Tuesday, October 7, 2008

New Hampshire - Maine


Friday afternoon we were in Laconia, NH and had not yet made arrangements for a campsite for the evening. Usually we have a reservation made or have called to make sure there is an opening. I called Willey Brook Campground in Wolfeboro and Beth told us to come on in. It turned out to be a lovely place to stay with old farm implements filled with flowers and little statues of deer and bears. Beth was very friendly and helpful when I told her we wanted to take the Mt. Washington boat ride on Lake Winnipesaukee, giving me directions and a map. We settled in for the evening and turned on our little heater. It was going to be in the high 30's, so we wanted to be cozy and warm.

Saturday dawned a gorgeous day. We drove into Wolfeboro and found a parking place right in front of the walkway down to the dock where the Mt. Washington comes in. Knowing that it was going to be a bit nippy on the boat ride, I had bundled up in layers and had the perfect opportunity to wear the hat that Jared, our grandson, had bought for me in Iceland. The boat departed at 11:15 and Gene found a protected place for me to stand, right behind the captain's enclosed area. I could take pictures from this spot without standing out in the 40 mph wind.
I clicked merrily away. There are large, expensive homes on the shore and a myriad of islands, also with homes. We learned that the building materials are transported to the islands during the winter when the ice has frozen and trucks can cross over to them.

We arrived at Weir's Beach about an hour later and passengers who had boarded there disembarked and another group boarded. The wind was behind us going back and I sat on the front deck and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Although I was unable to identify the place where our family stayed (it was over 55 years ago), Weir's Beach did seem familiar. It is quite possible that it is the beach where my Dad taught me to swim. We were back at the dock in Wolfeboro about 2:00. It was a wonderful, relaxing trip.

Sunday we attended church at the First Baptist Church in Wolfeboro. We were greeted warmly and invited to coffee fellowship after the service. Rev. George Faul brought the message from Acts 26 entitled "A Cut Flower Civilization". After church, we drove along the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee, but were unable to find a park for lunch. Gene finally found a lovely pull off by Mirror Lake and we had a picnic lunch there - in the RV as it was in the mid 60's outside.

On Monday, we were on the road to Maine - specifically Freeport and L. L. Bean Retail Store.
We arrived about 1:30 and browsed and shopped for 2 1/2 hours. Oh what fun! They have an Outlet Store also and we found several good buys there before we ventured across the street to the Retail Store. After we had worn ourselves out, we drove to Powtan to stay at Blueberry Pond Campground. Jan greeted us and gave us information about a good lobster place.

Today we went back to L. L. Bean to do more shopping and then on to Harraseeket Lobster in South Freeport, right on the dock at the end of Main St.. We ate fresh (cooked right on the spot) lobster, while looking out on Casco Bay. The weather was lovely - sunny and in the low 70's. I've now done all the things I wanted to do when I came to Maine - see the gorgeous fall leaves, shop at L. L. Bean and eat lobster.

Tomorrow we will head out for Mass. to visit aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. It's the beginning of our slow trek south.

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