April 2023
New Hampshire is mostly comprised of small towns with homes on large plots of land. Even Durham, the college town, has only two bars. The state reminds me of Norway. Most people I met were friendly and happy to strike up a conversation. This was my third trip to New Hampshire. I started out in Lee where I stayed with the very fun couple and excellent hosts, Barb and Ryan whom I met through my friend Julie though not from her time living in New Hampshire, but rather where she lives now near Park City, Utah. We shared some great meals and Barb introduced me to Ghost Tequila which makes for a very tasty spicy Margarita. Spending time with them definitely helped raise my spirits and made for a fulfilling trip.
LEE / DURHAM. Barb and Ryan brought me to the budding, I mean bustling, town of Durham where the college is located. Nice buildings as one would expect for a college. We had a great meal at Ciao Trattoria and Wine Bar, started with the Red Eye pizza which was surprisingly good (who would know to put together pepperoni and spicy honey) and I enjoyed my Shrimp Fra Diavolo. The area is quite lovely with green rolling hills. Barb and Ryan said that the green was unusual for this time of year and that normally things would start to brown by now. It is still raining in New Hampshire as I write this on the first day of May.
MOUNT MAJOR / ALTON BAY. Mount Major is in the Lakes region at Alton Bay on Lake Winnipesaukee. I went here to hike the Mount Major Boulder Loop Trail (Orange to Blue) on the one sunny day I had in New Hampshire. It is a great hike with amazing views at the top. It is rated moderate on All Trails but in many other states would be considered hard. Definitely want to do this on a dry day as the rocks are steep and very slick when wet. Afterward, I drove to Wolfeboro for lunch, another cute lakeside town and then back to Alton Bay for a solid chocolate peanut butter ice cream at Stillwells.
PORTSMOUTH. A lovely town with loads of history, beautiful buildings, lots of stores, great cafes, and on a Saturday, loads of people. The first time I came here was just before Halloween and an early snowstorm hit. It was beautiful. This time it was end of April, a dry day, but cold. I spent the first part of my day at Kaffee Vonsolin which is small but has fantastic coffee and a reasonably priced breakfast sandwich. I parked in a garage so had no issues but my friend Natalie parked on the street and even though she paid for her spot, still wound up with a ticket. So I guess park in a garage if you can.
GORHAM / WASHINGTON – WHITE MOUNTAINS. I ended up here as I found inexpensive lodging and I was tired and hungry after driving for many hours. This is a small town with limited food options and the draw is Mount Washington. I stayed at the Top Notch Inn which is a no frills roadside motel but clean and relatively new furnishings and ate at Big Day Brewing which has mediocre food, but fantastic beer, great ambience and friendly people. It was raining for most of my stay but the rain let up for a few hours which allowed me to head up to check out some incredible waterfalls on Mount Washington. Hiking was limited due to avalanche and flooding concerns but several waterfalls were accessible via short walks and they are the best I have seen to date. So, an upside to all the rain.
LITTLETON. Cute town on the river with some nice shops for small gifts and covered bridges.
MANCHESTER. Not the best of cities, but it does have some decent dining in the downtown and is home to Dancing Lion Chocolate with master chocolatier Richard Tango-Lowy. His chocolates are not only wonderful, they are works of art. I did not make it to Manchester on this trip but considered it to go to this shop.