Archive for the ‘white mountains’ Tag
I think I may be getting a little bit spoiled but trust me . . . I won’t tell that to anyone but you. I never thought I’d live to see the day when I’d be considered spoiled but I have and it arrived yesterday.
My better-half is on vacation this week and we’ve been going and doing anything we want and enjoying it immensely. Yesterday was an almost perfect day. It was in the low eighties, sunny, and not a cloud in the sky. We decided to take a short day trip into New Hampshire to shop for antiques and to just relax and roam around for a few hours. Sounds pretty good right? Then why was I complaining almost the entire time? Why, because I’m spoiled.
After getting home last night I sat on the deck and tried to figure out what my problem might be. I spent a great deal of time whining and complaining about New Hampshire and those endlessly boring forests, lakes, and those beautiful White Mountains. I complained about having to drive twenty miles along dozens of lakes and streams and be forced to see all of this damn beautiful scenery. I also moaned and groaned after traveling through the countryside for an hour about that one car that was tailgating me or the one truck that was in front of me going only twenty miles an hour. Truthfully they were the only other cars on the road at that time. I was also upset that I had to drive by all of those cool little campgrounds and small beaches where I was forced once again to ogle a few well tanned and bikini clad lovelies enjoying their day. Am I going insane of just horribly spoiled?
As we drove home back into Maine I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I could stop bitching about New Hampshire and return to my normal everyday bitching about Maine. More damn forests, more lakes, more good weather, and more of those damn beautiful vistas. Why me? What did I do in a previous life that I deserved all of these wonderful things.
I don’t know for sure but I’m working on it.
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My better-half had two days off this week and that almost always means another shopping foray somewhere in Maine and a quiet enjoyable lunch off the beaten path. The day was frigid but bright and sunny which required a minimum of two layers of clothing to keep from freezing. After much discussion it was left up to me to decide as to where we’d be spending our day. I plugged in the GPS and were soon on our way to Bridgeton, Maine.
Bridgeton is a small town located along the New Hampshire border in the foothills of the White Mountains. It’s was almost an hours drive on windy snow covered roads through an area with minimal population.
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Comment: I need to make a note of something here. On these day trips our car conversation can get a little strange. My better-half has an ability much like the late Yogi Berra. She has her own vocabulary which she constantly uses to confuse me. We were quietly talking about the flu season and how we both have had a nagging cough at night brought on phlegm in the throat. She looked over at me and serious asked, “My phlegm is green and tastes boogery, does yours? Now you can see why I find it necessary to keep these day trips to under a hour travel time. It’s to avoid these strange conversations and questions. Now let’s get back to Bridgeton.
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A little music and a lot of conversation later we arrived in the town and decided food was our first priority.
The restaurant was small and tucked away between two businesses along Main Street. We ate here last summer during another visit and were suitably impressed with the food, coffee, and the variety of artisan breads. The place was overrun with ski team members from UNH (University of New Hampshire) who were visiting from a nearby ski resort.
I had my standard breakfast with bacon, sunny side up egg, home fries, toast, and an amazing mug of Jamaican coffee. I have to say I’m a bit of a coffee addict and this coffee was unbelievable.
My better-half dug into a breakfast Stromboli that was well worth the long trip to Bridgeton.
We did a little shopping in a few stores not closed for the winter and I even stumbled upon quite the bargain. I found a soap stone sculpture of an Mayan soldier hidden away in a pile of items in the back corner of the shop. It’s the best $12.00 purchase I’ve made in years and will have a special place of honor in my man-cave.
We even discovered a die-hard artist bundled up and painting along a nearby brook. Crazy, crazy, crazy!
We returned home refreshed from the trip, well fed, and ready for the forecasted freezing rain storm expected soon. Just another day in this Maine paradise.
I SURE COULD STAND SOME MORE OF THAN JAMAICAN COFFEE.
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I can finally accept the fact that Spring is here. I don’t take anyone’s word for it anymore but I do listen to Mother Nature when she speaks. The easiest way to make that determination is to sit on my deck and await the arrival of the hummingbirds. They arrived this morning and spent the entire day trying to empty our recently filled feeder. They must have been very hungry after their long trip and were sucking down that sugar water as fast as they could. Mother Nature’s sure-fire way of letting us know.
These last three days of beautiful sunshine permitted me to begin my yard cleanup and to complete a long list of repairs to the garden frames. Something else I picked up along the way was the beginnings of a bright red sunburn. My pasty white body will take some time making the adjustment to sunlight and I’ll enjoy every minute of it except for that first blast of hot water in the shower later tonight.
My better-half and I decided to take a few hours off and cruise up towards Sebago Lake which is an hour or so north of here. The town of Naples has always been one of our favorite spots for sitting on a deck overlooking the lake and enjoying a fun lunch. As you can see by the photos the sun is shining but the lake is only just beginning to thaw.
We drove the perimeter of the lake for an hour snapping a few more scenic pictures where the ice still is holding its own against the warmer temperatures. Most of the businesses have yet to open their doors and are spending most of their time cleaning things up in anticipation of the upcoming flood of tourists.
