Daytrip to Manchester Vermont

Manchester, Vermont has become a favorite place to visit. The beautiful landscape and quaint downtown area provides something for everything. This past winter we hiked to Freedlyville Quarry. Todays visit was a different agenda.

Hildene The Lincoln Family Home: The home of President Lincoln’s son Robert is a must visit if you are in the area. From the beautiful home, stunning gardens and views, adorable goat farm and impressive Pullman Train Car there is so much to see here. There are trails for walking this expansive grounds. If you don’t feel like walking there is a golf cart that brings visitors around to the different point of interests. We spent a little over two hours exploring the grounds.

Downtown Manchester: The downtown area has a variety of shops and restaurants. It’s such a cute area to wander around. My favorite was the little park next to a dam. We saw a sign that they are planning on creating a river walk, which will be beautiful.

Dorset Quarry: After all the walking around we were hot and wanted to swim. We discovered Dorset Quarry last summer and it has become a favorite place to rock jumping and swim. Since our last visit they have become more strict with charging a fee, signing a waiver and the parking lot closed at 6pm. It is still one of our favorite swimming holes.

Unfortunately our favorite restaurants were closed as were many others on a Monday. This was disappointing as one of the things we love about Vermont is the food and craft beers. We ended up grabbing something quick on the way home.

Next time we visit Manchester the following places are on our list to visit:

• Drive up Mt. Equinox

• Equinox Hotel

• Past Time Pinball

• Explore local hiking trails and waterfalls.

If you get the chance to visit Manchester, Vermont I highly recommend it. I know we will continue to visit this charming area.

Why are Adult Friendships Hard

“Adult friendships are hard.” I cannot tell you how many times I have been with someone or with a group of women and this topic comes up. Why is it so hard to find or maintain friendships as adults?

When we are in our teens and early 20’s our friends are our lifeline. There are constant parties, celebrations and just simple get together’s. As adulthood goes on, we start our careers, get married, buy a house and have children, not necessarily in that order, but our social life goes to the wayside. You may have the occasional get together and then there is the common phrase, “let’s get together soon, call me, text me.” Then those calls and texts never happen. It doesn’t mean we don’t care about these people or we don’t want to spend time with them, but between balancing relationships, careers, kids and household responsibilities it can be difficult to find the time and energy. So how do we fix it?

As stated in my popular blog post, Why I Don’t Have a Group of Girlfriends, I am fortunate to have a variety of friendships, but it doesn’t mean I’m great about keeping up with them. Have you heard the saying, you never regret a workout? I feel the same way about spending time with friends. I may feel too tired or not have the energy, but once I spend time with my friends I always feel energized and wonder why I don’t do it more often.

This past year I wanted to improve my relationships with my friends. Having a teenage daughter I feel it is important to show her what healthy female friendships look like. I made a pact with myself that I would reach out to a friend daily. This could be a phone call, text, or get together. I know it sounds like a lot, but thanks to modern technology it’s pretty easy. Something amazing happened by doing this. I felt better connected to the people I care about. I have reconnected with friends, made more in person plans and kept them, had some amazing conversations and just overall good times.

You may be reading this and thinking, this is all great, but what if I don’t have anyone I can reach out to. This is where you need to do some self exploration. Outside of your career, family, household responsibilities what are your interests, hobbies, what do you feel passionate about. It may take some time to figure out. This is where the hard part comes in. Get out of the house and start exploring these interests. Sitting behind a screen joining difficult social media groups are not going to provide you the in person connections we need.

If you like exercise join a class or a gym, if you like nature join a hiking group or attend a event at your local outdoor center. Are you a foodie, enjoy wine or craft beers, check out local events at restaurants. Love animals, volunteer at an animal shelter. Love arts and crafts, see what groups your local library has to offer. Have kids, scheduled a play date at the local playground with one of your kids friends and their parent.

I know it can be challenging putting yourself out there and you probably won’t find a friend right away, but you will find something you enjoy and in return can provide connection with others, which can turn into friendships. If you find this all too overwhelming or anxiety provoking, I highly recommend scheduling a couple visits with a theraepist to work through these thoughts and feelings.

So ladies ages 30 and older lets change the stigma that adult friendships are hard. I would love to know how you stay in touch with your friends.

24 Hours in The White Mountains

The White Mountains are a special place to my husband and I as we have spent a lot of time exploring the area for the past 20 years. When we had to be in Plymouth, New Hampshire for a sporting event we decided to make a night of it and do some wandering. Since it was last minute we lucked out by finding an amazing Airbnb.

Located in Wentworth, New Hampshire is a relaxing camping AirBnB, Kay’s Place. There are three campers located on private property with two of them directly on a stream. We were fortunate to stay in a camper on the stream.

The site was perfect for the night and had everything we needed plus more. There is a bonus of a small waterfall with wading pool.

The next day we spent our time exploring. First stop was a short hike into Rainbow Falls in Plymouth.

Next was a drive along the Kancamagus Highway making a couple stops along the way.

Sabbaday Falls: a beautiful short hike to view Sabbaday Falls.

Rocky Gorge: Unfortunately no swimming here, but a beautiful gorge to check out.

Lower Falls: a popular swimming whole on the Kancamagus. We did not swim here on this visit.

Food: We stopped at Barley and Salt in North Conway located in the plaza for The Outlets. They had amazing fresh food, refreshing drinks, friendly staff and fun environment. Highly recommend the pretzel and cheese dip.

Swimming: Unfortunately we could not find our first choice for swimming so we checked out Sawyers Rock which is located along Route 302 in Bartlett. After passing the sign for The White Mountains you park along the road right before the bridge and walk a few feet through the woods to a large rock. There is a small sandy beach and a couple rocks to jump off from.

We spent a few hours swimming, jumping and enjoying the sun before heading home.

One final stop before leaving North Conways was White Mountain Cupcakery. It was my husbands birthday so we stopped to pick up a sweet treat.

It was a great 24 hours in the White Mountains. When we are traveling around New England I bring my Waterfalls of New England book or some other hiking book to help with our exploring. Even though we have spent a lot of time in The Whites we still manage to visit places we have not been before.

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Day Trip Essentials

It is almost summer time, a popular time for people to take day trips. I am frequently asked what are my essentials for day trips. It can be overwhelming knowing what to bring for your day trip. You don’t want to bring too much, but also don’t want have to buy something you already own Below are my top items for day trips.

1. Guide Books: Apps can be great, but I love my guidebooks for hiking and waterfall chasing. I always have at least one guide book with me so we can explore local trails and/or waterfalls. I also like being able to make notes in my guidebooks.

2. Large Tote Bag: I love my 31 Utility Tote. It carries anything we might need for the day from change of clothes, bathing suits and towels or hiking boots.

3. Light Weight Compact Chairs: These lightweight Iclimb chairs are perfect if you need a place to sit outside, but don’t want to carry around the bulky camp chairs.

4. Mini Backpack: This backpack has been perfect for keeping my wallet, water bottle, guidebook and anything else small I might need for a day trip.

5. Pop-Up Changing Tent: There have been many times we have been stuck without a place to change and struggled to change in the car. I bought this pop up tent which has made changing so much easier, especially with kids.

6. Portable Charger: This has been great for those days that we are away from the car for long periods at a time and need to charge our phones.

7. Skin Care Products: sunscreen, face sunscreen and lip balm with SPF are a must have year round.

8. Travel Microfiber Towel: This has been handy when we need to try off, but don’t have any regular towels with us. Since it’s small it’s easy to through in my bag.

9. Yeti Bottles: We carry water with us wherever we go. Having our yetis that hold ice most of the day and keep our water cold is important to us.

10. Yeti Cooler: We have this for several reasons, to pack drinks and snacks, if we want to stop at a farm stand, specialty food store or grab some beer we have a place to keep it cold. It is also a good seat.

