Visitors from the Lone Star State

I wouldn't want to move back to Hurst.  However, that doesn't mean that I don't miss my friends.  Email is good. Cards are good, and the phone will do in a pinch.  None of those communication devices is as good as face to face.  Drake and I were both delighted when Paula and Doris (friends of long standing) decided to visit us in New Hampshire and peep the leaves.  They arrived right on time and stayed with us for five days.

We prepared carefully for the visit.  Our 'chalet' has wonderful windows, some comfortable furniture, our 40" flat screen (sitting next to a 30" picture tube Sony - belonging to the house), a sturdy large wooden table and chairs.  The kitchen has nice appliances, but you can stand in the center of it and touch EVERY wall.  In other words, it's hard for more than one person to be in it.   I knew food preparation would be hard, so I planned our meals carefully.  Drake and I were both a little anxious - OK, I was anxious - because as whacko as the kitchen is here, the bedrooms are just plain squirrelly. 

First, there are three bedrooms, but only one closet.  One bedroom is so small and impacted by the staircase, the bunk bed in the room is such a squeeze you have to crawl on your hands and knees to open the window.   There's no possibility of a closet in this room because of the oil burner in the room.  The second bedroom has no closet, but it does have a queen size bed AND a bunk bed set.  It's such a tiny, tiny room for that much furniture.  We also have a sleeper sofa in the only common area of the house.  I was anxious that our friends would be gracious about the bed situation while they were here, but on the plane would be dissing us BAD.  

Well.........I'm pretty sure nobody got dissed on the plane over the beds because we all fell into our respective beds exhausted every evening.  Every day was such fun, and we were on the go from early until just before sunset.  Nobody wanted to miss the sunset, or the adult beverages that accompanied it every evening.    The visit was also helped by having absolutely glorious weather - mid 70's and sunshine every day.  Oh, and the leaves were at PEAK.  We went on a tram ride to the top of a mountain, ate maple everything (maple walnut ice cream, maple drops, maple sugar candy, maple syrup, and the creme de' la creme:  maple cotton candy - divine!)  We went to all the attractions at the Franconia Notch State Park - lots of rushing water, impressive granite cliffs, and waterfalls.  We three even dipped our tootsies into the cold, cold Pemiwagasset River BRRRR!  

 We got totally lost in the Great Vermont Corn Maze, drove through a covered bridge, took a zillion pictures of leaves,  drove a National Scenic Byway, visited a maple sugar house, bought jewelry, and went to a craft show.  We picked apples out of an orchard - both for ourselves and for the food bank.  We bought fresh pressed apple cider and ate lobster.  We went to a county fair and admired the animals and vegetables, rode the ferris wheel and the carousel (yes, we three like merry go rounds).  We ate some corn dog 'seconds'. - State Fair Corndogs don't need to sweat the New Hampshire version of that fair delicacy.   We visited a Science Center which exhibited regional animals (those injured or orphaned that can't make it in the wild) to enjoy the woods and learn about the environment and the animals' habitats.  We visited the Frost House - summer home of Robert Frost and enjoyed reading several of his poems over the course of a nature walk on the property.  On the way back to the plane, we visited the state capitol building of New Hampshire.  Doris spearheaded a challenging puzzle in the evenings while we all watched the Rangers play baseball.   

I have the pictures to prove that we let no grass grow under our feet.  I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as we enjoyed the activities they represent.

https://picasaweb.google.com/jalyss1/2011TouringWithDorisAndPaulaNewHampshire?authkey=Gv1sRgCMXNjdPhxZWW8wE#