New Hampshire 2006

This was a combination business and pleasure trip. The business part was to get to know the Keene, NH area better, and talk to some real estate agents there, as we are thinking seriously of moving to Keene when we retire. And the pleasure part, really, was the whole trip. We left home on Saturday, September 16th, and returned home on Monday, September 25th. And for almost the entire trip, the weather was very nice.

I don't have any idea how many times I have driven through New Haven, CT, either heading north to the Boston area or south to the Washington area. And in all of those times, I never stopped in New Haven and never knew they had a lighthouse. Well, this time we stopped, and there are actually two lighthouses - the smaller of the two is the original, out in the bay, and the newer one is much taller and on shore. There's a nice park - picnic tables, soccer fields, etc. - and a carousel that unfortunately was closed that day.

We made our usual stop-over in Taunton, Mass, and visited family in Brockton the next day. And Emma & Ryan seemed to have grown quite bit since we last saw them in May. Or does that sound like something an old person would say? {grin} We had a nice visit, as always.

When we left Brockton we made our way to New Hampshire, stopping along the way to visit Walden Pond. It's a fairly small pond with a path going all the way around, and so we followed the path - took about an hour. The pond has a couple of beaches, and a lot of people were taking advantage of the beautiful day to have a swim. There were also plenty of people fishing, and a few canoes out on the water as well. Looks like a nice spot for some calm kayaking.

It was late afternoon before we got to the house we had rented on Forest Lake, in Winchester, NH, a little south of Keene. And although the owner had provided a very detailed description of the house and all the amenities, we were still blown away - it is just a wonderful house in a great spot on a beautiful lake.

The forecast called for Monday to be the warmest day of the week, and so we decided to spend the day right there on the lake, relaxing and soaking up the rays. The house came with several boats, and we took the tandem kayak out for a tour of the lake. It's not a big lake, which was just fine with us. The water was calm, the lake had no traffic on it that morning, and - like Walden Pond - we went around the whole thing. And to "cool off" from the exercise, we soaked in the hot tub for a while. It was a very, very relaxing day!

Tuesday we spent the day exploring Keene - walked up and down their main street, did some shopping, and talked to a real estate agent. We also went over/through several of the covered bridges in and near Keene.

Wednesday we hit the road for a day of exploration in the White Mountains. First was Lost River Gorge and Boulder Caves, near North Woodstock. Lots of fun. But a lot of walking as we descended about 300 feet via walkways and stairs ... and more walkways and stairs, to reach the bottom of the gorge. Waterfalls, small caves to explore, and fascinating rock-and-tree formations made for a great time.

We found a good spot in North Woodstock for lunch, eating outside and enjoying both the food and the weather. Then we wound our way through the White Mountains via the Kangamangus Pass. We were a little too early for the really good fall foliage, but the colors were starting to show, and there weren't nearly the crowds that we would have seen just two weeks later.

Thursday we went to the dogs ... literally. The town of Hinsdale, in the southwestern corner of New Hampshire not too far from Keene, is the home of the Hinsdale Greyhound Park. It being the middle of the week, and the middle of the day, we had no problem getting a spot right next to the track, where we could see (and feel) the greyhounds fly by. Jo loved it, and I enjoyed it as well. The dogs were beautiful, and it appeared to us that they were treated very well. And they sure do like to run!

Friday came all too soon, and we needed to clean up, pack up, and leave the wonderful house on the lake. But the trip wasn't over. Our next stop was Burlington, Vermont, and along the way we felt compelled - not that we fought back very hard - to stop and take a tour of the Ben & Jerry's factory in the Green Mountains of Vermont. The tour included a free sample of the taste-of-the-day ... American Pie, ice cream with bits of apple and pie crust, and before I knew it, I had devoured three samples - YUM!!! And then we had to go through their store, and of course we had to visit their scoop shop for more ice cream. I mean, everyone else was doing it. {grin}

Got to Burlington early enough to take a walk through a park they have along the shore of Lake Champlain. Very nice. Got to see a small lighthouse ... and a speck off in the distance that was the southern of two lighthouses at either end of the breakwater. We walked long enough to see a nice sunset over Lake Champlain, with New York and the Adironacks in the distance. We weren't very hungry for dinner - go figure - so we found a very good sandwich shop, had a light dinner, and called it a day.

Saturday we awoke to some rain showers. Headed down Rt. 7 and made another factory-tour stop, this time at the Vermont Teddy Bear Company. Had a great tour, and - of course - were compelled to visit the shop (all the while I was hearing "Danger! Danger!" in my head). When we left, our ranks had increased by one ... a chocolate brown teddy named Muffin.

We then continued on into New York, going through the Adirondacks and some really pretty country to Oswego, on the shores of Lake Ontario. Here we saw our last lighthouse of the trip, the Oswego West Pierhead Lighthouse as seen from Fort Ontario. The next day we set out for Ithaca, one of my favorite places. Along the way we went through a town that was so beautiful that we had to turn around and go back, park the van, and explore for a bit. It was the village of Skaneateles, on the northern tip of Skaneateles Lake, one of the Finger Lakes. It is simply a gorgeous little town with a beautiful park on the shore, lots of little shops and restaurants, and many very nice homes.

Then we headed over and down to Ithaca and took a couple of strolls down memory lane, starting with a visit to the waterfalls of Taughannock Falls State Park, a park we had not seen in more than 30 years. After dinner in Ithaca, we took a sunset walk through my favorite part of the Cornell campus, the Arts Quad. The next morning, we headed home with many memories, but especially, we remember and appreciate the quiet and the beauty of Forest Lake.

The Related Links below include our favorites from this trip.