Depending on what we are doing there are other things we bring as well, but these are our top ten basics for day trips. You can also check out my Amazon Page for more ideas. Please let me know what is in your must have items for day trips.

This page contains affiliate links for which I may receive a small amount of compensation at no cost to you.

Hitting a Milestone Birthday

This past fall I had a milestone birthday, 40. Many of my friends are already 40 so it had not seemed like a big deal. My friends and family had thrown me a surprise party a week before and I always take my birthday off to pamper myself. Many people did not believe I was turning 40, they thought I was younger thanks to good genes and a good skin care routine. Other’s told me their 40’s have been the best years of their life. Heading up to the big day I was feeling good. When I turned 30 I struggled a little, but I had truly enjoyed my 30’s.

Bring on the day before my birthday. I was at work, which was chaotic. As I was leaving my co-workers were wishing me happy birthday and talking about my plans for the day. I walked out of work, got in my car and started crying. Holy crap, I’m turning 40, I could be halfway through my life, I have made some good decisions, I have made some bad ones. I am missing some relationships from my past and questioning others. Am I a good mother? What about my career choice, is this what I want to do the rest of my life. The downward spiral went on.

I pulled out my phone and texted my best friend, Desiree. Her and I have been friends with since third grade and she knows everything about me. In 7th grade, she moved down south but this never impacted our friendship. Now as both of us were closing in on our 40’s we are still just as close and are always there to support each other.

“So I’m having a little bit of a panic attack about turning 40.” She comes back with the light hearted texts, “but we are only 35.” “Today you are still 39” which made me smile. I told her that my daughter was getting ready to play her last middle school field hockey game and I was freaking out about having a high schooler soon. I wrote about my relationships and career and wondered if I made the right choices. I summed up my text with “Obviously I am overthinking everything .” Then the mile long supportive text that caused the tears to continue to flow, but with the words of wisdom I needed.

She validated the choices I have made over my almost 40 years of life and reminded me off all the goods things in my life.

My marriage: My husband and I have spent almost 20 years together building a home, navigating life, raising a daughter and trying to live an adventurous life. We have had our struggles at times. Overall I think we have done a pretty good job creating a great life for ourselves. In a loving way Desiree reminded me that I put up with him everyday. I would say he more puts up with me and my crazy ideas everyday.

My daughter: Desiree acknowledged my fear of my daughter going to high school soon, but reminded me that being a mother is one of the best parts of my life. Watching my daughter grow and become the beautiful person she is makes me proud of her everyday. My daughter reminds me of the goods things in my life.

My Career: Desiree said she laughed to herself when I said I don’t know what I want to do with my life, “ It seems like you have done a hell of a lot already.” Since I was in high school I knew I wanted to be a Social Worker. I went full steam ahead in this career path, receiving my bachelors degree, then my masters, then my clinical license followed by some specialty certifications. I have worked in a variety of fields within social work. Many times questioning why I chose this profession as it is not always rewarding and very hard. Desiree reminded me I have one of the most difficult professions and I have done well in it. Luckily I have gotten to a place where I am truly helping others and have a good life balance. I’m still not sure if this is what I will do forever, but for now I am happy in my career, which I am not sure many can say going into their 40’s.

Our adventures: My husband and I have made travel and exploring a priority in our lives. We don’t do a lot of large trips, but love exploring around New England and giving our daughter different experiences. I have recently started doing some day trips with friends and this gives a different perspective of travel and someone who takes pictures of me. These adventures also allows me to grow my blog.

My friends: I am truly blessed to have some wonderful people in my life. As

I wrote about these friendships in my blog, “Why I Don’t Have a Group of Girlfriends. These relationships have only gotten stronger over the years.

As I drove home after my little meltdown thinking about all the things above my friend pointed out I felt a little better.

On my birthday I did my annual spa day followed by my husband and daughter cooking me dinner. The next couple days were filled with one on one time with my husband, a couple girls days and my daughters last middle school championship field hockey game, insert crying emoji.

I won’t lie I continued to be pretty emotional during those next few days, my poor husband and friends. As I got back into my routine I started to feel emotionally more stable. Do I still question some life decisions, absolutely, but this made me make some goals for myself such as reach out to a friend everyday, usually by text, but if time allows a phone call or a get together. Continue to work on my blog. Evaluate my career and continue to go on adventures. My best advice to gives others who reach a milestone birthday and struggle is to allow yourself to go through the emotions, but after a day or two, pull yourself together and continue on with your life. Evaluate what you want to change if anything and put goals in place. In the end celebrate it. I was so thankful to have my husband, daughter and friends around me to remind me what truly matters in life. Cheers to my 40’s being the best years yet.

Outer Banks Vacation

Outer Banks located on the coast of North Carolina has been on our to visit list for a while. This past April Vacation we made the trip. Below is how we spent the six days.

Saturday

We flew out of Boston to Raleigh, rented a car then headed east. We stopped at Tap House 1918 in Rocky Mount for some good local food and beer. The little over three hour drive was pretty uneventful with lots of farm land.

Townplace Suites by Marriott in Kill Devils Head was home until Thursday. The hotel was beautiful and updated. Our room had a small kitchen, table and chairs, lounging chair and two queen size beds. It was perfect for the week.

There were several amenities, an indoor pool, laundry, workout area and free breakfast with a good variety and lots of protein. Across the street was an outdoor pool with snack shack with private access to the beach. The pool and snack shake opens in May.

Sunday

The day started with a morning walk on the beach where we saw a pod of dolphins. Then on to explore Jockey’s Ridge State Park for 2 hours. The park was way better than expected. The sand dunes were so much fun to explore. For Star Wars Fans the beginning scene of The Force Awakens was filmed here.

We visited the Wright Brothers National Memorial, lots of great history and we did a lot of walking.

Lunch was the Outer Banks Brewing Station. They had a cool outside area. Twice during our vacation we ate here. We recommend the Lemon Grass Beer.

The afternoon was spent at the beach. But first a stop at Brew Thru, a Drive Thru Beer Store these are popular on the Outer Banks. We were those crazy New Englanders that jumped in the water. It felt like the Maine Ocean in June.

Thanks to TikTok I read about the Little Red Mailbox of Hope, which is a mailbox with journals that people leave inspirational quotes, sayings etc. It is located in Kill Devil Hills. We left our own message of Hope.

Monday

We were up early to head north but first a stop at Duck Donuts. Yum!

About a month before our trip we scheduled a wild horse tour with Wild Horse Adventure Tours. Today was the day for the tour. A tour guide drove us in a hummer along the beach highway and through the small neighborhoods of Carova looking for wild horses. We saw one of the two foals on the island, her name is Dove. Due to it being cold and windy not many of the horses were out, we saw about 10 horses. The tour guide gave us a lot of great history about the area. I loved exploring the rural community and driving the beach highway.

Carrituck Beach Light House is a lighthouse where you can climb to the top to get a panoramic view of the area. It was worth the fee and the climb to the top.

Duck Boardwalk was a fun boardwalk with nature views, shopping and food.

We found a hole in the wall restaurant, Two Roads Tavern, in Kitty Hawk which had delicious and fresh oysters.

We did two different hikes, one at Nags Head Woods Preserve and another at Sandy Run Park. We saw so many turtles at both parks. Both hikes were beautiful. Very flat, not the hills I am use to in New Hampshire.

We stopped at Jeannette’s Pier a fishing pier with fish tanks, gift shop and fishing gear rental. Then we finished the evening with a hike back out to Jockey Ridge to watch the sunset.

Tuesday

We got up at 6am to watch the sunrise on the beach.

We drove down Rt 12 to Hatteras Village where we caught the ferry to Ocracoke Island. This is a free ferry, but you can wait several hours. We lucked out and only had to wait 45 mins. The ferry ride is about an hour, then you drive about 15 to 20 minutes to the town. We parked the car and walked to lunch at Ocracoke Oyster Company. Another great serving of oysters.

