SAVORY SONOMA

ROCKABILLY NASHVILLE

GETAWAYGETAWAYGETAWAY GUIDEGUIDEGUIDE REVOLUTIONARY BOSTON The last languid days of the season beg for a quick escape. If you’ve got 48 hours, we’ve got 4 great places to spend them PHOTO CREDIT TEEKAY LORME DIPSIM

ROMANTIC SAVANNAH 58 AARP THE MAGAZINE / Real Possibilities OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: LIANNE MILTON; NATHAN MORGAN (2); LIANNE MILTON. THIS PAGE, FROM TOP: ADAM KUEHL; ERIK JACOBS U Oenophiles celebrate thegrape Wine More Some Wine, Dine and trip again,butindulginginaweekend isassatisfyingafinecabernet. strolled theplazainwarm evening air. I’mnotsayingIwon’t take a day Fred MacMurray; noshedatrestaurants suchastheGirl&Fig;and wineries atMacMurray EstateVineyards, oncearanch owned by actor Coppola Winery. event atthesplashy Francis Ford at theannualSonomaStarlight & Winery, andaward winners Italian varietals atDaVero Farms alcohol winesatCopainWines, rest ofourgetaway would have, too. spired himtojotafewlines. The zinfandel we triedcouldhave in- er ofwater.” Thelusciousold-vine poem was ever writtenby adrink- poet Horace’s contentionthat“no winery. AsignquotedtheRoman 1857 andthestate’s firstpremium Buena Vista Winery, foundedin graze through ahandfulofeateries. around country-chic towns and the county’s laid-backvibe, poke Spa, whichallowed ustorelish Fairmont SonomaMissionInn& in San Francisco. Thistime, though,we hadthree nightsattheelegant Weekend, anannualLaborDay festival inSonoma,California. minuscule bubbles. We sipped.Afinestart toSonomaWine Country We alsojoinedhappy throngs atTaste ofSonoma,featuring200-plus We sampledFrench-style lower- It seemedfittingtostart with We’ve winedanddinedhere dozensoftimesonday tripsfrom ourhome RUNNING SONOMA GROUND HIT THE NDER OTHER table between my husbandandme, eachglassfilledwith I was distracted by two chilledflutesofbrutrosé onthe and heavy, ripegrapes glowing intheafternoonsun.But From ahilltopterrace, Icouldseealushcarpetofvines Sonoma Countywould have grabbed allofmy attention. and style. by location,size mix ofwineries, itinerary witha relaxing, doable hand. Create a course before-

