Sometimes some of our best trips can be less than a 5-hour car ride away!
After visiting Vermont for a day, I was inspired by a friend to go on another day-cation in the northeast: a family trip to New Hampshire.
I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive going on a trip with my grandmother, my cousin, my best friend, my father and his girlfriend. That was a headcount of six people and I knew a little mini-cooper was not going to do the trick.
So I knew I would have to rent a minivan!
It was my first time renting a van and I was intimidated when I had to pick it up from the lot the Friday night before the trip. “What was I doing in this huge silver contraption?” I thought to myself. “Did I really have the ‘cojones’ to drive this thing for an entire day up to, what they call, The Granite State?”
I put on my big girl panties and drove that Silver Bullet out the lot! Nothing ever stopped me before and, sure as hell, nothing was going to stop me now! I’ve driven around several states in the past: Hawaii, Florida, Michigan and Illinois. I had to tell myself it was only a bigger vehicle and I was going to drive it!
It didn’t take terribly long for my posse to get it together that Saturday morning of the trip. The person I thought would take the longest was my grandmother but she was right on time. On the other hand, my father was a bit more surprising. LOL.
It seemed to take forever to find a rest stop with coffee along the I-95 and then, once we found one, it took over 5 minutes to get everyone out my Silver Bullet. “There’s barely any foot room back here,” my dad commented. Well, you can’t get it all in a state-of-the-art vehicle. It was enough trying to figure out all the settings on this electronic dashboard!
For those who barely get out of the city, like my father, the fall foliage will capture every bit of your attention. Even though it was late in the autumn season, we were still able to capture the beauty within the many shades of colors that were still left on the trees.
Our first stop of the day was La Belle Winery. It was a beautiful spacious winery with a very nice bar and restaurant. My grandmother, father and his girlfriend were not interested in the wine tasting but the winery was able to accommodate them. They had a platter full of various cheese, crackers and berries. Once I was finished at the wine tasting bar, it hurt my heart to see that half the platter was gone.
Half of my group relaxed in front of what was left of the cheese as the rest of us enjoyed a tour of the winery. We learned about how the wine was made and also took a walk by the vineyard which was one of the largest in New Hampshire. We learned about spiced and blueberry wines. My favorite was the Spiced Pear Wine. It tasted like the most wonderful time of the year! It was sweet and delectable. Just like I like it.
After La Belle’s, I drove my posse on a search for goat cheese. I had tried some in Vermont and fell in love with it. Now I was looking for more but couldn’t find it in the marketplace that was recommended just a mile up the road from La Belle’s.
Our next stop was Makris Lobster And Steak House. I thought it was too good to be true for one house to be a lobster and a steak house all in one. Apparently, it was too good to be true!
But throughout the trip, there was good camaraderie. We sang oldies off my dad’s iPod. We cracked jokes and argued over the volume of the music.
We soon ended our little day trip in #Downtown Concord. I drove by the State House with its dome shaped roof covered in gold. It reminded me of my days in Russia. Oh how architecture repeats!
I passed Phoenix Hall and the #ClockTower which is one of the city’s landmark and over a century old.
My trip also included a drive by the Discovery Center. It had a rocket outside of it that had to be anywhere between 5 to 10 stories tall. It was a great photo opportunity but it was so cold outside, nobody wanted to leave the van.
Although we only got to spend a few hours in #NewHampshire, I’d have to say it was one of my most memorable day trips. When blessed with decent weather and good company, the road trip could not be any better. Just grab a vehicle, a minivan if you are gutsy enough, and go because as the New Hampshire motto goes... Live Free or Die!