lessons learned along the way: Day 4 Thursday, September 26 The White Mountains of New Hampshire

Well, thankfully, when I asked if we could check out without any penalty, the desk clerk said, "No problem!" So packed the bags and set out for the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The lake this morning is beautiful - fogged in with sun coming up. It is a beautiful lake, and I can see that it would be great in the summer.

The leaves are just beginning to turn all over the area, and the drive up to the mountains was spectacular! Everyone is waiting another couple of weeks to come to New England to see the leaves, and it must be amazing to see it in its full glory, but definitely beautiful now too. I would not like to be here for all of the crowds and the tour buses!!!

We stopped at a welcome center, and the ladies there told us to go up though Franconia Notch and on up to Sugar Hill. The drive through the Notch was amazing as the pictures will show. The White Mountains are definitely much bigger than Vermont's Green Mountains. Arrived at the town of Franconia which we had to pass through to get to Polly's Pancake Parlor in Sugar Hill. As we passed through the very small main street, I noticed a Garnet Hill store which I thought was rather strange for it be out here in the middle of nowhere! I have ordered stuff from them and love their catalog. We stopped in only to find that this was their headquarters and offices! One of the employees told me that they have an outlet store just down the street, but it is only open on the weekends. They were so friendly, and she even offered to give me her pass to get in if I could come back around 1:00, but that was not going to be possible. Anyway, it was fun talking to them. Couldn't believe that this was where they were headquartered, but after reading up on them, I found out that the couple who started the business were from there.

Breakfast at Polly's lived up to its reputation. My muffin was definitely homemade and pancakes and syrup were the best. It is a very quaint place out in the country. Check out the pictures!

This is the scenery across the road from Pollys!

Stopped at an antique/gift store/museum in a barn up the road a little further. It was interesting to see some of the local family history artifacts they had in there. Bette Davis once had a home there back in the day. They had a lot of her memorabilia and told about her life there. She participated in many of the little town's activities. What is so interesting about it is that Sugar Hill is out in the middle of nowhere but beautiful countryside with amazing views of the mountains.

Bette Davis memorabilia

The Basin

Time to head out. We decided head back to the Woodstock area again, but on the way wanted to stop at The Basin which is one of the many scenic spots while driving though the mountains. Walked the trail along most beautiful stream with spectacular waterfalls. The water was so clean and clear. The pictures tell the story --