it's steaming and frying at the same time.

>> Right.

>> TRAVERSO: You're getting the crispy bottom but the soft top, okay.

>> Yeah, all the steam is going to help.

You do that three times.

We don't know why but we both... (laughs) Three times.

And once you do it three times, the dumpling wrapper is cooked and the pork is cooked inside, as well.

>> TRAVERSO: So that's three.

>> That's three.

You have to cook them until all the water's gone, otherwise the bottoms will be soggy.

>> TRAVERSO: And so when this water cooks off, they should be done?

>> They should be ready.

♪ ♪ >> TRAVERSO: These pastries look amazing.

I'm very excited about dessert.

>> The pastries are from the Ho Yuen Bakery that my mom used to go to when I was here at Harvard.

She would come to Chinatown and pick up a bunch of sweets and bring them to me.

>> TRAVERSO: Aww.

♪ ♪ Okay, I know what my favorite things are, but I want to know yours, more importantly.

>> What are your favorite things?

>> TRAVERSO: I love the custard buns with the crackly tops.

>> I love those, too-- pineapple buns.

>> TRAVERSO: How about you, what are yours?

>> I love the egg tarts.

And then my mom loves sesame balls.

>> TRAVERSO: Oh, gosh, look at this.

This looks like almost a mochi kind of rice.

>> It is, it's mochi with red bean.

>> It's red bean.

>> TRAVERSO: I love red bean.

>> This is what I normally get.

>> Yeah, and then I also, I love these guys.

>> TRAVERSO: What are those?

>> These are rice custard.

>> TRAVERSO: It looks so good.

I'd love to try one of those.

We can have them after the dumplings?

Okay, great.

>> (speaking Mandarin) >> Being Joanne's husband is like being one of the shoemaker's children.

We don't have baked goods and pastries here all the time.

And she's not at the stove baking me cookies.

>> Nope, you have to come to the bakery.

>> Yeah, so having these in the house is kind of exciting.

>> (speaking Mandarin) ♪ ♪ >> TRAVERSO: Do you find that you don't have to cook at home at all because you live so close to all these great restaurants?

>> Well, I mean, we get takeout from Myers + Chang.

A fair amount.

>> TRAVERSO: Right, yeah.

♪ ♪ >> There's a real-life drama taking place here that takes place with us all the time.

The one dumpling... (Traverso laughing) That we all wait for you to take.

>> TRAVERSO: Happy birthday.

>> Thank you.

>> TRAVERSO: You deserve it, you worked so hard to make them.

(all laughing) ♪ ♪ >> NARRATOR: It's time for us to head south to a secret gem-- the breathtaking Rhode Island Farm Coast.

Over 1,200 farms dot this picturesque landscape on the southeastern side of the Ocean State, much of it devoted to family farms that have been passed down generation after generation.

>> WIESE: When I think of the New England coast, I think of lighthouses, big rocky shores, beautiful hotels, and some very fancy homes along the coast.

The Rhode Island Farm Coast is a little different in that you have farms literally going to the water's edge.

There's a magical charm to it.

You feel like you've gone back to an era that's long gone by and that the pace of life is a little simpler, a little quieter, and it just feels very stable.

♪ ♪ >> NARRATOR: Farming in Rhode Island is on the rise, a 42% increase over the past 20 years.

It includes a new generation of young farmers who are purchasing small tracts of land.

Kelli and Mike Roberts of Roots Farm are among the newcomers.

Originally on track to pursue careers in engineering, Mike and Kelli changed course after a year spent working on an organic farm right after graduate school.

>> We farmed for fun first, and then we decided we really liked it, and then farmed a little bit more on other farms and then still kept other jobs for at least five years.

>> Actually, we got a little bit of a boost right when we started our farm, because then Kelli got an offer to work for Eliot Coleman, who is a farmer up in Maine who has been farming for, like, 40 years.

He's one of the pioneers of the organic movement.

>> NARRATOR: In 2009, Kelli and Mike purchased six acres of land and spent five years working it part-time.

When the business finally took off, they transitioned to a life as farmers full-time, sustainable, year-round.

♪ ♪ What is also special about the Farm Coast Region is that this new generation of organic farmers sits alongside the more seasoned traditional farmers.

What they have in common is a love for the land.

♪ ♪ Bill Hathaway of Hathaway Farms is a fourth-generation farmer.

Bill was raised on this 69-acre farm with two brothers and three sisters.

The farm dates back to his great-grandfather, who passed it down to his grandfather and then his father, and then to him.

They produced beef and hay.

>> Everybody worked hard.

My, you know, mom and dad, my brothers, sisters, harvest time, planting time.

It's a 16-hour day for most farmers.

>> WIESE: The one thing I hear from every farmer is how tough it is.

It's heartbreaking kind of work, but yet they can't think of doing anything else.

>> It's a way of life you're used to, you're brought up with-- you're your own boss.

If you're brought up a farmer, if you think you're young and you want to go farming, I'm all for...

I'll help anybody that's willing to give it a shot.

♪ ♪ >> NARRATOR: One of the ways in which the new and old generations of farmers part company is on the subject of growing organic.

Bill still works the land the way his great-grandfather did, while Mike and Kelli are strongly committed to growing organic all the way.

Bill admires the new generation's commitment, but he doesn't think it's sustainable, at least not for him.

>> It's good for the guy that wants to do it.

Everything is heartbreaking, but when you're on your hands and knees, pulling weeds around your plants, and trying to keep it clean so it'll grow, and watering it... Organic is not for me.

They've got their work cut out for them.

>> NARRATOR: Mike and Kelli recognize the challenge, but are staying the course just the same.

>> The one thing I think we were a little bit idealistic about was, like, what a big difference we could make.

I feel like we've really gotten a lot of support from our community, but we're still just one small farm.

We hope that people are learning from the way we grow and how we care about the earth and the crops.

>> NARRATOR: While Bill still works the land, the state of Rhode Island purchased the farm development rights in 1987.

This was done as part of a program to prevent farmland from being lost and help maintain the rural character of the region.

Bill's also working closely with the Tiverton Land Trust, who shares the commitment of preserving the scenic beauty of Tiverton for generations to come.

♪ ♪ If you want to sample just how good the local produce can be, stop off in Little Compton, at Walker's Roadside Stand, a staple in the community for the past 30 years.

Locals rave about the place, saying it's too good to pass up and it's high on everyone's weekend to-do list.

They've got just about everything.

What's remarkable about Rhode Island's Farm Coast region is that if you want to take it all in, you can do it in just an hour-and-a-half-long drive.

But then again, why rush when there's so much to see and do?

♪ ♪ >> NARRATOR: For exclusive videos, recipes, travel ideas, tips from the editors, and access to the Weekends With Yankee digital magazine, go to weekendswithyankee.com and follow us on social media, @yankeemagazine.

Yankee magazine, the inspiration for the television series, provides recipes, feature articles, and the best of New England from the people who know it best.

One year for $20.

Call 1-800-221-8154. Credit cards accepted.

Major funding provided by... ♪ ♪ >> Massachusetts is home to a lot of firsts-- the first public park in America; the first fried clams; the first university in America; the first basketball game.

What's first for you?

♪ ♪ >> Grady-White, crafting offshore sportfishing boats for over 60 years.

>> The Barn Yard, builders of timber-frame barns and garages.

And by American Cruise Lines, exploring the historic shores of New England.

♪ ♪