On Mother's Day we hit the road before 8 am west bound for New Hampshire and the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. We headed to North Conway via Fryeburg on a route that we'd taken many times before.
Our first stop of the day was at Diana's Bath a beautiful multi-tiered waterfall. It's part of the White Mountain National Forest so you do have to pay fee for a day pass but it's only $5 for the vehicle. There is a large parking area with bathrooms near the head of the trail.
The trail is a well maintained trail that is 6/10 of a mile to the base of the waterfall. It is stroller friendly if you need one. We didn't bring ours and Wesley had no problems imitating his brother as they climbed over and jumped off rocks all along the trail.
Once you get to the bottom of the waterfall the trail continues onto another trail system, however to get to the top of the waterfall you will need to leave the stroller behind. We found a little shore like area for Wesley to throw rocks in while the bigs explored up to the top. It was quite beautiful.
Next we headed to Cathedral Ledge just a short drive down the road. The auto road to the top is about a mile and is free to the public. The road is paved, but closed in the winter time as it is not maintained.
The ledge is fenced off for safety and does provide some spectacular views. We even saw someone rock climbing up the rock face. Canaan, who is afraid of heights was hesitant to go to the edge. Eventually he did and he did not regret it.
After leaving the ledge we were driving on the West Side Road heading back to Route 302 to head south. Along the way I saw a sign that said Schartner Farms Jam Year Round Drive Up.
Exploring we found two small drive up barns that housed fresh made Jam, the first all the Strawberry and the second had a five flavors. The jam is for sale based on the honor system so of course we had to buy some. We love the roadside stands like this, you can really find some great tasting treats at them. I have had the chance to taste it since Sunday and it is damn good.
We settled in for the ninety minute drive south to La Festa Pizza in Dover, New Hampshire. This is our third consecutive year going to La Festa for Mother's Day. In the past we took route 16 all the way, this year I wanted to explore a different road just in case we found or saw something neat along the way.
We took Route 153 from Conway to Wakefield and I can say for certain I have never seen so many sharp turn signs on one road ever. It seem like before and after every bend in the road was a sign telling you, you were approaching a bend in the road. There was nothing of note to see on Route 153 except on kind of neat thing.
The road it cuts back into Maine before returning into New Hampshire and for a short stretch of it it actually rides directly down the State Line. I mentioned this and both Kate and Canaan thought it was interesting, in fact I looked to me left at a home and pointed out the Maine registrations plates on the vehicles in the driveway. Then at the very next house which was on the right you could see those vehicles had New Hampshire registration plates. It was pretty funny.
We got to La Festa after the lunch rush, they still had plenty of slices to choose from, but they did not have the sausage and pepperoni one I was hoping for. This was the bigs first time going and they both thought it was fantastic.
Addison stuck with pepperoni, Wesley cheese, Canaan got a slice that had bacon, pepperoni, sausage, ricotta cheese and BBQ sauce, I also got one and it was fantastic. Kate had her usual buffalo chicken and of course we got some garlic knots.
Before returning to Maine we stopped at Duston's Deli & Bakery for a desert treat. Wesley got a cookie, Addison picked out a giant brownie, and the rest of us got min-eclairs. I thought the cream was tremendous but my pastry was a little on the firm side.
On the way to the interstate we stopped at a greenhouse and I got my mom a dahlia pot, there are four greenhouses from Berwick to the interstate. When we got to my mom's she had just gotten home from work so it was great timing. She love her flower. The kids played outside for a spell and when Canaan came out with a squirt gun Wesley took it from him and let him have it.
It was another great adventure with all the kids, the first of many of the season for us. I look forward to our next.
Later Readers!