After lunch we rented a golf cart from Wheelie Fun, which was so much fun exploring the small town. It reminded me of our day trip to Peaks Island in Maine.

We spent a couple hours on the island and stopped the Pony Pen to see more wild horses, then we caught the ferry back to the the main land. Before heading back to our hotel we stopped to check out the inn from The Nights and Rodanthe Movie.

Wednesday (Last Full Day)

We drove to Mateo and Roanoke Island to explore for the day. First stop was the Elizabethan Gardens. There was not a lot in bloom, but still beautiful.

Then onto Roanoke Island Festival Park where they have a small reenactment camp set up for the Lost Colony. The live interpreters were fun to interact with. We walked around downtown Manteo, such a cute area with shops, a lighthouse and water sports.

We visited the Aquarium, my daughter said she liked this one better than the Boston Aquarium. So many fun exhibits and staff with a lot of knowledge. Our favorites were the otters, turtles, sharks and alligators. We spent a couple hours here, longer than we expected. Reservation in advance are required and they do sell out.

The rest of the day was spent hanging out at the beach and pool.

Thursday we left the Outer Banks to head to Fayetteville to visit with a close friend from my childhood. On the way we stopped at the Alligator Refuge to drive around to see animals. I was hoping to see an alligator or a red wolf, but all we saw were turtles and a mom with her ducklings.

Take aways:

• Next time we want to do horseback riding and deep sea fishing.

• There has to be better rental car options. Our car from Budget had several issues and when we called for assistance they were not very helpful. Luckily my husband knows about cars and was able to fix the problem. The cost was very expensive for what we had.

• Instacart is wonderful to have groceries delivered to your hotel.

• Having a hotel with healthy and a variety of free breakfast options was great.

• The weather was not warm enough to enjoy a lot of beach time and ocean swimming.

• The good thing about visiting in April is it is their off season, so it was quieter and easy to get around.

Day Trip to Freedlyville Quarry

Vermont is my happy place, no matter the season. We recently needed an adventure, so we jumped in the truck and headed to Vermont for a day trip. The goal was to go ice skating at Freedlyville Quarry, but with the unpredictable winter weather we were not sure if it was possible.

Our day trip started by entering Vermont from New Hampshire at Bellows Falls. We stopped and checked out a couple waterfalls thanks to my Vermont Waterfalls Guidebook. The first waterfall was Twin Falls, located on Forest Road, which is a oneway dirt road and was very muddy. Unfortunately the area around the falls has been posted, meaning you cannot park and walk down to it. We were able to get a decent view from our truck. It was pretty impressive.

The next waterfall was Saxtons River Fall on Covered Bridge Road which was only a mile or so from Twin Falls. But like Twin Falls all the property around it was marked private. We could get a slight view from the road. Not enough to get a picture.

We continued our drive and stopped at Vermont Country Store. It’s always fun to walk around this country store.

About a mile up from the Vermont Country Store was another waterfall. Off Route 103 on Brockway’s Mills Road is Brockway’s Mills Falls ian old flour mill sight. We viewed the waterfall from the bridge. Supposedly there is a trail along the rocks down to the bottom of the waterfall, but with the snow and ice we did not venture down.

We continued to our destination, Freedlyville Quarry located on Dorest Hill Rd in Dorest, Vermont. I had saw a post that we could ice skate on the quarry. When we were driving through Vermont we noticed many ponds were open, we decided to just hike to the quarry.

There is a sign marking the area. Park on the side of Dorest Hill Road or park in a small parking lot if your vehicle can get up the snowy/muddy road. The trail is an old tote road that is a gradual incline to get to the quarry.

After walking a little over a mile, all up hill, you reach the entrance to the quarry.

Inside this marble quarry is huge. There is a place to ice skate, but the ice was not smooth and had rocks sticking out so I was thankful we did not carry our skates up there.

We spent about 30 minutes exploring the quarry. If you can look past all the graffiti the quarry is quite amazing. There are beautiful icicles that form in the quarry. Due to the temps being in the 40’s they were melting and a couple of the icicles fell so use caution if you explore inside.

After visiting Freedlyville Quarry we started to head home, but first a stop at one of our favorite restaurants, The New American Grill in Londonderry, Vermont. The Ahi Tuna Nachos were delish.

After a delightful meal we headed back to New Hampshire. We made one final stop. Hungry Diner in Walpole, New Hampshire has the most amazing Maple Milkshakes, it is worth the stop.

Overall we had an amazing day of visiting waterfalls, exploring a huge marble quarry and partaking in some delicious food. Another successful day trip to Vermont.

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Christmas in New England

Christmas in New England is a magical time. With a large variety of activities and places to visit it can feel a little overwhelming. I have compiled a list of the Christmas activities my family and I have enjoyed over the years, along with our todo list.

Cut Your Own Christmas Tree: This is a popular holiday activity in New England. There are many Christmas Tree Farms, but our favorite is Windswept Mountains View Christmas Tree Farm in Richmond, NH. This Christmas Tree Farm is located on the side of a hill. Once you walk to the top, you get sweeping views of the Monadnock Region. They also have a wide variety of Christmas Trees, some species I had never heard of. There is also a small gift shop.

Enchanted Village at Jordan’s: Located in Avon, MA this holiday favorite is fun for all ages. With games, an indoor tube slide, indoor skating rink and 4-D Polar Express adventure this is a fun place to spend a magical afternoon.

Gift of Lights at NH Motor Speedway located in Loudon, NH this has been a family tradition for several years. Bring a group and drive the 2.5 miles around the motor speedway admiring the various holiday lights. in 2024 they added a 2 mile race/walk around the track and in 2025 My husband, friends and I did the race. It was one of the funnest races I have ran. It is a great family beginner run.

Holiday Light Spectacular at Roger Williams Zoo in Providence RI. With over 3 million lights this light show is amazing. Tickets are required in advance. Walk around the zoo and enjoy a variety of Christmas light displays. Even though we were in the zoo we only saw a couple of the animals. It took a little over an hour to see all the lights. Highly recommend checking out this spectacular light show.

Holidays at Newport Mansions: Our first visit to the Newport Mansions was the weekend after Thanksgiving and I am so glad this was our first visit. We visited The Breakers and the Elm’s. The Christmas decorations in both mansions were beautiful. If you can just do one mansion I would do The Breakers. There are three you can visit, but we opted for two. At night they have an outdoor light show, which is an additional cost.

Holiday Parade: Parades are always a fund way to kick off the holiday season. We have enjoyed the Manchester Parade. The parade usually starts out with a Santa Shuffle race where runners dress in holiday costumes and run down Elm Street. After the race is the parade with a large variety of floats Find a spot on Elm Street to enjoy the show.

Holly Jolly Journey at Mel’s Funpark is located in Litchfield, NH. In 2024 this is a new exhibit for Mel’s. They have transformed their fun park into a Christmas wonderland with thousands of lights to walk through, a visits with Santa, warm drinks, alcoholic beverages, snacks, elves to snap photos, a wagon ride and overall just an amazing light display. With a little over a two thirds mile of a walk you are transformed into the magic of Christmas with different scenes, lights and the magic of Christmas. The path is stroller and wagon friendly. I did see wagons for rent. I also saw they are hoping to expand the lights. We loved walking through this magical display.

LaBelle Lights at LaBelle Winery located in Derry, NH. Opening in 2021 LaBelle has turned their golf course course in a winter wonderland that you walk through. Tickets are required, but once you purchase them you can use them any day. You can also get dinner on site at Americus. If you don’t want to get dinner there is a Tasting Room and Labelle Market available.

Night Lights at Tower Hill Garden located in Boylston, MA. This is one of my favorite gardens to visit in the spring and summer months. The last few years they have added a holiday light show that is just beautiful. They decorate their gardens with a variety of lights creating a beautiful winter wonderland.

