"Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost"
In 2007 Dan and I retired from work, hitched our 5th wheel to our truck, and hit the road. We are full time RV'ers so we take our home with us everywhere we go. We live by the credo "Home Is Where You Park It" and we have found Home in many an awesome setting! I created this blog to track our adventures as we travel around the US, Canada, and Mexico. Two of our goals include visiting all the State Capitals and as many of the Baseball Parks as possible, with everything else we can fit in between!
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
White Mountains National Forest
The White Mountains of New Hampshire are
part of the northern Appalachian Mountains and cover about a quarter of the
state and a small portion of western Maine .
Popular year round with summer tourists, winter sports enthusiasts, and those
looking for brilliant New England fall foliage,
you will find this National Forest busy no matter when you decide to visit. This
time of year you can hike, camp, visit waterfalls, swim in the Swift River, go zip
lining, stop at one of the commercial tourist attractions (such as Story Land
and Santa's Village), or visit Visitors Center or the science and nature
center. We opted for driving the scenic Kancamagus Highway (the locals call it
the Kanc), sometimes touted as the best scenic drive in New Hampshire, a lovely
winding road with multiple overlooks of the Pemigewasset Valley. We chose
several spots along the drive to pull over for small hikes, views of
waterfalls, and a picnic lunch along the river.
Here are some pictures we got along the way.
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Hampton Beach, New Hampshire
Hampton Beach, New Hampshire , is a beach resort located on the Atlantic Ocean , a popular tourist destination, and the busiest beach community in the state. Ocean Boulevard, which runs along the beach, includes a boardwalk, a multitude of vendors catering to the walkers-by, many seasonal hotels, and the Hampton Beach State Park . The Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom has been the center of attraction here for more than a century, and continues to draw top names from the entertainment world. From what we could gather on our one day visit, you had better arrive early if you want a decent place to park your car, and a spot on the beach to park yourself. We weren't there to hang out at the beach, more to just see what this place was all about, so parking further from the water for a lower price and a better walk didn't bother us at all. People of all ages could be found enjoying the activities - soaking up the sun, playing volleyball or Frisbee, building sand castles, or strolling the boulevard. Our senses were alive with the vibrant colors of beach towels and kitschy trinkets hanging from vendor stalls, smells from the ocean competing with food stand aromas, music playing from cars cruising up and down the street. We walked the mile long strip, up one side, down to the beach for a toe dip into the Atlantic , a stop for lunch at an unlikely Mexican restaurant, and back up the other side before calling it a day. Here are some snaps of the sights.
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Concord, New Hampshire
Our next New England
stop was New Hampshire , with the primary
purpose of visiting the Capitol in Concord ,
while using the rest of the week to tour other parts of the state. I don't
remember most of the state mottos, but somehow "Live Free or Die", New Hampshire 's famous
maxim, seems to stick with me. No, Bruce Willis didn't coin the phrase in Live
Free or Die Hard, but I can see how using this would appeal to movie
makers, it's catchy! (The motto comes from a statement written by the
Revolutionary General John Stark.) I didn't find much about the State House
itself to give it standout ranking. The building houses all the regular offices
such as the Senate Chambers, the Representatives Hall, The Office of The
Governor, the Secretary of the State's Office, and so forth. What I did find
interesting was their claim of "oldest continuously used legislative
chambers in America ".
There are a lot of "firsts" and "oldest" designations on
this side of the country, I've noticed. Some fun facts about New
Hampshire include: The first potato planted in the United States was at Londonderry Common Field in
1719; Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr., the first American to travel in space is from
East Derry, New Hampshire; in 1833 the first free public library in the United States was established in Peterborough .
Labels:
Capitol Building,
Condord,
July 2014,
New Hampshire,
State Capitals
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)