New Hampshire and the White Mountain Adventure

 I've been having a fabulous vacation. It's only Al and I here at the farm. It's kind of like staying with a total stranger in some ways, except that he and his wife were friends with my parents many years ago. Fifty years seem such a short time when I'm looking backward...

He's a young almost 82 year old. It can be slightly disconcerting when he takes me to places where one has to watch their footing, but really the scariest place was on top of Mt Washington, and that mostly because the wind was gusting at 55 mph. 

It's a big house for just the two of us, but he says it's just as big when he's here alone. He doesn't actually live here. It's a family vacation home that his grandmother bought in 1908. I didn't know what to expect when I made my plans. My sisters were invited, but neither one was able to be here and so I've had all the attention, which come to think of it is highly unusual for me...

I arrived early Friday evening. On Saturday we went out to see the waterfall at Glen Ellis and Thompson Falls, and then he took me to see the little known George Washington Boulder just up the mountain from where we are staying and we checked out Flossie's Country Store. Before the day was done we took a short drive to Jackson Falls. There isn't much water due to the dry conditions this year but it was beautiful just the same.

On Sunday we drove the Bear Notch Rd to the Kancamagus Highway. There was a scenic overlook, a venture through Clark's Trading Post in Lincoln, a ride on the Hobo Railroad, and a drive through Franconia Notch to where the Old man of the Mountain once kept watch. 

Monday found us taking the Thorn Hill Rd to avoid traffic delays in North Conway. After a quick stop in Lowe's Al took me to Freyburg, Maine where he attended Freyburg Academy as a boarding student during his high school days. From there we drove north, threading in and out of Maine and New Hampshire up Rt 113 through Evans Notch all the way to Gilead, Maine. From there we went west on Rt 2 to Gorham, New Hampshire and then south on Rt 16 all the way back to Jackson. That was the evening we went to the Red Fox and shared a Fenway Pizza, and then took a walk down the road from the house since we'd been in the car most of the day.

We got up early Tuesday morning in order to leave the house by 8 am and be to Diana's Baths in time to find a parking space. It was a pleasant hike back into the woods where we found the most amazing waterfalls. I even took my shoes and socks off. Cathedral Ledge was the next stop where we drove up to a spot overlooking Echo Lake and the village of North Conway. Since it was still early in the day, we then drove south to Albany, New Hampshire and found the Madison Boulder. It's ginormous!That afternoon I ventured out by myself and stopped at both the White Mountain Puzzle Company and The Covered Bridge Gift Shop.

That brings us to today, which maybe I will write about tomorrow...