Nutcracker Play: This has been a tradition since I was a young child. Almost every year my mom took me to the Nutcracker Play and I have continued this tradition with my daughter. We usually go to the Palace Theater in Manchester for the show. Several other theaters in New England run this play as well.

Santas Village: A is a popular New Hampshire amusement park in Jefferson. Many think it is just a summer destination, but they are open through New Years Eve. What’s more magical then visiting Santa’s Village at Christmas time.

Snowport Holiday Market: Located in the Seaport of Boston is this fun holiday market. Park in one of the Seaport garages and walk down to the market where you can shop local artists, enjoy a variety of food trucks and drinks. There is also a variety of shops and restaurants in the area if you want to explore further. If you are not a fan of crowds I highly recommend going in the off times, like during the week. We went on a Friday night and it was so busy we could barely walk around.

Strawberry Bank If you are looking for an old fashion Christmas you need to visit Strawberry Bank in Portsmouth, NH. The village is transformed into Christmas of the past.

Tour Christmas Light Displays: Many towns have list of houses decorated for Christmas One of our favorite course is on Intervale Drive in Wilton, NH. This private home allows guests to wander the property and enjoy the decorations this family has put a lot of time and effort into.

Winter Wonders at Sandy Hill Farm located in Elliot, Maine is an amazing light display with well over one million lights to walk around and explore.

Yankee Candle in Deerfield MA is an indoor winter wonderland. Yes this is a candle store, but it is so much more. There is a Bavarian Christmas village and a Nutcracker Castle both fun to explore. I remember being so impressed with the Christmas village and how big it was. No matter the time of year, it feels like Christmas year round at Yankee Candle.

ZooLights Stone Zoo Stoneham MA, this zoo is transformed into a winter wonderland with several thousand lights and festively decorated sections of the zoo. The Animals are not available for viewing during the light display. Out of all the light displays we have been to, this was our least favorite. We are glad we went, but did not feel it was as spectacular as some of the other display in New England.

I also have a list of holiday activities we want to do .Below is list of places to visit during the holiday season.

• Bright Lights Springfield MA

• Christmas by Candlelight Old Sturbridge Village MA

• Maine’s Botanical Garden, Gardens A Glow Boothbay ME

• Nantucket at Christmas

• Nestlenook Farm Jackson NH

I would love to know your favorite New England Holiday activity.

Day Trip to Rhode Island

We have not done a lot of exploring in Rhode Island. When we recently had a free Saturday we decide to check some places off my spreadsheet of places to visit. Yes, I have a spreadsheet of places I want to visit. We drove a little over two hours to our first destination, Watch Hill.

Watch Hill is located near Westerly, this affluent town is at the southern most tip of Rhode Island. One of the reasons for our visit was my daughter is a huge Taylor Swift fan and Taylor has a home here. Visiting in November many of the businesses were closed, but we were able to get parking easy, which I read in the summer months is very difficult. We walked the small downtown area and then walked part of Watch Hill Beach. I would love to come back here and stay at the Watch Hill Inn.

Next stop was a hike at Whales Rock Preserve. This was a beautiful hike along boardwalks and then along the ocean The trail does border a military base, so you are not technically surrounded by nature, but the ocean views are so worth the walk.

After our hike we were feeling pretty hungry. When we are in a new area Yelp is our go to app to find local restaurants. We prefer breweries, brew pubs or farm to table restaurants. We found a great brewery to have a late lunch at. Located in a old motel is West Passage Brewing Company. This Brewing company is located on Post Road in North Kingston. They had a great choice of beers and hard seltzers along with fresh and delicious food. If you are in the area, we highly recommend stoping for a drink and some food

After filling our bellies we needed to move our bodies. We went to Fisherville Brooks Wildlife Refuge in Exeter. We did a short hike around one of their trails that had beautiful views throughout the woods and over a small pond. It was just what we needed after a delicious meal. I do have to admit that when I think of Rhode Island I do not think of hiking, but we found two great trails and I have added more to my list.

After the hike we headed to Providence for our final destination of the day. This is also the primary reason for our day trip to Rhode Island. All summer I have been following the Waterfire events that Providence puts on, on the river that runs through downtown Providence. I was not sure what to expect, but I was excited to finally get to one. They only hold these events a few nights throughout the spring, summer and fall. Parking was a little difficult to find. We luckily found a small lot close to the event. We got a spot on one of the bridges to stand and watch the lighting.

This event was to honor our Veterans and it was very beautiful. The flags, the music and the overall atmosphere. A boat came out and lit each lantern all the way down the river.

The whole experience was just beautiful. We walked along a park and the river where there were various food and craft venders. We spent a couple hours just enjoying the fire. it was like having a bonfire in the middle of the city.

We had a great day exploring Rhode Island. I love visiting places off the beaten path. With Rhode Island being a small state it is easy to spend the day exploring this state.

Day trip to Bromley Mountain

Bromley is a small ski mountain located in Peru, Vermont. In the off season they have a variety of adventure activities, which we have done a few times over the years. Columbus Day weekend was the last weekend Bromley had their alpine slides open, so this was our main purpose for the daytrip.

From Southern New Hampshire to Bromley it is a little under two hour drive. We got there later in the afternoon so it was not too busy. After buying out tickets, our first stop was the alpine slides. You ride a chair lift halfway up the mountain, then ride enjoy the ride down, which was 4,000 feet long and fast.

Next stop was a ride up the chair lift.

Since it was getting close to closing time we were not able to get off and explore at the top, but the ride back down was so worth it.

Despite it being cloudy, the views were still beautiful.

After the chilly ride on the ski lift we got hot chocolates and enjoyed the fire pit. Inside the lodge was was a bar with beer and limited selections of food.

We had enough time for a couple more alpine slide rides before they closed for the day. There are some other adventure activities such as a giant swing, climbing wall and treetop adventure course. In the summer there is waterslide and mini golf. These were not anything we wanted to do on this visit.

After some fun at Bromley, we drove to Manchester about 10-15 minutes away in hopes to eat at our favorite burger place, Depot Street Burgers. Unfortunately it was closed, which we found true for many restaurants in Manchester on this Sunday early evening. We explored the downtown area, which had outlet shopping and cute shops.

We we started our drive home and stoped at The New American Grill for dinner. Wow, this place did not disappoint for food. Located in a strip mall this restaurant had local beers, fresh food, great atmosphere and friendly staff. This is a new favorite restaurant in Vermont.

If you are looking for a nice fall trip, drive to Bromley, ride the scenic chair lift and then explore the cute town of Manchester.

Day trip to Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard

Visiting Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket has been on my to do list for some time. Everything I had read or heard was it was almost impossible to do in one day. With the high prices of staying on the island it always deterred us from visiting. During our recent summer vacation we decided to figure out a way to make this a day trip and I am glad we did.

I called the Steamship Authority in Hyannis, Massachusetts and was informed they had a ferry route that went to Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard in one day. I went on their website and booked the Around the Sound Tour. We were able to pick from various times to depart from Hyannis, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard and back to Hyannis. We were able to book it so we got 3-4 hours on each island. I highly recommended prepaying for a parking spot when you book your trip.

We left our home in Southern New Hampshire around 5:30am to catch a 9am ferry. Luckily because it was a Wednesday we did not hit any traffic. The loading and unloading of passengers at the dock is a little chaotic. We pulled into a small parking area, since we had prepaid parking we checked in with the parking attendant, then went into the office to get our tickets. From there we had to park about a half mile away, where a shuttle brought us back to the docks. We did not have to wait long before we started boarding the ferry. Make sure you give yourself at least 30 minutes to get checked in and park.

Our first stop was Nantucket, it took about an hour to get there via the ferry.

