New England, NH/VT

By the time we crossed into New Hampshire, our perfect weather had run out and it was drizzling. We drove past Mount Washington (highest mountain in the Northeast), because we couldn't even see it in the thick clouds, but we did stop for a short hike to Glen Ellis Falls in the White Mountains. 

We stopped for the night in North Conway, which is a cute little ski town in winter and stayed in the Kearsarge Inn. We ate dinner at a place called Beef'n'Ski (haha, had to try it!) and walked to Zeb's General Store. Zeb's was an adorable, two-story mountain lodge full of knickknacks, books, candies, toys, and country canned goods, like local maple syrup (yes, please!). This section of stuffed animals had a talking, animatronic moose, and two humanoid robots.

The next morning, we walked across the street to a quaint breakfast diner where Owen ordered the Waffle Charcuterie platter and scarfed it all down.

Next up was a trip down the Kancamagus Scenic Highway, which follows the Swift River as it winds its way through the White Mountain National Forest. The rain was still on and off in the morning, so we stuck pretty close to the road, but there were ample opportunities to get out and admire Mother Nature's handiwork. The river is mostly shallow and clear, tumbling over rocks in peaceful, trickling rapids and waterfalls.

There are covered bridges dotting the area, and the family gave me a hard time, but I wanted to get close and photograph at least one. Some people are really into covered bridges! Simpler times and all that. I didn't really have a good reason when Hadley asked, "why did they cover the bridge?"

Some spots were not as shallow, like this rocky gorge.

The Basin reminded me of a manmade tube ride, but it was a natural flume carved into granite by the power of water. Amazing! And just off the highway. New Hampshire sure is pretty. I would love to come back here in the fall!

After lunch, we continued into Vermont, and the rain picked up. This was the best pic I got of Montpelier and the golden domed capitol, since it was blocked off for road construction. Poor Vermont was still recovering from severe flooding that had occurred just a couple of weeks earlier, and we could see flood debris just off the road.

A little further down the road, we figured that Ben & Jerry's HQ was worth a stop, rain or not. And we were right! We all got extravagantly flavored scoops from their walk-up windows and strolled the grounds when the rain finally stopped.

Of course, the tour includes the Flavor Graveyard, which is a walk through history of flavors that have come and gone, like Neapolitan Dynamite and PB&J. Each "de-pinted" flavor is commemorated with a tombstone and clever epitaph.

Once we'd seen the sights, we finished the last 30 minutes to Burlington for our hotel a little early, and the kids finally got to go swimming! Always a highlight when on the road.

The next morning, we went to check out downtown and Lake Champlain. Cloudy skies had cleared, and Waterfront Park provided a green backdrop and walking path along the lake. We can never get enough cannons! And I'm thankful that Hadley is still excited to match her Mom!

Right off the lake, they had these awesome swings periodically to take in the view. We didn't see Champy, but it was a beautiful day on the lake.

Back in downtown, they were having the Festival of Fools, which seemed to be just general fun with all kinds of performers, acrobats, and jugglers on the street. But the heart of this little city (whose population is under 45,000) felt very walkable and charming with lots of shops and restaurants. 

Alas, this was our major car day, so we couldn't stay in Burlington forever. We got some nice pictures at the rest stop before we crossed the border into New York. On to the next!