BK Olson, Travel Blogger

Category: New England

  • Mirror Lake 2

    Mirror Lake 2

    Click on the first photo in each group and scroll to see the square photos at full size.
    To start at the beginning of this series, visit New England at Last 2012

    Jim and I have been going round and round about these two pictures. I have them saved as Mirror Lake, but in looking at the map after googling Mirror Lake, we did not go in the area east of Lake Winnipesaukee, where Mapquest is pointing us and the pictures on the web show a much larger lake than this one that we visited. So for now I’ll call this Mirror Lake 2, not to be confused with the big one farther south.

    This quiet little lake was just beautiful. Jim insists that it’s not far from Lincoln and we saw it on the day we stayed close to home – the day we visited Woodstock and had the great beer. It would have been the perfect spot to pull out the lawn chairs and enjoy the quiet – had it not been raining again, of course. It was a beautiful serene lake, with no one around. Perfect place to put in a canoe and glide across the glass-like surface, trying to go slowly to make our disturbance minimal. Trying not make a sound to disturb the absolute silence. It was our own slice of heaven if only for a while.

    Next up: What About Bob?

    Happy trails,
    Barb

  • Local Brew

    Local Brew

    On yet another rainy day, we decided to check out the local shopping and the area close to Lincoln. We just started driving down a road, which ended up being a subdivision, but before we turned around and headed back, here was this beautiful waterfall beside the road. Like I said before, the rains may be a pain, but it’s keeping us in beautiful waterfalls.

    Click on the first photo in each group and scroll to see the square photos at full size.
    To start at the beginning of this series, visit New England at Last 2012

    Stay Away from the Chains

    Also as I’ve said before (time and time again, sorry) when we travel, we like to stay away from the chain restaurants and sample the local pubs and breweries. Just south of Lincoln, in the town of Woodstock there was a great one called Woodstock Inn, Station & Brewery. As the name implies, it offers lodging, informal dining and at the Brewery – the pub/brewery atmosphere that Jim and I just love. The brewery was a pretty small operation, so we didn’t get a tour. After several “samples” (we had to be sure), we decided their beer was very tasty and came back a couple more times during our trip. There is quite a selection of brews from which to choose and their website gives a great description of each, as well as a photo, so you can check the color. Check it out here. I love chicken salad sandwiches and I order one every chance I get – theirs was delicious!

    “On Christmas Day 1982, a century-old home on Main Street in North Woodstock became home to the Woodstock Inn, which then boasted four guest rooms, a 25-seat restaurant and a room for the owners up in the attic. Two years after it opened, the owners reached over to Lincoln to save a bit of that town’s past, its old train station. Sawed in half and carefully transported a few miles away to the Inn, that station became the Woodstock Station, allowing the expansion of the kitchen and the dining room, and larger owners’ quarters.” – READ MORE

    This was a very short day, but a great one – with a little beer buzz and yet another beautiful waterfall. Ahhh. I love vacation.

    Next up: Mirror Lake 2

    Happy trails,
    Barb

  • Mount Washington Hotel

    Mount Washington Hotel

    Grand History, Modern Luxury

    “As grand as the history behind it, Omni Mount Washington Resort, located in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, is gracious in ambiance and generous in amenities. A favorite New England retreat of presidents, poets and celebrities, the hotel delights every sense with enchanting music, refined dining and luxurious décor.” – READ MORE

    Once we saw this hotel from the road and found out they gave tours, we signed up. Since all of my photos of this beautiful hotel are rainy or actually have rain drops on the lens of the camera, I borrowed a picture from the website of this glorious Mount Washington Hotel for the top picture (the rest are mine). I don’t think they’ll mind, since I will be raving about this place during this entire post. Their picture is so beautiful. When we were there it was raining, so there were no reflections to be had. The website also has some additional pictures of the interior and the grounds which are just stunning and a timeline if you are interested in some extended history.

    We had an excellent tour guide who informed us of the back story of the hotel and how this beautiful hotel was imagined by Joseph Stickney, a Pennsylvania Railroad tycoon when he purchased the existing Mount Pleasant House and 10,000 acres of land in 1881. It took two years to complete the construction and on July 28, 1902, the front doors of this Grand Hotel opened to the public. Within a year, Joseph died and his wife Carolyn continued to operate the hotel until her death in the early 1930s.

    This beautiful hotel was the most luxurious hotel of its day, catering to wealthy guests from all over New England and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

    It’s a little pricey by my standards, but someday I’m going to treat myself. There are five restaurants on site plus Fabyan’s, with a wide variety of menus and pricing. We ate at Fabyan’s, which used to be one of three railroad stations back in the day. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was wonderful. I would highly recommend a stop here!

    Next up: Local Brew

    Happy trails,
    Barb

  • Beautiful Vermont

    Beautiful Vermont

    An old boyfriend of mine went on and on about Vermont all the while we went out. He was going to graduate from college and get a great job in beautiful Vermont. Although a lot of what he said I should not have believed, he grew up in PA so I assumed he knew what he was talking about when it came to Vermont. I’ve always wanted to go there, just to see what all the hubbub was about.