When we got off the ferry we had about three hours to explore. As a Beautycounter Consultant I was excited to go into my first Beautycounter Store.

We explored the shops in the downtown area. I was actually surprised at the amount of shops there were.

You can rent bikes to explore more, but due to limited time we did not do this. We enjoyed the area, I was in love with the cobblestone streets and hydrangeas. The flowers were a little past their prime, but still pretty to see.

A friend had recommended Something Natural for lunch. They had the biggest sandwiches I had ever seen. I highly recommend splitting them or ordering a half. The food was pretty good. They had limited seating, which was outside. We had to sit on the lawn to eat.

After lunch we walked back towards the ferry. Our takeaway for Nantucket was we would like to go back, but have some form of transportation so we can see more of the island. We are not big shoppers and that is what was around the docks. We walked 3-4 miles exploring side streets and getting away from the downtown area. Restrooms are hard to find so plan appropriately.

We boarded the ferry and headed to Martha’s Vineyard. It took about 45 minutes to go between islands. It was nice to be able to take a break from walking around in the heat. I was hoping to see marine life, but we did not.

When we got to the Martha’s Vineyard the docks were pretty busy. We walked around the downtown area stopping at a couple shops and the Carousel, a popular stop on the vineyard.

We were all feeling a little tired and did not want to explore more shops so my husband convinced me to rent a jeep for a couple hours. It was pretty expensive, a little over $300, but so worth it and so much fun to ride around the island with the top down.

We were able to drive out to some beautiful bluffs at Gay Head.

As well as drive around the whole island taking in the beautiful scenery. Which took about two hours.

After heading back to Oaks Bluff and returning the jeep we did a little more walking, grabbed a slice of pizza at Giordano’s, which was pretty good and explored the adorable Gingerbread Houses.

After exploring the Gingerbread Houses we walked back to the docks to catch the ferry back to Hyannis. The boat ride back did not disappoint.

Some takeaways from Martha’s Vineyard were having some form of transportation is a necessity to explore the whole island. We would like to go back and stay overnight with bikes as there were a lot of bike paths. I would love to stay in one of the Gingerbread Houses, but I am not sure if they are rented out. Having a backpack with water and snacks was helpful. We also had our bathing suites, but did not go to a beach. When we arrived back in Hyannis there was a long line for the shuttle and found it quicker to walk back to our car than wait for the shuttle. It was around 8pm when we got back to our car.

Even thought it was a long day with a lot of walking we loved exploring Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard in one day. It gave us the opportunity to get a glimpse of each island and confirm that we would love to go back to each and explore further.

Rail Bikes in Rhode Island

Located in Portsmouth, Rhode Island is the Rail Explorers a rail bike tour company. There are a few Rail Explorers around the country, this is the closest to us. Riding a rail bike has been on my family and I’s to do list for a while and we finally checked this off our list.

We made the trip from New Hampshire down to Portsmouth, Rhode Island to join a tour. Reservations in advance are hight recommended. Prior to our bike ride we stopped at a small grocery store, Clements Market Place in Portsmouth, they had a great selection of pre-made foods, which was perfect lunch before our ride.

The Rail Explorers is located on Alexander Road. There was plenty of parking.. The check in process was easy and the staff were very friendly. We had to wait a few minutes before we were assigned our rail bike. There were a couple different options for tours and we did the Northern Ramble, which was a six mile ride.

We were given a short intro on how to use the bikes and safety information. Each party was assigned their own quad bike. A staff member went first followed by the rest of the group.

The trail road by homes, a golf course and ocean views. They gave us a booklet with information about the trail and landmarks.

It took us a little over an hour to go the six miles. We took a bus ride back to the starting point. We all agreed that we would have liked to do a longer one. We found it pretty easy to peddle them with the three of us. If we needed to take breaks it was not a big deal as we could coast or the other passengers could peddle. We cannot wait to do another one.

After the rail bike ride we took a drive into Newport. We walked around the downtown area and got a Del’s Lemonade. We then walked over to the Cliff Walk to enjoy the beautiful views of the ocean.

Overall it was a great day, and we highly recommended doing a rail bike tour and then doing some exploring around Newport.

Finding Balance as a Professional Working Mom

For as long as women have been in the workforce there has been an ongoing debate regarding working moms vs stay at home moms. Then there are the moms that stay home while their kids are little and go back to work when they are school age. After some recent conversations with some working mom friends it got me thinking about a twist to this. We were discussing the flexibility needed in your work schedule for our middle school age daughters who are heavily involved in sports. How many parents, especially moms feel the pressure of trying to be at early games or pick up from practices all while holding a full time job.

I have always been a working mom. Unfortunately, my husband and I made some poor financial choices when we were first married so I had to work full time. When I became pregnant I had just finished my masters degree and felt like I could not waste the time and effort I put into my degree.

When my daughter was a baby I worked up to four jobs to help make ends meet. I worked my full time job, plus 2-3 on call jobs. All while my husband was working 50-60 hours a week. I can remember countless times I would sit in my car at work crying feeling like a terrible mom because I worked so much and she was in childcare. Or me just getting home from my primary job and being called into to one of my on call jobs, leaving my husband with our baby for the night.

I was fortunate that we were able to find some pretty amazing childcare providers who treated my daughter like their own. Being an only child I knew being around other kids was a benefit to her. We did not have family nearby that were able to help out, but we have had some pretty amazing friends who have been like family to us. As a mom it did not make it any easier when I would get photos of her doing something fun while I was working, but was always glad of her to have those experiences.

As my daughter grew I also grew in my profession. I was able to get advancements, further my education and get licensed. None of these were easy. When my daughter was in elementary school I was testing for my social work license. I failed the first two times I took it. My daughter watched me study for hours. I missed out on weekend time together to still fail. I did not give up and on the third time I passed and became a licensed clinical social worker. The look on her face when I told her I passed was priceless. She was so proud of me.

As I grew in my career and made smarter financial choices, I was able to give up my on call positions and just work a full time job. I started having a little more free time to go to school events and coach various sports she played. I started having my weekends back allowing for more family time.

When my daughter was in her last year of elementary school I got a phone call for a job offer. I was not looking for a job as I was content where I was. When this potential employer reviewed the job it sounded interesting as I would get to start my own Oncology Social Work program and make it my own. I would also be able to specialize, which I have learned is a smart career move. The job was further away from home and they wanted 40 hours a week. I was honest and told them that at this time in my life I wanted to work less and have more flexibility in my schedule. They called back in less than 24 hours and offered me a few less hours a week with everything else the same. After much consideration my husband and I felt like I would be crazy to pass this up. I was a little nervous about having a a hour and a half round trip commute each day, but decided to give it a try,

Now four years later I have built a successful oncology social work program at my place of employment and able to make my own hours to fit my patients and family needs. With my daughter being in middle school this has allowed me to rarely miss one of her 3:30pm games, home or away. With having less stress with my professional career I am able to focus more on my daughter and our home life. With that being said I cannot forget the work my husband has put into his professional career. He has moved into management, is working less hours and has more flexibility so he is able to make all of her home games and a few away games. The best part is my daughter does not remember that time in our lives when my husband and I were working crazy hours.

Being able to spend more time with my daughter in her preteen and teen years, especially in the car between practices, has prompted many great conversations. I feel she is able to be open and honest with me.

For the young career woman out there do not feel like you have to give up your career when you have a child. Sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself is put the time and effort in when you and your child are young, which may allow you more time in their middle school and high school years. Yes, I understand that is not true with every profession, but I feel if you put the work in when you are young you have more opportunities for flexibility in your later years in your profession. You also have more energy when you are younger. I cannot imagine having to get up in the middle of the night to go to work now. Even if I could, I do not believe I would give up my profession and be a full time stay a home mom. At this time I am able to have the best of both worlds as a mom and a Social Worker. Even though that time in our life was very difficult and tested our relationship at times, my husband and I are glad we put the time and effort into our career when we did.