I can’t wait to return here when it’s a little warmer, with the restaurants open, and the place crowded with lots of interesting tourists. It’s a great place to relax, rent a canoe or jet-ski, and even take a plane ride over the lake up towards the White Mountains.
To misquote one of my favorite Generals – “We shall return.”
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Yesterday was predicted to be beautiful and for a change those prescient weather experts were correct. With that in mind and my better-half having a day off we decided to take a one day road trip. One of our favorite areas to visit and take photographs is the White Mountain in New Hampshire. We packed up the car, visited a Dunkin’ Donut for coffee and then hit the road. Our goal was to enjoy the day, have a nice lunch, do a little shopping, and take a few scenic photos that could be used as screen savers.
This is the shot looking back towards Maine from the foothills of the White Mountains. What you can see in these shots is the beginning of our climb into the mountains while working our way west towards Lake Winnipesaukee.
Off course as we travel along my better-half is on the hunt for antiques (junk). She considers it an unsuccessful trip if she can’t fill the trunk with the more interesting New Hampshire junk. Everyone knows their junk is soooo much better than Maine junk. She also has a disturbing thing for signs and what did we stumble on but a sign shop. That’s a half an hour of my life I’ll never get back.
Believe it or not this shop with hundreds of signs both new and old, didn’t have that certain special sign she was looking for. I actually found a couple of things that interested me but since everything is still being priced for the visiting tourists I decided to wait and possibly return when the prices are rolled back to off-season rates.
After a few hours of enjoying the scenery we entered the town of North Conway well known for it’s proximity to Mt. Washington and it’s endless outlet malls. What a shock, a shoppers paradise in the wilderness. The better-half immediately became rejuvenated and was smiling a whole lot more. Here’s their somewhat famous and totally restored railway station. I know it’s boring but it’s the biggest building in town.
It’s hotter than blazes so what do we do? We park the car on Main Street and decide to walk around and visit some shops. I was sweating through my shirt after ten minutes. Fortunately she made a few purchases and her shopping withdrawal was appeased. She mulled over the purchase of a cute little cast iron pig soap dish (she has a huge pig collection) at the Naked Bohemian shop but at the last minute decided against it. The Naked Bohemian is a shop full of hippy paraphernalia and I had a flashback or two just walking around. Head bands, tie-dye everything, and peace signs as far as the eye can see. I lived through the sixties and this reminded me I wouldn’t want to do it again.
You’ll be surprised to hear that she’s been second guessing her pig purchase decision and has been reminding me about it every fifteen minutes all the way home. Off course I had my own issues. I found a cool backpack made from feed sacks that caught my eye. Just what everyone needs, right? Every time she mentioned the soap dish I immediately brought up the damn backpack. We’ll both still whining about it today.
The trip home was a pleasant drive and we stopped along the way to snap a few pictures at a group of smaller lakes and ponds. These two were taken at Purity Lake. A small puddle out in the woods in the middle of almost nowhere. A really beautiful spot. It has greatly improved the look of my desktop already.
All in all it was a pleasant day except for the good food we never had. We were so busy farting around we forgot to stop and eat. We decided to stop on the way home but we passed only one restaurant along the unpopulated route we traveled and it was totally unacceptable. We finally ate late in the afternoon at a place just ten minutes from our home. Oh well, nothings perfect.
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After spending the entire day yesterday laying around like a big lump I went to sleep and spent eight more hours doing the same thing. I came awake this morning feeling somewhat better but still not quite back to what I consider normal. More snow through the nite was just the cherry on top of this week. I’m afraid this winter has started badly with more than two and a half feet of snow before New Year’s Day. I have the feeling we’ll be buried the entire winter. Yeah for us!
In past years I joked about SNIRT season here in Maine. That’s a mixture of SNow and dIRT for all you non-Mainers. It could be a record setting year if this photo is any indication. If this weather pattern continues with a snow storm every two or three days things could get really interesting. Just west of here in the White Mountains the ski resorts are already celebrating. They have close to a five foot base and expert much much more. They could be skiing well into April and May if they’re lucky. At least someone is reaping the benefits from all this damn snow. Unfortunately I haven’t figured a way to make money from this snow but I’m continuing to explore many possibilities.
The post-Christmas cleanup continues and will take a little longer than expected. It’s hard to believe such a small group of people could create such devastation in just two days. I almost had to use a snow shovel to clean the debris from the living room. I actually lost my cat for a while when he burrowed into the pile and disappeared.
I’ve just about finished my New Year’s resolutions and should be posting them in a day or so. They would have been done sooner but I got caught up in my reading of Sherlock Holmes stories and put them on the back burner for a few more days.
More snow and ice expected tomorrow so hurry up and make your travel plans to come visit us here in Maine. We have it all; SNOW, ICE STORMS, SLEET, SLUSH and of course SNIRT.
AND THANKS TO PEDDLER FOR THIS REMINDER
THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTY ONE SHOPPING DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS
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