Blogs from New Hampshire, United States, North America - page 14

THE BASICS We arrived home on Oct. 27, and it just occurred to me that I had not sent a final blah-blah-blog. We spent five days in Phoenix preparing Harvey the RV for its respite from us, and visiting with my brother and his wife. It has been nice to be back in NH while some of the leaves are still crimson. THE FLUFF A quick-witted friend quipped when we said we had left the RV in Phoenix that maybe we should consult a professional about memory loss, because that it is a pretty big thing to forget. It wasn't a whole lot of fun prepping Harvey. We had lots of checklists, and of course forgot some of the things we should have brought home. We did about a B+ job, but it was annoying. Harvey ... read more

It it 2:35 AM and sleep will not come. Good news! My backpack isn't that heavy! Hurrah! I am very proud of myself for packing everything I need into one single backpack and a purse. It is a big effing backpack, though. Will have to take a picture of that and post it from Justin's before we leave! Only a few things left on my to do list tomorrow morning, which is good. The most daunting is the "add playlists to my Ipod" bullet. I can never decide. Top of the list for right now is sleep. Wish me luck! P.S. Check out the map!... read more

Travel, like life, rarely goes exactly as planned. On this trip, I got something quite different than expected, initially worse but ultimately far better. This weekend, I planned to hike the White Mountains in October foliage for the first time in several years. The hiking time to a vista and back nearly matches the amount of daylight available this time of year, so I need to camp out the night before. Lots of other people have the same idea, so spots must be reserved months in advance. That means taking a risk with the notorious White Mountain weather;the range sits where three weather systems collide and has some of the worst weather in the world. On the drive up, it appeared I had rolled snake eyes. Rain was falling in sheets, from a wave of thunderstorms ... read more

Day 13: We awoke to thunderstorms with lightning and buckets of rain, so a perfect day to trudge down to Bar Harbor and stand shivering while waiting for a table at Jeannie's Breakfast....so worth the damp wait! I am now addicted to Boston Baked Beans and eggs, with ham, oatmeal bread, strawberry and rhubarb jam, and buttermilk pancakes with blueberry sauce.....You know, the guy who said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day had it totally right....you don't need to eat for about 8 hours after a "Maine Breakfast." John wouldn't know this since he had a sensible Blueberry pancakes and eggs breakfast. Next time I am sure he will know better. With full tummies to sustain us we went into the wilds of Wayne, Maine to hunt up my ancestors who were ... read more

The Kancamagus (the Kan is pronounced like kangaroo and the rest is pronounced ka-may-gus) Highway is reputed to be one of the most majestic byways in America. This obscenely popular area of New Hampshire is surrounded by over-hyped pay to play tourist attractions such as Ziplines, Moose Tours, Monkey Trunks, and Storyland. We decided to take the more natural route of enjoying the scenic area by spending our two weekdays off of work to do some camping and hiking. We thoroughly researched and then chose to stay at the Hancock State Park Campground, on the West side of the pass, but found that the campground required at least a 50’ walk from the parking lot to the campsites, so we opted for the lethargic car style camping offered at Big Rock Campground just across the street. ... read more