Day Trip to Peaks Island

Peaks Island located in the waters of Casco Bay is a popular summer destination off the coast of Maine. This island is located off the shores of Portland, Maine and only accessible by boat.

On a summer Saturday we embarked on an adventure to explore Peaks Island. We took a ferry through Casco Bay Lines in Portland. The parking garage near the ferry was full so we had to park across the street in a smaller lot, which was expensive. It was $60 for about 6 hours.

For the ferry you cannot prebuy tickets. The ticket window and waiting area for the ferry was a little chaotic. We had no issues buying tickets and were able to get a spot on the ferry. Cars and bikes also ride this ferry so I am not sure if it ever fills to capacity. The boat ride was about 20 minutes over to Peaks Island.

Once on Peaks island there are a couple options for transportation. There is a taxi, you can rent bikes, or bring your own, walk around on foot or rent a golf cart. Peaks island is about three miles wide with some small hills. We opted to rent a golf cart which we reserved in advance. I am glad we did as there was a line of people waiting for a golf cart as they did not make a reservation. I am not sure how long they waited. We reserved our golf cart through Mikes Carts, it was $120 for 3 hours and so worth it. The staff were well organized and friendly. They are located near the ferry on the left. It was so fun to drive around the island in the golf cart.

Our first stop was Torrington Point which has a rocky beach and some beautiful views.

We continued our tour around the edge of Peaks Island enjoying the beautiful views.

Our next stop was Battery Steele, which is a old military battery and supposedly one of the largest in the U.S. This is such a fun and creepy place to explore. It is very dark and wet/muddy so make sure you bring a flashlight and wear appropriate shoes. There are some cool tunnels and rooms to explore.

There are also trails you can explore, but in some places the trails are over grown and the bushes have thorns on them. If you are able to get to the top of the battery, there is a pretty view.

After spending about 45 minutes exploring the battery, we continued our drive around the island.

We did find this cute cart that had some beautiful photographs of the island on it.

As we were ready for lunch we drove through the Main Street area of Peaks Ssland where there were a couple restaurants, but we opted for II Leone an open air wood fire pizza restaurant which was near the private country club. They had a few different types of pizza on the menu and gelato for desert. My almost 13 year old declared this was one of the best pizzas she has ever had.

After lunch I wanted to check out Centennial Beach to look for sea glass. We were only successful in finding one piece, but we had a nice walk along the beach. We did not bring our swimsuits, but this would have been a nice place to swim.

After walking the beach we had about 30 minutes before we had to return our golf cart and catch the ferry back to Portland. We drove around the edge of the island one more time to enjoy the views.

Some takeaways from our trip:

• If you rent a golf cart you are given a time to pick it up and drop it off. Since you cannot prebuy tickets to the ferry and parking can be tricky make sure you give yourself enough time so you do not have to pay a lot for parking like we did.

• Peaks Island is a residential island with year round and summer residents that live here. We were told they are not fans of golf carts and there are private area’s of the island so please be respectful. We did not have any issues with any of the residents.

• This is a laid back island. Even though Peaks Island is known as the “Coney Island” of Maine there is not a lot of activities. There is opportunity to explore shops, some art work, hiking, biking, kayaking and overall relaxing. If you are looking for a fast pace atmosphere, this is not the island to visit.

• We had the golf card for three hours, but felt we could have used at least one more hour to explore a little more.

• We only saw one public restroom near the ferry.

• Bring a backpack with snacks, water and flashlight.

Overall, we loved our trip and would love to go back another time.

Visiting Star Island

Star Island is one of nine islands that make up the Isles of Shoals. These historical islands are a perfect summer day trip from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I made this trip as a girls day on a hot July Saturday.

We bought tickets for Star Island in advance through the Isles of Shoals Steamship Company, which I highly recommend as some days and times were sold out. You can park at the Steamship Company, but you are not able to leave your car there and walk around. We parked in the Hanover Garage as we wanted to walk around Market Square before and after the boat ride.

The boat was fairly big with three levels, a Tiki Bar and a Snack Shack. We were able to sit on the bow and get great views of the Piscataqua River. It was so much fun watching the various boats, going by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, looking at the homes along the river and going by an abandoned navy and marine prison.

After the journey down the river we headed out onto the Atlantic Ocean towards the Isles of Shoals and Star Island. .

It took between 45 minutes to an hour to get to Star Island. During the boat ride we had a staff member providing landmark information and history along the way. Once we docked we had the option to join a walking tour or to go off on our own. We chose to go off on our own.

We were not allowed inside the majority of the buildings due to COVID Protocol. If you did go in the couple that were open you had to wear a mask. They did provide masks for you.

From the dock we went left following a dirt road. Our first stop was at the Marine Lab that had a small touch tank and other information about marine life. There was a staff member to answer any questions you may have.

Next we walked the dirt road around the edge of the island. Where we saw a couple kettle ponds.

Then walked the cliffs for beautiful views of the Atlantic. We also saw baby seagulls along the cliffs.

After enjoying the cliffs we continued around the island to some beautiful stone cottages.

As we were walking back around to the hotel we found a small, but beautiful beach. There was no swimming allowed, but it was a perfect place to get your feet wet. The sand was made up mostly of crushed shells. I wish we could have gotten an accurate picture of how blue/turquoise the water was. My friend and I could have spent all day here if we had a chair, a book and a drink. .

We walked back around to the front of the hotel. We were not allowed inside the hotel, but got to enjoy the view from the porch. There is a small gift shop you can visit within the hotel with access from the porch.

The only option for food was a small hot dog cart. If you want to picnic or a snack, make sure you bring it with you. We bought waters from the cart and they were only $1 each. Restrooms were a little difficult to find, we ended up using the ones on the boat. There is also a small swimming area near the dock that is maned by a life guard. We only had an hour on the island and we could have used another hour wandering around more, sitting on the porch enjoying the or going swimming. Overall, we were both very happy with the boat ride and visiting the island. I would absolutely go back.

We had about an hour ride back. We lucked out because it was very calm so I did not feel seasick.

After returning to Portsmouth we had some yummy Mexican food at La Caretta. Then we drove down the coastline and stopped at Wallis Sands State Park to take a dip in the ocean.

Weekend in Littleton

Littleton, New Hampshire has become one of our favorite places in New Hampshire to visit. With less crowds, up and coming restaurants, a cute downtown and access to so many outdoor activities it is the perfect weekend getaway for us.

We left Southern New Hampshire early on a Friday morning with the goal to hike to Franconia Falls outside of Lincoln. This is a 3.2 mile hike to the falls. This is a great swimming hole for those who are good swimmers. For those who have a little adventure in them there is a natural water slide that is not for the faint of heart.

After the almost 7 mile round trip hike we took the drive up to Littleton. Before checking into our cabin for the night we stopped at Schilling Beer Company. Located on Mill Street in Littleton is this fun brewery. We did not have to wait for a table and were able to sit outside. They had a adorable set up outside, which was nice as the inside was on the smaller side. They had a great selection of beers. Their primary food is pizza with a couple other menu items. Their pizza was amazing.

After a wonderful dinner in a relaxing atmosphere we checked into our cabin at the Littleton KOA. We do have a small pop up camper, but opted to try out a cabin.

These cabins are adorable. With a full size bed, a bunk bed and additional sleeping in the loft it provided plenty of room for the three of us. There was also a kitchen table, mini fridge and fan. Some of the cabins have a bathroom, but ours did not.

This KOA did not offer as many of the options for activities as some of the others we have seen or stayed in. There was a small pool, river access and tubing when there is enough water. There was not enough water the weekend we stayed. There was also a playground, camp store and a variety of activities. If our goal was to just stay at the campground I am not sure there would have been enough to keep us busy. The staff were very friendly and the campground was quiet. They had the nicest bathrooms we have ever seen in a campground. The only negative was the beds were very hard. I wish we would have brought a mattress pad with us.