Plot your circumstances, theviewacross southern BY CHRISTOPHER HALL tasting is $80. a personal Wines, where Kamen Estate eries suchas ment-only win- by-appoint- Book some money. you timeand spot willsave tastings inone offering free tiple wineries festival. Mul- Enjoya I blocks away intheCountryMusic endary spotsare now honored two once played Tootsie’s andotherleg- great placestohearauthenticcountry. stilltus aslocallegends, andthey’re been around longenoughtogainsta- and Robert’s Western World have bar tobar. Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge will make you from want totwo-step a continuousmedleyoflive musicthat honky-tonk row. Thestrip throbs with part ofLower Broadway known as 13.5 million,up3percent from 2014. The numberofvisitorsin2015was has surged inthepastseveral years. concerts are abundant.Andtourism summer, whenoutdoor festivals and livelier thanever—particularly inthe ergy, fueledby amusicscenethat’s capital cityisburstingwithnewen- Mecca Lovers’ Music true country country true An amateurrocker findshis Some superstar performerswho Still, thistown’s heartbeatsonthe go toNashville. Tennessee’s self inamusicalgoodtime, I really want toimmersemy- Rock, Arkansas. But whenI board inarock bandinLittle PLAY TRUMPET AUGUST /SEPTEMBER 2016 BY MELWHITE andkey- 59 Hall of Fame and Museum. I watched grainy black-and-white film of Jimmie Rodgers singing “Waiting for a Train” and walked googly-eyed past Elvis Presley’s 1960 Cadillac. The exhibit that stopped me in my tracks, how- ever, was Hank Williams’ pick-worn Martin D-28 acoustic guitar. Man, if that thing could talk.… You can’t go to Nashville without dropping by the Ryman Auditorium, built in 1892 as a church—and home to the Grand Ole Opry live show and radio broadcast from 1943 to 1974. A major renovation to the building in 2015 added user-friendly amenities such as a quick-service restaurant. But the auditorium itself HIT THE GROUND remains a shrine to RUNNING an earlier era, with an intimate feeling to the semicircu- NASHVILLE lar seating. I sat in one of the original Buy tickets 19th-century church Revolutionary Road online for pews for an “Opry the Grand BY CHRISTINACHRISTINA IANZITOIANZITO Ole Opry Country Classics” A family feels the passion of patriots well before show and heard for your trip. myself the Ryman’s UZZAH!”” we all shouted, hurlingg boxes of tea overboard renowned acoustic into Boston HarHarbor,bor, eeggedgged on by y an actor ddressedressed in Book excellence, as sing- 18th-centur18th-centuryyyg colonial garb.garb. A huzzah-inducinghuzzah-inducing (or not) seats at the er Larry Gatlin in- eelectionlection season was arounaroundd tthehe corner,corner, anandd I hhadad ddecid-ecid- Bluebird troduced a lineup of ed to immerse myyg school-age kids in a little American Cafe up to a H acts. How sweet my historyyy by taking g them to the cityy at the heart of the week ahead band would sound in revolutionaryyg fervor that gave birth to these United States.

for shows, FROM LEFT: RAYMOND BOYD/GETTY IMAGES; NOBLE IMAGES/ALAMY Tuesday– this spot! So we bboardedoarded rereplicasplp icas of tthehe Beaverr and the EEleanorleanor—ships—ships rerebelsbels iin-n- Saturday. There’s no deny- vaded on the nightgp of December 16, 1773, to protest Britain’s insufferable ing, though, that my tax on their tea. Theyy unloaded some 342 chests of it into the harbor. biggest thrill was getting a seat at the We didn’t mind that the tea we dumpedpyjpy was really just empty boxes Bluebird Cafe. The place was hard tied to the shiship’sppy’s side so theythey could be hauled back upu pppp for repeatedrepeated dump-dump- to get into even before the TV dra- ining.ggg. “Toni“Tonightght we are joined joined togetherto gether to endend tyranny!”t yyyranny!” our leaderleader cried,cried, ma Nashville, canceled by ABC last managinggg to stoke up p a bit of giddy g yp patriotic fire in kids and adults alike. spring, made it a household name— After a post–teappyggp party good night’s sleep, we tackled a section of the but it’s still where songwriters (some Freedom Trail, the 2.5-mile route throughthrouggyh the citycity that includes 16 his-his- new, some established) play infor- toric sites at the heart of the revolutionaryyy story. It winds through a mally, surrounded by audience mem- bustlingg downtown to Charlestown on Boston Harbor. bers sitting close enough to share a We signedsiggpned upup for a 90-minute walkingwalking tour withwith thethe FreedomFreedom TrailTrail beer. I sure enjoyed mine. I’ll be back Foundation, startinggg at historic Faneuil Hall and ending a little more for more inspiration soon. than a half-mile awayy at Boston Common, the nearly 50-acre public park wwherehere BritishBritish troops quarteredquartered in 1775.1775.

