New Hampshire Day Trip

We've a few great adventures this year, but we haven't had a local daytrip in a long time, local to us at least.  Back in March we tried to head to Polly's Pancake Parlor with Kate's sister Emma for an amazing breakfast but had to postpone as Kate and Wesley got VERY sick.

We decided that Saturday August 16th was the perfect make up day, and thankfully the weather agreed.  Emma was able to tag along with us and as it turns out she had never been to any of the places we were voyaging to.

We hit the road a little after 6 am and didn't make out first pit stop until Fair Grounds Cage in Fryeburg so Kate and Emma could get a coffee style drink.  I bought a molasses cookie and it is the second best molasses cookie I have ever had.  My wife makes the best, and I love molasses cookies so I always have to pick one up.  Typically they are ok but nothing compares to my wife's this is a VERY close second place.

Kate had Emma sit in the front seat so she could experience the beauty of the Kancamagus Highway and driving through Franconia Notch State Park.  Both roads are uniquely gorgeous, but the Interstate running through Franconia Notch is the prettiest Interstate I have ever driven on.

On the other side of the Kanc we stopped at the McDonald's for a bathroom break and Wesley and I explored the railroad tracks.

 

We stopped at the Betty and Barney Hill abduction site, the first widely spread UFO abduction story.  Down the road is a gas station with a mural honoring it as well.

We got the Polly's about 930am and they had a short 45 minute wait, which really isn't that bad.  Kate found a bench in the shade, coupled with the low temps and nice breeze it was a pleasant wait.

After an amazing breakfast we made the short drive to Harman's Cheese and Country Store where I got two pounds of their May 2023 aged sharp cheddar.  I was hoping for the 4 year cheddar, which they did have this past March, but oh well.

We continued north to town of Littleton and their beautiful main street.  We went to Chutter's home to world's longest candy counter to get some delicious treats.   They actually sell penny candy still and I got 220 pieces of frooties, 20 of each of the 11 flavors they have.

Also on main street is a bakery called Crumb Bum that Kate has been following for a while Instagram and just had to try it.  We got some croissants to bring home for later.  I thought it was good, but I like the ones that Kate makes better.

After getting back in the van we hit the McDonald's drive thru for some Diet Coke's, I got a Coke Zero, and headed west towards Bethel.  We decided to drive a big loop and come back into Maine a different route.

Once we got into the Bethel the temptation to stop at Smokin' Good BBQ was too much and we just had to get the best BBQ in Maine.  When we stepped out of the vehicle the smell of the smokers was AMAZING!  If you weren't hungry you would be that's how good they smelled.

I finally tried the Hot Links, and they were delicious, but I'm glad I got the two meat combo as I would have been sad to not have some Texas beef brisket.  Kate got the pork sundae, Emma got just the pulled pork, and Wesley got a heavy half rack of ribs.  We had plenty to take home with us.

The final planned stop of the day was just over the line in Greenwood at Maine Line Products so we could get some of their delicious fudge and some shaker peg racks for the mud room.

We got home just about 5pm for a good 11 hour daytrip through the White Mountains and back.

If you ever get a chance to hit all the places I wrote about in this post, you should!

Until Next Time! 

Father's Day in the White Mountains

Unlike Mother's Day for Father's Day 2016 the weather was gorgeous and were able to go to Glen Ellis Falls and a whole lot more driving about 330 miles from home, through the White Mountains, and back home again.

Our trip started with one of our favorite drive which is from home, through Winthrop to Bethel and into Gorham, New Hampshire.  There is just something about that drive that we truly love.  Once in Gorham we hit Route 16 south towards Jackson stopping at Glen Ellis Falls.

There is a well marked parking area and you have to take a tunnel under the road on the third mile hike towards the 64 foot waterfall.  The trail is well maintained and features of stair the descend to the base of the falls that is well worth the walk for the spectacular view.  Granted I did not have a 30 pound Wesley boy strapped to me, but I think Kate felt it was well worth it as well.

Leaving the falls we continued south on 16 turning onto route 302 towards Bartlett.  Route 302 cuts right through the heart of the White Mountain National forest and Crawford Notch State Park.  This is one of, if not the most, scenic and beautiful road I have ever driven on.

We had destinations in mind and even though I made a couple impromptu stops to snag a couple pictures we passed some places that we are definitely going back to in the future.  Which is exciting knowing we have a reason to return and explore more.

From 302 we turned onto Route 3 south which turns into I-93 south through Franconia Notch State Park into Lincoln.  We stopped in Lincoln to check out Fadden's General Store.  It's hyped as having the best Maple Syrup in New Hampshire.  It was a bit of a let down, but we did buy some of their syrup and Kate got a maple cream soda. It was terrible, but very creamy.

Next we stopped at Chutter's second location which features a 60 foot candy counter.  I have wanted Frooties so bad but have not been able to find them anywhere in Maine and I don't want to buy them off the internet.  The Chutter's Littleton, NH store featured a 100 plus foot candy counter, the World's Largest, and they have Frooties.  Well Lincoln does not.  The store is nice, but it was a massive disappointment.

Staying in Lincoln we stopped for lunch at Black Mtn. Burger CO., a placed voted as New Hampshire's best burger.  The inside is really nice with a great set up, you can eat outside if you choose. The table we have was very high, which I was okay with because when you're eating a messy burger you want to be close to the table top keep the mess off your clothes.

Kate got the Swiss Mushroom Burger, I got the basic Cheddar Cheeseburger adding Bacon to it, we both got fries.  The burgers were fantastic!  Really one of the best I've ever had.  I wouldn't hesitate for a minute to go back there again.

Continuing our journey on the Kancamagus highway we exited the White Mountain National Forest in Conway New Hampshire and headed south to the Madison Boulder.

The Madison Boulder is the largest known erratic in North America at 83 feet long and 23 feet high and 37 feet wide.  Take a look at the photo with Wesley in front of it.  It's very impressive!

Continuing south east we cut back into Maine on route 25 into Porter stopping at the Porter-Parsonsfield Covered Bridge which spans the Ossipee River.  Originally built in 1876 it was rebuilt in 1999 and is closed to traffic.  Wesley loves him some closed covered bridges, walking across them, yelling, and apparently dropping rocks through the gaps floorboards.  He found a rock and picked it up and dropped it through, when he heard the plop of it hitting the water he let out a pleasantly surprised noise.  So we gathered up a lot more rocks and he went to town.

Driving home we passed a place that had multiple signs advertising penny candy. Even though I would most likely be disappointed I turned back to Sunrise Corner and ventured in, I was not to be denied on this day for they had frooties!!  Sadly they were 5 cents each but I didn't care and bought giant bag that had a handful of each flavor.  I spoke to the owner Jason who stated that they just added the candy 4 years ago and it was a success, it certainly was today.

We got home just about 7pm when Paul was getting there with the Pizza so we could watch the Money in the Bank PPV on WWE Network.  It was a great ending to a truly wonderful day!

Thanks for reading!

Later Readers!

Map of our Adventure