Saturday morning we got up early and grabbed a quick break from Inkwell Coffee and Tea Shop. This is a cute little coffee shop, they did not have a lot of breakfast items, but it was enough to start our day. Their ice teas were excellent.

Our first activity of the day was a ride up The Mount Washington Cog Railway. We have driven up the Auto Road in the past and many years ago by husband and I did The Cog. This has been on my daughters to do list for some time. This is not a cheap activity, but so worth it especially if it is a nice day. Reservations in advance are highly recommended.

It takes about 45 minutes to get to the top of Mt. Washington. Once there you have about an hour to explore the various views, gift shop and cafe.

The day we visited the sky’s could not have been more clear.

It is hard to share just one photo of the beautiful views.

After our adventure on The Cog we stopped at our favorite swimming hole, Upper and Lower Ammonoosuc Falls. There are two different areas to jump off various size rocks, we prefer the Lower Falls because it is usually less crowed and the rocks are not as high to jump from.

After spending some time swimming and sun bathing we drove to the Mt. Washington Hotel to check it out. Of course now my daughter wants to stay there.

Next was a stop at Littleton Freehouse for some delicious food. Their Mexican Street Corn Dip was to die for.

After an early dinner we walked along Main Street and made a stop at Chutters, the worlds longest candy counter for a sweet treat.

After our full bellies we headed to the Echo Lake area for a short hike.

Artists Bluff is one of the easiest hikes to get a great view in the White Mountains. This short, but steep hike is worth it for the view.

I was hoping to get a swim in at Echo Lake, but you need to book reservations ahead of time. That was a little disappointing.

Through a friend we learned that Franconia was having their Old Home Days with fireworks. We spent the evening enjoying ice cream, music and some amazing fireworks.

Sunday morning we got up early and headed home. First we had to stop at White Mountain Bagel for some breakfast.

We had a wonderful busy weekend around Littleton and can not wait for our next trip.

Weekend At Jay Peak

Jay Peak Resort located in Jay, Vermont is a popular winter destination due to its ski mountain and winter activities. In the summer it is a little different. We have been to Jay Peak in the past, once for a friends wedding and again as part of a summer vacation. The sole purpose of this visit was for the waterpark.

Jay Peak is your typical mountain resort, with a couple extras. Our stay was a little last minute and not well planned out. We left Southern New Hampshire early on a Saturday morning with the goal of getting to the waterpark that day.

In the summer the waterpark is only open certain days and times. Make sure you check their website before your trip. We arrived around noon and did not have any issues getting tickets to the waterpark, or The Pump House as it is named. It was not busy and we rarely had to wait in lines for the watersides. Unfortunately, two of the main attractions were closed, the Lazy River, which is my favorite, and La Chute. This was a little disappointing. The website did mention the Lazy River being shut down. We enjoyed the waterpark until almost 6pm and rode the waterslides several times. We got a snack from the snack bar next to the Pump House, which is your typical fried food. We did find they were out of a lot of things on the menu. There is also a large bar onsite.

In addition to the waterpark, there is an outside hot tub and pool. The pool was closed, but the hot tub was open. It was nice to sit and enjoy some outside time. The day were visited it was cold and freezing rain so we did not get a view of the mountain.

We were not able to check into our room until 7pm. From previous experience we decided not to dine at the resort as we found the food expensive and subpar. We took a drive down to The Jay Country Store. The store is only a few minutes from the resort. This is such as great country store with a wide variety of items, gifts, food and a deli counter. We ordered sandwich’s and a pizza which were delicious. When we are in the area we always make a stop at this country store.

Our first night we stayed at Stateside, which is a mile or so away from the main lodge. The room was spacious and had a microwave and fridge, which has been hard to find on our recent stays. One thing that was a little different, was in order for the lights to work you had to put your key in a key slot. That took a few minutes to figure out. Overall, we loved our room.

In the summer months it is a lot quieter and many of the attractions are closed. In mid June a couple of the restaurants were open along with the general store. The ice arena and movie theater was closed. On Sunday we had planned to ride the Tram to the top of the mountain, but it was closed due to wind. We also tried to use the pool, but that was closed. We walked to the Arcade, which also was closed. We were a little frustrated with everything being closed. Walking around it felt like a ghost town.

Since we had made last minute reservations the Stateside Hotel was only open on Friday and Saturday’s so we had to move to the Main Lodge for Sunday night. We were able to check in early and our room was beautiful. It was a room with a kitchenette and a fireplace and a beautiful view.

With everything being closed we decided to take a drive to Burlington, which was about an hour and a half away. We made a couple stops along the way. The first one was The Bridge Flowers and Light in Enosburgh.

The next stop was Fairfax Falls in Fairfax. This was an impressive falls.

We walked around Church Street in Burlington. I just love the vibe of this area, fun shops, live music, yummy food and fun people watching. There were more panhandlers than I remember seeing on previous visits with a few people coming up asking for money.

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It was about an hour wait for our favorite restaurant, The Farm House Tap and Grill, so we strolled around Church street and shared an amazing crepe from the Skinny Pancake food stand.

After a delisious meal at the Farm House Tap and Grill we walked down to the waterfront to enjoy the views of Lake Champlain.

After leaving Burlington we headed back to Jay through Stowe. We stopped to enjoy the downtown area of Stowe before heading back to Jay Peak Resort.

With everything being closed we played games in our room and left early Monday morning to head home. My husband and I agreed that if we were to come back again we would only stay one night and stay another night somewhere else. With everything being closed during the summer months it is not worth it for us to stay more than one night. It is sad that the resort is not capitalizing on its beautiful area in the summer months.

24 Hours on Cape Cod

Cape Cod is a summer destination for many. The off season can be just as wonderful without the crowds. When we had the opportunity to get away for an overnight we decided to spend some time exploring Cape Cod, also known as “The Cape.”

I have to be honest, I am not a fan of The Cape. We have visited a few times over the years, but the traffic and crowds were always a little too much for me. When we got the opportunity to go away for a night, I was hesitant to book a night at The Cape, but my close friend constantly raves about it being her favorite place to visit, so we decided to give it another chance. We left for our overnight on a Friday afternoon. Traffic was a little crazy the closer we got to the bridge bringing you onto the cape, but once we got over it, traffic was not bad.

Our first stop was for dinner and I wanted something a little different. The Flashback, is a bar, grill and retro arcade. Located on Main Street in Hyannis is this fun restaurant with a retro arcade that brought my husband and I back to our childhood. The staff were very friendly and prompt. We were able to add tokens our dinner bill, which was convenient. After we ordered our drinks and food we had fun playing various arcade games from pin ball to pac-man. The food was very good. The truffle oil tots were my favorite. We would absolutely return for a meal and some arcade games.

Our home for the night was the Red Jacket Inn Beach Resort and Spa. This is the sister inn to The Red Jacket In North Conway. The hotel staff were friendly and efficient at check in. Unfortunately it was very foggy, despite having an ocean front room we were not able see the view. Our room was a standard room with two queen bed, fridge, two chairs and bathroom. We had a sliding door to a small deck with chairs with direct access to the beach.

We spent the evening walking the beach, swimming in the indoor pool and exploring the grounds. The hotel is fairly large with hotel rooms and cottages. There is a spa and dining room onsite. Beach chairs were placed along the beach. Outside there was a fire pit, games, two pools and a bar.

Saturday morning I got up early and took a walk on the beach and around the grounds. Unfortunately it was still foggy which had me worried about our plans for the day. After a quick and yummy breakfast at Bagels and Beyond in West Yarmouth we drove towards Provincetown.

