One last getaway: Squam Lake, New Hampshire

Upon writing this I've realized that we've been to New Hampshire 4 times since May. I find this surprising since, when we lived in Edmonton, we didn't even make it to the Rockies once a year. I suppose the difference is that the most northern part of New Hampshire we've driven to is only a 2 hours away, compared to the roughly 3.5 hours it took to get from Edmonton to Jasper. At any rate, we went to New Hampshire for the fourth time last weekend, to the small town of Holderness on Squam Lake.

We stayed in a pretty little B&B called the Squam Lake Inn, which reminded me very much (from the exterior anyway) of Green Gables. As we were out of the peak season it was fairly quiet in the Inn and I think there may have been only one other couple in residence on Sunday night. We stayed in the 'Bennet Cove' room, which was probably one of the smaller rooms, but the bed was comfy and that was the most we were concerned with. The breakfasts at the Inn were fresh cooked each morning, and varied from a cider french-toast-type-thing and bacon to a vegetarian omelette and Vermont sausage. Yum.

The Squam Lake Inn, we were in the room on the end.

We arrived late Saturday afternoon (check in wasn't until 3:00 pm), walked about for a little bit before heading out for dinner at the local pub called Walter's Basin. The pub reminded me a great deal of the Castle on King (where I worked for a short period) in atmosphere and style of dinning. Had it been summer we could have gazed the Lake while we ate, but being late in the fall the sun was mostly down by the time we were seated.

The weather on Sunday was a bit dodgy, but we still managed to have a good time. We made a little circuit from Holderness, to a slightly bigger, close by town called Meredith. There we stopped at a cluster of shops (mostly 'stuff shops'), but it was a pleasant way to kill part of the morning, especially as it rained. After that we continued to the Castle on the Cloud (cue a young girl singing wistfully about her imaginary sanctuary, if you wish). Before visiting the castle--mansion, really--we ate at the carriage house restaurant, which really used to be the carriage house for the mansion. The tables were set up inside the old horse stalls. After that we took a trolly car up to the house and toured around.

Once we were finished at Castle on the Cloud we decided to visit the Sandwich Creamery. It was a fun little side trip where you went from driving on a secondary highway, to a still paved, but much smaller road, to a gravel road, to a smaller gravel road that went down a very steep hill. No doubt the inhabitants of the Sandwich Creamery get snowed-in in the winter. We only spent 15 minutes at the Creamery, but it was a neat little place to stop. Payment for their goods (ice cream, cheese, and eggs) was on the honour system. We picked up some cheddar, looked at the sheep and cattle for a few minutes then headed back to the Inn.

The little shop at the Creamery.

Monday morning we grabbed breakfast, then set off for home. It was a short trip, but it was nice to get away even if it was only for 48 hours. Both Andrew and I agreed we really need to take a proper vacation where we can relax and rejuvenate, but it's going to have to wait until the spring. Of course at that point we'll have a little one with us, which will make vacationing a very different experience, but I'm hopeful we can manage--after all, lots of people manage to have lives (fun ones, even) after they have children, so we should be able to too.

Ciao,

Andrea