I suppose at some point I should stop apologizing for always adding a few too many pictures and just accept the fact that that's what my blog is. Pictures. Lots of pictures. My blog book this year is going to be a little thicker than normal. :) They make me happy and I hope they will add something to your day also. My Dad, my boys, and I all traveled to Northern New England the past few days to be tourists "Leaf Peepers". That's what people who live in places like New Hampshire call the people who flock to the state during the end of September and first of October. For some reason, in all the years my family lived in New Hampshire, we had never really driven north during the fall to see what all the fuss was about. We didn't really need to (or so we thought) because the fall foliage was all around us, right? Well, I'm so glad we took the opportunity to do this, because it ranks in my top 5 trips I've ever taken--maybe top 3 (I'd have to sit here and think about it and I'm a little too tired for that---another post, another day?)
My dad hadn't been back to NH since my parents moved away at the end of 2003. I had no idea my dad hadn't been back! He was oh so excited and it made me so happy to see. I decided I wouldn't try to see any of my friends on this short trip and just focus on him being able to see his friends (some of his friends are mine also, so it all worked out!). We went out to dinner with his old friends that he worked with, got to see our old Bishop, and then an FHE group with all of my parents' friends from the old ward in Derry. We stayed with an adopted member of our family, Julie, her fiancee Steve, and their dog Hunter who my kids both adore. They didn't want to leave their house! Brody decided he had to ask Julie for permission because he wanted to name our future dog Hunter also. We'll see if that comes to pass. :)
It was so fun to see such familiar faces and we both just reminisced about how much we loved it there. It's funny because I thought moving to Connecticut would be like moving back to New Hampshire. It really isn't even close (well, except proximity). New Hampshire is more laid back, the people are nicer, the roads are wider and make sense, and small towns without all the hustle and bustle of where we live in CT. I've decided our proximity to NYC is to blame for most of that, but I love parts of CT to. It's just not New Hampshire. That's home to us and we miss it. A lot. I don't think I could ever get Jared to move there, but if he ever had a job offer there I'd take it in a second for so many reasons. I hope I can share with you the beauty of the fall there through my pictures. Enjoy!
Unfortunately for me, the best two pictures I got of my kids both smiling (an impossible task these days) were both taken on my phone and not my camera. Poorer quality, but I liked them nonetheless. They are a little out of order, but we'll just start with my cute boys.
The first day we were there we actually took a little jaunt to Maine. Parker had been there when he was a baby with Jared and I when he was traveling, but Brody had been left behind in CA. He was excited to see the lighthouse and it was so fun to re-live the days we used to play at the beach in Maine (they are better than New Hampshire beaches in my opinion). Very unique little places. This is overlooking Cape Neddick, Maine which has one of my favorite lighthouses.
The next day we headed up to northern New Hampshire. I spent a lot of time at Lake Winnepesaukee when I lived there with a friend that had a house up there. It's still one of my favorite places and if we ever get a second house, I'd LOVE for it to be there. A girl can dream, right? :) Just north of Lake Winnepesaukee are the White Mountains and Franconia Notch State Park. Why I never ventured up the few extra exits I have no idea. We loved it and it was so incredibly beautiful. First we did a 2 mile hike to "The Flume".
Starting our hike:
Parker likes to run on our hikes...
One of many covered bridges we saw on our trip:
Parker was happy!
The water was pretty low because of the time of year, but it was actually really cool to see what's under all of that water. Of course my boys had to collect and throw rocks into it as we walked along.
Lovin' having Grandpa with us!
In the middle of "The Flume Gorge". It is a naturally formed gorge with granite walls going up both sides. New Hampshire isn't called "The Granite State" for nothing!
This was so cool!
Cute little explorers...
Overlooking another covered bridge
The newest covered bridge we saw.
There were lots of these crazy tree roots that we growing around the rocks. Pretty cool, right? Notice Parker running down the path, rock in each hand, ready to be thrown. He's nuts.
Outside the visitors center. Brody collected a few maps and loved reading them and "helping" me know where to drive to next.
Now onto some scenery pictures. When I was in college I used to have my sister mail me pictures of the foliage because I went through such withdrawls. Now I'll never have to be without again! haha There's going to be quite a few, but I hope you're able to get an idea of how pretty this is.
Mt. Washington resort which sits at the base of New Hampshire's tallest mountain. I think I'd like to vacation there someday...
The Conway Scenic Railroad station:
Just a random waterfall we passed off the side of the road. These little gems were everywhere!
This was taken along one of the prettiest roads in America for fall foliage (that's what I'd read and now that I've seen it, I believe it!). It's called the Kangamagus Highway and it didn't disappoint. These were all taken from off the Kangamagus.
Sabbaday Falls
Dad in front of one of the overlooks. Breathtaking.
Hills like this as far as you could see in every direction:
At "the Basin"
We also decided to be tourists again and take the aerial mountain tramway to the top of Cannon Mountain. It was the end of the day so it wasn't the brightest, but I was grateful we went. If we had waited until the next day like we considered we wouldn't have seen a thing as it was completely overcast and raining. October is proving to be very wet here in the northeast!
Up, up, up...
The tramway going down on the other side. Echo Lake in the background.
It climbed 2,000 feet and you stepped out onto a trail of Christmas trees! The pine smell was amazing!
Just my boys and I. No, I didn't color my hair. I have no idea why it looks that red. I think my camera is playing tricks on me.
Excited fists!
I think this is the best picture I got of these two. Parker was NOT cooperating. I guess I'll take what I can get. :)
Then, we headed off to Vermont. Obviously I like New Hampshire better, but I will say that Vermont had it's share of beautiful places also. Heading into Vermont we found another covered bridge:
Peacham, Vermont
The weather was kind of a bummer on that day in Vermont as I'm sure this has great scenery behind it. I guess that just gives me a reason to try to get back there someday. This is the Peacham Fire Department.
Love all the old headstones:
Quick geography question? Who remembers from 5th grade what the capitol of Vermont is?
Montpelier!! In case you've ever wondered what the VT State Capitol looks like, here you go! Actually every state in New England's Capitol buildings (except Maine) has a gold top like that. Vermont surprised me a little because I expected the landscape to be more like New Hampshire's. It actually had a lot more green fields that you don't really see in NH and a lot more farmland.
Also, when in Vermont's mountains the colors are less red and more golden. It was a really nice contrast.
Maybe one of my favorite pictures I took on this trip. Moss Glen Falls.
Not sure why exactly, but I loved this old barn.
Simply beautiful. All of it. I have about 200 more pictures similar to this, and I'm pretty sure I know what picture I'm enlarging for my next house in a few months. I hope everyone is enjoying your fall and that you enjoyed the pictures. If you can ever make it to New England in the fall, it is truly worth it! As the leaves change more in Connecticut I may have more here pretty soon, but for now that's all. Have I mentioned before that Fall is my favorite season? :)
