Fall in New Hampshire

I had heard quite a lot about New Hampshire's beautiful fall colors. But I had never planned to visit the place during the Fall of 2015. It was sheer chance that led my friends to decide that we might as well drive from Boston to New Hampshire, and onward to Maine, which was our actual destination. It was a good call and we absolutely loved the detour!

Since the flight tickets to Portland, Maine were pretty expensive, we had decided to fly down to Boston and stay the night there. We reached Boston late in the night and checked into Clarion Inn (now Lakeside Inn) at Wakefield, Massachusetts.The room had been recently renovated and was very comfortable. It faced  a lake, but the dark night did not afford much to view from the window.

This changed when morning arrived. I woke up pretty early by my normal standard, and was greeted by the sun rays filtering in through the lace curtains. The view from the window was extremely beautiful. It was enough for us to rush and get ready for a wonderful day of exploring. The restaurant adjoining the hotel had indoor and outdoor seating. The kind waitress allowed us to place our orders and stroll by the lake while the food was being readied. It was a fresh morning and there was a cold wind blowing across the lake. The beauty was not lost on us. After a quick discussion, we decided that we would head out for New Hampshire instead of driving through the main cities of Massachusetts and Maine.

Early morning view from the hotel room

The drive from Boston to New Hampshire was exactly how we had hoped it would be. It started off with a few trees having colored leaves. The drive was thoroughly enjoyable as scenery after scenery enthralled us. We passed through many picturesque towns with very English names, and cozy looking cottages dotting the landscapes on either side. Little churches, libraries and inns clustered together formed the towns. The trees began to change from sprinkles of yellow and red to blazing forests of yellow, red, shades or pink and tinges of green. These are sights which would probably stay etched in my mind forever.

Conway Public Library

Storybook Resort Inn, Glen, NH

Dana Place Inn, Jackson, NH

We did make multiple stops to take in the scenic views all along the national highway. This only got better as we entered the White Mountain National Forest. The weather became chilly and the flurries got us excited. But once the flakes started coming down fast, we ran for shelter. By this time we had already reached the entrance to the spectacular Mount Washington, and had been informed that the road was closed as the mountain was receiving a heavy snowfall (so unfortunate!). But we were already spell bound by the view, from where we sat in the car. The majestic mountain was crowned by snow and the snow fall near the peak gave it a mystic look. It was cloaked in shimmering colors of fall foliage! Beautiful nature at its very best! Since it had started snowing, we stepped into a quaint little souvenir shop which also sold pretty good soup. We sat next to the big french windows and silently wondered at the marvel called Nature while a couple of old ladies tried to capture the scenery on their canvas.

Mount Washington, Sargent's Purchase, NH

As the snow intensified, we decided to try our luck and drive on. To our surprise, a couple of miles down the road the weather was back to being perfect. We took a detour and went through the national forest along lonely roads (disregarding signboards which claimed that the roads had not been prepared for winter!). All alone, we parked where we liked and took pictures to our hearts' content. Feeling completely refreshed and satisfied, we continued our drive to our final pit stop for the night. Quite a lovely start to a relaxed weekend!