New Hampshire Explorer

THE UPPER VALLEY

2009-07-03T14:51:00.000-07:00

Walpole, N.H. June 2

Up I-89 to Woodstock, VT, then down I-91 to the Vermont Welcome Center at Guilford to install the new (12^th) edition of Vermont, An Explorer’s Guide! It was interesting to hang out there for a couple of hours and watch who comes in—a whole busload of young Hassids from Brooklyn were there most of the time—all wearing black with wide-brimmed black hats and white shirts. This was their picnic stop enroute to New Hampshire! Where in New Hampshire they didn’t know.

What a relief to get off the highway onto Rt. 63 and wind up along Spofford Lake but I suspect I missed something by not taking the River Road from West Chesterfield up through Westmorland Depot. It’s a glorious day and beautiful here at the Inn at Valley Farms! Jacki suggested that I pick up a bagette and cheese from the Village Grocery Store that’s owned by Burdick’s—which I did and have rarely had a better bagette and Baby Swiss from Boggy Meadow Farm down on River Road was fabulous!!—It just doesn’t get much better than sitting in the sun and looking at the flowers – I took a walk up to the top on the hill—with a view of the Black Angus and chickens—the barns and hills. There’s a sense of expanse and peace here—inside and out. The glass-walled sunporch overlooking the garden with a guest fridge and pantry with tea/coffee and cookies and then all those formal old spaces—the dining room, parlor and living room. Jacki grew up down the road and this was vacant for years, up for sale and there was a threat of a developer wanting it to cut the 105 acres into lots. My room is a classic maple canopy without a canopy and woven cover and the antique dresser is special, elegant lamp. I’m in a chair by the window with the birds trilling and something else (a frog?). Better do some work before I run entirely out of steam!

SUNAPEE REGION

2009-07-03T14:34:00.000-07:00

Enfield, Feb 26, 2009

Few rooms have seemed as welcoming as this corner bedroom at Shaker Hill Inn: extraordinarily wide pumpkin pine floorboards, a graceful birdseye dresser in the corner, an antique Shaker-style rocker and a nice armchair, a desk with a blue pottery lamp, lovely warm colored and patterned coverlet and a patchwork quilt, and a country-style armoire. The ornamental strip above the wainscoting shows some vaguely institutional, possibly Shaker scene and the bath is steps from the bed but around the corner, out of sight. There are shades on the windows and a lovely view outside beyond blue plaid homespun-style curtains—I’m all tucked in!

Two mid-day runs at Mt. Sunapee wiped me out! The idea was to ski first thing in the morning but it was snowing so I toured Sunapee Harbor Cottages, Twin Doors and the 1806 House—by which time everyone was indoors eating lunch and the sky was clearing! The rental crew were lovely and the snow was perfect. Double Diomand Café a mile west of Sunapee’s entrance looked like a great little breakfast place but I pressed on, starved—through the Mt. Edge Resort tour to Newbury News, a great sandwich spot which – it turns out—is closing forever this weekend. Bubba’s next door looks fine, with a view of the Newbury “harbor”. West on Rt. 103 to Bradford and off into the boonies to find the Rosewood Inn, the nicest of all I’ve seen in the Sunapee area. I should have gone with it for Yankee—oh dear! Guilt! At least now I know.

The Candle Light B&B in Bradford is homey and rather cluttered, nie but seemingly expensive for what it is.

On up Rt. 114 through Sutton—a classic meetinghouse, former tavern and gathering around the common—to North Sutton and Kezar Lake. The Folansbee Inn is okay, with guestrooms each nicely decorated and lovely new suites on the third floor but the first floor spaces have lost their charm.

The Dragonfly, a contemporary home on the site of the original Folansbee Inn (the current inn was its annex) is a gem of a B&B with lovely lake views—Brits Christie and Ian welcomed me with tea and chocolate—reviving but just barely and there was no time left to revisit New London so

I headed up I-89 to Enfield and found Shaker Hill Road in the fading light—but the inn was dark, the sign down. Turns out I was expected next Thursday. Next morning I toured The Shaker Museum, newly open in winter and more interesting than in its previous incarnation, thanks to my guide.

The Monadnock Region: Roads Less Taken

2009-02-22T06:44:00.000-08:00

This will be the 7th edition of New Hampshire, An Explorer's Guide, a book I've co-authored off and on since 1991. This edition was originally due out this May but 2008 brought some unexpected upsets for a project that began with three authors and is suddenly down to two. I had planned to cover just the Monadnock Region and Connecticut Valley but now have to scurry around the White Mountains and Lakes as well. It's an imprecise science, catching the spark and conveying all the reasons to visit each region but nailing the details abut lodging, dining and shopping as well.

Mt. Monadnock itself, said to be the third most frequently climbed mountain in the world, towers 2,000 feet above the surrounding roll southwestern N.H. It's roughly just an hour--and-a-half drive from Cambridge, Ma. but it's always a puzzle--even to people who live there--about which roads to come by.

Of course the neither the Mass. or NH maps show roads on the other sides of their borders and New England maps show few of the back roads in this region--which is all about windy, hilly, wooded back roads connecting white wooden villages and 19th century mill towns, with Mt. Monandock poppinng up out of the meadows and trees at regular intervals.

Snow was forecast for the next day but today the roads were bare and the sun bright so I made the most of it, zipping out Rt. 2 and up Rt. 140 to 202 in Rindge, stopping at Lilly's for a lunch. The woodstove was glowing and my table overlooked the pond; food was fast and friendly--when she saw the cover of my book the waitress said it was the one she hads sent to her boyfriend in the army in Fiji!

Woodbound Inn is hidden away in the woods by Contoocook Lake.
It's a landmark old inn that was bought by local restauranteurs Aylmer and Cindy Given last February and totally rehabbed--now with a sleek, inviting restaurant--Aylmer's Grille--and luxury rooms upstairs with the old-style rooms in the annex and cottages geared to children and dogs. Weddings are a big specialty and everyone is delighted that the old place has been salvaged.

Cross-country skiing trails here and throughout the region are still unusable, thanks to a Dec. 11 ice storm that decimated the region.

On along the lake and through the woods into Jaffrey , the crossroads town that's the main gateway to Monandock State Park.

From Becky Newton in the chamber office I learned about the on-going restoration of the old Park Theatre. New places to eat here: Grand FInale bakery & cafe looks great and The substantial Sunflower Cafe is moving in from Fitzwilliam. Lots of antiques shops.

Jaffrey Center, just west on Rt. 124 is plain beautiful, with a splendid white clapboard meetinghouse. Novelist Willa Cather is buried in the cemetery but it was too snowy to visit her and the inn was closed so I pushed on up to the state park, which is up a bumpy back road. According to park manager Patrick Hummel, some 100,000 people climb Mt. Monadnock every year. It's roughly 4 hours rountrip to the summit and beware coming weekdays in June and September when school groups invade on weekdays and scout groups on weekends.

Continuing north this becomes the "Dublin Road", emerging in the middle of that village beside Yankee Magazine.

I continued north to Harrisville, a picture perfect early 19th century mill village that has loomed large in our own family's history.

The sun was setting and so I just snapped a photo and pushed open an unpromising door in a mill and found myself in one of the most colorful stores anywhere: Harrisville Designs is filled with the bright wools and creations made from it, also the famous looms produced here. There are also weaving classes and plenty more but it's all in the book.

Getting lost is inevitable on these roads and by pure luck I found my way to Fitzwilliam just as the sun was setting and settled into Ashburn House, a fabulous B&B.