'Hello! It's been awhile. I shouldn't have kept you waiting.' No wait, that's Britney Spears in 'Break the Ice'. Though the sentiment is there - I have not done a great job blogging in 2019. But on the precipice of a new year and a new decade, it's as good a time as ever to reflect on where you've been, in hopes of determining where you're going.
Rang in the New Year in Hanover - one of my favorite places to celebrate New Year's. The tradition started our senior year at Dartmouth when we came back early from Christmas break and did a pub crawl through Hanover. Since 2005 we've done a handful of NYE in Hanover. It's a great place to bum around and is a very relaxed and low-key place to ring in the new year. Last year we skied at
Okemo and had dinner at
Carpenter & Main in Norwich, VT and a memorable New Year's Eve dinner at
Pine in Hanover before ringing in 2019 with a snowy walk around the Green.
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| Simon Pearce glass tree collection at the Hanover Inn |
Did two other ski weekends with friends at
Stowe and
Mt. Sunapee during the winter months.
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| Mt. Sunapee, NH |
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| Stowe, VT |
June found us back in Hanover for my 15th year reunion. We did a short hike on Mt Moosilauke, in Warren, NH to check out the newly-built
Moosilauke Ravine Lodge. While it lacks much of the character that made the old lodge so beloved it was overdue for an update and the new structure pays homage to the old with the same cheeky, hand-carved signs on the walls, a beautiful three-story stone fireplace and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the mountain.
Spent a lovely July weekend on the
North Shore at
Good Harbor beach and
Rockport, MA. You have to get up early to get a parking spot at Good Harbor - be prepared for traffic, $25 parking fees and to stay all day. Rockport is a charming little town not far from Good Harbor. Art fans will recognize '
Motif #1' - an iconic red fisherman shack at the entrance to the harbor. We enjoyed boiled lobster from
Roy Moore Lobster Co, coffee at the
Bean & Leaf Cafe and ice cream from
Holy Cow Ice Cream Cafe in Gloucester, MA on the drive home.
Spent a second July weekend traipsing all over Vermont while Chris ran the
Vermont 100 mile ultra marathon. The race started and ended in Windsor, VT and wound through several small Vermont towns including Woodstock. I drove more than 100 miles to meet Chris at various points throughout the race. It was an incredibly hot weekend which I spent submerged in the
Ottauquechee River in Woodstock for a good portion of the event. We also had lunch at the
Harpoon Brewery in Windsor (second location, the other is in South Boston) and at the
Skinny Pancake in Quechee and camped in a field during the weekend.
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| There's an ultra race for horses too! |
August found us in
Rockland, Maine visiting my grandparents. Rockland is a few miles south of Camden, ME on the coast. Camden is to Nantucket as Rockland is to Martha's Vineyard; that is, a more relaxed and low-key vibe than you'll find in Camden. We had some great seafood at
Claws, I did a yoga class at
The Dancing Elephant, had delicious coffee from
Rock City Coffee Roasters and a great breakfast at
Home Kitchen Cafe. We also walked out to the famous
Rockland Breakwater Light; the breakwater is almost a mile long each way and worth the trip - just keep an eye on the tides!
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| Rockland, ME Breakwater Light |
Had a brief weekend on the Cape in August as well. I took the
Cape Flyer down from Boston on a Friday night. The seasonal train has only been in service for a few years and is a great option for those who won't need a car while they're on the Cape. The train terminus is in Hyannis, but it also stops in Bourne and Wareham on its way down. The train crosses the Cape Cod Canal at the Railroad Bridge and runs parallel to Route 6A from the Canal to Hyannis with beautiful beach and wood views along the way. Had a picnic with my parents at
Millway Beach with fish sandwiches from
Osterville Fish Too in Barnstable Village. Delicious sandwiches and million-dollar views.
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| "Million-dollar View' at Millway Beach in Barnstable, MA |
Chris also ran the
Falmouth Road Race in August. The 10k race is known to draw an elite pool of competition and the course travels from Woods Hole along the coast to Falmouth Heights. A rite of passage for any New England runner!
September found us in the Aosta Valley in Italy for the
Tor des Geants ultra marathon. The six-day, 206-mile race traverses the Western Alps and is one of the toughest races in the world. However, it's not on brand for this blog and really worthy of it's own post so will just leave it at we ate lots of gelato and Chris finished!
We returned to regularly scheduled New England travel programming in October with a Fab Fall Weekend foliage road trip up to
Lake Winnipesaukee in NH and then
North Conway, NH. We started our Winnipesaukee trip in Alton Bay NH and then continued through Laconia, Meredith, Sandwich, Moltonbourgh and Wolfeboro, NH. We stopped at
Weirs Beach and
Kellerhaus, a jack-of-all trades ice cream, candy and gift shop, and then on to
Meredith where we went to the Annalee doll factory. We stopped at
Moulton Farm for cider donuts and pumpkins and then up to
Squam Lake and the
Old Country Store in Moultonborough. And finished our trip with dinner in Wolfeboro at the
Wolfetrap Grill & Raw Bar and dessert from the
Yum Yum Shop.
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| Molton Farm, Meredith, NH |
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| Viewing and praising the foliage |
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| Squam Lake |
We traveled up to North Conway to see friends from our Tor trip. Had a chance to check out
Jackson, NH, in the shadow of Mt Washington, as well as
Saalt Pub in Gorham, NH. Saalt Pub is a restaurant/pub/coffee house in an old bank in downtown Gorham. Worth a stop if you're passing through!
And we rounded out the year with an early Dec ski trip to
Stowe. I love skiing in Dec. Even if the ski resorts aren't 100 percent open yet it's beautiful, festive, warmer and not as crowded as it can be during prime ski season. We had dinner with friends at
The Bistro at 10 Acres, drinks at
Doc Pond's, breakfast at
Blue Donkey (on their inaugural breakfast day!). Stowe Mountain Resort had amazing tater tot poutine at the lodge, and then maple lattes at
The Beanery and croque madame crepes at
The Skinny Pancake (I'm obsessed can you tell?). We also checked out
Maxi's Restaurant, close to I-89 in Waterbury, for those coming and going and
Boston Dreams in Windsor, VT - a shrine for Boston Red Sox fans masquerading as a coffee shop.
Spent Christmas in Sarastoa, FL with my in-laws but had a festive few weeks in December before we headed south for the holiday.
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| Christmas Tree lighting in Stoneham, MA |
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| Christmas in New England |
Ringing in 2020 with dinner and fireworks in Boston tomorrow night. Reflecting on the year and the decade and all I can say is 'what a long strange trip it's been'. 10 years ago I was still living in NYC, working at NBCU and spending far too much time on the Chinatown buses traveling between NYC and New England on the regular. My heart has always been in New England.
Perhaps 2020 is the year I start posting more regularly. After all, 'how can I know what I think until I see what I say'? A new decade seems like a good a time as any to try something new. :)
'And now let us welcome a new year - full of things that have never been'. Cheers!
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