    Click on the first photo in each group and scroll to see the square photos at full size.
    To start at the beginning of this series, visit New England at Last 2012

    Day Trip!

    My current boyfriend and I decided we’d visit some antique shops on this day trip to Vermont. We figured out another circle drive, heading up 93 to St. Johnsbury, and then took 2 to 15. We discovered while chatting with the shop owner in Morrisville, that there’s a “circuit” of antique shops in this area and that we should visit some of them and end at a market near Waterbury for some apple cider donuts and lunch at his favorite restaurant. Of course we always do what we’re told (especially when donuts are involved) so off we went.

    At Jefferson we headed south on 108 on a beautiful drive to Stowe. Stowe lies in a valley between Mount Mansfield and other peaks of the Green Mountains to the west and the Worcester Range to the east. Mount Mansfield is the highest peak in Vermont at 4,393 feet. The summit is in Underhill and was absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, for as beautiful as I was saying that Vermont is, I didn’t get any pictures. I guess that settles that. I HAVE to come back, so I can finish this blog!

    The antique shops were wonderful as Mr. Shopman promised, but my obsession with antiques is mostly in the form of window shopping, because there’s just not a lot of shelf space left in our house (nor suitcase space for the trip home). I had one spot left on my tray of perfume bottles for this little beauty. After speaking with my antique guru friend, she suggested that rather than give up my search for beautiful perfume bottles, I should start the search for another tray. I love the way she thinks!

    We made our way to Cold Hollow Cedar Mill in Waterbury Center for the infamous apple cider donuts and to have lunch as suggested. We never found the restaurant he was raving about, but I’ll have to say the donuts were delicious. And I’m OK with having dessert first.

    All the while we were in New England, we were on the lookout for moose. We looked high and low, even thought about one of those tours where they guarantee you see one by going out at night and “shining” them. That is not the way I want to see my first moose, so I was thrilled when we finally got to see one in the wide open! Oh no, this one is metal? Dammit!

    We can’t really go anywhere near the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream factory in Waterbury without taking a tour, now can we? Of course we liked the free samples at the end, but the tour was very informative and fun. This company’s mission makes it a pretty impressive business example to follow, unlike a lot of companies out there these days. It makes the higher prices for their ice cream a little more justified. If more companies were run like this, this world would be a better place. It was a beautiful day and a great tour. That’s enough about ice cream – I’m starting to get hungry!

    We turned east on 89 to 302 and Montpelier (the capital) and past Woodville, NH, where we picked up 112 back to Lincoln. Along the way, we stopped at a small park along the road, with a beautiful reservoir and a small dam. The banks of trees and the gleaming water made this a gorgeous stop. Jim twisted his ankle a bit, which could have put a damper on things, but he was a trooper and suffered through it.

    I’ll have to say, I can see a whole week or maybe even two on a future vacation to explore more of Beautiful Vermont.

    Next up: Mount Washington Hotel

    Happy trails,
    Barb

  • Another Day in Paradise!

    Another Day in Paradise!

    Click on the first photo in each group and scroll to see the square photos at full size.
    To start at the beginning of this series, visit New England at Last 2012

    When we left home, the Weather Channel gave us a pretty glum outlook for the two weeks we were going to be in New England. Our plane landed in a downpour, we drove all the way to our condo in torrential rains, but for the most part we lucked out on the outdoor portions of our trip. Most of our photos are on the dark side, with ominous clouds hovering over the mountaintops, but I don’t mind – they just add another beautiful element to the photos. I guess there’s really nothing you can do about the weather, except complain and stay in, neither of which were good options.

    We left in the morning for a circle drive, north on I93 past Franconia Notch State Park again to 3 to 302 with a shortcut south on Bear Notch Road to 112 and back home. Intermittent rain (what a surprise) but not cold, so we’re good. More stunning overlooks, beautiful trees, so lush and green. We really had no idea what we’d see, we were just on a relaxing drive, on vacation with no distractions.

    We found ourselves stopping for random shots along the highway. Finally we had to pull over and there happened to be a small parking area, so we whipped into it. While we were fumbling for a map, we looked up and there was the Mount Washington Hotel (see below)!

    We googled the Mount Washington Hotel, found out they gave tours, and returned a couple days later to check it out. More about that later!

    Say what you will about the rain, but it kept us in fabulous waterfalls all the while we were there. Silver Falls was right next to the road and was fantastic!

    It’s funny how you think two weeks will be enough in a certain area, but you just open up a can of worms, because there are so many waterfalls and trails to hike and covered bridges to see. And can you imagine this in an autumn blaze? OMGosh. This is definitely a place to return!

    Next up: Beautiful Vermont

    Happy trails,
    Barb