As we drove up Route 6 our first stop was to Marconi Station Site which is home to the first transatlantic wireless community between North America and Europe. The trailhead to the Atlantic White Cedar Swamp is also located here. We hiked the loop trail that is a little over a mile long. The trail takes you to a boardwalk that runs through a beautiful cedar swamp.

After our hike we walked across the parking lot to the cliff side view of the Atlantic ocean and the station site. Luckily the fog lifted and we got a beautiful view of the ocean.

We continued our drive towards Provincetown with a stop outside of town at Race Point Beach. This is a beautiful beach overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. We did get in the water up to our knees and it was cold.

Our next stop was exploring Provincetown. Parking was a little tricky as many lots were full, but we did find parking. The first stop was the Pilgrim Monument. We have done this once many years ago and again when our daughter was young. She did not remember and wanted to do it again. There is a new elevator that takes you from the downtown area up to the monument. I felt the price of $51 was a little expensive. You ride the elevator up to the monument and then walk several flights of stairs/ramps up to the top. The views are spectacular and worth at least one visit.

After visiting the monument we walked around Commercial Street where the majority of shops and restaurants are. We got some delicious dumplings from Kung Fu Dumplings and just enjoyed the downtown area.

We left Provincetown to work our way back home, but had a couple more stops we wanted to make. My husband really wanted fresh oysters and thanks to my friend, we found Mac’s Seafood which has amazing seafood. They have a couple locations, we ate at the location in Wellfleet. The seafood was amazing. My husband had the oysters and sushi. I had a lobster roll. My daughter does not like a lot of seafood so she had a salad. I highly recommend Mac’s to anyone looking for an amazing seafood meal.

We made two more stops before leaving The Cape. The first one was a hike out to Wing Island where they have a cool boardwalk that goes across a marsh out to the island were there is a beach. This is a loop trail, we did not walk the whole loop, but went out to the beach and back.

The last stop was a walk out on the Boardwalk at Ray’s Beach. I was hoping we could be here in time for the sunset, but were were a little early. This is a fairly long boardwalk on the bay side of The Cape. It is such a pretty view. My guess also an amazing place to watch the sunset.

I have to say this trip changed my husband and I’s view of Cape Cod. Even though we were only there for 24 hours we fell in love with the area and can understand why so many love vacationing there. I am still not sure we will be back during the summer months, but will be during the off season.

Waterfalls of the Monadnock Region

The Monadnock Region is known for it natural beauty, charming New England towns and Mt. Monadnock. What many people do not realize is there are some pretty great waterfalls. My passion is exploring waterfalls. When I moved to the Monadnock Area I felt like we had to drive up to the White Mountains to get my waterfall fix. Over the years I have found some pretty great ones in the area.

Below are the waterfalls I have discovered in the Monadnock Region.

Beaver Brook Falls: Located in Keene, Beaver Brook Falls is an easily accessible falls. It is locate off an abandon road that felt like we were in a Walking Dead episode. The falls itself are pretty impressive and worth the short walk. This is not a waterfall you can swim in.

Brennan Falls: Located in Francestown this is a little more of a challenge of a falls to find. The trail is located off a class six road and is not well marked. My guess is in the summer months this falls can dry up. If you are able to visit in the spring time or after a significant amount of rain it is a pretty waterfall. There is no swimming here, but depending on the time year you might be able to dunk your head under the falls.

Chesterfield Gorge: Located in Chesterfield is one of the more popular waterfalls in the Monadnock Region. The falls are off of Route 9 between Keene and the Vermont boarder. With a Ranger Station, picnic tables and easily accessible trails this is a popular destination for waterfall lovers. There is no swimming here.

Furnace Brook Falls: Located near Souhegan Ambulance and Old Tenny Road and on route 123/124 in New Ipswich is small, but nice waterfall. There is a granite marker where the start of the trail is. You have to walk a few feet through the woods to the base of the falls, but it is fairly easy to get to.

Gleason Falls: Located in Hillsborough this easy to access falls is one of my favorites to visit. The falls run under a cobblestone bridge enhancing Gleason Falls true beauty. Park in a small parking lot and walk along the short path or sit on one of the large rocks to enjoy the beauty of this waterfall.

Porcupine Falls: Located in Gilsum this falls is part of the Monadnock Conservancy. A short hike through the woods brings you to the falls. With the falls being on the smaller side I would assume in the dry months it can dry up. This is a great falls to stick you head under.

Pulpit Falls: Located in Winchester is a more remote waterfall to access. If you are comfortable with hiking unmarked trails and crossing streams, this is a pretty waterfall to check out.

Purgatory Falls: Located in Lyndeborough is a very popular waterfall on the eastern part of the Monadnock Region. There are options for various hikes around the falls as there are three series of waterfalls and up to three miles of trails. There is pool at the bottom of one of the waterfalls, but I am not sure if it is swimmable.

Senter Falls: Located in Lyndeborough is one of my favorite falls. This short hike through the woods leads you to a beautiful waterfall that is stunning year round.

Tucker Brook Falls: Located in Milford is a hidden gem of a waterfall. There are several hiking trails around this waterfall. You can walk either a quarter of mile directly to Tucker Brooks Falls or you can take a longer route through Tucker Brook Forest.

Wantastiquet Falls: Located on the New Hampshire/Vermont boarder in Hindsdale is Wantastiquet Falls. The falls is located at the trailhead for Wantastiquet Mountain. You only have to walk a few feet from the parking lot to see the falls. This is one of the taller falls, but not a lot of force. In the dryer months I would guess it is non existent.

Unfortunately, I could not name my favorite waterfall in the Monadnock area due to the destruction that happened during the height of COVID-19. Garwin Falls in Wilton use to be my favorite waterfall to visit and dunk my head under, but to the high volumes of traffic, litter and overall destruction of the area around the falls the town of Wilton has closed down this area to visitors and enforce a fine for those who trespass. Please keep in mind if you visit these natural beauties to respect the area and carry in and carry out any trash.

I hope you are able to enjoy these waterfalls ofthe Monadnock Region. If there is one that I do not have listed please let me know.

Lake Morey Resort

Located in Fairlee, Vermont is a hidden gem of a resort. Lake Morey Resort is a lakeside destination that is popular year round. For us, we were excited to visit in the winter months. We visited Lake Morey over February Vacation with their ice skating trail being our main focus.

We arrived late morning on a Friday after our stay at the Von Trapp Lodge in Stowe Vermont. We were able to check in early. Our room was on the smaller side, but it had everything we needed, including a small fridge, which we have not had in other hotels recently.

The view from our room was beautiful.

We were excited to strap on our skates. Most years they do a four plus mile track around the lake. With this years weather being unpredictable they only did a half mile loop, a smaller loop and some skating rinks. With the winter having various temperatures the ice was bumpy, but still amazing to be out on.

After a couple hours of skating we took a break and enjoyed the pool and sauna.

The front desk had an array of board games for their guests. We played a couple games and enjoyed the view.

After some relaxing time inside we headed back out on the ice for more skating. This was the last day they were maintaining the trail. We lucked out that we got to enjoy ice. They do have skate rentals and serve warm drinks during most of the winter. Make sure you check their Facebook Page before you go.

There are not a lot of dinner options in the area so we chose to stay at the hotel. Reservations were strongly recommended. We were a little hesitant to eat at the hotel because we have not had great experiences with hotel restaurants lately. We were seatied by the window with a beautiful view of the lake.

Our waitress was very friendly and personable. We were pleasantly surprised with our meal, everything was so fresh and flavorful that it restored our hope in hotel restaurants.

After dinner we spent the rest of the evening in our room as we were exhausted from the several hours of skating. We checked out the next morning to head home. Overall, we loved our stay at Lake Morey. The staff were one of the friendliest of the places we have stayed. The scenery was beautiful. The hotel itself was neat and clean. The ice skating trail and rink were the best part of the whole stay. Some weekends they do have hockey tournaments or ice fishing tournaments so you may want to do some research before you go.