Friday was quite an adventure. We woke up at 4:30 to drive my parents to the airport for their own trip and had decided the night before to just keep on driving, either to the Berkshires or to New Hampshire. I checked the weather and it was suppose to be slushy (snow and rain mix) in the Berkshires and just cloudy in the White Mountains, so we choose the later. After the airport, we continued north and saw something I’m definitely not ready to see yet… snow. We drove in a snowstorm for about an hour or two, until dawn broke and we crossed the border into New Hampshire. We actually had ice across our front bumper when we parked. But once we arrived in North Conway, all was well.
We first had breakfast at one of my favorite breakfast spots on the planet, Peaches. The restaurant is located inside a small cottage, and the interior is quaint and homey, like you’re eating at a friend’s grandmother’s house. Every table is covered in napkins set underneath a glass tabletop, with the napkins detailing past patron’s glowing reviews (and some illustrations) of their experience to Peaches. They’re fun to read and to see how far away some people have visited from. I got the pumpkin pancakes (yum yum) and Jeff got his usual two eggs, toast, sausage and homefries. Some things just never change.
After breakfast we did a little bit of shopping and browsing, stopping in little stores along downtown North Conway including a favorite of ours, Zeb’s General Store. After browsing the many aisles of maple syrup, jams & jellies, kitschy moose items and other New Hampshire gifts, we decided on some handmade soap and of course, penny candy. I even made a furry friend outside the store. We stopped by another favorite (just to look, not to ride) across the street, the Conway Scenic Railway. The train station is antique, along with the trains that are still running and operational. We took a train ride last year during the foliage season and it’s really the nicest way to relax and enjoy colors of a New England autumn.
After spending plenty of time in North Conway, we ventured out into the mountains and into Crawford Notch State Park. The scenery was amazing: twists and turns through forests peppered with reds, oranges, yellows, and browns, rocky cliffs and mountain peaks in the distances as well as to our sides, and all the while the perfect driving soundtrack (here and here) for such a gorgeous autumn day. We passed many trail heads and finally choose the trail towards Ripley Falls. After hiking through a canopy of golden birches, colorful maples and tall pines we came upon Ripley Falls, a 100 foot waterfall. It was breathtaking and certainly worth the hike (which really wasn’t a difficult one at that).
Our day trip to New Hampshire had the right amount of relaxing in a New England village, as well as being surrounded by expansive and colorful forests and mountains. All in all it was perfect, except for one thing: it was definitely too short. Next time we need to go for a week!
{for more of my day trip to the White Mountains photos, check out my Flickr}
