July 17-July 20                       The Lakes Region of New Hampshire

Before leaving Texas, we made plans to visit by car more areas of New England.  Our first trip would be to the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, a beautiful, historic area of the state which is a popular summer destination for Bostonians and New Yorkers.  For a lengthy period, our neighbors Jocelyn and Bill Wuester had a home on Bear Island in Lake Winnipesaukee and Suzanne and I had visited them there many years ago.  It was truly a scene from the delightful movie “On Golden Pond” complete with the mail boat.

After considerable research, we finally booked three nights at Lake Opechee Inn and Spa at Laconia, New Hampshire.  It had the desired ambiance and it ALLOWED DOGS (David refused to leave Pretzel).  It proved to be a great choice!  The building had been a textile mill and later a manufacturing facility before being abandoned for many years.  With considerable funding from local and state sources, a trio of investors (one a scion of the DuPont family) did an amazing exterior and interior transformation to create a lovely inn with first class amenities.  The on-site restaurant was excellent, and we enjoyed two evenings dining on the patio watching the sun set over the lake.

Meredith, one of the main towns of the area, was no longer the quaint place I remembered from my previous visit.  Urban sprawl and many fast food, tourist attractions and realty offices lined the lake.  A long drive on the opposite side revealed a number of beautiful, spacious homes on heavily forested lakeside lots.  Weirs Beach, several miles away, was a throwback to another era with small wooden buildings housing arcades, bumper cars and tacky tourist garb.  We enjoyed a quick lunch of excellent fish tacos and clam strips at Weathervane near the boardwalk (rain seemed to be imminent).

On Wednesday, we perused several antique stores in Laconia.  I found a small ceramic nativity for my collection ( now that should be 137!) 

Adjacent to the Inn is an exceptional car museum privately owned by one of the owners.  A staff member arranged a private tour for us and we spent a delightful hour or so with a most knowledgeable guide who knew well the history of each vehicle.  The collection included an amazing assortment of race cars, antique autos, army trucks, toy replicas and even a bumper car.  Carefully assembled and beautifully displayed throughout a 12,000 square foot building, it seemed to have something for everyone—even a London taxi.

That evening, we returned to Weirs Beach to board the MS Mount Washington for a dinner cruise on Lake Winnipesaukee.  The vessel was well maintained, not crowded and very comfortable.  Dinner was quite good and the two- and one-half-hour sunset cruise was delightful.  We were amazed by the many homes lining the shores of this enormous 70-mile lake.  Most boats were barges or runabouts.  All the boats were less than 30 feet in length. 

                           

On Thursday, we returned to Wickford by a scenic route which avoided most of the Interstate Highways.  The journey was longer but we saw more of the countryside and small towns.  We also visited several antique shops (spent abou $10.00 total).  Pretzel was a hit wherever we wentl.  She was well-behaved throughout the trip and is always happy when she can be near David.