60 AARP THE MAGAZINE / Real Possibilities Our guideguide (“Prudence,”(“Prudence,” in frockfrock and bonnetbonnet)) led us to the site of the 1770 Boston Massacre bbyy the Old State HouseHouse,, and to John Hancock’s and Reboot Your Romance Paul Revere’s graves in the Granary Buryingyg Ground. A New York couple finds the sexy South BY MICHELE SHAPIRO After lunch,lunch, we HIT THE rejoinedrejoined tthehe FreFree-e- Y HUSBAND, Eric, has never embraced romance in the traditional GROUND RUNNING domdom TrailTrail ttoo sseeee OldOld Msense. Yes, he’s there for me when I need to vent or my laptop NorthNorth ChurchChurch ((“One“One starts making funny noises. But after 25 years of marriage, if byy landland …”)…”) andand it’s easy to tuck our affection and spontaneity into the same drawer BOSTON PaulPaul Revere’s hhouseouse as my long-forgotten linge- in the North End. rie. So when we headed to Reserve Boston is arguablygy Savannah—even with amour a table at best experiencedp on in mind—I wasn’t expecting Union Oyster House, billed foot—if walkingwalking is to be seduced by Eric or the as America’s ,y there city itself. oldest restau- are alsoalso dailydailyy trol-trol- Savannah, however, had rant, to try leyyy tours—and you me at hello. From the instant “chowdahs.” could wawalklk tthehe FrFree-ee- we dropped our bags at the dom Trail in a day.y Hamilton-Turner Inn, an 1873 Sign up ButBut wwee chochosese ttoo mansion on Lafayette Square, for Michele Topor’s three- savesave the final section,section, I felt I’d found my Tara. hour culinary in Charlestown—Charlestown— The city showcases stately walking tour withwith thethe USS CCon-on- Southern architecture, so we of North End stitutionstitution anandd BBunkerunker made our way to Jones Street markets. Hill,Hill, site of thethe 1775 to explore the preserved brick- “Don’t fire until youyou and-stucco row homes. The Buy Steve seesee tthehe wwhiteshites ooff sultry air forced us to slow Gladstone’s guide to the their eeyes!”yes!” battlebattle—— our fast New Yorker pace and Freedom for anotheranother time. stroll to the noted Soho South Trail, online. We spentp the late Cafe, where we shared a cinnamony peach cobbler before heading back afternoon exploringpg to our room for a nap. Thankfully, no one fell off the charming double bed, the shoshopsps and ice cream vendors at which had to be at least four feet off the floor! FaneuiFaneuill HaHall.ll. TThere’shere’s sucsuchh a ddeepeeppp ppoolool Wine and cheese primed us for a classic Southern dinner at the Olde of historyy here that a weekend allows Pink House on Reynolds Square, after which we set out into the velvety for ononlylyyppgg a toe ddipping.ipping. I’I’llll bringbring thethe darkness to find the House of Mata Hari, a speakeasy hidden in an alley, kids back—after I’ve tried to explain where a singer crooned a breathy rendition of “Fly Me to the Moon” and UU.S..S. eelectorallectoral politicspolitics to them.them. female bartenders wore bowler hats and black leotards that reminded me of Liza Minnelli in Cabaret. I ordered a kir royale; Eric, a martini—and we raised our glasses as we gazed into each other’s eyes. Summer in Savannah made us crave a beach visit, and it was easy to hop

a round-trip shuttle from the visitor center to Tybee Island, a four-mile FROM TOP: ADAM KUEHL; COURTESY CHRISTINA IANZITO stretch of sand and ocean just 18 miles away. After a sun-filled afternoon, the Grey, a heralded restaurant in a former Greyhound bus terminal, was just the ticket. We shared a buttery rib eye and went for dessert at Lulu’s Chocolate Bar, where Eric and I fed each other strawberries. At that mo- ment, I knew Savannah had worked its magic on both of us.

Book a Reserve a Plan a walk HIT THE ghost-and- table at the on River Street, GROUND cemetery Olde Pink where cotton RUNNING tour online, House. Avoid warehouses to take in the large parties have become haunted side by requesting boutiques and SAVANNAH of the city. a small room. restaurants.

62 AARP THE MAGAZINE For more great getaway ideas, go to travel.aarp.org/weekend-getaways.