Day 3 Wednesday, September 25 Lake Winnipesaukee, NH

We checked out of hotel early and headed west for Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire.  Susan Branch was my inspiration for going here because one of her first book signings was at a bookstore there at Mill Falls resort.  The pictures of it on her blog looked like just a place that I would love.  I have to say, we were a bit disappointed when we got there because it was pretty dead.  Summer is the time to go there!  Not much action around, and the towns surrounding the lake didn't have much to offer.  We took a ride which took almost an hour to the other side of the lake which was supposed to be  a very vital town with lots of good shopping.  Well, that wasn't true! At least, not for us!

This is why it is called Mill Falls!

Had lunch and dinner within the Mill Falls complex.

I already knew I didn't want to hang around this area for another full day and night because there definitely was not enough to do,  but I didn't know if we were going to be able to check out because supposedly you had to give a 72 hour notice!  Am worried about that because I'm ready to move on!  Decided to wait till the morning to ask!
 Earlier today, I had a conversation about the Susan Branch book signing with a book store employee, and she also gave us a lot of good tips on where to go in the White Mountains.  Asked if she had ever seen the Romneys around since I knew they had a summer home on the lake.  Got the feeling she was not a fan of them!
She told us to head north to Franconia Notch and not to miss Polly's Pancake Parlor in Sugar Hill.  Fortunately, the states of Vermont and New Hampshire are very small compared to a state like Michigan, so it doesn't take much time to get around to the sights.   She gave us some good pointers.

Almost forgot - on the way over this morning, we saw a sign for a Shaker Village, so we decided to stop only to realize that we had been there several years back!  Took a look around anyway and the docent was very informative about the place. They have a grant and are completely restoring the buildings down to the exact paint, moldings, and drawer pulls.  In the picture below, it shows the drawers redone, and she said the women would do the men's laundry and place it in their drawer!

Apparently, there are only 3 Shakers left in the world now!